7. Cora

Kaleigh perches on the edge of my desk with a bright smile, holding two cups of coffee Monday morning.

"Here—I thought you could use this. Griffin called last night about one of the contracts, and he seemed to be in a bad mood. I doubt today is going to be any better. I also need to speak to you about the contract," Kaleigh doesn"t skip a beat.

I take the cup of coffee with a smile and take a sip before setting the cup beside my monitor. "Thank you. I'm sure his mood is just as foul. He stormed in here and went straight to his office half an hour ago. Slammed the door shut and locked it. Carson's been trying to speak with him since he got in."

Kaleigh glances at Carson as he passes by my desk to try to speak to Griffin again.

He grunts as the door refuses to open before turning and walking away.

I sigh and reach for the coffee, taking a sip. "I bet Carson is going to place a call to Mr. Blake soon."

Kaleigh nods. "Mm-hmm. I don't doubt that at all. Looks like the old bastard still has his nose so far up Rick's ass that everyone would think Rick is still running the company."

I pull open my top drawer and take the spare key to Griffin's office. "He's got a meeting in a couple hours. If he doesn't come out by then, I'll have to go in and drag him out by his ear."

Suddenly, the door behind me swings open, and Griffin stands there in gray slacks and a black shirt. It takes every inch of willpower not to stare at him like he's my personal runway model.

He's nothing to me. Just a boss I kissed once.

Just the man I can't seem to stop dreaming about, no matter how hard I try.

Griffin's grip tightens on the door handle. "There's no need to drag me out of the office. In fact, I need to speak with you, Cora, so if you could stop your social hour and oblige me with a meeting, I would be forever grateful."

I'm seething as I stand, my cheeks burning bright with embarrassment. "I'll talk to you about that contract later, Kaleigh."

Kaleigh nods and slides off the desk, taking her coffee with her. She disappears into her own office as I enter Griffin's and close the door behind me.

With a quick flick of his wrist, he lowers the blinds, their slats clinking softly as they descend, shrouding his glass office door in a veil of privacy.

Then he strides across the room and sits behind the white oak desk. I sit across from him, crossing one leg over the other.

Griffin is quiet for a long time, just leaning back in his chair and looking at me. I do my best to meet his gaze, not allowing him to intimidate me the way I know he is trying to do.

It's the same thing he used to do when we were younger. He would stare at me until I backed down or broke and asked him what his problem was.

This time, it's not going to work. I'm over the childish games we play. He can spit it out if he has something to say to me.

Griffin leans forward, his forearms resting on the desk and his hands linked. "We have to talk about something," he says.

"Are you about to fire me?" My heart pounds in my chest. I can't afford to lose this job now, but maybe Sophie is right. Maybe firing me would be an easy way to keep our kiss from becoming public knowledge.

His eyebrows raise, and he shakes his head. Griffin rolls his bottom lip into his mouth for a second before releasing it.

It's the same gesture I've seen thousands of times over the years.

He's nervous about something.

Griffin gets up from his chair and paces to the windows and back again. "We have to talk about what happened on the retreat."

My spine stiffens as he does another lap of his office. "What do you mean? We already said all there was to say about it."

Griffin comes to a stop behind his desk. He opens the top drawer and pulls out a piece of paper, leaving it face down. "There are some other things that happened on the trip—complications, if you will."

"What complications, and how does this involve me? I spent most of the retreat in my room."

"Which is a problem in itself, but you've always been antisocial with people you deem beneath you."

I glance at the heavy-duty stapler on the corner of his desk. I'm not a violent person, but I bet throwing the stapler at his head would feel pretty good right now.

In less than five minutes, he's managed to piss me off and insult me twice.

I slide to the edge of my seat, reaching for the paper. He puts his hand down on it, pulling it back to him.

"Griffin, please don't be ridiculous. We both have work to do and the longer you keep me here, the longer this is going to take."

He sighs and rakes a hand through his dark locks. "Listen, I want you to know that I knew nothing about this until a courier showed up on my doorstep yesterday. I promise. I didn't know anything. I thought that it was just a kiss. If I had known about this, I would have dealt with it sooner."

Blood rushes in my ears as butterflies erupt in my stomach. "What are you talking about? You're starting to scare me."

His shoulders slump as he pushes the paper toward me. "It's easier to explain if you just look at it."

I take the thick paper and flip it over. My hands tremble as I read the words scrawled across the paper and see my signature at the bottom beside Griffin's.

The marriage certificate has my world coming to a screeching halt around me.

A marriage certificate…?

It's a fucking marriage certificate.

Of Cora Walsh. Married to Griffin Blake.

I have to blink a few times to make sure I'm reading the words correctly.

No fucking way.

I would have remembered a complete mental breakdown that would have led to us walking into a chapel together.

"This… this has to be fake," I run my fingers over the embossed seal. I don't know what kind of sick joke this is, but you need to get rid of it right now. This isn't funny, Griffin."

"It's not a joke." He swallows hard and rounds the desk to take the seat beside me. "I wouldn't lie to you about this, Cora. I promise it's not a joke."

"No. This has to be a joke. I would have to be out of my mind to marry you. There is no way that I would have ever let that happen. We don't even like each other. Why would we walk into a chapel and get married?"

He throws his hands up in the air. "I don't know why we would have done it, but apparently, we did, and we're married now. This isn't a joke. Why would I joke about something like this?"

"Because you have a sick sense of humor and have spent most of my life messing with my head." I shove the paper back toward him and get up. "Come up with a better joke next time."

"I looked into the certificate, and it's real." He sighs and slumps in on himself. "Do you think I would come up with a joke that would tie us together like this? You may be growing on me, Cora, but I'm not planning on getting married to anyone anytime soon; I don't want to be killed by your brother when he finds out that we're married."

I shake my head, my hands waving wildly. "Oh, no. We absolutely are not telling him about this. We are not telling anyone about this at all."

"At least we're on the same page about something." He glares at me like this is my fault.

Maybe it was. Maybe I never should have agreed to go out and get a few drinks with him. I certainly never should have kissed Griffin. Frustration washes over me.

This could be my fault.

I can't imagine that it was his idea to get married. I don't think it would have been mine either, but he's always disliked me more than I disliked him.

I used to try to find Griffin"s redeeming qualities, the ones that made him seem less bad.

When I finally found that part of him after we kissed, the first thing I decided to do with it was to marry him.

I sigh and sit back down, leaning back in the seat and squeezing my eyes shut. "What are we going to do about this, Griffin? We are the worst people in the world to get married to each other."

"We're going to keep it quiet for now." He sits taller as if this is part of the conversation he's been waiting to have. I don't want anyone to know that we're married. It's only going to cause complications until we can get this taken care of."

"I don't want people to know we were married… ever."

If I didn't know better, I would say a flash of disappointment crossed his face.

But I know better.

This is Griffin. He is a cold-blooded man without feelings. One who never wanted me around when I was a child.

Even if we are on friendlier terms now, he still doesn't want me to be involved in his life.

And I better not get involved in his.

I want to make enough money to be free of the debt that haunts me, and then I want to leave behind all the men who have only made my life more difficult.

He has more than enough money and power to end this marriage in a flash.

Griffin takes the certificate back and locks our marriage certificate in the bottom drawer of his desk. He leans back in his seat, watching me like I'm a wild animal poised to attack.

"What?" I cross my arms, an eyebrow arching. "You look like you have a problem keeping this a secret."

Griffin shakes his head. "No, I have a problem with whether this will create more problems between us. Do you think you"ll be able to keep the marriage a secret? I see you gossiping with Kaleigh and a couple of other associates. The last thing I need is for you to spread this around the office."

"What are you talking about? I thought we were on better terms now. Remember, we talked about being civil with each other? You've got to be kidding me. Screw this, Griffin. Get the damn annulment papers ready. You can get it done, right? You're a lawyer."

I shove the chair back as I stand and glare at him. My hands ball into fists as I spin and head for the door.

I leave his office, slamming the door shut behind me, cutting off any chance of continuing the conversation.

Right now, all I need is the damn annulment to be filed quick and painless.

I don't want anything of his, and I doubt he would want anything of mine.

Being married to Griffin Blake is like living in a twisted fantasy and a waking nightmare.