TABOO A DEAL WITH THE SHADOW ALPHA

ADDISON

Four days.

The number was a drumbeat in my head, a constant, panicked rhythm counting down my doom. Five days since the suffocating dinner, and I had precisely forty-eight hours left to produce a human shield wealthier and more powerful than Feign Paxton.

My "research" had been a spectacular failure. The list from Devin was a graveyard of maybes and no-chances. The tech bro, the London-based heir, the notoriously rude old money... all dead ends. The only viable, terrifying option was Bane Killian, the womanizer. My brother had, in a last-ditch effort, actually set up a date with him for tomorrow night. The thought made my skin crawl.

Which is why I was currently lurking around the Castino's lobby like a total creep for the fifth day in a row. My target: Axel Rex. I'd spent hours perched on a plush velvet bench, pretending to read a magazine while my eyes were glued to the private elevator bank that led to the penthouses. I'd seen no one who even remotely matched his description.

Giving up for the night, I trudged toward the elevators, my heels clicking a sad rhythm on the marble floor. I pressed the call button and stepped inside, leaning against the mirrored wall with a sigh of defeat. Just as the doors began to slide shut, a large, masculine hand shot through the gap, making them bounce back open.

My heart leaped into my throat.

And then he stepped in.

Axel Rex.

In person, he was... more. So much more. The photos didn't capture the sheer presence of the man. He seemed to suck all the air and light out of the elevator, leaving only a charged, heavy silence. He was taller than I'd imagined, his shoulders impossibly broad in a perfectly tailored black suit that cost more than my car. His eyes, that deep, forest green, flicked to me for a half-second, a silent acknowledgment, before he turned and pressed the button for the PH-the Penthouse.

The doors closed. We were alone.

I tried to be cool, to be the confident model the world saw. But my palms were sweating. I could feel the heat radiating from him, smell the faint, expensive scent of his cologne-sandalwood and something wild, like a storm on the horizon.

This is it. Say something. Anything.

But my mind was a perfect, terrified blank. The elevator began its smooth, silent ascent.

Then, with a sickening, violent lurch, it jolted to a halt. The lights flickered wildly before settling into an dim, emergency amber glow. A blaring alarm cut through the silence for a moment, then stopped, leaving a ringing quiet that was somehow worse.

I gasped, stumbling backward into the wall, my heart hammering against my ribs. This wasn't happening.

"Are you hurt?"

His voice was a low, calm rumble, so at odds with my panic. He was standing perfectly still, his posture relaxed, as if elevator malfunctions were a normal part of his day.

"N-no," I stammered, clutching my purse like a lifeline. "I'm fine. Just... startled."

"The backup system will engage. It will just be a moment," he said, his voice utterly sure. He pulled out his phone, typed a brief message with an unnerving calm, and then slid it back into his pocket. His gaze returned to me, intense and unnervingly focused.

The silence stretched, thick and awkward. My phone, clutched in my hand, lit up with a notification. A text from Devin.

Don't forget. Dinner with Bane tomorrow. 8 PM. Don't be late.

I felt a wave of nausea. My eyes flicked back to the screen, the countdown clock in my head screaming.

"Trouble in paradise?"

His question startled me. I looked up to find him watching me, a faint, unreadable curiosity in his green eyes.

"No," I said, a little too quickly. I let out a shaky breath, deciding on a sliver of the truth. "No, it's just... my brother. He set me up on a date. For tomorrow."

"I see." He leaned a shoulder against the mirrored wall, making the small space feel even smaller. "I thought you didn't date much. Weren't you with someone else recently? Feign Paxton."

The air left my lungs. How did he know that? For a second, it felt creepy, but then I dismissed it. Of course he knew. I was a public figure. Our "relationship" had been in all the society columns. "We broke up," I said, the words tasting bitter. "And now I need to find a new boyfriend, or my parents will... well, let's just say it won't be pleasant."

The words just tumbled out, fueled by claustrophobia and desperation. "They've given me a week to find someone... better." I made air quotes around the word, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "Someone wealthier, more influential. Or else I have to go crawling back to him." I shook my head, muttering more to myself than to him, "At this point, I'd take a fake boyfriend. Anything just to get my mother's eyes off me for a while."

I hadn't meant to say that last part out loud. I braced myself for his pity, or worse, his disdain.

Instead, he was silent for a long moment, just studying me. I felt like a specimen under a microscope.

"I see," he said again, his voice thoughtful. Then, he straightened up. "I'll do it."

I blinked. "What?"

"I will be your fake boyfriend, Ms. Amber." He said it with the same finality as when he'd declared the backup system would engage. "It would be an advantage. And for your family's criteria... I am not a millionaire. I am a billionaire. I assume that will be 'good enough'?"

My mouth fell open. I just stared at him, sure I had hallucinated from the lack of oxygen. "R-really?"

He gave a single, firm nod.

The hope that surged in me was so violent it was almost painful. But I was still an accountant at heart. There was always a price. "What... what would you want in return?"

"Simple," he said, a ghost of a smile touching his lips, there and gone so fast I might have imagined it. "You will be my plus-one to various events. I am tired of the rumors-Axel Rex is too ruthless, too solitary, he can't keep a partner. Being seen with you would be... good for my public image."

It made a cold, corporate sense. A mutually beneficial transaction. Just like I'd proposed.

Just then, the elevator jolted back to life, the lights flickering on brightly before we continued our smooth ascent as if nothing had happened.

"Okay," I said, my voice stronger now. "Okay, but we need rules."

The doors pinged open on my floor. He placed a hand over the door sensor, holding them open. His gaze was unwavering. "Name them."

"First, the arrangement lasts for two months. That's it."

"Agreed."

"Second,no sex. Nothing intimate. This is strictly business."

A faint,almost imperceptible shadow crossed his features, but he nodded. "Of course."

"And third,"I took a deep breath. "We can both still see other people. Since it's not real."

For a long moment, he just looked at me, his green eyes seeming to see right through to my soul. The silence stretched, and I wondered if I'd pushed too far.

"Those terms are acceptable," he finally said, his voice a low hum.

A dizzying wave of relief washed over me. "Okay. Then... we have a deal."

"We have a deal," he repeated.

I stepped out into my hallway, my legs feeling like jelly. As the elevator doors began to close, I saw him still standing there, a powerful, immovable figure in the center of the small space, his intense eyes locked on me until the very last second.

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