The Arrangement

Chapter 3

AnnaLeigh

My phone rings waking me from a deep sleep. I roll over on my bed to check who it is.

Fairfax Inc.

I bolt upright in bed, my heart hammering on my chest. I just had my interview with them yesterday.

Okay, okay, okay. I took a deep breath.

"Hello," I say willing my voice not to shake.

"Hi is this AnnaLeigh Maguire?" A female voice asks on the other end of the line.

"Speaking."

"Hi AnnaLeigh. I'm just calling to inform you that unfortunately we have decided to chose another applicant for this job."

"Oh." My heart sank.

"We will be sure to keep your application on file should another position become available."

"Um, Okay. Thanks." What else could I say? After hanging up the phone I collapse into my pillow, face first. So much for getting the job.

I felt tears of frustration spring to my eyes and I let them soak my pillow case. There was so much more on the line than just paying the Bill's and having some spending cash. My dad's life was at stake. I took out my phone, scrolling through my contacts. I stop at Richard Cartwright's number, my thumb hovering over the call button. It's not like I have much of a choice. So I hit the dial button, sealing my fate.

"Hello," Richard picks up.

"Hi Mr. Cartwright, Its AnnaLeigh."

"AnnaLeigh!" He greets me warmly. "Its so nice to hear from you. So can I assume that....?" He left the question hanging.

I took a deep breath. I felt like I would be crushed underneath the weight of the words forming in my mouth. "Yes." I say. " I will do it." I felt something inside of my heart curl up and die. " I will marry your son."

Richard Cartwright

I couldn't believe she had said yes. Even I, a successful businessman could still find himself at a loss for words. There was something endearing about her. Yet, here she was, shaking hands on an arrangement that would force her life down a different path than I'm sure she had planned for herself. But what she may not know is that I might be agreeing to pay her father's medical bills, yet somehow I felt indebted to her.

It had been a few days since I had tracked her down at the hospital and today were going to meet to discuss the finer details of the agreement. I had invited her for tea at the Plaza and thankfully she had accepted.

I had just sat down at my usual table, the one in the corner with the plush armchairs on both sides. I had deliberately chosen it because it was hidden out of view and would give us the privacy we very much needed. I began to check my emails when suddenly I felt the whole mood of the room change, like a guest of wind had entered, leaving everyone inside refreshed. I look up and there she is. She steps nervously into the room, looking around like a lost child. I cant help but smile and making me even more sure about my plan.

AnnaLeigh

I woke with a start this morning, surprised at how late I had managed to sleep. I was supposed to meet Mr. Cartwright for tea this afternoon. There a sentence I never thought I'd hear myself say, I laugh to myself. I have no idea what I should wear. And for a moment I think about asking Sarah for help but then I would have to explain who I was meeting and why. That felt like a whole other problem. I already had enough of those. So instead I settle on a dark denim pair of Jean's and a white blouse. Adding my favorite black boots before I leave the house to catch the train to the Plaza Hotel. As I'm heading there my nerves are multiplying by the second. I know I am clearly out of my element, that much was obvious. I look down at what I am wearing. Would they even let me in? Walking through the door I barely make it to the front desk before the concierge runs out from behind it, stopping me.

"Madame?"

"Hi,yes." I stutter. " I'm here for tea."

He just raises an eyebrow as he glances at my oufit.

"I'm meeting Mr. Cartwright," I say, not sure if he will believe me. But it seems to do the trick.

"Oh, perfect," he says, his french accent making him seem all the more intimidating. "Follow me."

As soon as he opens the main dining room doors I gasp. The decor is so beautiful, so meticulously arranged. I begin to look around, from table to table, feeling very out of place. And then I see Mr. Cartwright in the back corner, standing up and giving me a wave.

I turn to the concierge, "Thanks for your help." I say softly as I weave through the tables of people.

"Take a seat." He says as soon as I'm within earshot. He points to a plush chair across from him and I feel like I have sunk into a cloud the moment I sit down. He smiles at me. " Thanks for joining me."

"Thanks for inviting me." I respond, filled with nerves. "This place is incredible. "

"This?" He says, looking around. "Its nothing." But he winks to let me know he is joking. "It is something you will get used to."

"I dont think I would."

"Believe me," he says, "The glitz and the glamour wear off. There are only so many bottles of champagne you can buy before you realize you have noone you truly like to share them with. But that's why you are here."

"You drink champagne at tea?" I ask, confused. Just then the waiter comes over.

"Mr. Cartwright? The usual?"

He gives the waiter a swift nod and he disappears without so much of a glance toward me. But then he leans forward and I can tell he wants to start the conversation.

"So AnnaLeigh, first of all call me Richard from now on, okay?"

I smile and nod, too nervous to say anything.

"What you might not know my son," he begins leaning back into his chair, "Is that he has been through alot. Growing up with me as a father isnt easy, contrary to what many might think. There is alot of pressure. And pressure in small confinements..."

"It explodes." I finish his sentence. And then I feel the blood rush to my cheeks. Did I really just interrupt Richard Cartwright?

But he just nods at me. "Excatly. Christain has been all over the place lately. And I think you ...well that you have the ability to ground him. To remind him of what is important. That is what I'm proposing. "

"So I get married to your son and you make sure my dads health...his medical bills... "

"Everything will be covered." He says, with a certainty that makes me trust him. "So as long as our deal...our arrangement will never be told to anybody else. Nobody can know why you are doing this. Not your family, not your friends, and not Christian. Especially not my son."

He then hands me a multi page contract with at least thirty clauses. As I sit there holding it my dad's face flashes through my mind - the face I had seen in the hospital bed, all pale and weak. My mind was telling me to stop, to think it over but it was like my hand was working on it's own. I take the fancy pen out of his hand and I signed the contract. Then, hand still shaking , I took a sip of the steaming tea the waiter put before me. Wondering what I had just done....

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