Terms and Conditions

Terms and Conditions (2021) is a contemporary romance by Lauren Asher and is the second book in the Dreamland Billionaires series. This novel follows Declan, the oldest of the Kane brothers, as he navigates a contractual marriage with his assistant, Iris. The Dreamland Billionaires series is a collection of three interconnected stand-alone novels, each of which follows one of the Kane brothers and the challenge he must meet to receive his inheritance. Terms and Conditions was a Goodreads Choice Award nominee, and the series was popularized through TikTok.

This guide references the 2022 Bloom Books edition.

Content Warning: The source material features references to domestic violence.

Plot Summary

The chapters alternate between Iris’s and Declan’s first-person point of view. Terms and Conditions opens with Iris and Cal, Declan’s youngest brother, at Declan’s fake engagement party for his contractual wedding to a woman named Bethany. Bethany pulls out at the last minute, and Iris takes her place despite her role as Declan’s assistant; she worked hard to arrange the engagement party and knows that Declan needs to get married and have a child to receive his grandfather’s inheritance and become CEO of the Dreamland company. Cal warns Iris to be careful, worried that Declan will hurt her.

Iris plans the wedding in just two weeks. After their marriage, Iris moves into Declan’s home. Close proximity forces the two to reveal parts of themselves they normally keep hidden, and both struggle with their attraction to one another and the blurred lines between what is real and fake in their relationship.

Meanwhile, Declan’s father, Seth, attempts to thwart Declan’s plans to take his place as CEO. He does not have access to the terms of Declan’s inheritance, but he suspects that Declan’s marriage is only for show and offers to pay Iris more than Declan to stop the marriage. When Seth reveals he will challenge Declan’s becoming CEO after the wedding, Declan decides to take the honeymoon they were originally going to forgo.

The honeymoon in South Africa is supposed to be a vacation for Iris, but Declan makes her work on revising the contract for Mr. Yakura, with whom they are developing Dreamland Tokyo. Iris admits how angry she is at the sacrifices she has made to make Declan happy. Declan admits he was wrong and requests more time from Yakura.

To combat the rumors of their fake marriage, and to alleviate the hateful comments people leave on Iris’s social media, Iris decides they should go on fake dates. On their first date, Declan admits that he does not want their relationship to be fake anymore. Iris refuses, but they inevitably grow closer.

Iris struggles with dyslexia, and this means she has to spend twice as long on her projects, checking for errors and typos. She had refused to ask Declan for accommodations, but on a date to the botanical gardens, Declan reveals that he has known about Iris’s dyslexia all along, and he asserts that she is the best worker he has known, despite her insecurities. Between this and Declan’s willingness to listen to her talk about the flowers they see at the gardens, Iris softens toward Declan. When she kisses him, she feels that their relationship has shifted. They make love that day, and Declan wears a condom despite his need for a child to fulfill the terms of his grandfather’s will.

Things begin to fall apart when Yakura says he is no longer interested in their deal because their interests do not align. Declan, Iris, and Cal agree that Seth is behind this, and Iris invites Yakura to visit the Florida Dreamland with her and Declan to give him a personal tour. Yakura shows up with Seth, and Seth begins to take over the meeting; Declan feels as if he is losing the deal. He calls Iris, who has the day off; she is disappointed but rushes to help them. As the situation devolves, Iris pulls Declan aside to check in, but Declan lashes out and blames her for the failure of the deal. Hurt, Iris flies back to Chicago in the company’s private jet.

In Chicago, Iris stays with Cal rather than at home with Declan, and Declan discovers that she not only has quit her job but also will be using her built up vacation time during what would be her two-week notice. Cal will fill in for her. Iris realizes she has let her fear of failure hold her back, and she decides to go to college, which she didn’t have the courage to do before.

Declan uses this time to plan how to win her back. When Cal sees Declan’s efforts, he decides to help.

To prove he is committed to starting a family, Declan buys a dog, a minivan, and an old farmhouse—the kind Iris daydreams about fixing up. He drives her outside the city to the farmhouse and pulls her out in the rain, while wearing the specific suit she had referenced in one of her fantasies. He asks her to marry him “for real.” Iris says yes, and Declan reveals that he has bought this house for them—a place to make a home. It even has a greenhouse, something Iris has always wanted.

In the Epilogue, Iris arrives at the office a year later to surprise Declan with the fact that their child-to-be will be a girl. In the Extended Epilogue, their daughter is five, and Iris is pregnant with twins. Declan has planned a party to celebrate Iris’s college graduation. The novel ends with Declan’s heartfelt speech in Iris’s honor and their inside joke, using foreign words to share their feelings.