Sentenced to Marriage by MadlainQ novel Chapter 12

Putting on a show Aren Lan looked absolutely striking in a navy blue suit and a black shirt and tie. I wouldn’t miss the way his perfectly tailored jacket emphasized his broad shoulders, nor how the well defined curves of his biceps pressured the fabric with each slight bend of his arm. Why did this arrogant douche have to look so mouth-watering? He made my mind go blank again! I should ignore him, walk past him, say that he confused me with someone else… anything aside from greeting him! Instead, I was now standing before him like a schoolgirl in front of a teacher while trying to find a logical way to explain my sudden brain malfunction. “I didn’t know you were working in my hotel,” he said, his eyes carefully scanning my tight uniform.

A wave of heat rushed through me. Of course, he owned the hotel! He owned nearly half of Manhattan, and with my luck, I should have assumed from the beginning that the Blue Crystal Hotel was his. Nonetheless, I proved to be stupid enough to never consider checking who owns that hotel before planning to do something illegal there. I should have been more careful. Now I needed to find a way out of this situation, and the best solution was to tell the truth… partially… kind of.

“I’m just here as a replacement to help my sick friend. I came here to complete one simple task for her, and now I’m leaving,” I explained, struggling to keep my voice calm. “Oh.” He raised his brows and narrowed his eyes a second later. “What’s your friend’s name?” Was he checking to see if I was telling the truth? Seriously?! Why did he instantly find my presence in his hotel suspicious?! Well, fortunately, memorizing the name of the bribed employee was the first thing I did preparing for “operation revenge.” I replied confidently, “Her name is Holly Griffin.” “I see,” he smirked, lowering his gaze to my chest. “If it were to happen one more time, tell her to get you a bigger size of the uniform. This one draws attention a little too much…” My mouth opened, but my mind was unable to produce any intelligent reply to his words. My embarrassment mixed with rising anger. I wanted to slap him, but at the same time, I wanted to become invisible. Yes, I was aware that I was slightly too curvy for that uniform, but it wasn’t like I could choose the damn size! It took me a few seconds to reboot my system before I could produce a comprehensible sentence instead of a cavewoman’s roar. “I guess you’ve got your time enjoying the view, then I’ll be on my way,” I hissed, walking past him.

He grabbed my hand, stopping me before I stepped into the revolving door. His grip was gentle, his thumb stroking the skin on my wrist. Shivers rushed through me, making me throb. I exhaled, forcing myself to pretend I was composed. I turned my eyes on him, putting all the nonchalance I could into my gaze. He chuckled. “It’s always a pleasure to see you, Ms. Bell,” he said as his fingertips slid from my wrists through the length of my palm until he released me from touch.

I gasped and squeezed my thighs, more than aware of my increased humidity. This time my

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brain demanded a serious recovery, leaving me with no other choice but to act like an idioti stretched my lips into a thin smile, preventing myself from making any sound that would compromise me more than I already was, and dashed through the door

As I stepped onto the sidewalk in front of the hotel, I realized I was trembling. The mix of extreme emotions I felt made me stop and try to remember which way I should go I began to wonder if my common sense was allergic to anything Lan related because I found my intelligence degraded below 00 IQ each time this man came around. To make it worse, everything about him screamed sex, turning me into a freaking cat in heat! God, I hated having so little control over my body!

I kept standing still with my mind blank for a minute or two. If Liam hadn’t shown up and led me to the car, I would probably have stood there looking like a lunatic for much longer than that

“What happened?” he asked, as we drove off from the hotel. “What took you so long? I thought that you were on your way to the exit when I texted you.” “I.. met the hotel’s owner,” I answered, nervously smiling. “Oh my God!” he exclaimed, grabbing my hands. “Were you accused of anything?! Are you all right?! Did he threaten you?!”

“No…” I muttered, replaying the whole situation in my mind, “I’ve met this person before, so he was just curious. I told him that I was a temporary replacement.”

Liam placed his hand on his chest and leaned against the car’s seat. “Thank God… You scared me, you know?”

“I scared you?!” I snapped, “You think that I wasn’t terrified myself?! I was the one actually committing a crime!”

“Fine, fine.” He raised his hands in surrender. “I’m just glad that you’re OK and that it will work on Friday… because it will work, right?”

“Yes, it will,” I assured him with a wicked smirk.

My heart kept pounding and my emotions swirled within me. I was hot-tempered, and I often let my feelings get the best of me, but I knew I could rely on my abilities. If Liam wanted to expose his ex in front of the world, then I was going to send his message in a way that everyone would hear it loud and clear.