Marriage Deal With Mr. CEO

It was just a dare.. Five shots of vodka, that was the dare that sent my life spinning out of control. Two weeks ago, our manager announced a massive pay increase, and my colleagues and I decided to celebrate. Despite not being on duty, I joined my best friend, Bella, at the bar to party with the rest of our co-workers as we had arranged that morning. I wasn't going to agree to the dare because I rarely take alcohol. The last time I had one was with David, my ex boyfriend, and that was about eight months ago. But after much persuasion from the girls, I accepted and gulped all four shots at once. And then, that was it, I found myself wanting more. If I ain't mistaken and recalling vividly, I ended up downing the full vodka bottle, basically, we all got wasted. “Nic.. Nicole !” Bella's familiar voice jerked me out of my reverie bringing me back to the present. I quickly wiped off the little tear I noticed had gathered in my eyes and turned towards the direction of her voice. “Hey..” I said. Her brows furrowed and she walked towards the counter where I was. “Nic?” She began, rubbing my hair. “What's wrong? Hey.. don't tell me.. you're thinking about it? Again?” I let out a deep breath I didn't even realize I was holding. I was about to respond when she said, “We’ll have this conversation later. There's a customer.” she said, gesturing towards the main entrance to our small bar. I turned to the door, where a manly figure had walked in, turning heads as he made his way. I was curious who could have such an impact on the customers. But then I thought that it was probably just another hot customer like we often got. The man was headed towards my counter. Before I could find out more, Bella called me back to reality with her leaving, “Talk to you later Nic. Work time…” I nodded and she in turn smiled at me before she went back to her work. “Hi.” A deep voice which I was sure belonged to the customer, brought my attention back to the counter. I looked up to meet his gaze and my breath caught in my throat as I saw him. No. No.. No. It felt like the world stopped as my eyes bore into his. The guy whose face had been haunting my memories for the past two weeks, ever since our… ‘one-night stand’ like y'all call it, was standing right in front of me. That night was, for me, the worst mistake of my life; one I had been trying to forget, one I regret and would most likely be regretting for the rest of my damn life! Seeing him sent a flood of feelings I had been working so hard to stifle. Hate, anger, and regret all came back to the surface. “What are you doing here?” I demanded, my voice sharp, ignoring his initial 'hi’ “What am I doing here?” he asked, the friendly smile still on his face. “You heard me.” I snapped, anger boiling inside me. He raised his hands in a placating gesture. “Hey. Can we just talk? Please? Say for a few minutes?.. please?” A humorless laughter escaped my mouth. “Wait, you’re actually serious? You come in here, demanding I talk to you, and you think I'll just do what you say?” I paused, trying to calm the anger that was really bubbling up inside me then I continued. “Look, that night was a huge mistake.. The biggest mistake of my life!” I lowered my voice, glancing around to make sure no one was paying attention then I turned back to him. “I never want to see you again, understand? Now please leave!” He sighed, went silent for a few secs before speaking again. “Nicole , I only want to talk, that's all.. hear me out, at least.” His words hit me like a slap across the face as my jaw dropped. “Wait.. did I just hear.. how the f**k did you know my name?” I asked, my brows furrowed. “I won’t tell you unless you agree to hear me out,” he said, his voice persistent. I studied him for a moment, my mind racing.. Finally, I nodded. “Fine. But we do this outside,” I said then I moved to James, my duty partner, who was about two counters away from me and told him I had to step out for a few minutes. He agreed and then I led the guy outside, my heart beating fast. The hum of the city buzzed all around us as we out into the warm evening air. Crossing my arms as soon as we arrived to a quiet area just outside the bar, I asked once again, "How the hell did you know my name?!?" Before he reached into his pocket and took out his wallet, from which he grabbed an ID card, he grinned.. that really annoyed me. My ID card. “You forgot this, Nicole Brown,” he paused, handing it to me. “I would’ve brought it to you the next day, but I had something important to do out of the country. Just got back.. so, here” My eyes widened as I took the ID, my heart pounding in my chest. I looked at him, my lips parted in shock. I didn't know what to say. Thank you?? No. Not to this bast*rd. “Okay.” I muttered. “Okay?” He echoed, his eyebrows raised. “You don’t have anything else to say?” “What else do you want me to say?” I snapped, my voice sharp with frustration. “Thank you? That's what you want to hear? You’re sick.” He took a deep resigning breath. “I know you're pissed with me right? But it wasn't my fault too.. I was.. we were drunk..” I cut him off with a sharp laugh. “Wow.. you’re seriously trying to blame alcohol? You took advantage of me, You took away my f*****g virginity. I was a f*****g virgin!” The tears already gathered in my eyes were starting to fall now. “And now you're here trying to pretend it's not a big deal?? It's a big deal! It's a f*****g big deal!” I continued amidst tears, my voice rising with each word. His expression fell as he processed my words. He took a deep breath and said, “Hey, I was drunk too, yeah, I couldn’t control myself. I know it was wrong, I’m so sorry. That’s why I’m here…. Huh, to apologize and to make it up to you,,,, if you’ll let me.” A bitter smirk played on my face. This MF really got guts huh. “Make it up to me? In what way? Return my…” “Look, I know you’re angry, Nicole . And I understand that,” he cuts in, his voice steady. “But I’m here to offer you a deal, a win-win for both of us.” I scoffed. “A deal? You think I’m going to make a deal wit…” “I know about your mother’s illness.” He interrupted me again. “I did some background research after I found your ID card.” My jaw tightened as I heard him mention my mother's illness. The bitter reminder of her suffering made my heart ache but I gathered my resolve. I cannot break, not here, not now. “So??.. what if you know??” His voice softened, "I know you're struggling to pay her medical bills," he said. "I'll pay her medical costs if you agree to marry me. And only for a year of your time, I will pay you $500,000,000 tax-free. Not able to control it, I started laughing. "It's not a joke, Nicole ," he continued, his voice strong. I really am dead serious about this. I couldn’t help but snort. “Yeah, right. What, you need a green card or something?” I asked, my tone dripping with sarcasm. “Or maybe you just want a poor girl to boss around.” He shook his head, his eyes flashing with irritation. “This isn’t about any of those. I need a marriage for some reasons,” he said, his voice low. “If you agree, you’ll have your money, and I’ll have what I need. And after a year, we go our separate ways.” “You had your way with me the first time we met and now you think I’m some kind of prostitute or gold digger? That I’ll just marry you for money?” I hissed, my words laced with venom. His face fell, “Nicole , it’s not like that,” he began, his voice pleading. “I’m just trying to…” But I cut him off before he could finish. "I'd rather die than marry someone like you”