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List

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Chapter 6: List (Rowan's POV)

I stared at Nate's face blankly, feeling dumbfounded. Looking from him to Mr. Michaels, I blinked, slamming the file in my hands shut and throwing it down on the table loudly. "Excuse me, what?" 

"Rowan," Nate warned, shooting me a glare and shaking his head at me. 

I shot onto my feet. "I—" 

He glanced at my seat pointedly, wordlessly telling me to sit the fuck back down. 

So, I did. Sighing, I rolled my tongue along my cheek, resting my elbow on the armrest of the chair and tracing my lower lip with my thumb. 

Are you fucking kidding me? 

"What is this? How does this even make any sense?" I asked, trying not to lose my fucking mind if I hadn't already. 

Mr. Michaels shrugged. "It's what your grandfather requested, Rowan. I can't change the will, not even if I wanted to or tried to. What's on paper, is on paper. And if you want the things that are inherited to you, then you must meet these terms." 

"Terms? These aren't terms, these are life-changing decisions. You don't seriously expect me to follow through, do you?" I looked between them again. 

"You don't seriously expect me to let you take over unless you do... Do you?" Mr. Michaels lifted a brow at me. "Legally, I would have to take action against you if you refuse to do as the will says. Or, you would have to wait around aimlessly until you eventually commit to these terms on your own accord." 

"Yeah... I don't think that's happening any time soon," I scoffed. "I'm not getting married," I affirmed. 

Nate paused for a beat then took in a breath. "But you are." 

In disbelief, I gawked at him. "Nate—" 

"Think about it, Rowan. If you aren't able to take over as co-CEO, you know who gets to decide, don't you?" 

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Our father," I answered reluctantly. 

"Not to mention, if you don't, you won't inherit the things that you are supposed to. It's your decision if these are things you're willing to give up," Mr. Michaels added. 

"He's not," Nate answered sharply. "He's not giving anything up." 

Mr. Michaels nodded before gathering all the papers and files and tucking them back into his briefcase before standing up. "Then I believe I'm done here. Call me whenever you're prepared to move forward with the execution of the will. I'll see you both then." With that, the man showed himself out of the conference room we occupied. 

The moment the door shut beside him, I was up and pacing. "Nate, this is ridiculous. I'm not getting married." 

He sighed, standing up and leaning against the table, his hands tucked into the pockets of his black slacks. "Rowan, if you don't, then you lose your position at this company. It's not like our father would willingly give it to you when this would be a perfect opportunity for him to sneak his way back in. Plus, since this is more important to you, you won't get the paintings." 

I stopped pacing and stared at him. 

He gave me a small shrug. "I thought you really wanted those." 

"I do," I ground out. 

"Then find a fucking wife. Fast. Just remember, you only have six months to decide if you'll do as the will says or not." 

"I don't want to get married. It's a huge deal and it's something I'm not ready for, whatsoever. Do I look like someone who can be happily married?" 

"Who says you need to be happily married?" 

I rolled my eyes at him. "Why else would I marry someone if I don't love the fucking woman?" 

He waited and then shrugged. "Who says you have to even like her, let alone love her?" 

"What?" I frowned in confusion. 

He walked to me, grabbing my shoulder. "All the will says is that you must be married and convince the shareholders of Volkov Enterprises that you can handle a marriage. Successfully." 

"I'm aware of that." I glowered at him. 

"So then just find a wife, brother. Someone that people will approve of at this company. And all you have to do is pretend." 

I paused, feeling skeptical. 

"All you have to do is convince them that you're happily married, that you are a responsible, good, picture-perfect husband with the perfect, supportive, trophy wife. None of it has to be real." 

He's being so ridiculous. 

"Are you seriously suggesting a fake marriage?" 

"There's no such thing. I'm suggesting a contract marriage. You will legally be married to this woman but only for a year since according to the will, all you need is one year of a successful marriage to remain CEO with me. It's only if you fail that you don't get what you want." 

I shrugged his grip off. "Nate, do you hear yourself? You want me to get a fake wife, convince everybody we know that our relationship is genuine, and then after a year I just throw said relationship and wife away? Please, it would be unbelieve and so obvious that it's a scam." 

"So? The marriage doesn't have to be genuine, it has to look genuine." 

"I have to convince them. I can't do that." 

"Sure you can. You just have to give an Oscar-worthy performance and find a woman to do the same." 

I nodded, playing along with him. "All right. Amuse me. Where do you think I, someone who hasn't been in a relationship in years and doesn't even want to be because I hate people in general, every type of person, will find a voluntary fake wife?" 

He hesitated and thought it over again. "I'll help you." 

"Nate, you're delusional." 

"I'm creative," he grinned. 

Incredulously, I stared. "You're serious?" 

He nodded nonchalantly. "I'll make a list." 

"What list?" I huffed. 

"A list of all the suitable bachelorettes I know who might agree to do this with you." We both went quiet for a minute while I thought everything through all over again. "Rowan, look, you have to do this. There's no way around it if you want to keep the things you've earned over all these years and the things that belong to you. If our father works his way back into our lives..." 

We both sighed, suppressing shudders. "He'll ruin us all over again," I finished for him, pocketing my hands and resuming my pacing. 

No. It didn't matter how hard I thought about it, the idea was impossible. 

"Nate, I can't get married. Even for a show." 

"Yes, you can. You will. For your sake, for my sake, and for the company that we've all worked so hard to build. It won't even take a year for our father to destroy everything we've created." 

"But why the fuck would grandpa even give our father another chance after being the one to throw him out?" 

"I don't know. But I think I might know why all the challenges are set up for you." 

"I'm being set up to fail," I snickered. 

"I don't think so." 

"What do you think?" 

He sat back in his chair. "I think grandpa wanted you to be a bit more like he was as CEO." 

"What do you mean?" 

"Just a little... softer. Maybe a little kinder. Warmer towards people." 

"I hate people." 

"I know. But a CEO can't let it show like you do. Look, the way people handle their marriages says a lot about how they handle lives and certain things. Running a company means you have to treat every person working with you like family. What's closer to family than a wife? The first step forward in the direction of creating your own family one day. Maybe grandpa just wants you to open up more." 

"Because that can convince shareholders that I know how to run a company," I said sarcastically. 

"Actually, it can," he argued. "There has to be something in every CEO that makes them a little warmer in the eyes of those working with and for them." 

My eyes narrowed. "Like Leo is yours?" 

His jaw ticked. "No, Leo's my son. Not a pawn, Rowan." 

"Of course not, Nate. It's a good thing that he improves your reputation, don't get me wrong, you're the best Dad he could ask for." 

"I try my best. And I love him, my little kid is my whole life." 

"And it's genuine, Nate. A fake—" 

"Contract," he groaned. 

"Contract marriage," I corrected, "isn't the same. It won't work." 

"You have to try. We don't have an option. You need a wife and you need one as soon as possible." 

"What kind of woman would agree to this?" 

"The opportunistic kind." 

"How so?" 

"Well, you're getting a lot out of this contract marriage, so if she says yes, she must want something in return. We'll find someone who helps you and in exchange, you help her too. Problem solved. And after one year, you get a divorce and it'll be like the marriage never happened. Everything will fall into place where it belongs." 

He makes it sound so easy. What does he know? His task in the will is simpler than mine. Not too simple, but simple. 

Nate had to find a woman, not necessarily romantically, just any woman in his life that Leo could accept. He already decided it would be an assistant. It would be a professional relationship so there would be boundaries she couldn't cross and Leo would also learn that not every woman was trying to replace his missing mother. If anything, it was just a way for Nate to finally get a chance at letting a woman into his life after Maya. But his little task wasn't a requirement, he was still inheriting our summer home in Bridgehampton either way. 

I leaned against the wall, closing my eyes. 

"Shit, I mean, did grandpa secretly hate you or something? I always thought you were the favorite," Nate mumbled. "You know what? Maybe this is easier than we think." 

"Are you insane? How could any of this be easy?" 

"It is if you treat it like a job." 

"What?" I lifted my brows. 

"Yeah. Instead of interviewing people for a stupid assistant, you should interview the women I choose to be your wife. You can always get an assistant later, you know, but this is more important." 

"Nate, I don't have time for this bullshit. You agreed to make this list, so you will. I'm going to humor you here and play along, but just remember this moment when I say 'I told you so' because I am not finding a wife this way, it just won't work. You want to do interviews? Fine, but someone else has to do them." 

"Who knows you better than you? Hell, who knows you enough to choose a suitable wife for you?" 

We looked at each other before a knock sounded on the door. The door opened a bit and a head poked through. "I'm taking Leo out for lunch," Evie announced, smiling at Nate and then faced me. "I did the work you told me to. I sorted through the interview applications for the job of your assistant, they're on your desk. I separated the people I think won't... survive... you," she cleared her throat, "just go over it once. Bye." And then she left. 

I faced Nate again, immediately reading the look on his face. "Nate, no." 

"Evie. She'll do these interviews."

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Chapter 6

y'all I'm going to school tomorrow like literally after a year and I'm HORRIFIED 

fuck, I hate school

next chapter: match