The Ashfield’s Contract Marriage

Chapter Two

Present Day……

Daniel called her. Not because he was interested in her offer, Infact he didn’t think she was serious about that. She was definitely just a bit insane and very quirky. He called her because of that quirkiness. He found her intriguing, talking to her would add spice to his otherwise boring routine life. For example, the fact that he was sitting in a restaurant that probably charged his full salary for a meal, across probably the most stunning woman he had ever seen was insane, definitely the kind of spice he was talking about.

Sydney was gorgeous. She was tall, probably about 5’8 or so. Her lean body gave away the fact that she enjoyed working out. Her caramel skin drew him in, and her soft facial features complemented it perfectly, her brown hair fell in loose curls around her shoulders. She looked very feminine. And very powerful. Even her makeup was intimidating. It was light, but it gave off a certain unapproachable vibe. Her dark blue suit looked very flattering on her slender curves. Her two-inch boots showed that she priotized both style and comfort. The only problem was that it was a Friday night. Over the phone the day before, when he asked to meet up, she had said

“Text me your address, I’ll send a car. Dress casual” so of course he was wearing a pair of jeans, a Tshirt and a jacket. Yes they were some of the best pieces of clothing he owned because he was trying to impress her, but they were way to casual for the steakhouse they were at, and he felt very underdressed compared to her.

“So,” she began while cutting her stake. “Did you change your mind?”

“Not exactly, no” he said.

She looked at him solemnly, then quietly dropped her cutlery, placed her arms on the table and asked “interesting. Why did you call me?”

“ Because I found you fascinating” he said with a slight smile

“You see Mr Warner, I am a business woman. I don’t have all the time in the world. If you’re rejecting my offer, I would rather be out there, sourcing for other potential candidates not wasting my time here with you.

He leaned back and crossed his arms on his chest. “ Let’s say hypothetically, I agree to this. How is it going to work?”

“Well,” she said “ we get married of course. Remain that way for a year. Then we get divorced. You go your way, I go mine. I’m offering fifty million dollars which is a negotiable amount. You will also have to sign a contract and Non Disclosure Agreement, for privacy reasons”

Now intrigued by the money, he asked “why me?”

“Because you’re tall, decent looking and you seem responsible.” She replied

He chuckled lightly. Decent looking? He had never been told that in his life, in fact some would argue that he was very attractive with his chocolate brown hair, handsome facial features and chiseled body.

“What happens while we’re married?”

She shrugged “we follow the basic stipulations of marriage. You move in with me and play the role of a respectful husband. No women for as long as the contract lasts. Your job will be to convince everyone that we are in love.”

He gave a full blown smile. This was getting interesting. “So I can’t sleep with other women. Got it. How does s*x work between us though?”

“It doesn’t. I’m too busy for that kind of frivolousness. And even if I wasn’t, I will be you employer, that would be unprofessional.”

“I could argue that this whole thing is unprofessional”

“Hence the contract. There will be rules and guidelines for the successful completion of this deal. If you accept this deal, I would expect you to strictly comply to them.”

“Why are you doing this?” He asked “I mean, you’re a gorgeous woman. If you want to get married, I’m sure you’ll have no trouble going the normal route “

She picked up her cutlery and cut into a piece of meat. “That’s personal information. You don’t have any business with it”

“Hmmmm” He replied, tossing his options around in his head. This was the most absurd thing the had ever heard in all his thirty two years on earth, but why did it sound tempting? It was completely out of character for him to throw caution to the wind but staring into her deep brown eyes made him want to be reckless. What’s the worst that can happen? Usually, he would have a million and one answers to that question, but not right now. He could barely think right now.

“Okay” he said.

The slightest bit satisfaction showed in her eyes. “I would have you know, Mr Warner, that you can’t take back your words”

“Sure”

“Good. Send me an email of all the information I need to know about you. I would rather not get involved with someone with a criminal record. Once I’ve gone through that and find it it satisfactory, I’ll email you the documents to be signed.” She stood up “ I hope we get along Mr Warner” She took a few steps towards the exit. He called after her

“Sydney?” She turned around slightly “ if we’re going to be married, I would prefer you call me Daniel.” He said

She gave him the smallest smile. “Good night, Daniel” then walked out.

Daniel saw someone approaching him. A woman in a black pant suit. When she got to the table, she gave him a small bow, then dropped a white envelope on the bill that was sitting on the table, then walked away. He looked at the envelope, it was thick. This was definitely not somewhere he could afford, he thought.

Two weeks earlier…..

Sydney’s younger brother, Connor picked her up from the airport. He was the only reason she didn’t completely resent her family. He was also the only human in the world she actually liked. She took his hand and smile at him. Maybe being here wouldn’t be so bad after all. He squeezed her hand and smiled, then called out to the driver

“Mr Jacob, we aren’t actually in a hurry. You can take your time”

“Yes sir”

This gave her an extra twenty minutes before she finally met her parents.The Ashfeild mansion was exactly that; a mansion. It was a large old Victorian mansion that had been in the family for centuries. Herself and Conny had the East wing to themselves, her parents had the west. The dozens of domestic workers the family harbored used the south wing as residence. The North wing remained empty. It once belonged to her uncle who died mysteriously. It was rumored that he was mentally ill and jumped from the roof. Had she not spent the worst years of her life here, she would have considered it beautiful. Majestic even.

She completely tuned out the pleasantries. There wasn’t much to it anywhere, just her mother’s loud piercing voice telling her how she gained weight and had to go on a diet immediately and her father berating her about her poor time management skills and how that is a terrible quality for a business person to possess. They gave her a few hours to rest before summoning her to the west wing of the building. It was time to talk about the real reason she was here.

“Compared to the position you held at the Florence branch, this is going to be a really huge deal.” Her Dad said “ of course it’s a temporary position. Your brother is the actual heir, but I expect you to be dedicated to the growth and wellbeing of the business. How well you do will determine if you are qualified for the role of the President”

That piqued her interest. She had actually resigned herself to the fate of being shipped of to a branch somewhere and never being a part of the main business.

“I see you had a change of heart” she said in a very composed tone. The last thing she wanted was to let the see she was interested.

“You did do a satisfactory job in Italy. Your intelligence and experience might be useful here.”

“Hmmm”

“The other determinant for the position is marriage” Her father said

“Excuse me?” She said in utter shock

“But of course!” Her mum screeched. “ The first job a woman has is taking care of her family, that shows how well you’ll be able to hold other positions” As if she would know anything about that. This house was run by over thirty staff, there was barely anything to take care of.

She gave a short sarcastic laugh “you definitely had me fooled for a minute. I almost forgot who I was talking to.”

“Watch your tone, young lady” her father barked. “I have a few potential candidates planned out. Infact, some of them will be really good for the business. I will arrange meetings……..”

“You don’t have to do that. I am already engaged” No she wasn’t. She wasn’t seeing anyone as if the moment. She had never even dated anyone seriously before. She was too busy and did not have the personality for that. But her survival instinct kicked in. She had only ever imagined this kind of opportunity. She was not going to let it be snatched away before it even became hers. She was also not going to give her parents to satisfaction of marrying whatever jerk they picked out.

“This is not a joke, Sydney” her dad scolded

“Have I ever been someone to joke, sir? She retorted calmly, but she was anything but calm. Her heart was about to explode through her chest. She never lied, ever. But this lie had to be successful. “We’ve been together for two years, long distance of course. Got engaged a few months ago”

“If this is true,” her mother started in disbelief “why didn’t we know about it?”

“We aren’t exactly close mother, don’t you think?”

They looked both skeptical and mad

“Then bring him over for a proper introduction. We might not be close but we’re still your parents. We should meet you fiancé.” He father said

She smiled slightly “ of course. I will do that once he’s available, he’s been very busy with work lately. Also, I’m moving out. This place suffocates me. I’ll take the house by the lake.”