obeyed you without question my entire life because I know of the sacrifices you’ve made for our family, but an arranged marriage is out of the question.” He’d rather crawl across sizzling lava than become a bartered stud for the Song family. “Please reconsider, hal-muh-nee.”
“Min-ah.” As his grandmother addressed him by his Korean name, her stern features softened imperceptibly. “I arranged the match with your best interest at heart. Jihae is a lovely, accomplished child from a well-respected jae-bul family. She will make a good wife and mother.”
“My best interest? And it has nothing to do with having a jae-bul granddaughter-in-law who will bear you jae-bul grandchildren?” The only way to obtain the power and authority of a jae-bul—the rich, pseudoroyal families in Korea—was through birth or marriage. No matter how successful, the Songs were still part of the nouveaux riches, not a jae-bul family. “Grandmother, I respect our heritage and want the best for Hansol, but I could uphold our family name without a jae-bul wife.”
“Such insolence. Defying your elders.” She bowed her head and shook it slowly as though she was too ashamed to hold it up. “This is my fault. After your mother died, I did my best to raise you and your sister right, but it’s obvious I failed you.”
Garrett swallowed a roar of frustration. Reasoning and pleading wouldn’t get him anywhere with his grandmother. She was ruthless and obstinate, and she would hold her ground until it crumbled beneath her. It was time to reclaim his life.
“You haven’t failed. You raised us to stand up for ourselves and to fight for what we believe in.” His voice shook with colliding emotions. Taking a deep breath, he straightened his back. He wasn’t the scared young boy who’d lost his mom. He was a grown man and it was time his grandmother accepted it—even if he had to lie to get it across to her. “I’m already engaged to another woman, and I will fight for her.”
For the second time that evening, she was at a loss for words, but only for a moment. “Well, you need to tell the other woman the engagement is off. There is no harm done, yet. The press is unaware of either engagement.”
“No harm done? I was taught that honor should be upheld at all costs. Casting aside the woman I love to marry another with wealth and power is not honorable.”
“I am your grandmother. Do not presume to lecture me about honor.” Her slight figure trembled with outrage. “If you do not marry Jihae, I will stop you from ascending to the CEO position. Don’t forget I am the majority shareholder.”
“And I’m the most qualified CEO candidate, and the only one who could deliver the Vivotex partnership. If you vote against me, you’ll be voting against the company.” Garrett stood and bowed to her. “I’m keeping my promise to my fiancée. I trust you to act with Hansol’s best interest in mind.”
With those last words, he left the house with long, fast strides. There was rebelling and there was rebelling. He was surprised his grandmother hadn’t passed out. Then again, she wouldn’t be Grace Song if she showed weakness in the face of adversity.
Garrett planted his hands on the hood of his car as vertigo blurred his vision. Not only did he now have to find a fiancée, but he also had to marry her. If not executed flawlessly, his plan could split his family apart, and Hansol could take a blow. There was no room for error.
Once he secured the partnership with Vivotex, his grandmother wouldn’t oppose his CEO appointment. She would never put her personal agenda ahead of the good of the company. Hansol meant too much to her. But Garrett wasn’t safe from her interference with his personal life until he married his imaginary fiancée.
Where can I find the perfect bride? He slid into the driver’s seat with a mirthless laugh. Now there’s one question I never thought I’d ask myself. His brief dalliance with self-pity and panic ceased as he focused on how to pull this off. His partner in crime had to be someone discreet, practical and desperate enough to agree to a fake marriage. Simple. Raking his hand through his hair, he stepped on the accelerator and made a sharp left, heading toward Melrose.
A real marriage was the last thing Garrett wanted to inflict on himself. It made little difference whether it was an arranged union or a love match. Marriage was a senseless gamble. He would never risk the kind of love that could break a man and his family.
When Garrett drove onto Melrose, the traffic stopped, killing any breeze he was able to enjoy. As soon as he saw the club’s valet sign, he shot out of his car and tossed the key to the parking attendant.
He grimaced as he stepped into the meat market known as Le Rêve, and headed for the private VIP room. Garrett usually steered clear of places like this, but Nobu was a widower who thrived on the kind of excitement Le Rêve had to offer.
Garrett was relieved the VIP room was empty. But the civil war he’d instigated with his grandmother wrapped him in a fog of anger. How had it to come to this? He pinched the bridge of his nose as tension built in his temples. When his phone buzzed in his back pocket, he sighed with resignation, knowing it was Nobu canceling.
I’m tied up in a work emergency. Not getting out of here until past midnight. My apologies. I owe you one.
Garrett was officially off the clock. He huffed a humorless laugh. If he married that Korean heiress, he would never be off the clock. Even the most intimate aspects of his life would be intertwined with Hansol. He was tempted to grab a stiff drink, but he didn’t get drunk in public and rarely did so in private. Control was much too valuable, but tonight, his was dangerously close to shattering.
Where the hell would he find his convenient bride?
The cool silk of the dress caressed Natalie’s bare skin as she inched forward in line. She winced at the reminder that a slip of fabric was all that stood between the world and her rear end. Sighing, she crossed “going commando” off her bucket list.
“You. Lady in red.”
When no one stepped up, she craned her neck to peer behind her. Maybe the bouncer meant the blonde in hot pink? After three seconds, Natalie realized he meant her.
“Come on through, gorgeous.” His smirk was a tooth short of a leer.
According to her internet research, Le Rêve’s Hulk look-alike bouncers upheld the less-is-more philosophy. Her dress was definitely less. The strap of her scarlet mini flowed into a bodice that exposed a third of her right breast, and the back of her dress... Well, there wasn’t one. Natalie didn’t recognize herself in the mirror, especially with her dramatic eye makeup, but she couldn’t afford to be modest. Getting in mattered too much, especially as it was a Friday night and everyone was dressed to kill.
Forcing a smile, she sashayed past Hulk Number One and ascended the steep staircase in her four-inch stilettos. Natalie reached the top without falling on her face or mooning the crowd. Yes-s-s. She pulled back her elbow in a discreet fist pump.
Lily Davis had called at 4:00 a.m., sobbing and hiccupping a jumble of words, including “Sophie,” “high fever” and “vomiting.” Natalie had instructed Sophie’s grandparents to take the baby to the nearest emergency room from their hotel and rushed over to meet them. By the time the doctor explained that it was a twenty-four-hour virus a lukewarm bath would’ve eased,
