“So marriage is on the table?”
It was a step I’d never thought I would take, but I’d also thought I would never love someone the way I loved her. Like my father said, this kind of commitment had already happened—whether I chose to acknowledge it or not. “All I know is…I can’t live without you. So yes, it’s on the table.”
“And children?” she whispered. “You know I have to have a family…since I don’t have one of my own.”
I could barely grasp the idea of being a husband. A father was even more terrifying. “I’m not ready for that right now. But…it’s on the table.”
She released a quiet sigh. “That’s enough for me.”
It was all of me, so it better be enough for her. “So you’ll live with me?”
“I guess. But I still need a job.”
I growled under my breath. “I’ll just give you—”
“I don’t want your money.”
I loved this woman, but damn, she was infuriating. “Look, I’m pretty fucking helpless without you. I haven’t made a single sketch since you walked out on me. I’m behind schedule, and I’m drowning. People are waiting for me to reveal something new, but I can’t even produce a single concept. So I need you. Being my muse is a job. It’s a damn important one. I’m willing to pay you what Andrew is paying you—because my entire career depends on you.”
“Like I said, I don’t want—”
“I know. But if you were someone else, I’d be paying you. If you think about it like that, it’s a job. So you’re helping me, and I’m helping you.”
“I still owe you a hundred million.”
“You don’t owe me anything, Muse.”
“No. If you really want to do it this way, I want to pay you back for what you spent on me.”
It wasn’t ideal, but we were moving in the right direction. “So if I offered to match what Andrew is paying you—”
“You would deduct the hundred million you paid, plus the cost to break me out of the contract.”
“That’s about one hundred and forty million…”
“Yes.”
I felt like an ass taking anything from her.
“That would leave the rest for me to keep. I would hold on to it, and if we do get married someday, I can give it back to you…since there’s no point in me keeping it anymore.”
It was the best scenario we were going to compromise on. She earned her own money that she could rely on, and in the event that she didn’t need it, which she wouldn’t, she would just give it back to me. It would allow her to work with me every day without being a public figure, and she could be with me at all times.
Win-win.
“I think we have a deal,” I said.
“Yeah. I think we do.”
Hand in hand, we walked into the studio where Muse spent her afternoons working with Andrew. They had a photo set on one floor, the fabrics on a different level, and they had a special gym where the models could work out if they wanted to.
We took the elevator to one of the upper floors, where Andrew had his office.
His secretary told us to have a seat, so we waited together in the lobby.
I sat beside her in my black suit, my legs apart and my eyes fierce. Andrew wouldn’t let her go without a fight. His standing in the market had exploded since Muse started working for him. The sales started to pour in, and once she was gone, they would plummet all over again.
He would be pissed.
My phone started to ring, and if my father’s name hadn’t been on the screen, I wouldn’t have answered it. “I’ll be right back.” My hand slid from Muse’s thigh as I stood up and approached the double glass doors. I passed through then took the call. “Hey, everything alright?”
My father spoke with a calm and cool voice. “I have the same question for you. I stopped by the house, but Dante said you left for the airport a few days ago. Said you were headed to New York…”
“Yeah. I’m still here.”
“May I ask what you’re doing? Keep in mind, there’s only one answer I’m looking for.”
I grinned then walked back into the waiting room. “Hold on.” I sat beside Muse and handed her the phone. “Say hello to my father.”
She smiled before she took the phone. “Mr. Barsetti, how are you?”
I could hear his voice over the line. He instantly seemed to be in a much better mood talking to her instead of me. “Sapphire, I’m doing great…really great. It’s nice to hear your voice again.”
“It’s nice to hear yours too.”
“I’m glad my son manned up.”
“Yeah,” she said with a chuckle. “Me too.”
“When you guys get back to town, Pearl and I would love to see you. We were disappointed when we heard the two of you were no longer seeing each other. Vanessa took it the hardest.”