Roman POV ...
When we pulled into the garage and came to a stop, two footmen opened the doors for me and Hannah, and Geoffrey greeted us as we entered the house.
"Welcome home, sir," Geoffrey said.
"Thank you, Geoffrey," I said as he closed the door behind us. "I'm taking my guest up to the Emerald room. I'll meet you in the main family room shortly."
"Yes, sir," Geoffrey said. I led Hannah down the corridor past the kitchen. When I glanced at her she was taking in the decor and her surroundings.
"Hungry?" I asked her.
"A little," she said.
"OK, I'll show you to your room so that you can shower, then I'll have Geoffrey bring you some food and clothes," I told her, leading her down a wide corridor and to the elevator.
"Excuse me for asking," Hannah said, "but you have clothes my size just lying around?"
I smirked at the insinuation. "I have a cousin, Lauren, who visits often," I told her.
"She usually leaves a bunch of stuff here."
Hannah nodded, and we got into the elevator, riding to the second floor in silence.
I led her to the Emerald Room at the end of the corridor and opened the door for her. "If you need me, I'll be in the main family room," I told her. "I'm going to contact Freddy and let him know what's going on."
Hannah didn't enter the room immediately. Instead, she held the contract up in front of me.
"It doesn't matter if you send me home," she said. "We still have to get married, Roman."
I didn't think I would ever get tired of hearing her say my name.
She handed me the Contract.
"If we're not married in three months, I become the express property of The Auction House again," she told me. I didn't know what to say to her as I stared at the contract in my hand. "If we don't meet the terms of the contract, my father will make sure that I'm sold again - or worse, he'll sell my little sister."
I rubbed a hand over my face. What the hell had I gotten us into? I met her gaze. "Go ahead and shower," I told her again. "l have food and clean clothes sent up to you."
She stepped into the room and then turned to face me. Her green eyes were bright yet serious. "You should read the contract," she said to me. I nodded and she closed the door gently between us.
F*ck, I thought. This was too much. I needed
a drink. Making my way back to the elevator,
I took it down to the main floor and walked
to the family room, where Geoffrey met me.
"Make sure that my guest gets anything
that she needs," I told Geoffrey. "She's in the
Emerald Room. She'll need something to eat
and some clothes of Lauren's."
"Yes, sir," Geoffrey said before leaving the
room.
I turned on the projector television and clicked on my favorite alternative music playlist. Once the room was filled with music, I dropped the contract on the coffee table and walked to the bar, pouring myself a shot of bourbon. I downed the shot and poured another. This was supposed to be simple: drop a few million to save a woman and help her get back home.
It wasn't working out that way.
I downed my shot and put the bottle of bourbon along with my empty glass on the coffee table next to the contract. I slipped off my shoes and made myself comfortable on the sofa, staring at the contract. If I called Freddy and he didn't know anything about what just happened to Hannah, I would just stir up trouble. I needed the opinion of an unbiased third party who I trusted.
I slipped my phone out of my pocket and dialed my cousin's number. Lifting the phone to my ear, it began to ring. I knew Lauren would be awake. She was a known night owl.
"Hey, Roman, what's up?" Lauren answered the phone.
"Hey," I said, lifting my empty shot glass from the coffee table. "I need a bit of advice."
"Sure, is something wrong?" Lauren asked.
"Sort of," I said, twirling the empty shot glass between my fingers. "Can you stop by tomorrow? This is something that will have to be discussed in person."
"Oh, God, Roman," Lauren groaned. "You can't just call me and ask for advice without giving me a hint at the problem at least."
I rolled my eyes. If I had called a guy friend, he would have just agreed to meet tomorrow, no questions asked. "I have a friend that I want you to meet," I said vaguely.
"A friend?" Lauren asked. "I need more information than that, Roman, spill it."
"A female friend," I said. "Look, it's complicated and it's sensitive. I need to think. See you tomorrow?"
"This should be interesting," Lauren said, and I could hear her smile through the phone. "Roman has girl problems. See you tomorrow."
I hung up the phone and poured another shot of bourbon, trying to decide what to tell Lauren and how I expected her to be able to help me and Hannah.
Geoffrey entered the family room. "Sir, I had a maid take care of everything for your guest," Geoffrey said.
"Good, thank you, Geoffrey," I said without looking up at him. The alcohol was kicking in and the buzz was helping to relieve a bit of stress.
"Will you be needing anything else, sir?" Geoffrey asked me. I glanced up at him.
Geoffrey wasn't one to openly display emotions like worry, and he also wasn't one to pry. I could see the curiosity in his dark gaze, the willingness to help me however he could, but now was not the time. I just needed to think.
"I'll be fine, Geoffrey," I said. "That'll be all."
"Very well, sir," Geoffrey said before leaving the room.
I could feel the presence of the contract drawing energy from me as it lay seemingly innocently on the coffee table. I placed my empty shot glass on the coffee table and picked up the contract. Glancing through the first section of the document that Hannah had read to me was sickening.
I tossed the contract back onto the table and poured another shot of bourbon.
My plan to go to the FBI and shut The Auction House down was a non-option at this point. Human trafficking was illegal, therefore the contract had no legal authority.
It would never hold up in court, but the very existence of the contract was one way that Fitzgerald could keep pressure on his clients and maintain the secrecy of his sick business. If his clients squealed, he would have no qualms about ruining their lives. He wanted to make sure we knew that. The idea of sending Hannah back home was out of the question.
Court Macalester had certainly shown himself to be a ruthless man without a conscience. Am I thinking about sending her back to selfishly get rid of her? I asked myself.
Hannah Macalester was a gorgeous, intelligent woman who knew how to make a man fall to his knees. Just thinking about her green eyes, her red hair, and her perfect body filled me with an aching desire for her.
I downed my shot and poured another. If drank too much, I wouldn't be able to think. If I didn't drink enough, I'd be able to feel too much emotion.
I leaned back on the sofa and closed my eyes. Hannah told me that the contract required a marriage in three months. How did I go from a carefree, single, twenty-five-year-old to a young man who had purchased a future bride on accident?
Was I really going to make Hannah Macalester my wife? I opened my eyes and grabbed the shot from the table, tossing it back and pouring another. My friends were joking about me getting married just a few hours earlier at the club. Now I was coming face-to-face with the reality. Hannah wasn't a one-night stand or even my girlfriend; she was technically my fiancée, my future wife.
I pulled out my phone and searched for quick weddings. The first few links were for businesses offering fast wedding services.
Those were followed by a link to the local Courthouse for marriage services. I tossed my phone onto the sofa beside me and closed my eyes, pressing the heels of my hands into my closed eyes.
I can't handle this, I thought. I'm not ready for a wife. Opening my eyes, I leaned back on the sofa and stared up at the dimmed LCD lights on the ceiling. I could barely grasp the concept of the word "wife."
Thinking back to the car ride here, Hannah seemed reluctant to even talk to me. Unless it was to point out the fact that, like an idiot, I hadn't read The Auction House's contract. I glanced at the contract on the coffee table.
Screw it, I thought, picking up the document to read it. I scanned through the pages, seeing what Hannah had mentioned. What she had not mentioned was the extra month to ensure an heir or the fact that her doctor had signed a document to verify her virginity.
I placed the document on the table again, feeling like I had crossed a line into Hannah's personal life. If I was feeling lost right now, I could only imagine what Hannah was going through.
I picked up my shot and drained the glass, pouring another and hoping that the bourbon would bring me answers.