CHASING HER AFTER THE CONTRACT

THE AGREEMENT

“Do you think she can do this job?” he said , still examining but only my feet. “Tess has been working for me for two years now. She's trustworthy. She can deliver “ Ashford smiled. “Mmm, Okay. I trust you, but I need her polished. The ceremony is in two months. She must meet my family in two weeks time”. He said swiftly. Ashford nodded and looked right away at me. “Tess, this is Xavier

The man you're going to marry” Ashford said. “Hmm” I began to stutter. “We need to talk this things through first” I said. Xavier shut me down. “Talk what. Ashford what's this?. I thought we had a deal” Xavier said. “ Yes, we do. You need to be calm. It's a deal” Ashford’s voice cracked.

And that's the first time I have ever seen Ashford at the mercy of someone. “ Tess, this is Xavier. The man you're going to marry” Ashford repeated, but this time with tension when our eyes met. He sat down well and stared at me firmly. My bones became weak. My hands wouldn't stay still. “Yes,sir” I panicked. “Good” Ashford said. I could feel Xavier staring at me deeply. When our eyes meet. I saw something different. I saw fire in his eyes. His striking beauty still hurts. He's all that. Hot. Powerful. I could tell by the reaction from Ashford. If I were marrying for looks with no contract involved. He might be my perfect choice. But he has something in him that might burn me. That makes me scared of my life, right now. I slowly averted my eyes away from him, scanning through the room . “ Tess, introduce yourself” Ashford said as he sensed my fear but couldn't care less. Damn, Ashford. Damn him, real hard but I need this money. “I'm Telsa Hayes, but you can call me Tess” I smiled faintly as I reached out my hand for an handshake. He smirked at me and scoffed. Ignored my shake. “She seems cultured. The type my mom would kill for, I'd take her” Xavier looked at Ashford. Ashford let out a relief and chuckled. “Yeah, she is. You know I got no bad bitches here at Cosmo Club” . Ashford handed him the contract papers to sign. He signed and passed the other to me. I wish I could opt, I know I'm in mess but it's to be messier if I opt now. I held the pen , tapping . “ Tess, SIGN!” Ashford said

I signed aggressively. And it was done. I'm bound by an agreement. “I need her contact details , address – literally everything” Xavier said. “No. This is not what we agreed. Whatever you want from her , pass through me first” Ashford said, adjusting his seat. “ I paid you, I don't need you anymore” Xavier said. I suddenly felt like a commodity that has no value to itself but only to the seller. My blood was boiling. I would love to smash their heads. They are both assholes. But I can't. “Okay” Ashford managed to say. “But you still need to refer back to me. I know her well” Ashford added. “Send her details to me

. I'm done here” Xavier said. Before he stood up. He looked at me well with a teasing smile and proceed to leave. As soon he left. I sat properly , loosened up. Took a deep exhale. Energy was flowing through my veins. “Ashford, what's the meaning of all of these?. You're really an asshole” I said . He rolled his eyes. “ Tess, Calm down. I'm doing you a favor” He said. “Xavier is a business mogul. Wealthy. You should know his family. The Laurent. I bet you don't “ Ashford laughed out. It irritated my ears, I don't know if it was because of what he said or how he says it. “But he needs a marriage to sort out some things in his life” Ashford blew out the smoke “What things?” “None of your business. Your business here is to get married to him for just Two years, Telsa. Excluding the payment arranged for your mom and your debt being covered. You'll be paid monthly. The amount, I don't know yet” Ashford said as he dropped the blunt on the ash tray and faced me. “It's simple. After the two years, the contract is over. You can work for me afterwards if you like” Ashford smirked as he stared at my cleavage. You wished and you didn't allow me to process all of these” i said. “ If you had my money, I would have given you all the time to process whatever you need to “ Ashford said as he picked up the blunt again from the ask tray. He was right. I can't afford to pay what I owe, so I have no options left. “How soon will I get paid?. I mean my mom's treatment.” I asked. “Soon, Tess…Soon” Ashford said as he blew out the spoke. My phone rang out loud. It was Ethan. “Okay, so I guess it's done. What's next” I quickly said while staring at my phone ringing. “He's going to reach out to you soon . When he does, keep me posted, Tess” Ashford was almost pleading. “Don't do anything funny Tess, I'm your boss”Ashford said. I hated myself for being in this situation. I hated that I didn't have much time to find another option and if there was, What else could I be doing?. I sighed. Dealing with Ashford is dangerous. But I guess it's better than dealing with Xavier, who I clearly don't know. I quickly rushed out and picked Ethan's call. The last time, we spoke was at the hospital, and that didn't end so well. “Hey, Tess. How are you?” Ethan said. “I'm good. How are you too?” I responded. “I'm okay. You need to be at the hospital now. It's urgent” Ethan said swiftly.