Page 11 of Lucas

New Power Couple Alert: Lucas Valeur Cozies Up to Former Rival Ava Gant. Wedding Bells on the Horizon?

Below is a slightly grainy telephoto shot of Ava and I at lunch yesterday. She’s leaning across the table, saying something. I’m smirking at her over the rim of my glass, looking completely engrossed.

Fucking vultures. Can’t a man have a simple business meeting without it being construed as some kind of lover’s affair? They’ve laid some saccharine filter over it, too, making it look like a soft-focus scene from a goddamn Hallmark movie.

Where did they get the wedding idea from?

I narrow my eyes, sure that Dear Old Dad has his hand in this.

In love? Please. Love is just a way for people to manipulate you. I never want to be in love.

My thumb hovers over the screen, itching to call my publicist and demand a retraction.

But…

Ava needs an infusion of cash to keep her sinking ship of a company afloat, and I need a respectable fiancée to win over the board and convince them I’m ready to take my father’s place.

A slow, wicked smile spreads across my face as a plan takes shape. Oh, this is just too perfect.

A marriage of convenience. Or rather, of mutual manipulation. I’ll offer her a lifeline...for the low, low price of becoming my blushing bride. She’s proud, but she’s also desperate. She’ll have no choice but to accept.

And the second that ring is on her finger, Gant Construction will belong to me. Everything she’s fought to protect, every scrap of her family’s legacy, will be mine for the taking.

I’ll bleed it dry, sell off every asset, fire every single employee. Meanwhile, she’ll have a front-row seat as I burn her empire to ashes.

I can taste it. The ultimate revenge, gift-wrapped and tied with a white satin bow.

Once her ruination is complete, I’ll discard her like yesterday’s newspaper. Leave her shattered and penniless, a broken shell of her former self.

Ava Gant thinks she can play in the big leagues with the boys? I’ll show her just how far out of her depth she really is.

When you swim with sharks, baby, you’d better be prepared to bleed.

I slide my phone back into my pocket and straighten my tie. I have a marriage proposal to plan.

Look out, princess. Your Prince Charming is coming for you.

And this is one fairy tale that won’t end with a happily ever after.

At least, not for you.

I lay across my sprawling king-sized bed, the cool silk sheets tangled around my bare legs as I stare at a painting on the wall. The bedroom is dimly lit, the only illumination coming from the wall of windows.

I have the phone pressed to my ear, my other hand resting low on my abs, fingers teasing along the waistband of my black boxer briefs. “Ava? This is Lucas Valeur.”

“It’s Miss Gant,” she corrects.

I roll my eyes. “Okay, Miss Gant.”

“What do you want, Mr. Valeur? Did you call to gloat about humiliating me with your little scheme?”

“What?” I frown. She can’t possibly know what I’m planning.

“The photo from yesterday. You knew it would embarrass me. That’s why you tipped off the photographer.” Her voice drips with accusation.

A harsh bark of laughter escapes me. “You’re giving yourself way too much credit if you think I’d go to all that trouble just to mess with you. I didn’t arrange anything. Believe me, I don’t enjoy being seen in public with the likes of you.”

“The likes of me? And what’s that supposed to mean?” she demands, her words clipped and frosty.