Benedikt lifts a brow. “Such as?”
“Such as the debtmy father owes you.”
He puffs out his chest. “Fifty thousand dollars.”
I blink. “For what?!”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes! Did he borrow it? Steal it? Gamble it away?”
Benedikt sits back slowly, enjoying watching me squirm. “Your father borrowed it. Then borrowed again. And again. He said it was for a truck. Then an expansion. Then for a friend. Then it was medical bills and rehab.” He leans forward, his tone clipped. “It was all a lie.”
“So, what? You break his legs?”
“That was an option,” he replies calmly. “We’re far beyond that now.”
I can’t keep the disgust off my face. “This is insane.”
“What’s insane is that your father thought he could keep gambling his future and then just walk away. What’s insane is you showing up here like I’m the villain when all I’ve done is clean up the mess he left you with.”
“I didn’t ask you to clean it up.”
“Didn’t have to. You’re here now, aren’t you?”
I hate how smug he is. Howrighthe is.
“What do you want from me, Benedikt?” I ask, quieter this time, and not because I’m scared.
I need to know.
His gaze shifts slightly. He’s finally getting to the part he’s been waiting for. “You know the answer.”
“I don’t.”
“You do.” He stands slowly and walks toward me. “I don’t need your father; I need collateral that holds value. Influence. Leverage.”
I swallow hard. “You want me to pretend I’m with you.”
“Yes.”
“You want me to stay with you.”
“Correct.”
“And?”
He stops in front of me, his eyes dragging down my body like he already knows how this ends. “I want a son.”
My stomach drops. “Awhat?”
“A son.” He says it more firmly this time, like this is the part that isn’t negotiable. “You’ll stay with me. You’ll give the appearance of being mine. And you’ll give me a son. An heir.”
I laugh, but it sounds manic. “That’s funny. I thought you said this wasn’t insane.”
“I’m not joking.”
“You want me to sleep with you?”
