Takeover In The Boardroom: An Heiress for His Empire. Fiona Brand

only sees part of the picture when he looks at you,” Vik agreed pragmatically.

      “That’s all he’s interested in.” Jeremy Archer had never wanted to give the time necessary to get to know who Maddie was, not before Helene’s death and definitely not after.

      “He can break out of his tunnel vision.”

      “So you say. I’ve witnessed no evidence.”

      Vik shook his head, clearly done with the topic. “You’ll need an efficient and knowledgeable personal assistant.”

      “Exactly.” A nanny for convenience, not necessity, but a PA? That Maddie would need to make sure things got done.

      Vik’s phone rang before they could continue their discussion. It was Conrad, excited about the opportunity for a live interview with the newly engaged couple on an evening celebrity-news show.

      And so it began.

      * * *

      The next weeks passed in a whirl of activity. Interviews as a couple, interviews by herself. The media furor around Maddie and Vik’s engagement was even bigger than the initial craziness Perrygate had spawned.

      Vik slept at her apartment every night while decorators and contractors worked overtime getting Parean Hall habitable for them. Maddie interviewed domestic staff while overseeing the changes to the main rooms and the master suite. She did her best to make sure both her and Vik’s design aesthetic was incorporated in their new home.

      And could hear his voice saying “I told you so” when she realized she knew enough about his preferences to do that.

      Maddie went back to her secret volunteering in her brown wig and contacts, dressed in clothes from the local superstore. Every minute spent with the children cemented her determination to do more.

      She also scheduled a visit with the therapist she’d seen in the immediate months after her skydiving accident, when Maddie had realized the time had come to break away from her past. Dr. MacKenzie was vocal in her praise for how far Maddie had come in dealing with both her mom’s death and her father’s emotional neglect.

      However the therapist evinced some concern about the marriage that Vik said he intended to be real and yet was connected to a very lucrative contract for him. Dr. MacKenzie asked Maddie to consider carefully her reasons for agreeing to the engagement.

      So Maddie did and, even more importantly, she talked to Vik about it.

      “Yes, the contract your father offered is beneficial to me, but getting married right now is important for you, too.”

      “You think I said yes to the whole marriage thing because of the school, don’t you?” Had she?

      She’d told herself on that crazy, surrealistic day that was exactly why she needed to consider the idea seriously.

      But Vik just shrugged. “Even if the scandal had blown up like it could have, you would not have given up on the school. Romi would have been the public face to run it and you would have been the silent partner as I now will be.”

      She loved his confidence in her. The pleasure of it masked the full import of his words for a moment, but then it settled in.

      “You will?” When had Vik offered to partner with her and Romi in founding the school?

      “We made promises to see one another’s dreams fulfilled. Marriage to you will give me AIH. I’ve told you that I will ensure it provides for your dreams as well.”

      Maybe she should have expected something like this, but she hadn’t. “You really are my white knight.”

      “I thought you did not believe in fairy tales.” His voice and expression were teasing, but something told her he liked her claim.

      “Maybe I just believe in you.” He had always been the exception, the one man she trusted—even when she hadn’t thought she had a reason to.

      Refusing to admit it didn’t make it any less true.

      “You do,” he said with a mix of implacability and smugness that should have annoyed her.

      It didn’t. She liked it. “So certain.”

      “Of you? Yes.”

      Ultimately, it all came down to that simple truth. She trusted Vik to keep the promises he’d made at the Marin Headlands overlook.

      The fact that she was falling in love with Viktor Beck all over again? Well, that was something she didn’t bring up even to Romi.

      How could she help it? The man spent more time masquerading as a white knight than a business tycoon.

      The wedding was going forward. And soon.

      For the ceremony itself, they planned a very small gathering, but the reception would be huge and attended by the cream of society, the scions of the business world and even a few celebrities.

      When Maddie’s follow-up therapy appointment conflicted with a meeting with the caterers for their wedding reception, she told Vik she didn’t want to reschedule her time with Dr. MacKenzie.

      “You are seeing a therapist?” Vik asked. “Why didn’t I know this?” The latter clearly the only thing that bothered him about her revelation.

      “Because I didn’t tell you?”

      He made a scoffing sound.

      “No one knows except Romi.”

      “When did you start seeing him?”

      “Her. And right after the skydiving incident.” Maddie had realized she was taking the same self-destructive path as her mother and she wasn’t going to do that. “I saw her weekly for a couple of months and then a few more times after that.”

      “I’m impressed.”

      “You are?” She had worried a little he would think she was weak for needing to see someone.

      “You realized you couldn’t help children if you didn’t deal with your own childhood issues.”

      That had been exactly it. “How do you know me so well?” she asked, falling a little more in love with him right then.

      “You know the answer to that.”

      “You make it a point to get to know everything about the people and businesses you plan to partner with, or take over.”

      “Our partnership will supersede all others. Of course, I will know everything about you.”

      She liked hearing that, even if it wasn’t exactly true. “But you didn’t know I was seeing Dr. MacKenzie.”

      “No.” He sounded chagrined.

      Maddie laughed. “Even you are not infallible, Vik.”

      “Miss Grayson knew.”

      “She’s my best friend.”

      “What am I?”

      “The man I’m going to marry. The man I’m falling in love with all over again.” There, she’d said it.

      What he did with that knowledge was up to him. But one thing she knew, it was time he met Maddie Grace.

      Silence stretched between them.

      “Vik?”

      “I am...honored.”

      “Good.” That was better than thinking she was a fool for believing in the emotion.

      “You...I...” For the first time in memory, Vik didn’t sound in complete control of his words or his thoughts.

      “I don’t expect you to say it back.”

      “Good.” The relief in his tone was not complimentary, but she wasn’t surprised by it, either.

      “You’ll