by Sam Crescent
Published by EVERNIGHT PUBLISHING ® at Smashwords
www.evernightpublishing.com
Copyright© 2019 Sam Crescent
ISBN: 978-1-77339-963-8
Cover Artist: Jay Aheer
Editor: Karyn White
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
THE MARRIAGE SACRIFICE
Sam Crescent
Copyright © 2019
Chapter One
If Sage Boyle had to listen to her mother flirt with her supposed fiancé one more time, she was going to throw up. Her mother was in her fifties whereas Dominick Duke was thirty-three years old. Not that it was a problem with her mother going after a much younger man—her husband of twenty-four years was sitting right beside her.
Sage sipped at her drink while trying to ignore the embarrassment that was her parents. It wasn’t like her father cared, as he’d spent the entire lunch checking out the female waitresses’ asses. This was why she avoided her parents at all costs, that, and the shiny ring on her finger. Instead of sitting in this restaurant just to be seen, at her parents’ demand, she could really do with going home and working. She had a self-imposed deadline, and so far, she was on schedule, but her parents seemed to be determined to work against her.
All of this was fake anyway, just like her relationship had always been with her parents. She finished off her water, which had been poured into a wine glass as her mother didn’t want to look like a drunk.
“Well, this has all been nice. I really do need to get going,” she said.
“Oh, honey, all of that shopping can wait. Please, stay with us. You know how we miss you. We can’t stand for you to be away.”
The “shopping trip” was in fact the Friday afternoon she went and helped at the homeless shelter. She offered out clean clothes, and also served in the kitchen. Her mother hated her charity duties. She thought it was beneath a woman of her station.
Sage could do without the social climbing today.
“I’m sorry. Those branded bags won’t buy themselves.” Sage had never taken to shopping. Her mother had tried so many times, but she just found it all boring. There was so much more to do with life than shop.
Sliding out of her seat, she rounded the table, kissing her mother on the cheek, then her father.
“Goodbye,” she said.
“How about I come with you?” Dominic, or Dom, to most of his friends, asked. They were of course friends she’d never been allowed to see or to talk to. She and Dom were engaged to be married, but it was one that had been organized by their parents.
She didn’t want to marry Dom, or anyone else for that matter. There was a time she had hoped to have her own life far away from the demands of her parents, but that didn’t look like it was happening any time soon.
“I’m sure you’d be very bored,” she said.
“I need a new belt.” Dom wiped his lips before throwing down the napkin. “I think we should spend some time together. Allow the press to get a few shots. I’ve had several newspapers get in touch telling me how little time I spend with my woman.” He placed a hand at her back.
“Brilliant idea,” her father said.
Where her mother hated all of her charity work, her father was the opposite. He slept around with any woman who would have him, but he was the most supportive of her choices, which did always surprise her.
“Dad?”
“It’s for the best, honey. It’s time you and Dom here started to act like an engaged couple. You know what it means for everyone to uphold that image. Have fun, you two. I’ll take care of the bill.”
She glanced over at Dom and saw his jaw was clenched.
One thing Sage didn’t want was conflict, and for some reason, she believed these two men were close to coming to blows.
“Let’s go,” she said.
Without waiting for Dom, she headed for the exit, thanking the maître d’ as she passed. She didn’t arrive by car; she walked. Yes, if her parents knew, they would be so ashamed.
Growing up in a world where she was constantly on view was so tiring, but she had grown used to it. Once the press realized she wasn’t a party animal and following her around was boring, they found another daughter of a wealthy family to go and pressure.
“Wait up,” Dominic said.
“Look, I don’t know what it is you want to do, but it’s not spending the afternoon with me.”
“What’s wrong with me wanting to spend some time with you?” he asked.
She sighed. “I know this marriage is just some business contract. I don’t want any part of it.”
“You think I do?”
“Our parents are the ones that negotiated this. I don’t care what you think. I just want to carry on with my life, and it doesn’t mean hanging out with you.” She spun on her heel and began walking. The shoes she wore were biting and impossible to walk in.
Moving to the wall, she placed her hand on the brick work, kicking them off. The moment she felt the solid pavement she breathed a sigh of relief.
One good thing about having a large handbag was she could hide her sneakers inside. Her mother would be having a fit right about now as she slid them on her feet. She lost a good couple of inches and had to look up to Dom now, but at least she had comfort. That was all that mattered.
She had known Dom for so long now, since they were kids. He was older than she was, and most of the time he couldn’t stand to be around her. She’d been a tomboy, and he’d been … a loner.
“You carry a change of shoes?”
“I’m not one of these magical women that can stand to wear such high shoes. Wow, they feel so good.”
“They’re not even designer.”
“Dom, I’ll let you in on a little secret, I don’t give a fuck about designer or brands or anything that my parents want me to. In fact, I have no interest in going shopping. I’ve got plenty of clothes and shoes to last me a lifetime. Shopping is boring.”
“What are you going to do then?”
“That is none of your business.”
“If you’re off to see a lover boy, it is my business.”
She stopped and turned toward him. “Excuse me? How the hell do you figure that?”
“That’s my ring on your finger. It makes it my business.”
“Oh, I don’t want to talk to you right now.” She started to walk away. They hadn’t said more than two words to each other since she was forced to put his ring on her finger. There was no way she was going to listen to him right now.
“You’re not going to get rid of me that easily.”
“Shame.”
“Come on, Sage, you’re not still pissed at me, are you?” he asked.
She spun on her heel and glared at him. “We had a deal, you and I. You promised me years ago when we first found out that we were destined to be man and wife that you’d fix it. You’re the man, and my father will only listen to you. Believe me, I’d have fixed it if I could.”
“I will.”
“How? Getting engaged is not going to fix anything. I trusted you, and now we’re here. My mom has a wedding planner. There is no way out of this. Not with my mom involved.” She shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about this. I don’t want to do anything with this.” She held onto her bag tighter as she crossed the road. There were no cars,
but she didn’t want to take her time and risk getting knocked over by a car.
“I tried,” Dom said, still following her.
“Not hard enough because I wouldn’t be part of any wedding planning or anything else.” She didn’t want him following her all the way to the homeless shelter. This was what she did for herself, not for him or her family to invade what she loved to do. They would only spoil it. “Please stop following me. I don’t know what it is that you want, but I’m really not interested. I get that we’re supposed to be married in a couple of months, but I really don’t want to play the doting fiancée. So please, stop.”
She stared at him and took a step back. Then another and another, until he didn’t follow her and she was able to get to the shelter without thinking about Dom, her parents, or the wedding that was being dubbed one of the best of the year, complete with celebrities and all the other crap it entailed. Once she had put her bag in the locker in the back of the shelter, she rushed toward the kitchen where Billy was already mixing up the soup. She loved to cook, no surprise there, but feeding the homeless was also enjoyable. Helping others was what she lived for.
It certainly wasn’t shopping, buying more bags than she’d ever use, or spending her parents’ money. She earned her living, much to her parents’ disgust. She didn’t need a husband, and she certainly didn’t need Dominick Duke in her life.
He was one man she would gladly do without.
****
Dom stared out of his office window. As always, he was on the top floor, looking over the city. He didn’t know how many people did this, just took the time to see the world. Not that he had the time. Not with Sage refusing to take his calls, or making this wedding any easier.
He’d discovered his parents’ merger via marriage when she was sixteen years old. He’d been able to put them off until now. They wanted this merger. His father’s company was in a financial crisis, and his father said that he’d waited long enough. He had to be married to the Boyle girl before the end of the year.
The only problem was he and Sage had never seen eye to eye. Where he’d embraced the playboy lifestyle, loving lavish parties, and jet-setting around the world with a new woman on his arm every single night, Sage was the complete opposite. For one, she made her own income without her parents’ backing. She’d become an author of some really sexy, sensual books.
She wasn’t a huge bestseller nor would you find her books in a random store, but she did make a good living, just not one that could afford her all the designer clothes and first-class air tickets.
Then of course, there was the fact she never wanted those things. As a kid, he often saw her in dungarees, out exploring wherever she could be. She was never the kind of girl to play dress up or pretend to be a princess.
He’d watched her during one of their parties as she used the front path outside of her house to ride a bike. No one was there to see her or help. She would fall down, scrape her hands and knees, but not once did she cry, nor did she give up. She got back on that bike and rode it for the entire weekend until he watched her riding around with this huge smile on her face.
That had always been Sage. She never gave up.
She took every single day in her stride, always finding happiness and exuding a life that her parents always tried to blow out. She never succumbed to their brand though. She always fought back, never allowing them to take control.
He ran a hand over his face.
He had promised that same woman he would find a way out of any potential wedding they may have to face. Only, he’d fucked up.
His father had fucked up, more specifically. In the space of two years of bad investments, their company was facing collapse, and what had he been doing? Bedding every woman who looked his way and taking for granted his life would never change.
He had fucked up.
It was now up to him to not only get the company out of the red, but to also have it thriving once again. The only way to do that was to marry Sage. He’d gone to her father, only for him to say the money and means would be there so long as he married Sage.
He’d broken his promise because the business always came first.
Dom was drawn out of his thoughts by his office door opening. His PA knew he didn’t like to be disturbed. Alice was usually good at keeping people out of his way, especially now. She’d been with the company for a long time, since she was twenty, and now at sixty, she still wasn’t talking about retiring. He adored her as she knew everything about this company, and she had tried to warn him months beforehand, but he didn’t listen because he’d been one cocky bastard that needed to learn a lesson.
“I’m so sorry, Dom,” Alice said.
“You do know your staff should call you Mr. Duke or sir,” Johnson Boyle said.
“She can call me whatever I want. Thank you, Alice.”
“Is there anything you’d like?” she asked.
“A cup of coffee please.” He forced a smile to his lips, waiting for her to close the door. “Why are you here?” he asked the moment the door was closed.
“That’s no way to greet your future father-in-law.”
Walking around his desk, he sat down in his chair, staring across at Johnson. In all the years he’d known him, he didn’t understand why his father even liked him. They were always competing. Even their firms were constantly being switched from first to second place for their profit and survival, until his father fucked it up.
“You don’t care about being my father-in-law. Cut the crap. What do you want?”
“Actually, I do care. Believe it or not, Dom, I happen to care a lot about my daughter.”
“If that was the case, we wouldn’t be in the throes of organizing a wedding. As you can see, we are doing exactly that.” He’d already been faxed about the tailors he now needed to vet in order to get his suit ready.
This wedding, whether he or Sage liked it, was going to happen. He personally didn’t mind the prospect of being married to Sage. She wasn’t like the women he usually dated or slept with. Whenever he’d been in her company, which wasn’t often, he’d always found her enjoyable. Sure, she hated being in the limelight and often avoided it. This wedding was making her harder to pin down.
He’d tried on multiple occasions to secure a date or a lunch, or even a breakfast with her. If she wasn’t working, she had disappeared to some other location, or one of the endless charities she worked at.
“My problem is this wedding isn’t happening fast enough, Dom. I’ve given you my daughter. I know Sage is an intelligent, strong-willed young woman. I also know she doesn’t have what it takes to be the one to head my company.”
“Why not? She would be damn good,” he said. He’d be able to work with Sage as they merged.
“She hates corporation and business. It’s why she writes her silly books and tries to right the world of all the wrongs. I think we paid the wrong nanny to raise her. She’s always been too strong for her own good. Well, I know married to you, my company will be going to a man who can make the decisions. The sooner this happens, the better.” Johnson stood up, pulling out a piece of paper. “Here are all the details of where you’ll find Sage. She is … always on the go. I don’t know where she gets the energy, but she does.” He chuckled.
“Why?” Dom asked.
“Excuse me?”
Dom stared down at the paper in his hand. “You’re so invested in this. Your company is the best in the country, if not the world. You could pick anyone to run it. Why me?”
“You’re close, Dom. You know that.”
“My father won’t tell me why you picked me. We’re your rival company.”
“But we’re also friends. You need to stop reading too much into the semantics of this, and just do as you’re told.” Johnson pointed at the paper. “Make my daughter fall in love with you, get down the aisle, and you will not be hurting for the cash I know you need for the Booker deal.”
Dom stared at Johnson.
The Booker deal wa
s one of the biggest contracts they’d been handed in years. It was the chance to market and distribute for the main beauty supplier, which could be worth billions. He’d had to fend off plenty of offers to make his contract the best. The only problem was when he’d been negotiating a worldwide distribution, Duke’s hadn’t been on the verge of collapse. If he could keep the company afloat for the roll out, he wouldn’t need the merger with Boyle. If Johnson knew about it, there was a risk of Booker going elsewhere, and he couldn’t afford that. There was no way they would survive.
“How do you know about that?”
“Dom, you’re a good businessman. Your father has taught you well, but you need to know that every single one of your competitors always knows something. You always have to stay one step ahead. Remember what I told you. I’ll leave the Booker deal alone if you get my daughter down the aisle by the end of the month.”
“End of the month, that’s two weeks away.” He needed the Booker deal.
“I know. I thought you were a man with a sweet tongue, who could charm the pants off any woman. Let’s see you at work.” Johnson left without another word.
As he stared down at the paperwork, a ball of rage began to unfurl in his stomach. He slammed his hand across the desk, throwing his computer to the floor. He picked up a vase and launched it across the room, watching it smash.
“It can’t be that bad,” Alice said, stepping into the room.
Dom collapsed back into his chair, still holding the fucking piece of paper. “It’s worse. I’ve got to make a girl fall in love with me in less than two weeks, as otherwise all of this is gone.”
“Have you ever thought about telling her the truth?” Alice asked.
“No. I’m not going to do that. She doesn’t care about all of this. She won’t care.”
“But—”