The Contract

Chapter 2: Set the Meeting

Theo and Madeline looked at the young woman in front of them. They knew that Milos Stefano had a beautiful daughter, but seeing her in person, they were pleasantly surprised at how gorgeous she looked.

Madeline gave her a once over and nodded, pleased with her appearance. She was tall, slender, and fair-skinned. She wore a navy blue dress with a gold pendant hanging loosely around her neck and black high-heeled shoes.

They chose the right girl for their son. They were looking for a girl who could tame their wild son and all the girls so far were nothing but disappointing. That's when they decided on Selene. She exceeded their expectations. She was perfect and although Milos and Theo disliked each other, Theo would put aside the long-lasting hatred for the sake of reigning in his son.

When they heard through the grapevines that Milos Stefano's business was showing signs of trouble they gave it a little nudge. Although their method was a bit cruel they were getting what they wanted and here she was, knowing she would help her father in any possible way.

Madeline showed her to a seat. "Would you like coffee? I can get someone to bring a cup over."

"Oh no thank you." She politely declined and Madeline went to stand beside her husband. "Mr. and Mrs. Kyros."

"There's no need for formalities."

"This isn't a social visit." She stated, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"Alright. So how can I help you?" He asked.

"My father needs money."

"Is that so? Did he send you?" he asked with a look of indifference.

"I came on my own. He doesn't know or need to know."

He leaned back in his chair and asked. "Why me? Why not the bank?"

"He's in too deep for that," she admitted. "You are our only hope." Selene couldn't read his expression, she couldn't tell if her coming here was going to be a success or an absolute failure. But she still needed to try.

"If you are here that means he's exhausted all other options."

“I would believe so, I didn’t know anything until this morning.”

“What happened?”

She shrugged. “All I know is, we’re nearly bankrupt.”

He scoffed. “Bad management.”

She frowned deeply and felt her heart sink.

“So you won’t help?” She asked for clarification.

“Look Selene, do you mind if I call you Selene?” When he saw no objection he continued. “On a normal day, I wouldn’t lend your father one euro, let alone thousands. But since you came all the way here, I could save your father’s business. On one condition, that is.”

"And that is?" Her heart leaped with hope as she asked eagerly.

There was a long pause and the couple in front of her looked at each other before turning back to her with a smile on their faces.

"You marry my son."

The shock of the suggestion couldn't have been greater.

"You want me to marry your son in exchange for the money?" Selene stared blankly at them. "I won't do it."

A small smile curved his lips.

"I thought you had your father's best interests at heart, otherwise why would you be here?"

"I do," she admitted, "but that doesn't mean I would give myself away to your family."

The man had no idea what he was asking. Everyone knew of the rumors circulating about their son. He was nothing but a playboy and Selene wanted no part of him.

Theo leaned forward against his desk and stared at her calmly.

"Well you will have to look elsewhere for the money, but I doubt anyone would be willing to help your father. It's your choice."

He was right. Her father was on everyone's s**t list, after all he isn't an easy man to deal with. Selene's once calm face turned into a scowl. Madeline who saw this spoke up.

"How about," Madeline started as she perched herself on the arm of her husband's chair. "you meet our son first then make your final decision."

"I'll think about it, but this doesn't mean it's a yes." she stated, and walked out of the building and went to her car.

She sat there trying to decipher what just happened. These people were truly crazy for suggesting such a thing.

Selene sighed and started the engine and made her way home. On arrival, she was greeted by the butler.

"Good evening Ms. Stefano."

"Good evening Richard. Is my father home?" she asked, walking towards the stairs with Richard in tow.

"Not yet miss. Will you be having dinner?"

"No, I'll be turning in for the night." she said climbing the stairs.

She went straight to bed not bothering to change and closed her eyes and let the darkness consume her.

******************************************************************

Selene woke to the sound of knocking on her door.

"Ms. Stefano. Breakfast is ready."

"I will be down in a few," she answered, with her head still buried in her pillow.

She groaned as she rolled out of bed and made her way to the bathroom. After showering, Selene got dressed in a cream-colored pantsuit and headed downstairs for breakfast.

"Good morning Father."

He grunted a response, not lifting his head from his tablet.

As she settled at the table, Mary placed a plate of French toast, a bowl of fruit, and a cup of coffee. As she quietly started eating her breakfast, she began to think of alternate ways to fix the financial problems of the company.

"Have you found anything?" she raised her head at the sudden voice of her father.

"Something like that."

"Meaning?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Meaning it's a bit shady and I'm deciding whether or not it's worth doing," she answered wiping her mouth.

"How shady are we talking? Is it enough to save the company and not get caught by the authorities?" he questioned.

Selene looked at her father in disbelief and cleared her throat before responding. "Yes, it can save the company and no the authorities would never be involved."

"Then what are you waiting for?" he demanded in a rough voice.

"As I said, Father, it's shady and I wish to think of something else as it will be my name being signed on the document."

She jumped in her seat as he slammed his fist on the table. "What sort of daughter are you? You found a way to save my livelihood and haven't done it yet because it's a bit shady?"

"I wish to only use this method as a last resort as there may be another way." she sighed.

"A last resort! You better call whoever it is and make that deal. This selfish behavior ends now." he yelled, and stormed out of the house.

Watching her father leave, she turned back to finish her breakfast.

'Of course, it's about him, it's always about him.'

Seeing that their misses was finished Richard signaled to Mary to clear the table.

"Miss, I hope I'm not too forward with this but, i hope you don't take what Mr. Stefano said to heart," he said with a voice full of concern.

"I will try Richard, but he's my father, so that's going to be hard," she replied as she made her way outside to her car and headed to the company.

After hours of going over financial statements, Selene realized that even after using her personal funds to complete the ongoing projects, the company still wasn't making money as it should.

"I guess i really have no choice." She picked up her phone and called Kyros Inc.

"Good afternoon, Kyros Inc. This is the president's office. How may I assist?"

"Good afternoon, I would like to speak with Mr. Kyros."

"The president is busy at the moment. Would you like to leave a message?"

"It's important, tell him it's Selene."

"Alright ma'am, please hold."

While waiting, Selene started to wonder if this was really her only solution.

"Hello, Selene."

"Ah, Mr. Kyros, sorry for calling while you're busy."

"No problem at all. From the fact that you've called, I can only assume you've made up your mind."

"Yes, I have. I will meet with Nicholas but I can't promise you the outcome you wish."

"Marvelous how about tonight at Aneton for 8?" he asked in a voice full of excitement.

"I'll be there."