Chapter 3: A Thief Only Has Forty Days

“Marry me or go to prison!” Ryan repeated himself to a bewildered Lia.

She was full of jokes and had a great sense of humor, but did not know how to respond to this one.

Ryan had come over to meet the person who had caused his company so much grief, and loss in the past months. He had walked into the security office and had been surprised to see a petite young woman sitting on a chair looking rather irritated but scared.

Silver handcuffs adorned her small wrists.

“Remove those handcuffs,” he had ordered his head of security.

The young woman had looked at him, eyes blazing. Was she angry she had been caught, or was she just not happy to see him?

“Lia,” he read out her name from a piece of paper the security guard handed him.

“How does a beautiful girl like yourself, find herself here?” he asked Lia who looked up at him as she rubbed her wrist where the cuffs had been.

“I was stealing from your company and made a silly mistake and got caught,” Lia rolled her eyes, “I got here in a van, chauffeured by this lovely man.” She motioned to the head of security with her head.

“You do know, anything you say can be used against you in a court of law? Why were you stealing from my company? Did someone send you?” Ryan asked.

Lia chuckled, “I thought you were the CEO of an oil company, not my attorney or some cop reading me my Miranda rights. Your company is worth billions; why do you care if you lose a few millions?”

Ryan starred at the beautiful woman who was shooting daggers at him with her disturbingly intense eyes. He smiled; her tough act seemed to be an attempt at covering her fear.

“Leave us,” Ryan told his security team.

Ryan took a chair and sat, arms crossed, facing Lia.

“Listen, I don’t think pretty girls like you should be in prison, but you have caused my company to lose millions. This kind of crime could fetch you maybe a ten-year prison sentence,” he said and noticed Lia’s eyes open in pure fear.

“Do you want to go to prison?” he asked.

Lia shook her head as she looked at her trembling hands. Lia had her whole life ahead of her. Ryan knew such a young woman could not afford to go to prison for that long. She probably had people that looked up to her and needed her. If she was to go to prison, what would become of them?

“I have a proposition for you that will help you and help me as well. I keep you out of prison, but you have to do something in return for me,” Ryan continued.

Lia looked at him querying.

“Marry me!” Ryan said.

“Excuse me?” Lia choked.

For a moment, looking and talking to this tiny gorgeous spitfire had made him momentarily forget his problems.

“Robert Nash, my father and owner of Nash Global, passed away a few months ago. You probably read about it in the news somewhere.”

He did not wait for a response, as he continued.

“He left a will, naming me, as the heir to the company. I expected nothing less, since I helped grow Nash Global from its infancy into the multi-billion-dollar company it is today.”

Ryan had not seen the curve ball the will was about to throw. The company would only be transferred to Ryan on the condition that he got married. He had been given seven months to get married, and now time was not on his side.

“The transfer will only be processed, if I get married within the next three months. That is where you come in.”

“I am not asking you to fall in love with me. This will all be a contractual agreement. We get married, I keep my company, and you keep your freedom.”

Lia gaped at him as if he had grown some horns.

“What happens if you don’t get married in three months?” Lia inquired.

“The company goes to my cousin, Tim Nash. He is an idealistic family man, but honestly has no business sense what so ever, to run such a multi-billion-dollar company.”

“You could marry anyone you choose. Why me, a miserable hacker and thief?” Lia asked.

Ryan sat back as he looked at her for a moment, as though he was admiring a piece of artwork in a gallery exhibit.

“Granted, I do not have a shortage of women lining up to become my wife. You need to stay out of prison. I need a no-strings-attached wife to keep my company. You will follow the set rules in the contract. Convince the world we are a real couple, and I get my company. Take this as a chance to pay me back for all the trouble you created for me. You can tell your boyfriend; I am sure he will understand. After one year of marriage, we will divorce, and you can return to your boyfriend. What is one year with me compared to ten years in prison?” Ryan raised a perfectly arched eyebrow.

Lia closed her eyes as she tried to process everything Ryan was saying.

“Think about it, Lia. You have forty-eight hours. You will find your boyfriend in the cafeteria. My security will accompany you. Go discuss with him and let me know what you decide,” he said standing up to go.

Lia watched him as he walked to the door. He reached the door and stopped before turning to face her again.

“I will not do anything during the time we will be married that you would not want to do. I am a gentleman; despite what you might have heard,” Lia blinked up at him.

****

She frowned at his pure arrogance. ‘Granted, I do not have a shortage of women lining up to become my wife.’

Who did he think he was, Brad Pitt? Ryan was mighty fine, but his egotism and disregard of any human emotions was repulsive.

Did he even remember her or realize who she was? He was a gentleman on what planet? Lia wondered.

Had she changed so much in the past eight years?

“By the way, that blonde wig and ridiculous amounts of make-up did you no justice. You are stunning just the way you are,” he remarked matter-of-factly, before turning and leaving Lia to her muddled thoughts.