Chapter 6
They said clothes made the man, and with that suit worth hundreds of thousands of dollars on me, even Sophie's secretary couldn't help but compliment me.
"Mr. Fields, you look so handsome it's unreal," she said.
*****
By evening, Sophie's Porsche was waiting for me downstairs.
It was rush hour, and everyone was heading home.
My coworkers watched me get into Sophie's car, their faces twisted with envy and bitter resentment.
Mark looked like he was about to grind his teeth into dust.
I let out a dismissive laugh.
You guys wanted to live off a rich woman? Please, you couldn't even get close.
As we crawled through traffic, Sophie suddenly turned to me.
"How's my makeup today? Is it too much?" she asked.
I knew my role, so I flashed a quick smile.
"It's perfect, just the right amount, not over the top or too subtle," I replied.
Sophie nodded, clearly pleased.
"Just watch me and play along, okay?" she said.
I stiffened up and nodded fast.
Crap, was I about to get smacked around? A fancy suit wouldn't save me if things went sideways.
The Sterling family's villa was located on the west side of the river, right at the foot of Cloudview Mountain.
The place was so massive, it was more like an estate. The front gate alone had to be over sixty feet wide.
It looked like the entrance to some ancient fortress, straight out of a medieval epic.
Inside, a whole squad of bodyguards dressed in black were hidden in the shadows, watching every move.
I followed right behind Sophie, trying not to look too nervous or out of place.
Honestly, I felt like a clueless newbie stumbling into a billionaire's mansion.
Soon enough, I spotted Richard in the living room, the legend who'd ruled the business world for decades, and now, the guy I was supposed to call father-in-law.
He just sat there, and one could feel the power rolling off him, even without saying a word, he made me nervous.
As soon as Sophie and I walked in, Richard's face twisted up in anger.
Richard barked, "You little troublemaker, you actually bothered to show up?"
"Do you even realize your little stunt wiped billions of dollars off Sterling Enterprises' value?" he growled.
But Sophie didn't even flinch. She just tossed the marriage certificate onto the table.
Sophie said, "Dad, Ryan and I are married. I'm pregnant with his baby, it's totally normal, isn't it?"
Richard was fuming, slamming his hand on the table.
"Getting married is one thing, but can't your old man at least have a say? You just drag any guy home and call him my son-in-law, do you even care about your dad?" he snapped.
"I'm about to become the laughingstock of the whole business world," he added.