Page 98 of Hired Husband

He chuckled, inclining his chin as he finally crossed the office and sat back down in the chair he’d vacated. “The thing is that you’re no idiot, Isaac. Especially when it comes to your work. We all know how much you’ve hated being trapped at Thayer and that you’ve been wanting to branch out. Hell, you even engineered our pillow forts when we were kids. No one was dumb enough to believe you wanted to be confined to the family business for the rest of your life.”

I swallowed hard. “I didn’t realize it was that obvious.”

He shrugged. “It is, so why aren’t you taking this project? I’m done guessing, Isaac. I know you well enough to know that you would never turn your back on something like this unless you had a really fucking good reason, so what is it?”

I closed my eyes. All week long, I’d been pretending everyone else was missing the point. I’d danced around their questions and acted like I was being all noble for doing it, but it was bullshit.

“I fell in love with Jasmine Saad.” I opened my eyes and looked back at my brother just in time to see his jaw drop. “Don’t ask me how it happened, but it did. I fell hard and fast, and unfortunately, she’s in love with me too.”

“How is that a problem?” His eyebrows shot up. “I know you’ve never thought of yourself as the marrying type, but⁠—”

I snorted back a bark of dry laughter. “I’d marry her in a heartbeat if it was an option, man. It’s just not, and it gets worse. If I take that job, she has to marry another man.”

He gaped at me. “What?”

I nodded. “Joseph and I didn’t win the bid outright. GlobalStar’s board said our design was too ambitious, so they gave the project to someone else. Someone who has no experience, but whose father goes back a long way with Basel. The guy’s family needs the money. It doesn’t matter how he gets it.”

Agitation shot through me for having to say all this out loud. “He told Basel he’d withdraw his bid if Jasmine agrees to marry him. She knows our money is gone, and she also knows what this project can do for my career, so…”

Ryan stared at me, then clapped his hands and stood up. “Right. We’ve got to go back to Egypt. Now. You need to put an end to all this.”

I scoffed. “Did you not hear what I said?”

“No, I did, and that’s exactly why we’re not going to let it go down that way.” He grimaced. “Do you really want Dad’s drama to ruin the rest of your life? Because from where I’m sitting, that’s exactly what’s happening.”

“No, what’s happening is⁠—”

“Do you honestly believe Jasmine Saad gives a damn that you’re not the heir to a fortune that doesn’t even exist anymore? Seriously, if that girl loves you enough to throw her entire life away, you’re not going to let her do that.”

“Well, when you put it that way…” I trailed off, suddenly realizing that he’d been right all along. “I am a fucking idiot.”

Jasmine did love me that much. She knew who I was and what I could offer, and she’d still stepped into the firing line—for me. Of course, I couldn’t let her do that.

He grinned. “That’s the spirit.”

I was already standing, grabbing my jacket off the back of my chair as urgency ripped through me like wildfire. “I just really, really hope that this doesn’t make things worse for her.”

“Worse than marrying some dude she doesn’t love who only wants her for her money?” He snorted. “It doesn’t get much worse than that.”

“True.” My heart raced as I thought about what I was about to do. I just prayed that it wasn’t already too late. “Okay, let’s go.”

Ryan opened my office door, then paused to look back at me. “Uh, I’m all for this, obviously, but what exactly are we going to do?”

I thought it over for exactly two seconds before I picked up my phone. “We need Colin. Get him back in here. He said Alex’s jet is waiting, right? Let’s just hope it’s fueled up and ready to go. We need to pack.”

CAHPTER 40

JASMINE

On the third outfit change of yet another photo shoot, I didn’t even feel the fake smiles anymore. My face was on autopilot, just giving the photographer what he asked for without any conscious thought involved.

“Beautiful, Jasmine.” A flurry of clicks echoed through the studio. “Tilt your chin a little. Perfect!” More clicks. “Okay, now turn.”

I shifted my weight, looked over my shoulder, and produced that same practiced, aloof smile I’d been using for years. It had never been more detached from what was happening in my head than it was right now, but thankfully, no one seemed to notice.

The photographer beamed at me and a few more clicks followed before he lowered his camera. “Alright, let’s take a five-minute break and reset.”

Relief swept through me. I relaxed my cheeks, stepping away from the lights, feeling like I was finally free to breathe again. One of the assistants handed me a bottle of water while the photographer barked orders to prepare the next setup.