40 Counter-Measure Plan

In the following days, I realized regaining my memories might prove more troublesome than I had initially thought. Julian had offered to continue telling me what he knew about our Hawaii trip, but anytime he started to share details, I would get a splitting headache. In the end, we decided to put my missing memory aside. Julian summed it up as: "You were missing for fourteen hours before I managed to find you."

I desperately wanted to know what had happened during those fourteen hours, but I simply couldn't seem to reach those memories.

We also agreed that until we had an actual counter-measure in place against his family killing me, we probably shouldn't continue… beyond where we'd left off. Just thinking about it made my cheeks burst into flames.

But Julian didn't stop his affectionate assaults. He would come home from work and give me a kiss right in front of Ileana and David. I died of embarrassment every time, but this was the type of open-affection I'd always longed for, so of course I wasn't going to push him away.

He'd always pull back and stare at my cheeks, laugh, and say, "Cute."

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I couldn't retort with anything. This bastard was still making fun of me, but now in a new way!

Sitting at home all day no longer felt like I was trapped somewhere I didn't belong. I still wasn't entirely used to Moxie, but David was teaching me how to walk her and what commands she knew. And Julian had started greeting me first instead of her, which felt like a victory in and of itself. I was ranked above the dog in this life!

Wait, don't be so happy about that, me!

It was in this new rose-colored world that the idea for some plausible death-insurance against Julian's mother finally came to me.

"Julian, you said you announced our engagement 'publicly,' but what exactly does that mean?" I set down my fork at the edge of my plate, unable to stop the buzzing thoughts in my head.

While mulling over my memories, I realized my memory of our engagement party was one of the few I remembered well, but looking back the party seemed… strange. And now that I knew Julian's father hadn't actually planned to acknowledge our engagement, I doubted it had been an engagement party at all.

Julian paused in his eating to answer me. "I announced it at a shareholder party."

"Ah, so that's why it seemed strange. Anyone with a say in the company, who might care about who the next CEO married, was there."

"Mm." Julian raised an eyebrow as he took a bite. "Why do you ask?"

"I was thinking… if announcing it to just the shareholders worked to keep us engaged, why not continue that same tactic?"

Julian set down his fork, giving me his undivided attention. "Go on."

"Well…" I let a smile slip onto my face. "When I barged into Sky, I wanted to be seen by people who knew we were married, so Mia wouldn't be allowed any pride to be seen in that place with you."

Julian's face looked a little pinched at the mention of Mia, but I continued.

"I was probably briefly mentioned by paparazzi that night in gossip columns. I doubt they knew who I was. But what if they had known who I was?"

"You want to be someone they can't ignore."

I nodded. "Exactly. Right now, everyone knows you have a wife, but no one knows who she is, not really. That makes things easier for your family. The less people who know me, the less scandal for your mistress and my disappearance."

Julian looked pensive for a moment before I could see a small light in his eyes. "How do you suggest we go about putting you into the spotlight?"

And now Julian had hit upon the one part of my idea that I hadn't been able to think through.

"I'm… not sure. I'm not particularly good at much of anything."

Julian looked at me for awhile before a grin spread across his face. "You are incredibly hard working. And you're beautiful."

"Those are not talents!" I felt my face flush at the sudden compliment.

"But they are traits all models have in common."

"A model?" If I had still been eating, I would have choked on my food. I had never considered myself the model-type. I wasn't particularly tall, nor was I especially skinny. I was mostly average in a lot of ways, as far as my body-type went. But Julian wasn't joking.

He nodded. "You may not be as tall as many runway models, but there are models for perfume or jewelry that are on the shorter side."

"How would I even become a model?" Julian spoke about this like he had a lot of experience.

"Sign on for one of our products. We're trying to get your name out there, but we aren't concerned about how you do it."

He could probably see I had been about to protest. I had slight reservations about signing on to represent one of Julian's family's brands, but that would be the fastest way to showcasing my name. But before that, appearing elsewhere would ensure his mother couldn't stop me.

"What about a magazine appearance first?"

"Let me call Charles. I'm sure his sister will be hiring."

"Who is Charles' sister?"

"She's the creative director of Teen Rouge."

Again, I would have choked. Rich people were beyond my understanding. Was it a requirement that they all have connections no matter where?

"Aren't I a little old for that magazine?"

"You're only twenty. Did you forget?" Julian gave me a small smirk.

He was trying to tease me for our age difference, but I wasn't about to let him. "If you count my repeats, I'm older than you."

"Mm, those don't count."

Before I could retort, Julian gave me a blinding smile. This man… my heart was going to die if he kept turning those charming smiles on me.