Vincent Carlisle couldn't believe his luck. The perfect partner for his plan had fallen directly into his lap and actually agreed to his rather outrageous terms despite not being exactly what he expected her to be.
He didn't normally frequent coffee shops; he preferred avoiding other people when he could. But a few months ago, he had been out on an errand he couldn't avoid by ordering things online for once after pulling an all-nighter trying to build something.
His usual single cup of coffee at home using a rather excellent multipurpose coffee maker didn't suffice. He needed more fuel than that so he got another large dark roasted coffee and a cherry cheesecake danish to help perk him up before he got back to work.
That was when he first saw Maya. She had a perfect customer service smile on but he could tell that she was strangling the customer in her head. He had always been perceptive about things like that in a way the people around him weren't.
Vincent found himself intrigued by the disparity. She looked and acted completely cordial despite how furious she was. That took talent.
He couldn't help but wonder if she was like him so he ventured out of his house and came back. Then again. And again. Days turned to weeks turned to months and the more he observed, the more he felt that his original hunch had been correct.
Maya the Barista resented the world. And she had every reason to after being blacklisted from her field. He didn't know her last name so he had to do a bit of digging but it wasn't hard. There weren't any other architects in this area named Maya.
He didn't plan on doing anything with this information aside from continuing to observe until he overheard she was deeply in debt and considering becoming a stripper to pay it off. That reeked of desperation to him.
Money hadn't been a problem for him in years but he could remember the desperation of not knowing where his next meal would come from or if he would have a roof over his head as a child. That was when he started wondering if he could buy her off.
An architect would be incredibly useful to have in his pocket. Especially one that was grateful and indebted to him. But it wasn't as if he could simply offer her a bribe to build what he wanted. She might get called upon to testify against him; she did have a history as a whistleblower already.
No, Vincent needed a more trusting business relationship than that. If she was as materialistic as her debt suggested, he could offer her the luxurious lifestyle she craved.
Humanity was inherently selfish. If something benefited them, they weren't likely to let go of it. She had probably learned her lesson after the whistleblowing incident and wouldn't be likely to make the same mistake twice. Especially with how desperate she was for cash.
If he took care of all of her material needs and gave her access to more money than she could ever spend, that should foster loyalty. But he also wanted to keep her close by in case things went south the way they did with his last architect.
In this country, a person could not legally be subpoenaed to testify against their spouse. He could use that kind of security. Having a loyal architect that knew how to keep their mouth shut around full time would be an added bonus.
Vincent had never harbored the slightest interest in women. In his mind, they were weak-willed creatures that were only in it for themselves. His mother certainly had been.
He had never been interested in them either emotionally or physically. The ability to create was all he needed to be satisfied with life. Maya was the first woman that even managed to capture his attention in any capacity.
At first, he was surprised she didn't jump immediately at his offer. She was more skeptical than a moneygrubber should have been. Her skepticism and general wariness as they spoke rather than simply dismissing him as crazy made him wonder what exactly she had seen that made her resent the world so much. There had to be more to it than simply being blacklisted.
Then he found out she was living in a women's shelter. It was the exact same one he had stayed in with his mother when he was five years old. He remembered it so well it was permanently branded to his brain.
There was definitely a tragic story there that contributed to her resentment. After finding out about her identity being stolen, he realized he had underestimated her.
Maya Dean wasn't materialistic in the slightest. She was a survivor. Of what he wasn't sure but he was willing to bet it was something horrific. Even better. Those who had seen more of the ugly side of the world than most didn't care if it burned down.
She wasn't terribly talkative—he appreciated that since most women he met were full of nothing but useless blather—and seemed in awe of his house. As if she had never imagined such things could even be possible. Definitely not materialistic.
Vincent told her that she could contact him if she needed something but she never bothered. He was able to work in peace while she figured things out on her own. He noticed that she summoned Martin because he vanished from the garage for a while. She was getting comfortable there already.
That was good news for him. If she liked it here, she wouldn't want to leave. That she wanted to do her own thing on the day they got married rather than expecting him to pay attention to her was even better news.
He had said she was the top candidate on a list but that was a lie. He never would have entertained the notion of getting married if it wasn't the most effective way to tie a trustworthy partner-in-crime to him.
Vincent was only ever interested in Maya Dean for her skills and her barely concealed resentment of the world and the life she found herself trapped in. Considering how relieved she had seemed with the promises he didn't want anything physical from her, it seemed they were truly well-matched.
She was talented, cynical, and most likely not a romantic considering she had agreed to this proposal in the first place and had only been watching action movies today. He could see what she was watching since she was using his streaming service account.
Being married would get all of those gold diggers out of his hair too. No matter how few public appearances he made, determined people still tried to nose their way into his life. It was why he avoided going out as much as possible.
He needed to make an announcement of some sort. Since he wasn't a part of the social media craze—he had absolutely no one he desired to be in contact with—the only way he could make that happen was to make a public appearance in a place he knew would have journalists. What a bother.
Vincent sighed and took a brief break to check his email since what he was trying to build wasn't cooperating with him anyway. He pulled it up on the virtual screens in front of him and saw that all of the usual charities he donated to were trying to get more money out of him again.
He researched each one carefully before bothering to donate in order to ensure the money was actually going where they said it was. There were so many scammers nowadays that would do anything to line their pockets.
Despicable. People who thought they were doing something to help someone else were actually paying for a selfish, greedy person's second vacation home.
Domestic violence had gained a lot more awareness lately. Donating to a charity he knew handled those matters discreetly without breaching victims' privacy or infringing on their dignity should work. There ought to be at least a few reporters there who could spread rumors around.
That would mean buying wedding rings and an evening gown though. How bothersome. He hadn't wanted to leave the house again before the fundraising gala but would need to in order to size things.
Vincent noticed while holding her hands earlier that Maya's fingers were incredibly slim. Her ring size was probably an unusually small one.
At least it wasn't for another week and a half. He had time to get all of this taken care of and potentially get started on his biggest project yet. He might be a genius but no one could pull off a plan to take over the world alone.
He hoped that his wife was up to the task…and didn't question things too much until she was in too deep to ever want to leave. He would do anything to keep such a valuable pawn by his side.