Sara's POV

The moment I spotted Trey Houston, I knew I'd struck gold. America's sugar daddy and fairy godfather to anyone with a sob story and a pretty face.

I glided past him, my perfume introducing myself and stealing his attention. I didn't pause nor glance his way. The best way to hook a man was to Ignore him.

Let him chase.

The charity dinner was in full swing, the hall buzzing with dignitaries and men whose egos matched their bank accounts. I settled into a chair, feigning indifference, my eyes fixed on Charles Baker's boring speech.

I had conned him once. That was two years ago, a quick steal he'd never trace to me. At least ,he had no proof. His face hadn't changed, but mine had, thanks to my wig.

"Do you mind if I sit?"

I turned to Trey, offering a polished smile. "Of course not."

He sank into the seat beside me, his cologne sharp and expensive. "Here for the charity dinner?"

Wasn't it obvious?

"I'm disappointed in myself," I said, sighing. "i flew in from Mexico for this, but my bank's acting up and I can't make a donation."

He nodded, eyes lingering on me. "Mexican?"

"Half. Mostly American. Evelyn Rodriguez." I extended a hand, letting my fingers brush his.

"Trey Houston."

I flicked my gaze back to Charles, playing distracted. "I grew up here, but you'd never guess it because of my surname. And yet again, I've got no Mexican accent because I was practically here most of the time while my father was building his billion dollar company. As a kid, I thought my mom was a famous actress." I chuckled, soft and wistful. "Then I realized we lived in Hollywood, but she never made it to a screen."

Trey laughed, warmth in his eyes. "The movie industry's brutal."

"Not as brutal as running a business," I said, leaning closer. "Especially as a woman."

His gaze roamed my face, my neckline. "You're beautiful, Evelyn."

"A compliment I hear daily." I tilted my head, playful. "Are you single, Trey? I could use company while I'm in town. I'm at the Milton's lounge. You could stop by if you like. We could... discuss business."

His smile turned naughty. "I'm as free as a bird. How about tonight? Show me that lounge, and who knows..."

"Who knows?" I echoed, matching his tone. "Are you a businessman?"

"Let's say I'm a jack-of-all-trades, master of all."

"Including pleasing a woman?"

He chuckled. "I could be your personal gigolo."

"Oh, I'm intrigued." I leaned in, voice low. "Since my bank's a mess and I can't make any donations, why don't we skip this and see how good you are? Get to know each other... better."

Trey didn't hesitate. His sleek Bentley whisked us to Milton, champagne flowing in the backseat as we traded talk of his businesses and my fictional empires. I spun tales of my father's company in Mexico and my plans to expand more branches to America once I claimed the CEO title.

"You must know my father," I said. "Antonio Rodriguez."

He shook his head. "Americans like to keep business in America."

"While Europeans build empires home and abroad," I countered, sipping my drink.

At the lounge, Sean was gone, back to his dingy apartment. I locked the door behind us, turning to Trey with a seductive smile. "Show me what you can do."

I let my gown slip to the floor, revealing curves shapened by gyming and nature. Trey's eyes devoured me, his shirt hitting the floor in seconds, hands reaching for my waist.

"Americans love to rush, don't they?" I teased, stepping back.

"We're the fastest economy for a reason," he growled, closing the gap between us.

His lips crashed into mine, hungry, and for a moment, I let myself sink into fantasy..Aweek in this lounge far from Sean's reeking apartment. But as Trey's hands roamed, my mind betrayed me, drifting to him. Thomas Grey. Seeing him today had upsetted me more than I'd admitted.

I remembered his touch. Gentle yet firm, holding me in a way that felt dangerous. His lips, soft but insistent, pulling me to the seventh heaven.

"Grey..." I whispered, the name slipping out.

Trey, lost in his haze, didn't notice.

What if Grey had recognized me today? Could I tell him the truth about that night? About what it left behind?

No. Six months under his watchful eye would be torture. One glance at my twins and he'd know they were his. Their green eyes, his eyes, would betray me.

This deal with Grey was like walking on a tightrope, and I was already slipping.

"Evelyn?" Trey's voice cut through, his hands pausing. "You seem distracted."

I traced his chest, forcing a smile. "Aren't all businesswomen?"

"You don't mix business with pleasure," he said, misquoting with a grin.

I laughed, letting him think he'd won me back. The night blurred into quick, practiced motions, but I kissed him awake in the early hours, right before a knock sounded at the door.

"We're here for payment, ma'am," a hotel staffer by the door said.

I raised my voice, loud enough for Trey to hear. "My bank's still a mess! Can't you wait until noon?"

Trey was at my side in an instant, pulling me close, his ego gleaming like a knight's armor. "I'll handle the bills."

His credit card swiped, securing seven days of luxury.

I kept my Evelyn smile in place. "Thanks for the save," I said, brushing a kiss across his cheek. "Next time I'm in the States, I'll repay you... any way you like. Or I could host you in Mexico."

He frowned, reluctant. "You're here for seven days, right?"

"Swamped with meetings, Trey." I kissed him again, deeper. "I've got to prove I'm worthy of my father's empire, remember?"

As I shut the door behind him, my smirk returned. No one was beyond my reach.

Grey's POV

I stared at the medical report, disappointed, wearing a face that betrayed nothing..

After months of therapy, and nothing.

The doctor's apologetic gaze met mine. "I'm sorry, Mr. Grey. The sessions haven't worked. Surgery is the next step."

It was just another drop in a bottomless ocean. My time wasted, my money burned, and still, the virility test glared back. Negative.

"However," he added, hesitant, "surgery doesn't guarantee success-"

I shot to my feet, tossing the report aside. "This isn't right!"

He stood, hands raised to calm me. "Mr. Grey, please-"

"I've done everything," I snapped, pacing his office. "Every pill, every session, not a single day skipped. Why is it still the same?" I massaged my temple and paced the office, then spun to face him. "Does this mean I can't have children?"

I needed the truth, raw and unfiltered. No more sugar coating.

"We can't say definitively-"

"Answer me, damn it!" My fist slammed the desk, dropping a pen to the floor.

He sighed, shoulders sagging. "Surgery might work..."

"What are my chances?" I needed to know. "How low?"

The doctor sighed and I knew it was bad news. "Given that your condition is rooted more in psychological trauma than the physical injury, the odds are... low. I'll say it all depends on you."

On me?

What the hell hadn't I done? Did he understand the frustration of not being able to be aroused or being able to do anything at all?

And worst, I needed an heir. Without one, my empire that built on decades of sacrifice would fall to my vulture cousins. All the years I had put into learning business, right from childhood. I'd traded prom nights, first loves, a normal life for boardrooms and balance sheets, all under my father's iron gaze. I hadn't even had a girlfriend until my last year in college.

And now this?

I couldn't accept it.

"You must let go of the past," the doctor said, his voice soft, probing.

My jaw clenched, fists balling. Letting go meant erasing all the memories I had with Anne, my first love, the only one who saw the man beneath the mask, and the sacrifices I've had to make.

We'd met in London, at a business conference I attended a few days to my exams.

"The real test is out there, son," my father said. "Everything you do in school is just theory. Out there in conferences and board rooms, is the real deal."

She was there with her uncle, her smile stealing my breath and heart.

"They never let us live, do they?" she'd whispered, her eyes sparkling with rebellion. One that ignited mine

I was in my final year in business college and she in her first. I skipped the conference to chase her laughter through London's streets, dreaming of a future where she'd wear my ring and we would have a family.

"They wouldn't even know we're gone," I'd said, nudging her to explore the city.

"Sounds like fun," she'd replied, her chuckle a melody.

We were two sides of the same coin, bound by duty yet craving freedom. When I returned to New York, buried in work, she never complained. She understood.

We made the absolute best couple.

Until that weekend she snuck to see me. I was driving her to the airport, her hand in mine, when fate stole everything from me. Her life, my heart, and my future.

"You can't tell me to let go!" I roared at the doctor, my voice cracking with hurt.

It was sacrilege. I'd begged Anne to skip classes, to come see me. I should've died in her place.

Maybe I had. I was merely a walking corpse. No, heart, no soul. And now, no way to have a continuity. They all died on the spot that day, alongside my pretty Anne.

I stormed out of the office , certain I would not be returning. Luca trailed behind as I strode to my waiting car, my face the polished mask of the businessman the world knew. But if they looked inside, they'd see I was just a vacuum.

Empty.

In the car, Luca launched into updates, but my mind was on Carlos Alvarez.

"Intel says he's planning a major shipment this weekend," Luca said.

That was not enough. I needed more. That was why I needed Sara Anderson to be my eyes and ears. I couldn't let Carlos come to take everything I had worked so hard for.

"What about Sara? Any word?" I asked.

"She called saying she would start next week."

Next week? Was she crazy?

"Damn it," I muttered. Did she understand the stakes at hand? Alvarez wouldn't wait a week to hire a PA. She had to be there today.

"Get her on the line. Now."

The phone rang, then rang again, before her voicemail chirped: "This is Evelyn Rodriguez. I'm either having the time of my life or in a meeting. Please, leave a message. Thank you."

I clenched my jaw. "Did you trace her to where she stays at the moment?"

"Yes, boss. A lounge in Milton," Luca confirmed.

I nodded. "Take me there."

I had no time for silly games. Sara would sign a contract. If she failed to get me what I wanted, I would make sure she rots in prison.

Once we got to Milton, I marched down the hallway to the lounge, my heels clicking with purpose. I knocked, sharp and insistent.

A singsong "Coming!" floated through the door to my ears.

Seconds stretched to minutes. When it finally opened, Sara stood there, her smile melting into shock when she saw me. She had obviously been expecting someone. I could guess it was one of the men she was about to strip bare to nothing.

My eyes dropped to the silk lingerie clinging to her curves, and I felt something I hadn't felt since Anne.

My heart stirred, faint but undeniable.

Grey's POV

I watched as her lips curled into a frown, defiance flashing in her eyes

I had expected nothing.

"What are you doing here?" She demanded like she owned the place.

She was about to slam the door, but I stopped it with my hand and a foot forward, blocking the threshold.

"I was clear with my instructions, Ms. Anderson," I said, my voice low.

I could feel my heart racing as I pinned my eyes on her, the dark sunglasses I wore, now the only thing that stopped me from looking like a fool.

Sara Anderson looked good. I knew how to pass a compliment when it was deserving. Only that compliments to women like Sara were never meant to be worded. Just secretly expressed.

I stepped further into the room, scanning it: velvet couches, a half-empty bottle of merlot, the city's skyline glinting beyond the window.

"I don't care whatever -" I stopped and faced her, swiftly to catch the scowl on her face. "- whoever you conned last night. You should be in Carlos Alvarez's estate right now, trying to convince him..." I stared at her form in the lingerie for an unholy three seconds, the fabric clinging to her like a second skin. "...however possible."

She seemed to pick up the hint from the tone of my voice because her scowl melted into a smile. But then, she sauntered up to me, the friendly smile metamorphosing into something seductive, dangerous, and strangely, setting my blood on fire.

She placed a hand on my chest and it seemed like time froze. And suddenly, we were in another universe where she could command my attention without consequence.

She brought her lips to my ear and whispered softly.

"Should I demonstrate?"

My body stiffened, a rush of heat that betrayed years of dormancy. I grabbed her hand off my chest, backing away from her as far as possible. I cleared my throat and straightened my suit, hoping it would do the same to my mind.

"Luca - my PA would be communicating directly with you," I said, my voice clipped. "You cannot make the mistake of being seen with me or talking to me."

The frown had returned to her face. She nodded and flicked an invisible speck off her lingerie. My eyes moved impulsively to her form. With the way the fabric curled around her figure, it left little for the imagination and more for my unravelling control. Whoever she had worn this for, hadn't stood a chance.

"I can handle myself," she said cooly, locking her eyes with mine.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Grey," she continued. "But I'm usually a bad hostess to men who send me on deadly missions. I'll be in the shower. The door is over there." She pointed at the door. "Use it when you want to leave."

I was about to say something but her hands were already on the straps of her lingerie, pulling it enough to expose her cleavage.

I turned away impulsively.

"Have a good day, Evelyn Rodriguez. I expect good news by evening."

But as I took the elevator and walked back to my car, I couldn't stop thinking about her in that lingerie. I could almost swear that she was someone I knew..

But men like me had nothing to do with women like her. I was already in the car when I realised I hadn't made her sign the contract as I had tasked myself while stepping out of the car a few minutes ago.

"Drive," I told Luca instead.

My heart hadn't raced like this in years, not since Anne. Yet Sara was the kind of woman I avoided: cunning, untamed, a threat to my carefully built walls.

She was the kind of woman I avoided.

"I need a follow up on Sara Anderson," I told Luca.

"Yes, sir," came his reply.

"Ensure she gets to Carlos' estate today, dressed appropriately. Go shopping. Find something perfect. I hope you understand?"

He nodded. "Yes, sire," he replied with a steady voice.

I leaned back, closing my eyes. But when the grainy thought of Sara's semi nude form wasn't terrorising my thoughts, it was the doctor's diagnosis that afflicted my mind.

After building a successful empire all over America and spreading to its environs, my greatest desire was having an heir - mine - that would inherit everything. That I would train just like my father had trained me. But my life seemed to have ended the very day Anne died. Meeting with the doctor today had only sealed my worst fears.

I had no one.

And everything I owned was going to go for charity the moment I was six feet under.

But maybe I refused to believe that final sentencing. Maybe that was why I was still bent on chasing Carlos Alvarez out of my city.

Today, I felt my heart race and even skip a beat. Maybe more would follow in the coming days.

Maybe a woman like Sara Anderson could stir me up in ways I haven't felt in a long time.

"Change of plans," I said, leaning forward. "Take me to the best boutique around. I'll be doing the shopping myself."

"Yes, sire."

La Vie en Luxe was one of the best in Manhattan. As I stepped out of the car, I noticed the camera flashes from the paparazzi. I could imagine the news asking if Thomas Grey was in love again. Only a man in love would shop at La Vie en Luxe.

Only that I wasn't.

My gaze was solid as I stepped into the luxurious space and the moment I saw the purple dress, I knew it would be perfect for her. My chest tightened with the demonizing thought that I wouldn't be able to see her in the dress. But as I ran my hand through the fabric, I felt the palpitations of my heart again. It felt too strange, too good.

I exchanged the gown for a swipe of my card. The bill read in thousands of dollars. But I stepped out as a satisfied man. I dropped the bag in the passenger seat and returned to the back seat.

"Start the car," I instructed Luca. "Return to Milton."

Maybe Sara Anderson was more than a tool to crush Alvarez. Maybe she was the spark to wake me from this half-life..