Knight in Shining Suit (72 page)

She is married to her first love,
Sam, who has been her boyfriend since the age of 16. They are
blessed with a beautiful four-year-old daughter,
MarQuise.

When she’s not buried under stacks
of paper at work, or engrossed with her writing, Jerilee Kaye
spends some down time playing golf, kicking her husband’s butt on a
judo match, and learning to play the piano.

Other books by this
author

Intertwined

Coming Soon:

All the Wrong Reasons

Wingless and Beautiful

Taming a Princess

(A Knight in Shining Suit spin-off)

A preview of

Taming a
Princess

Adam Ackers sat on Mr. Van
Woodsen’s office. He looked at his clock. The man was thirty
minutes late. He would be late for his date! But he needed this
deal. Not for himself. But for his father, who is currently
fighting for his life in the hospital.

He took his phone and
started typing a message:

Might be a bit late. You
can start appetizer without me. I’m sorry. Would be there as soon
as I can.

Then he scrolled through
his phone book until he found Nicole’s number.

A minute later, she
replied:

Don’t worry. I’m running
late too. Just got off a meeting with a witch bride from
hell.

Adam smiled. He liked his
friendship with Nicole. She was sensible. She has a serene
personality. And she was in love with her best friend. So Adam
knows she will not try to flirt with him or go to bed with him.
She’s safe. If only John knew how lucky he was. Nicole would make a
good wife someday. At least that’s what Adam thought.

Finally, the door opened,
and Mr. Van Woodsen entered the room. Although he is now somehow
related to the Van Woodsens, Adam refused to use Astrid as his
trump card. He would prove to his father that on his own, he could
win back this account.

Adam didn’t even call
Ryder about the expiring contracts his father’s company has with
the Van Woodsens Group. Ryder’s father is still the President. The
old man would be the one to sign with them. He wanted to do this as
professionally as possible.

“
Mr. Ackers.” Mr. Van
Woodsen addressed him.

Adam stood up from his
seat. “Mr. Van Woodsen.” He extended his hand, and the older man
shook it. Then he motioned for him to take a seat again.

Mr. Van Woodsen stared at
him for a while and then he said, “I know why you’re here. My
contracts would be expiring soon. It’s worth a couple of millions.”
He looked at him as if he was sizing him up. “I trust your father,
but why should I trust you?”

“
Because the fruit doesn’t
fall far from the tree. And I’m younger, smarter and armed with new
tricks.” Adam replied confidently.

“
You’re a lawyer,
Adam.”

“
Which means I know how to
prove a point and make people believe in it. Isn’t that what you
hire a marketing company for?”

The older Van Woodsen
smiled. Then he stood up. “I’m still waiting for you to mention my
beautiful daughter-in-law’s name.”

Adam smiled. “Don’t hold
your breath for that. She has nothing to do with this.”

“
You’re right. But if you
are as charming as she is, then maybe I will put you up on a
challenge. And then you can earn my trust.”

Adam raised a brow. “What
challenge is that?”

Mr. Van Woodsen smiled.
“You have to accept it first. And once you do, you cannot back out.
And I trust you know how to keep your mouth shut.”

Adam was not only
desperate to keep this account for his father without Ryder’s help,
he was now intrigued with the game Ryder’s father is playing at.
And he loves a good challenge.

“
Okay. But if I pass your
test, you will give my father’s company a decade of business… that
comes with a binding contract.”

Mr. Van Woodsen smiled.
“If you pass, there wouldn’t even be a need for a binding contract.
We will do business with you for as long as this company
stands.”

Adam stared at him for a
while and then he extended his hand to him. The older Van Woodsen
shook it.

“
So what is the
challenge?” Adam finally asked.

The older Van Woodsen
smiled slowly. Then he said, “This is a personal challenge, Mr.
Ackers. I know you’re smart. In fact, very smart according to your
credentials. But I’m afraid that won’t help you in this challenge.
If it will, maybe only just a little bit.”

Adam raised a brow. He
doesn’t know what Mr. Van Woodsen was aiming at, and he was now
more intrigued than ever.

Mr. Van Woodsen sighed.
“There is a girl who is… my treasure… my princess. I want to see
her married to a man who has something to say for himself. Smart.
Honorable. Loyal. Isn’t a womanizer. With a good family background…
a family fortune and a fortune of his own.”

“
Someone like your son.”
Adam suggested.

Mr. Van Woodsen stared at
Adam for a while. Then he said, “Yes. But, unfortunately, a breed
like Ryder nowadays is… scarce.”

“
But not
extinct.”

Mr. Van Woodsen nodded. “I
have arranged many eligible bachelors to marry this girl. But she
hated each and every one of them. Not only did she refuse this
arranged marriages, but she also tried her damn best to make the
guys surrender. I arranged for her twice, and both men came back
saying they wouldn’t even come within a kilometer away from her.
I’m trying for number three.”

Adam raised a brow. “What
does this have to do with me?”

Mr. Van Woodsen stared at
him for a while. “I want you to convince her to marry this guy I
arranged for her. And I want you to make her do it willingly. She
can’t know that this guy is her arranged betrothed. The minute she
does, she will employ all means to make him… cry. I want you to
strategize how she’ll end up in the altar, this time next year…
with the man, I chose for her.”

Adam looked at Mr. Van
Woodsen as if he was out of his mind. “Do you really think I can
pull this off? I don’t even believe in marriage,
myself!”

“
Oh? Is that why you are
helping your cousin and your girlfriend manage their booming
wedding events company?” Mr. Van Woodsen asked
sarcastically.

“
That’s a different
matter. I’m doing it because they’re very good in it. And you’ve
been misinformed. I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“
Then even better. No one
else needs to know about our little arrangement.”

Adam was in the brink of
frustration, but he tried to control his emotions. This is a
business meeting! Why is Mr. Van Woodsen mixing business with his
daughter’s personal life?

Adam gave the man a hard
look. “I’m assuming you’re talking about Paris, your daughter. Why…
why do you need to arrange a marriage for her? I mean, are you
blind? Have you seen how beautiful she is?”

Thinking about Paris Van
Woodsen’s long legs, creamy skin, and riveting green eyes, the word
attractive doesn’t even give justice to her. But Adam doesn’t like
spoiled, rich brats like her. When he first met her, he thought she
was exactly like his sister. Rich. Pretty. But not so bright and
quite shallow. Maybe all she does is shop around and spend Daddy’s
money. All she needed to do is to stay pretty and wait for a rich
guy to marry her.

The old man sighed. “I
love my daughter very much. And I have a lot to make up for. She
didn’t grow up with me. But I provided for her. I gave her all her
whims. But she’s been trying to get my attention ever since she was
little. I wasn’t there for her. Now, I want to make sure she ends
up with a good man. One who has money himself, so I am sure he
isn’t trying to get into her pants, to dig into the family’s
fortune. An intelligent man with principles in life.” Mr. Van
Woodsen looked at Adam. “But I needed someone close to her age to
convince her that this is the best thing for her. That she can’t
marry the guys she normally dates. They’re all… hopeless imbeciles.
I know she’s only doing that to rebel against me. I know you’re
smart enough to strategize this. And I was hoping you would be as
charming as Astrid to convince my overly rebellious daughter to
accept her position in this family.”

Adam laughed humorlessly.
“I think you got yourself the wrong deal, Sir. I am not related by
blood to Astrid at all.”

The man smiled. “But blood
is not the only thing that makes two people related, Mr. Ackers. I
know more about you than you think. You moved out of your father’s
house at the age of 18. Graduated law school a year ahead of time.
Became a partner in your firm after only two years. Never lost a
case in your career. On your free time, you practice kickboxing and
other forms of street martial arts, but you didn’t want anybody to
in your family to know that.

“
We both know you will
soon put up your own law firm because that’s your dream. You are
trying to win my account, not for your own gain. But for your
father’s company, which you have no intention of taking over. You
know this firm will go to your sister someday. And you’re trying to
secure her future. Not yours.”

Adam was shocked with what
he heard from Mr. Van Woodsen. He felt like he just went to his
shrink, though he doesn’t have one, and read all his
file.

“
I love my daughter. I am
trying to secure her future too.” He said. “I want to make sure she
doesn’t end up marrying one of the bastards she’s been dating for
years. They are all spineless, gold-diggers.”

Adam couldn’t believe what
he just heard. “You want me to play cupid for your daughter and
this man you want her to marry?”

Mr. Van Woodsen nodded.
“I’m old. I don’t know what you kids ‘dig’ these days. I need help
pulling this off, because my previous two attempts failed
miserably. My daughter is tougher than I gave her credit for, and
believe me, I gave her a lot!” He paused, lost in his thoughts for
a while. Then he said, “I need help, Mr. Ackers. And obviously, I
can’t ask anybody in my family because they would never agree to
this plan. Ryder would kill me if he finds out. He loves his sister
very much and would want her to choose her own future. Astrid is
very loyal to my son; I don’t think she would be able to lie to him
about this. My ex-wife… well, I don’t even want to go there!
Through the years, she’s the woman I trust and distrust the most.
You need something from me… and I am desperate to settle my
daughter’s future.”

“
If you’re damn desperate
why don’t you just feign terminal sickness and make this your last
wish?” Adam said sarcastically.

Mr. Van Woodsen was taken
aback by what he said. And then he laughed. “I can’t say that
didn’t cross my mind. But my daughter is smarter than that.
Obviously, smarter than you give her credit for. Paris is a…
gem.”

Adam snorted. “Yeah. Real
princess.” He said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Mr. Van Woodsen laughed
hard, and Adam raised a brow. He expected him to get mad at his
remark, but to find that amusing is not something he
expected.

“
Adam, son… I suggest you
take this challenge.” He said. “You just might be in for the
surprise of your life.”

Adam seriously doubts
that. Paris doesn’t rank high in his list of rare and precious
gems… right where Nicole and Astrid are at the top of it. He shook
his head. “I don’t think I can do this.”

Mr. Van Woodsen raised a
brow at him in a challenge. “We already shook on it.”

“
That is not binding and
legal.” Adam pointed out.

Mr. Van Woodsen shrugged.
“Yes. But after a couple of weeks, so are my company’s contracts
with your father.”

Adam knows he’s failed his
father plenty of times in the past. And now that he’s fighting for
his life, he doesn’t want to do it again. It will make his
condition worse if he loses this account.

“
What exactly do you need
me to do?”

Mr. Van Woodsen stood up
to pour himself a glass of whiskey. “Do you want some?” He asked
Adam.

Adam shook his head.
“Thank you.”

“
I want you to get close
to my daughter. Close enough to earn her trust. And then do what
you do best… convince her that she’s better off marrying this man I
chose for her.” Mr. Van Woodsen said. “Good if she accepts it
because her brain is telling her she should. But better if she does
it because her heart tells her it’s what she wanted.”

“
And who is this guy you
arranged for?” He asked. “Does he know what the deal
is?”

Mr. Van Woodsen nodded.
“He’s a son of one of my business partners. Wealthy and about to
inherit his family’s fortune. Yes, he wanted to marry Paris from
the moment he laid eyes on her. He knows that it’s going to be
difficult, knowing about the first two guys. He’s willing to
cooperate, for as long as he succeeds.”

“
If I refuse to do this,
what would you do?” Adam asked the man challengingly.

Mr. Van Woodsen stared at
him thoughtfully, and then he said, “I would shop around for other
companies. If your father, my old friend, Jack gets better enough
to handle his company again, I would sign with him. He won’t lose
my account. But we both know that’s not your point in coming here
today, Mr. Ackers. Am I right?”