Page 23 of The Exception

I could find ways to recycle old content as well as focus more on luxury brands. It was an option I’d been considering anyway. If I wanted to go back to it in the future, I could.

“That’s fine,” I said. “I’d slowly transition to doing my château YouStream full time.”

“Great. That’s settled, then.”Typical Graham. He was bulldozing right through each and every one of my objections. “And we could hire a project manager to help alleviate some of the stress there as well.”

I frowned. “This project is my baby.”

“I get that, but I would need you by my side for our relationship to seem credible. And with the right team in place and the resources, you wouldn’t have to babysit the project as much.”

Was I willing to sacrifice time at the château for Graham’s infusion of cash? If I wanted to complete the restoration, I wasn’t sure I had much of a choice. I was out of options, and what he was offering me…

Twenty million dollars.

My head spun. I couldn’t believe we were even discussing this or that I was actually considering it.

Am I considering it?

Part of me certainly was. The chance to see the château restored to its full potential was irresistible.

But if I agreed to this… If I married Graham, I wanted to know that he’d treat me as an equal. That he’d respect me and not try to control me or try to take over my project and make it part of his brand.

“I’d still want to be involved with the château,” I said. “Maybe we could agree to spend two weeks a month there.”

“Two weeks?” he scoffed. His expression conveyed skepticism.

“What? We’d split our time between LA and the Loire Valley. My work requires me to be there in person. And I’d be giving you two weeks in LA or wherever you need us to be.”

“Still…” He shook his head. “I can’t just up and leave LA for two weeks every month.”

“Why not?” I lifted my hands. “You have the money, and you’re the boss. You can do whatever the fuck you want.”

Something flared in his eyes. Anger?

“Actually, I can’t. If I want to move, I have to get board approval.”

“You’re not moving. Not permanently.”

“True,” he said, seeming to mull it over.

“Besides, taking an interest in your wife’s project would show that you’re not as selfish as everyone thinks you are.”

He hmphed.

“And it’s not like it’s a short flight.” Another reason to stay longer. Jet lag was a bitch. And an eleven-hour flight was no joke.

“There’s the time difference to consider,” he mused. “I’d have to make sure my meetings could be organized around it.”

I tried not to look too eager, but I was certainly hopeful. He was considering it instead of dismissing it outright.

“Besides,” I continued. “Wouldn’t it be nice to have a break from pretending for half of the month?”

The corner of his mouth tilted upward, the closest he’d come to a smile. “You make a good point. I’m confident we could find some sort of compromise, even if it’s not quite two weeks,” he said, easing some of my anxiety. “Perhaps ten days.”

More time at the château was preferable, but I could work with ten days. The fact that he was willing to consider it showed how desperate he was to make this happen.

Whywas he so desperate?

And why was I so eager to agree? Yes, I needed the money, but I was getting ahead of myself. There were so many unknowns. I’d spent a lot of time with Graham, but that was two years ago. People changed. He could’ve changed. And even if he hadn’t, there were things about this arrangement that gave me pause.

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