The proposition
1308 Words
Chapter Two
Diana’s fingers hovered over the dial button.
She shouldn’t be calling him. She knew that much.
And yet, despite every logical reason to forget him, she pressed it.
The phone barely rang twice before a deep, steady voice filled her ear.
“Hello, this is Theo speaking.”
A small shiver ran through her, though she ignored it. His voice was smooth, controlled—like he was a man who never needed to raise it to be heard.
She hesitated, gripping the phone tighter.
So, his name was Theo.
It suited him—sharp, efficient, and impossible to read.
“It’s Diana,” she said, keeping her voice even.
A beat of silence. Then, a shift in his tone, the faintest thread of amusement woven through his words.
“I was beginning to think you wouldn’t call.”
Diana exhaled through her nose, her fingers tapping against the smooth surface of the table. The café was quiet at this hour, the distant hum of conversation blending with the rhythmic clinking of cups. Outside, the city buzzed with life—streetlights flickering, car horns breaking the evening stillness, pedestrians moving like shadows against the glow of shop windows.
“I almost didn’t,” she admitted, eyeing the untouched cup of coffee in front of her.
“And yet, here we are.”
That certainty in his voice unsettled her.
As if he had known she would give in. As if this had already been decided the moment he paid for her coffee.
Her grip on the phone tightened. “Why did you do it?” she asked, getting straight to the point.
“Do what?”
“Pay for my drink.”
A pause. Then, effortlessly, “Because I wanted to.”
She frowned. “I don’t like owing people.”
“I don’t consider it a debt.”
“Then what do you consider it?”
Another pause. A deliberate one.
“An invitation,” he finally said.
Diana’s brows furrowed. “An invitation to what, exactly?”
“To meet me. Properly.”
She almost laughed.
“And why would I do that?”
“Because you called.”
There was no arrogance in his voice—just a simple, undeniable fact.
Diana leaned back in her chair, crossing one leg over the other. The café’s warm glow reflected in the dark screen of her phone, casting soft shadows across her fingers.
She hated that he was right.
Despite herself, despite every warning bell ringing in her head, something about him lingered in her mind.
She wasn’t the type to entertain men like him—men who were too confident, too sure of themselves. Men who made statements instead of asking questions.
And yet, here she was.
“Let’s cut to the chase, Theo. What do you want?”
His voice was as smooth as ever. “Straight to business. I like that.”
“Spare me the compliments.”
A small chuckle. “Fair enough.”
Another pause, then, “Consider this an arrangement.”
Diana narrowed her eyes. “An arrangement?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t do arrangements.”
“You might want to hear this one first.”
She said nothing.
Theo took that as permission to continue.
“I don’t like loose ends,” he said. “And you strike me as a woman who likes control.”
Her jaw tightened. He wasn’t wrong.
“So do I,” he continued. “That’s why I’d rather put everything on the table now instead of waiting for a chance encounter to force this conversation.”
“And what exactly are we putting on the table?”
A beat of silence. Then, his voice, calm and unwavering:
“A meeting. One night. A hotel. And then, we’re even.”
Diana’s breath caught.
Of all the things she had expected, this wasn’t it.
He wasn’t suggesting a date.
He wasn’t asking for her number to ‘get to know her better.’
No, Theo was stating, without hesitation, what he wanted.
Her lips parted, but no words came out.
A hotel.
One night.
No expectations.
The weight of his offer settled heavily in the space between them, stretching the silence until it felt suffocating.
Then, finally, she found her voice.
“You think I’m just going to agree to that?”
“I think you’re considering it.”
Her pulse quickened.
Diana prided herself on being unshakable. Men—especially arrogant, self-assured ones—never got to her.
And yet, Theo had done it with a single phone call.
“You don’t even know me,” she pointed out.
“I know enough.”
Diana let out a slow breath. “And what do you think you know?”
“That you’re intrigued.”
She hated how effortlessly he said it. How confident he sounded.
But what was worse?
He wasn’t wrong.
Her nails tapped against the ceramic cup in front of her.
She had been ready to dismiss him, to label him as just another entitled man who thought he could buy his way into a woman’s life.
But Theo wasn’t begging.
He wasn’t persuading.
He was simply waiting.
And that was the problem.
She was considering it.
“Let’s say, hypothetically, I agree,” she said slowly. “Then what?”
“We meet. No expectations, no attachments. Just a business deal between two people who know what they want.”
Her stomach twisted slightly at his words.
“And if I say no?”
“I won’t ask again,” he said simply. “I don’t chase, Diana.”
A slow exhale left her lips.
She wasn’t sure whether to be irritated or impressed.
Theo wasn’t playing games—he had made his offer, and that was it. No second chances. No persuasion. Just a door left open for her to decide whether she wanted to step through it.
Her fingers hovered over the screen of her phone, debating.
“Take your time,” Theo said, his voice dropping slightly. “Think about it. But don’t wait too long.”
Then—
The line clicked.
Theo had hung up.
Diana stared at her phone, heart pounding.
She didn’t know what infuriated her more—the audacity of his offer or the fact that she hadn’t immediately dismissed it.
She wasn’t this woman.
She wasn’t impulsive.
Men had made similar offers before, and she had refused them without a second thought.
So why was this different?
What was it about him?
Her mother had warned her about men like Theo—men who took what they wanted and left.
Yet she couldn’t deny it.
It had been so long since she had been with a man.
And Theo had awakened something inside her.
Something she had buried.
Desire.
She pushed away from the table abruptly, standing before her thoughts could spiral further.
She needed a distraction.
Walking into her small apartment, she made her way to the kitchen, pulling out a bag of popcorn. The sound of kernels popping filled the silence as she leaned against the counter, arms crossed.
Theo had no right to get under her skin like this.
No right to make her question herself.
She grabbed the bowl of popcorn and moved to the living room, turning on the TV.
Mindless entertainment. That’s what she needed.
She flipped through the channels, barely paying attention, until she landed on a movie.
Twenty minutes in, a s*x scene unfolded on the screen.
Diana tensed.
She tried to ignore it.
Tried to focus on the dialogue, the lighting, the cinematography.
But all she could think about was Theo’s voice.
His offer.
Her hand shot out, grabbing the remote.
The screen went black.
She sat in silence, her heartbeat loud in her ears.
What the hell had she gotten herself into?
- Writer
