Husband For Hire

CHAPTER 4:GRUELING INTERVIEW

"So, Alex, right?" Lilian asked while the man before her nodded in affirmation.

Lilian looked down into the file containing every bit of information about him that was important. While they waited in the lobby.

Tom had passed out forms for the interested people to fill out, making the interview process a lot easier.

"What do you do for a living?" Lilian asked, although the answer was right in front of her, she wanted to hear it from him.

"I'm a clerical assistant for a paper-producing company," he responded.

Lilian tried to match the position he mentioned with the person sitting before her and it didn't fit the picture. He wore an oversized suit that swallowed up his arms, making it look like both his hands were amputated.

His hair was moist and plastered to his head, as though he decided to wash his hair as a last-minute resort before coming for the interview or maybe he did not own a towel.

His chin was bereft of even the tiniest stub of beard which was a major turn-off for her.

"Ok, why do you need money so much that you'd consider getting married to a total stranger you know nothing about?" Lilian asked.

"I've got bills to pay, a lot of bills," he said putting more stress on the word lot.

Looking at him, Lilian had no ounce of doubt about his enormous list of pending bills.

Lilian let out a sigh, "Thank you for coming in, you can leave, if you get selected, we'll reach out to you," Lilian announced.

"I hope you give me this, I need it," he declared.

"I do not doubt that you do,” Lilian retorted, watching him leave and she sank deeper into her chair in defeat.

This was the 7th guy she had interviewed and so far, all of them were flukes. She rang Tom and he came in.

"any luck?" he asked, ogling at her.

"Nope, I haven't found the one yet," I responded sincerely.

Tom chuckled lightly, "You don't need the one Lilian, you just

need to pick someone, it's not rocket science. Technically it's not even going to be a real

marriage," Tom advised.

"I know Tom, but I want someone I can tolerate. We'll live in the same house for like 6

months, eat the same food, I'll be seeing his face every single day. I need someone I

can feel comfortable around no matter how tiny the comfort is and with all the guys that I've seen, there is no hope of that happening anytime soon," I blurted out, in panic.

"Don't worry, I'm confident you'll find someone, they're still like 12 to 14 of them left to be

Interviewed," Tom assured.

"that's a lot," I stated with wide eyes.

"Yeah, more reason we should get on with it, it's already getting dark," Tom protested.

"Okay then, get me the next person," I accepted.

Tom nodded and walked out of the office.

Some minutes later, a man in grey scrubs walked into the office.

"Hi, sorry I was at work and I didn't have time to go home and get changed that is why I'm still in my work clothes," he apologized.

Lilian smiled back at him, he was quite short for a man, and he wore round-rimmed glasses which made him look like Harry Potter ordered from sss.

He had kind eyes and the edges of his eyes crinkled when he smiled.

"Hi, what's your name?" Lilian asked.

"Pete Wexler,” he replied.

She nodded and flipped through the stack of slim files on her desk for the name. When her eyes

fell on it, she pulled it out and scanned her eyes through it.

"What do you do Pete?" Lilian asked with interest.

"I'm a dentist," he warmly replied.

"That's nice, you've never been married?" Lilian asked.

"No, unfortunately,” he answered.

“Okay, why do you want this?" Lilian interrogated.

"Because I am a very empathetic person. I have never been married, and never had the chance to be responsible for someone. I just want to help as much as I can and care for her as much as I can before she passes. It would give me a sense of self-worth," he respectively responded.

Lilian's heart sank when he was done talking, she felt sorry for crafting a lie and roping him into thinking it was true, he looked like a really sweet and sensitive man.

"That is extraordinary Pete, thanks for coming in, we'll get in touch with you soon," Lilian softly stated with a smile.

"Ok, thank you," he said and left the office.

Tom poked his head through the door, "how was he?" he asked, intruding.

"Nope, he can get attached and he is a dentist who wears glasses, it's cute but I don't want someone who is just cute," Lilian disagreed.

"But he doesn't look like someone who would cause any trouble you know," Tom reasoned out.

"Yeah, but he's not just it, next person please," Lilian replied.

"Hi there," A voice with a very blunt Texas accent echoed. Lilian looked up to find a tall, lanky man clad in tight jeans and a red shirt with a wide cowboy hat sitting on his head.

"Hi, take a seat," Lilian motioned, Last time she checked, she was quite sure they were in Los Angeles and not Texas, did her message go that viral to the extent that it pulled out a Texan from his farm?

"Name please?" Lilian asked.

"Darryl Hawkins," he stated.

"ok Darryl, what do you do for a living?" Lilian asked.

"You have that piece of information already, why ask me again?" He said brashly.

Lilian looked up at him, her eyes wide with wonder, he was trying to exert his dominance as a man in her office and that was the last thing she would let happen.

"Answer the question Darryl," Lilian insisted.

he looked at her stoically for a while before responding, "I own a big farm,” he stated.

Lilian nodded and closed his file without even going through it. He had rubbed her the

wrong way and there was no need for her to drag on the conversation when it was no longer necessary.

"Well, would I get to see my bride?" He asked, glancing around the office.

"There's no possibility of that happening, you can leave we'll get back to you," Lilian blurted out.

"From the way you sound, I presume I didn't cut," he asked.

she leaned back into her chair and tilted her head at him.

"What do you think?" Lilian asked.

"If she doesn't want me, I could marry you though. You're a fine specimen yourself Darlin," he drawled out.

"Ew, That won't be necessary, leave!" Lilian commanded.

When the door closed behind him, she called Tom in.

"I'm exhausted Tom, I can't take anymore, tell them to leave we'll continue tomorrow". He nodded and stepped out.

Her phone pinged and lit up with a message from her mother. She groaned and took a look at it, s**t! She forgot about the dinner she was supposed to have with the shareholders today by 6, it was 7 already and she was still in the office, Her mother

had painstakingly planned it and would have her head if she was late for it. She stood up and hurriedly began to shove the pile of files on her desk in the drawer.

Her office door opened and a deep male voice spoke.

"I'm here for the interview," He stated.

Without looking up at him she responded, "That has been canceled for today, come back tomorrow," Lilian retorted.

"I'm afraid I can't," he declined.

She looked up to see who the person was, and immediately her eyes landed on him, the air in her lungs was knocked out and she inhaled deeply.

She would recognize that face anywhere, it was the hazel-eyed stranger from the funeral diner.

"You, where did you go to that night? You just disappeared,” Lilian blurted out.

He came closer to where she stood.

"Yeah, I was just there briefly, I had something else to take care of," he announced.

"Take a seat," she gestured to the chair in front of her.

"You didn't tell me you needed a husband, Miss Burns," he stated.

Lilian's eyes widened in surprise, "how do you know that?" she asked, shocked.

"How I know is not important, or is it?" he calmly asked.

She weighed his question mentally; he knew the reason behind her urgent need for a husband.

"You seem like an interesting person so I'd like to help you out. I need the money and you need a husband, so it's a mutual agreement," he stated.

Something about him told Lilian that money was not one of his many problems, he was dressed quite simply in a white plain shirt and navy blue trousers which were as straight as her sexuality.

It was not his dressing, the aura surrounding him was electrifying, the way he carried himself, the way he talked, letting the words bounce off his lips gave him the feel of someone who was almost royalty.

"Why do you want to marry me? Is the money the real reason?" Lilian couldn’t help but ask.

"Yes, because you're going to double whatever amount you're offering," he declared.

Lilian thought about it for a while, it felt like he was trying to convince her that it was the money he needed, well if he said he needed the money then he needed the money.

"Deal, I'll draw up a contract tomorrow and we'll meet so we can do the signing,” She announced, ogling at him.

his eyes gave off a piercing look that screamed dangerously, she loved a challenge and he

would be the perfect fit for her.

They stood and shook hands, "I'm Christian, Christian Hayes."