Worth Any Cost

by Brenna Aubrey

  "You might as well tell me what it is. I'm not going to let you go to bed till you do."

  My eyes closed. "Cruel woman."

  She bit her lip. "Adam..."

  "All right, all right. The BOD is pressuring me to sign a prenuptial agreement."

  "Okay, and...?"

  My eyes popped open again, and my gaze found hers. She was staring at me with that expectant look on her face, resting on her elbows against the desk, her fingers laced in front of her. Her reaction was completely bewildering--as if I'd told her I needed to zip down to the grocery store to get a carton of milk.

  "And...that's it. Jordan sided with the board instead of helping me fight it. And they were getting ugly about it."

  "Like--how ugly?"

  "Like threatening to remove me as CEO..."

  She blinked. "But--why wouldn't you want a prenup?"

  I rubbed the tense muscles in my neck. This was a puzzling reaction that I hadn't anticipated.

  She waited while I wondered and tried to think my way through the brain fog. My body may have been wanting to shut down and go to sleep, but my brain was now skipping along as fast as it possibly could. Which right now, admittedly, was suboptimal brain speed.

  "Because I don't want to be forced to sign something about my personal life. And I don't want to force you to sign to prove to the world that you aren't a gold digger."

  Her brow scrunched. "You mean...to prove to you that I'm not a gold digger, right?"

  I shifted in my seat. "I don't think--"

  She held up her hand. "Calm down. I know you don't think that. But you assumed I'd think this was an excuse in order to get me to sign. Hence all the cloak and dagger, the hiding it from me."

  "Emilia--"

  "I'm hard-pressed to understand your need to jeopardize your career because you don't want to hurt my feelings."

  I blinked, now completely confused. "Shouldn't I be worried about your feelings?"

  Half of her mouth quirked up in an ironic smile. "Yes, of course, but this is business. I understand that. I'm a big girl."

  I gave my head a weak shake. "I know you are."

  "And do you know that you have a ferocious instinct to overprotect?" She raised her eyebrows, as if daring me to disagree. Which, in truth, I couldn't. "And while it can be endearing--and so much of what I love about you--sometimes it goes too far. You go too far."

  I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the desk, and opened my mouth to protest.

  She stopped me with a curt chopping motion. "The BOD wants to protect the company in case something happens. You should be happy about that. They see the prenup as a way to protect your assets, and it's true that you would profit from it."

  "I don't want to benefit from something if it comes at your expense."

  The corner of her mouth twitched, as if she wanted to smile, but couldn't. Then she nodded slowly. "I could profit from it as well, don't you see?"

  I licked my bottom lip, considering, waiting for her to continue before I'd concede or reject her point.

  "A prenup can protect me, too. In lots of ways." She began counting on her fingers. "First, it eliminates any doubts you might have about my intentions."

  "I have none."

  She shrugged. "But if you--or anyone else--did, they'd be eliminated. Second, suppose there were ever a problem with us...like my Botox backfiring and you wanting trade me in for wife 2.0 or something." I rolled my eyes, and she laughed. "But seriously, when a marriage breaks up, it's usually very ugly. There are hurt feelings, threats, and broken promises. And there can be a lot of hate. A prenup saves us making any spur-of-the-moment decisions motivated by anger or revenge or whatever. It's a contract that a bride and groom hammered out when they were calm, rational, excited about the future and in love."

  I frowned. "In a perfect world, it works like that, but ours isn't a perfect world."

  "We can be fair to ourselves now. Talk it through and make the agreements we both can live with. It will likely never need to be applied. But...it's kind of like insurance."

  Jordan's argument, brought up to me again. By the person I loved most in the world. I blinked.

  "You're holding three fingers up in front of you--was there a third point?"

  She smiled. "Yup. A prenup would remind both of us why we are really together."

  I mirrored her smile. "Oh? And why is that?"

  "Love, baby."

  I swallowed, suddenly aching to pull her into my arms.

  "You okay?"

  I nodded, still staring. "I'm a bit in awe."

  "Of what?"

  "Of you. You are..." I couldn't even get it out. The word sank in my throat as I choked up. My throat clogged with sudden emotion.

  She seemed to pick up on it immediately, getting up from her chair and moving to sit on the desk, facing me. She leaned forward so that her long hair brushed against my chest. "I am...what?"

  I reached out, pulling her against me, into my lap. "You're amazing, incredible..." My voice died out, and I fought to suck in more air. "You literally take my breath away."

  Her mouth curved into a grin, and she bumped my shoulder with hers. "All those compliments without sex? Wow, I really must be all that."

  I nibbled at her collarbone. She sighed, the warm air splaying across my cheeks. "You are all that. I shouldn't have coddled you. Stupid me, for forgetting how strong you are and not trusting you more."

  She chuckled. "You'll learn, young padawan. I have faith in you." She slipped her head onto my shoulder. "So are we going to do this, then? This prenup?"

  I hesitated, feeling that wall inside me come up again. The resistance came so naturally, without conscious thought. That same resentment burned. "I have a big problem with the board of directors telling me what I can do with my life--and forcing me to sign a paper that has nothing to do with them."

  She reached up and traced my earlobe with her finger. In spite of my preoccupation, the touch sizzled down every nerve ending in my body, right down to my gut, where that fire for her always smoldered.

  "With regards to your share in the company, it does have to do with them. They want to protect the company. And they are watching out for everyone who relies on you. All your employees, the stock holders. If anyone ever sabotaged the company, it would be all of their livelihoods, too. A lot of people depend on that genius brain of yours to keep them employed."

  I clenched my jaw. "I'd never suspect you of wanting to sabotage the company whether or not you signed a paper. Or no matter how awful a situation we ended up in."

  She kissed my cheek. "But that's because you know me and you love me. The board doesn't. It's business. Marriage is for love. It's for building families. Divorce is business. Since we are never going to get a divorce, this is all for show."

  I said nothing as she combed her fingers through the scruff on my jaw.

  "So this was your big issue with Jordan? Because he sided with the Board?"

  I nodded.

  "He was doing his job, Adam. He was being a damn good CFO."

  I blew out a breath I didn't even know I'd been holding. "He didn't stand by me."

  "But can't you see what a shitty situation this must have been for him? Put in the middle between you and the board. And if I know him, he was trying to find out any angle he could to prevent you having to go through this. Am I right?"

  I thought about it. He'd been doing the research--as he'd told me--asking his people to determine the case I might have for fighting the board. He'd been the lone guy out in the middle of two war fronts, waving a white flag and hoping nobody lobbed a grenade in his face.

  "He's your friend--the friend who covered for you when you went on leave from your job when we first got together. Jordan held down the fort when I was sick and you weren't working, so you could take care of me. And now, doing the same thing while you get better. Asking me regularly about your health, worried as hell. He does have your back."

  I shrugged. His behavior was still irrita
ting. And it still hurt.

  "You've been stressing out for months over this...and overworking to compensate. And you damaged your health. Totally not worth it. Let's resolve this, okay? Let's do the paperwork."

  I mulled that over, but apparently not fast enough. She shifted to face me. "Tell your lawyers to send me something to look at, okay? A draft or something? We'll hash it out."

  I shrugged.

  She got in my face, putting the tip of her nose to mine. "Listen. I'm going to insist on this. It's about time I get what's due to me."

  I raised a brow at her. "And what is that?"

  "You still haven't paid me my 750K from my scandalous virginity auction. I refused to be stiffed." Then she bit her lip to keep from laughing, an action which failed miserably after only a few seconds.

  Her laughter was infectious. I finally cracked a smile of my own. "Maybe I'm simply making sure I get the most out of that money."

  "Oh, I'd say that you have."

  Despite my exhaustion, a heated tongue of lust licked its way up my spine. If I had the energy--and a non-explosive spleen--I'd try something right this minute. My hands inched up her thigh, aching to touch her everywhere. Instead of acting on this, I simply took a deep breath and relished the feeling, like a thousand-pound weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

  "Come on, Adam. I know your stubbornness has gotten you far in life, but this is not the hill you want to die on."

  I closed my eyes and opened them again, leaning forward to kiss her on her neck. "Fine. We'll do it. But I intend to be extremely fair. As fair as possible."

  She nodded in response.

  I held her gaze. "You need your own lawyer, someone not associated with my lawyer. It needs to be totally independent, okay? Peter could probably give you a name. Obviously, he can't do it for you because he's family, but I'm sure he'll know of someone."

  Her eyes widened. "Oh, I bet Lindsay would be a better person to ask for a referral." It made sense. Lindsay was an excellent lawyer herself and had been through her own divorce a few years previously. Emilia had good instincts. I had no doubt she'd pick a competent lawyer for this.

  "Whoever you hire, have them send me the bill. I'll pay it, no questions asked."

  She shifted on my lap. "Sounds extremely fair, Mr. Drake. Now, about that 750K..."

  I leaned forward and caught her earlobe between my teeth. "I do recall that you said 'no deal' to that."

  She rewarded me with a delighted sigh. "Maybe I figured out that getting the man was worth a whole lot more."

  My hand was on her ass in less than a second flat. "Like...how much more?"

  "Like...worth all the bugs you kill for me--for life. And all the tight hugs. And the stimulation."

  Now we were talking. I ran my other hand up her thigh. "Stimulation?"

  "Mental stimulation."

  I pressed my mouth to her succulent neck.

  "I'm exhausted. Let's cuddle."

  "You're still under doctor's orders to rest. No work. No hanky-panky."

  I fought laughter at the archaic term. "Hanky-panky? For real?"

  "Nope." She shook her head, kissing my nose. "None."

  I got my hand up her t-shirt. "What about a little...panky?"

  She snorted, pushing herself off my lap. "You need to go back to bed. You're about to fall over. And I need to go get a lawyer." She leaned forward, grabbed me by the wrist, and tugged to pull me out of my chair. "There will be neither hanky nor panky."

  I sighed. But, admittedly, all my body wanted to do was collapse and doze for a few more hours. I'd fantasize about seducing her later.

  After a nap.

  ***

  Between long bouts of sleep and occasional phone calls to my lawyer, I spent hours over the next week working on my Dragon Epoch mystery.

  For the quest, I helped Lord Sisyphus gather his friends. When Princess Emma fell ill, I went on the hunt for a magic elixir to cure her. Once she was well, I escorted Princess Emma to a beautifully secluded beach at sunset, where he proposed to her and she accepted.

  I even helped his cousin win a duel so that the wedding date could be established.

  All uncomfortably familiar. But not in a creepy way.

  Whoever had set this up--and it was elaborate enough to have required some time to develop--knew a lot about Emilia and me. And they knew something of the trials we'd endured to get where we were today.

  Once I'd collected bottles of different types of tasty spirits from the different parts of Yondareth, I was on the verge of quest completion. It was almost time for Lord Sisyphus's Wild and Crazy Bachelor Party.

  And with the drop of one simple line, I discovered the person responsible for the wedding quest.

  My gratitude to you, FallenOne, for all of your help. But you must be careful when arranging my honeymoon travels to the exotic city of Pah-Arees. My boss, the King, just might end up stealing my long-awaited vacation.

  Pah-Arees. That obscure reference could only mean one thing...because his boss had taken his long-awaited vacation from him--at his behest. To Paris. And though he'd been glad to offer it to us, he'd never ever let me hear the end of it when I'd taken Emilia to the City of Lights on the trip of his dreams--that he had spent months planning for himself.

  Jordan.

  Well. I'll be damned.

  Chapter 14

  Mia

  Apparently, I was required to read through a full disclosure of Adam's assets as part of the prenuptial contract agreement. Who knew? I certainly hadn't.

  And though I'd never tell Adam this in a million years, the disclosure packet was, um, overwhelming.

  By California law, both future spouses had to fully disclose their assets to their partner before anything could be signed. As part of my due diligence, I read through the list of Adam's assets and their estimated current value. The document, bound as a booklet, was easily the size of a sturdy medical school workbook.

  His collection of assets was as varied and interesting as the man himself. As I turned page after page, I'd tried to squelch feelings of inadequacy with the knowledge that my disclosure could fit on an average-sized Post-it note. And most of that was gifts from him, like my car, my computer, and various other things.

  And, of course, there was my debt, too. Adam had the normal type of commercial debt associated with running a big company. He had no personal debt whatsoever, aside from the obnoxious mortgage on the house.

  Me? I had medical school debt accruing. In fact, Adam was footing that bill, too, without a word--and likely would be upset to hear me refer to it as a debt to him. But I'd always fully intended to repay it. I'd be adding that to the prenuptial documents as soon as I met with the lawyer I'd retained.

  But for now, per her instructions, I was supposed to read through all of this and highlight any items I wished to know more about.

  The more I read, the harder I was finding it to breathe as I sat at my desk in my study and pored over the seemingly endless list of assets.

  The gaming company, the virtual reality hardware company he had recently acquired, a heavy chunk of investment in a firm called XVenture--aa private space agency that intended to send astronauts on manned missions soon. He had partial ownership in hospitality industry properties, like Emerald Sky in St. Lucia, among others.

  It went on and on.

  Jesus. He wasn't even thirty yet, and he owned half the country, it seemed.

  "How's it going?"

  I jumped almost out of my skin. Adam's bearded face hovered about a foot from mine, leaning over me to see where I was in the document.

  "Shit, you scared the crap out of me."

  "Sorry." He frowned. "I thought you heard me come in. I wasn't trying to sneak around."

  "You're getting too stealthy. Might have to consider working for MI6 on top of all this other crap you're involved in, because clearly, you need more projects."

  "Huh," he said, still reading over my shoulder. "You're still only on page four. Everything ok
ay?"

  I flipped back a page to point to a highlighted line item. "Sure. But I want to know why my future husband owns the complete licensing rights to PuffPuff the Pink Poodle." I tapped at the item with my pen. "This might be a deal breaker for me."

  "What?"

  "What what? PuffPuff the Poodle? Seriously?"

  "Hello Kitty got popular again, didn't it? And the Smurfs? Why not PuffPuff?" I stared at him wide-eyed, and he continued, albeit slightly self-consciously, "It was a sound investment. Those are the full rights, movies, merchandising, video games, everything."

  I snickered at him. "Are you going to write a new game? Retro games are all the rage. Maybe square-shaped PuffPuffs to incorporate into Minecraft? Maybe PuffPuff Pokemons to capture with your Poke balls?"

  He pointed a long finger at me. "Someday, you'll eat those words, young lady, and I'll be laughing all the way to the bank when PuffPuff makes a comeback."

  I grabbed his finger and wrapped my hand around it, making a fist. "Them's fighting words."

  His dark eyes got that familiar gleam. "Wanna wrestle?"

  I let go of his hand and waved at the tome in front of me. "I'd love to take you up on that, but some douchebag rich guy dumped this big old encyclopedia of his immensely huge and girthy assets in my lap, and I have to handle it."

  "Ohhh...handling immense and girthy assets in your lap." He laughed. "I love it when you talk dirty to me."

  "Especially when everything I say to you is taken in the dirty way."

  "I can't help it." He bent over, planting a kiss on my cheek. "You're too sexy."

  I swatted the hand that was now groping my boob. "Go away before I start demanding half of the licensing rights to PuffPuff the Pink Poodle and foil your attempt at world domination."

  He straightened, laughing. "Just you wait. You'll see."

  "I'm sure I'll be eating those words." I sighed, giving a dismissive wave of my hand.

  "And a whole lot more." He leered before vanishing out of the room again.

  "No workouts. No working--not even phone calls," I called after him.

  "Blah blah blah," he replied from down the hall.