Chapter2
1028 Words
Lucas
I try not to stare at her, but I can't help it. She is more beautiful in person than in pictures. Her eyes look sad, she is trying to hide it, but I can see right through her.
I can only imagine how she’s feeling. Losing both parents and having to bury them is no easy thing, and being the only child at that. I admire her strength.
“So my client here would like to give you an offer,” Mason says.
Mason is my lawyer. He's been with the company since my father started it.
He looks at me for a go ahead, and I give him a nod.
"My client is giving you a way out of the debt you owe him. Marry him, and he forgets about the debt."
"Mind you, being married to Mr. Blackwood would come with a lot of benefits to you," he adds, pushing the contract papers towards her.
She looks from Mason to me, then back again.
“Is this a joke?” she asks, staring directly at me.
“No, it isn't,” I reply.
“So you think you can just come to my company and throw marriage in my face and I would hop on it?” she says, looking so angry.
“You don't exactly have a choice here,” I say calmly,
“I mean you have a choice to refuse this, but that would mean you facing me in court and we both know that you don't have the money to cover that,” I say, looking at her.
She looks defeated.
“Look, it’s a marriage of convenience. Just something on the papers. When other companies you owe know that you are married to me, they will back off. "Being married to me will bring you clients so that you can pay off your debts.” I can see her thinking.
“What's in it for you?” She asks.
“It's personal,” I reply with a tight smile.
“Just review the contract and give us a call tomorrow if you’re interested,” Mason says.
“I’ll take my leave now,” I say, standing. I offered her a handshake, then nodded towards her secretary before walking out.
As I got into my car, I exhaled a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding.
Why am I nervous about a woman that I know nothing about?
“Take me to the office,” I say to my driver.
My father’s been on my neck about finding a wife. He even threatened to take back his company, knowing him , that’s no empty threat.
I have been looking for the right woman, someone without scandals and who is not always involved with the press. When I saw the accident involving Mr and Mrs Reed, Aubrey's parents, I was shocked to discover they even had a child.
I decided to run a background check on her, and it came out clean: no scandal, no messed-up past. She is way different from most of the girls that I have met.
There was a picture of her and her ex-fiancé, but it turns out they separated for reasons unknown. For someone who is an only child, I expected her to be spoiled, but she is as good as they come. She gives out to the orphanage and stays out of trouble.
Seeing her today just stirs up this curiosity in me. I want to get to know her, plus she is pretty, and she looks like she is holding in a lot of sadness and that just draws me to her.
My phone rings, I see Tessa on the screen and I just let out a sigh.
“Yes?” I answered.
“Hey baby, how are you doing?” she says in her high-pitched voice that makes my skin crawl.
“I'm good,”
“Are you at the office?”
“On my way there.”
“Okay, I'm coming over. I want to ease that tension so that you can have a good day.”
“Be quick” I find myself grinning.
“Sure.”
I don't have any feelings for Tessa at all, but she is a good distraction, a pretty blonde girl that knows how to use her mouth.
As I ended the call, I dialed my best friend’s number, Mark.
“Hey man, how did the meeting go?”
“It went well.”
“Did she agree to it?”
“Not yet, but I'm sure she will.”
“Is she as pretty as she looks in her pictures?”
“I don't know,” I say firmly.
“Hmmm, so that's a yes.”
“f**k off man.”
He laughs. “I hope she agrees, so your dad can get off your back.”
“Same man.”
“Alright, talk later.”
“Yeah.”
Mark is my best friend. We've been friends since high school, we understand each other so much.
As we pulled up to my office, I passed by my receptionist in the lobby. I didn't even respond to her greeting.
Am I a terrible person?
I don't think so. I pay her salary. Why am I obligated to respond to her greeting?
I headed for the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor.
As I get to the top floor, I head straight to my office and there she is waiting for me, Tessa.
“It took you a while to get here,” she says to me.
“Traffic” I took off my jacket.
“Bend over Tessa.”
“Yes sir.”
And just with that, I try to drown out the thoughts of Aubrey that are starting to cloud my mind.
After Tessa leaves, I open my laptop and try to do some work. Just then, I receive an email from Aubrey.
Email from Aubrey Reed:
“Before I sign this we need to talk, at 10 am tomorrow at your office.”
I find myself smiling unconsciously.
Oh Aubrey, this is going to be one hell of a roller-coaster experience.
- Writer
