friends. The leather bracelet on my arm feels like a branding as I accept my fate. There’s only one problem.
“Isla won’t marry me that quickly. We’re not even an official couple yet.”
He copies my posture and places his hands on my desk and leans in. “I don’t care if you have to spread her legs and give her five orgasms a day, buy her the most obnoxious diamond in the world, or promise to knock her up right away so she can start popping out mini-me’s… marry the girl. Because you won’t like the consequences if you don’t.”
He turns and casually strolls out of my office as if he didn’t just ask me to betray the first woman I’ve ever really had true feelings for.
I finish my third drink of the evening while the rest of us wait for Asher to make an appearance in the Titans’ Den. I sent the rest of the Classholes a message in our group text telling them to meet me here. They need to know what’s going on. My dad might be the first to claim his favor and no doubt their dad’s demands will come next.
The elevator dings and the doors open. Asher’s dressed from work with his tie loose around his neck and the top three buttons of his dress shirt undone. His ice-blue eyes are glazed over and his dark hair with natural light streaks at the ends looks like he’s run his hand through it all day. No doubt he’s on something, but he’s not my concern right now.
“So why have I been called here, Your Highness?” He bows and walks over to where I’m seated on the couch.
“Did we interrupt you snorting a line and banging a bunch of wannabe supermodels?” Ford says and takes his shot on the pool table.
“I was actually about to bang three at one time when Stone’s text rudely interrupted.” He spreads his arms wide along the back of the couch.
Lincoln snickers punching away on his laptop at the far end of the couch.
I decide to get right to the point. “My dad stopped by my office today and told me I need to marry Isla.”
Ryker spits out half the beer he just took a pull from. “The fuck?” he says.
I quickly fill them in on what my dad is after.
“What the hell are you gonna do?” Ford asks, his expression grim.
He knows my feelings about the institution of marriage. I’d rather cut off a fucking limb than willingly enter into a commitment that I’m convinced was the demise of my mother. She suffered so much in her marriage while I stood by as a witness, and in the end, she never got her happily ever after.
“I have no choice. Do any of you want to suffer the consequences?”
Asher laughs, still not taking anything seriously. “Well, my congratulations to the happy couple. Should we open the good stuff?” He stands and sways for a second before regaining his balance and walking toward the bar.
“That’s the last fucking thing you need,” Ryker grumbles.
“There’s got to be another way,” Ford says.
I shake my head. “There’s not. I’ll make sure my dad gets what’s coming to him, but in the meantime, I have no choice.”
I don’t tell them it’s as much for Isla’s protection as our own. There’s no telling what my father would do to get what he wants from her, and though I don’t know for certain, I doubt anything is off the table.
“What do you need us to do?” Lincoln asks. Always a man with a plan, that guy.
“I need you to dig into my dad again. See if there’s anything new to unearth that I can use as leverage against him.”
He nods.
It might be a futile effort—it’s not like Lincoln hasn’t tried before. My old man has dirty dealings, and everyone screws up. It’s only a matter of time before he does and leaves a trail of bread crumbs for Linc to find.
“What about the rest of us?” Ryker asks.
“Pray that I can convince Isla I’m a man worth marrying. For all our sakes.”
25
Chapter Twenty-five
Isla
“It says here that Holland Pharmaceuticals is testing a new drug that’s supposed to help diabetics.” I look to my dad. He’s still awake, lying in bed, but I can tell he is fighting his fatigue.
Case in point, I’m reading the newspaper to him because he doesn’t have the strength to hold it up.
“I heard about that on the news this morning. Sounds promising,” he says in a scratchy