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“This is your house?” I try to sound nonchalant but the size of my eyes as I look around give me away. I lean toward the window, craning my neck to take in the magnitude of the estate.
“It is.” He’s already opening his door and getting out the second the car pulls into a massive garage. He walks around to my door, opening it and holding out his hand to me. I reach forward, my fingers delicately gracing his before yanking my hand back.
“Wait.” I look up at him nervously. “I don’t even know your name.”
“Atlas Knight.” He extends his hand out toward me again.
I take it. “Stella Porter.” I smile and he shakes my hand before helping me out of the car. His other arm is behind me, his hand coming to rest at the small of my back as he ushers me toward a door that I assume leads to the house. I’m suddenly very self-aware that I’m in my work uniform. My jeans are still peppered with flour, a few coffee stains on my pale-blue polo, and I’m sure my makeup is half-melted off along with my hair that’s fallen down.
“This way.” Atlas gestures as we walk through a long hallway with vaulted ceilings. Wooden beams stretch the entire length of the ceiling. We pass a kitchen that looks like it could be featured in Architecture Digest, complete with a massive La Cornue oven. We round another corner and walk down another hallway until we reach a massive wooden door that he pushes open. “My home office.”
Office? Weird place to discuss a date. I take in the room, trying not to gawk or seem overly impressed when it feels like I could spend hours exploring in this place.
“Please, have a seat.” He gestures to two large leather chairs that are placed exactly opposite his desk. He stands next to his chair, unbuttoning his suit coat and taking a seat. I follow his lead, plopping down almost unceremoniously.
“So, Mr. Knight, what did you want to discuss with me?” I try to flutter my eyelids, crossing one leg over the other as I tilt my head.
Do I sound flirty? I want to sound flirty. Hell, I want to toss everything off his desk and crawl across it like I’ve seen in movies. Grab him by the tie and tug it until his lips are?—
“Straight to business, I like that. How old are you, Miss Porter?”
“Twenty-four,” I say. “Why? How old are you?”
Completely ignoring my question, his eyes narrow on me, like he’s trying to figure me out or perhaps he’s second-guessing asking me here. Maybe he thought I was older than I am. But then he joins his hands together in front of him, placing them on the desk as he leans slightly forward.
“I need to get married, Miss Porter, and I want you to be my wife.”
Chapter 4
Atlas
Her lips part, a smile taking over her face as she lifts her hand to stifle her laugh. She thinks I’m joking, something I expected to happen. “And here I was worried you were going to murder me or something.”
I remain stoic, my expression conveying that despite the insanity of this revelation, I am, in fact, not joking.
“Wait.” Her smile fades, her eyes widening as she juts her chin slightly forward. “You’re serious.” It’s not a question, but more of a statement.
“Completely.”
“You don’t even know me.”
“I know enough,” I reply. I understand that I do have the upper hand in this situation, not only because of money and status, but because I’ve been watching Stella since that first night I saw her at Freddy’s. I continued going back every Thursday night, sitting perfectly behind the spotlight so she doesn’t recognize that I’m the same man who orders the same black coffee from her every Friday morning.
“Who even are you?”
“I told you, Atlas Knight.”
“But who are you?” she says again as she stands and gestures around my office. “This house alone is like American royalty or something, you realize that, right?”
“I’m a businessman who came from money and has made even more money is all.”
“Is all?” she questions as she walks over to one of the massive windows to the left of my desk. She lifts the gold tassel tie back on the velvet drapes that frame the window.
I stand from my desk, stepping around it and sliding my hands into my pockets. “Like my father before me, I am the CEO of Knight Enterprises, only he actually founded the company.” The tassel falls from her hand.
“Holy shit. Knight Enterprises, as in the name stamped on the back and bottom of every product on the shelf?” I nod. “So you’re a multibillionaire, not just a businessman?”
“Something like that.” I shrug.
