*Maya's POV*
I threw up in the parking garage elevator.
The stress, the fear, and three hours of sleep finally caught up with me. I barely made it to the corner before my stomach emptied itself all over the shiny floor.
Great. Now I smelled like vomit and looked like I'd been hit by a truck. Perfect way to meet a billionaire.
I checked my phone for the hundredth time. 5:47 AM. Thirteen minutes to save my brother's life.
The elevator doors opened on the sixtieth floor, and I stepped into what looked like a palace made of glass and steel. Everything was so clean it hurt my eyes. My sneakers squeaked embarrassingly loud on the polished floor.
A woman behind a huge desk looked up at me like I was a bug that crawled in from outside. She had perfect hair and perfect makeup even though the sun wasn't even up yet.
"Can I help you?" Her voice was colder than ice water.
"I'm Maya Rodriguez. I have a meeting with Mr. Kane."
The woman's eyebrows shot up. "You're the..." She looked me up and down like I was wearing garbage bags. "Mr. Kane is waiting in his office. Follow me."
We walked down a hallway that seemed to go on forever. My heart pounded so hard I thought it might explode. What if Alexander Kane took one look at me and decided I wasn't good enough? What if he called off the deal?
The woman stopped at massive wooden doors. "He doesn't like to be kept waiting," she said, then knocked twice.
"Enter," came a voice from inside. Deep, cold, and completely emotionless.
The doors opened, and I stepped into the most intimidating room I'd ever seen. Alexander Kane sat behind a desk the size of a small car, talking on his phone like I wasn't even there.
But when I saw his face, I forgot how to breathe.
The pictures online hadn't captured how handsome he really was. Dark hair perfectly styled, sharp jawline, and those ice-blue eyes that seemed to see right through me. He was like a Greek god who decided to become a businessman.
But there was something terrifying about him too. He sat perfectly still, perfectly straight, like a statue. No expression. No warmth. Nothing human at all.
"I don't care what the board thinks," he said into the phone. "Fire anyone who disagrees with me. I'll find people who actually want to work."
He hung up without saying goodbye and looked at me for the first time. Those blue eyes scanned me from head to toe like I was a piece of furniture he was thinking about buying.
"You're late," he said.
I checked my phone. "It's 5:52. You said six o'clock."
"I said six AM sharp. Sharp means early, not on time."
My face burned with embarrassment. "I'm sorry, I—"
"Sit down." He pointed to a chair across from his desk.
I sat down and immediately felt like a little kid in the principal's office. The chair was lower than his, making me have to look up at him like he was some kind of king.
Alexander opened a thick folder and started reading from it without looking at me. "Maya Elena Rodriguez. Twenty-six years old. Dropped out of college to run your family's failing restaurant. No criminal record. No significant relationships."
"How do you know all that?" I asked.
He ignored my question and kept reading. "Your brother Carlos has a congenital heart defect requiring immediate surgery. Your restaurant owes twelve thousand dollars to First National Bank. Your personal bank account contains two hundred and thirty-seven dollars."
I felt sick. He knew everything about my life, but I was just meeting him for the first time.
"The terms are simple," Alexander continued in that robot voice. "You marry me today. You live in my house for two years minimum. You attend social events as my wife and don't embarrass me. In exchange, your brother gets his surgery and your family's debts disappear."
"What about love?" The question popped out before I could stop it.
Alexander's eyes got even colder. "Love is a fantasy. This is a business transaction. Nothing more."
"But we're talking about marriage. Two years of living together."
"We won't be living together. You'll have your own room, your own space. I work eighteen hours a day. You'll barely see me."
Something about the way he said it made me angry. Like I was some annoying pet he had to keep around.
"What if I want to see my family?" I asked.
"Scheduled visits. Pre-approved by my security team."
"What if I want to work?"
"You work for me now. Your job is being my wife."
"What if I want to go to school?"
"Not relevant to our arrangement."
Every answer made me madder. He was talking about controlling my entire life like I was his prisoner.
"Do you have any questions about the contract?" Alexander asked.
"Yeah, I have a question." I stood up so fast the chair almost fell over. "Do you think I'm some kind of robot like you?"
Alexander's head snapped up. For the first time since I walked in, he looked surprised.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me. You're sitting there talking about my life like you're buying a car. Two years of marriage, scheduled family visits, pre-approved everything. What's next? Do I need permission to go to the bathroom?"
Alexander's jaw tightened. "Miss Rodriguez, you seem to be confused about the nature of this arrangement."
"No, I think you're the one who's confused." My voice got louder with every word. "You might be rich and powerful, but that doesn't mean you get to treat people like garbage."
Alexander stood up slowly. He was tall, much taller than me, and suddenly the room felt smaller and more dangerous.
"I suggest you remember who you're talking to," he said quietly.
"I'm talking to a man who's so cold he probably has ice water in his veins instead of blood. A man who thinks he can buy people like they're things in a store."
"You came to me, Miss Rodriguez. You need this deal more than I do."
"You're right. I do need this deal. My brother is dying while we sit here playing power games. But that doesn't mean I'm going to let you walk all over me for two years."
Alexander walked around his desk until he was standing right in front of me. Up close, he was even more intimidating. His eyes were like frozen pools, and his face could have been carved from stone.
"Let me make something very clear," he said in a voice that could freeze hell. "I don't compromise. I don't negotiate. I don't care about your feelings or your opinions. You will follow my rules, or you will leave empty-handed."
"Then maybe you should find someone else to marry. Someone who'll bow down and kiss your feet and tell you how wonderful you are."
"There is no one else. I chose you because you need money and I need a wife. It's simple mathematics."
"Simple mathematics?" I laughed, but it wasn't a happy sound. "Is that what you call human beings? Math problems?"
Something flickered in Alexander's eyes. For just a second, I thought I saw something that looked almost like pain. But it disappeared so fast I might have imagined it.
"Miss Rodriguez, you're clearly not thinking clearly. Perhaps the stress of your brother's condition has affected your judgment."
That's when I completely lost it.
"Don't you dare bring my brother into this!" I shouted. "Carlos is worth a hundred of you! He's kind and funny and he cares about people. He'd never treat someone like they were worthless just because they need help!"
Alexander's face went completely white. His hands clenched into fists at his sides.
"You have exactly ten seconds to apologize," he said in a voice so cold it made me shiver.
"For what? For telling you the truth? For not pretending you're some kind of hero when you're really just a rich bully?"
"Five seconds."
"I'm not apologizing for standing up for myself. My mama raised me better than that."
Alexander's eyes flashed with something that looked like pure rage. He walked to his desk and pressed a button.
"Security to the executive floor immediately," he said into the intercom.
My heart stopped. "What are you doing?"
Alexander turned to look at me, and his face was like a mask of ice and fury.
"No one talks to me like that. Ever. Security will escort you from the building, and this deal is permanently canceled."
The room started spinning. Carlos's surgery. The restaurant. Everything was falling apart because I couldn't keep my mouth shut.
"Wait," I said, panic rising in my throat. "Please, I'm sorry. I didn't mean—"
"Too late, Miss Rodriguez. You've shown your true character, and it's not acceptable for my wife."
Heavy footsteps echoed in the hallway outside. Security was coming.
In thirty seconds, I'd be thrown out of this building and Carlos would die because I was too proud to let a billionaire treat me like dirt.
But as I stood there waiting for my world to end, I realized something that scared me more than losing the deal.
For just a moment, when I mentioned Carlos being kind and caring, I saw something crack in Alexander Kane's perfect mask.
And what I saw underneath looked like the loneliest person in the world.