DEVIL'S BARGAIN

CHAPTER 2:TheProposition

Damian Salvatore sat at his desk, glancing through the latest budget proposals for an impending project. He had been engrossed in this particular project since the day before, depriving himself of sleep. The early morning light streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows of his office that overlooked the city, casting a warm glow on the documents before him.

Just as he was about to restart his calculations to make sure he didn’t miss anything, his phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID and saw it was the manager of Salvatore’s Den. The club that he had built was his playground and haven. When he had started it, he hadn’t expected it to become as big as it was now.

“Damian Salvatore,” he answered, in a deep voice that embodied his elegance and showed off his status, setting his pen down.

“Good morning, Mr. Salvatore; there is a situation at the club,” the manager’s voice boomed through the speaker.

Damian leaned back in his chair, he felt early signs of a migraine as he furrowed his brows. “What kind of situation?” He asked.

“There was an accident last night involving a drunk young woman. She caused some substantial damage worth over 2 million euros.”

Damian let out a sigh, closed his eyes, and rubbed his temples. “Where is the woman now? Forward her details to my secretary.

“I had her and her friends kept in one of the private rooms in the club,” the manager replied.

“ I will be there shortly, ensuring that the records are not tampered with,” Damian instructed while rushing to finish up the proposal on his desk. He gathered the papers into a neat stack and placed them into the folder. On his way out of his office, he dropped the file with his secretary. Gesturing at his personal Assistant to follow him.

In the car, Damian had decided to shut his eyes during the drive. “ Peter, have the details of the woman been sent?” He asked his assistant with his eyes still shut.

“ Yes, Sir, the manager sent me a few minutes ago with video footage of the incident.”

“Hmm, Give me the tablet,” Damian said. He glanced through the details. He was taken aback when his eyes landed on a picture of Vienna. Vienna Stewart is the person who has featured so many times in his fantasies and the main character of his infatuation. He had been deeply infatuated with her since he realized that she was the one who saved his life when his competitor had tried to kill him through an orchestrated accident. At first, it was just heartfelt gratitude and appreciation, but as he began to get invested in her life, he started to find her very appealing. He had made it a point not to approach, not involving her, and instead watching from afar but not anymore when he could have her.

Arriving at the club, Damian walked into the office he normally used when he was at the club. He instructed the manager to bring Vienna and his friends to him.

Vienna and her friends, Kiara and Joyce, had already freshened up, though they were hung over; they were all tense when they heard that Damien Salvatore was going to be handling the issue directly. Who hadn’t heard of Damien Salvatore, the man rumored to be strict when it comes to his business? The man is also rumored to deal cruelly with those who wrong him.

They were led into Damien’s private office by the manager. Damien’s office overlooked the bar area and the dance floor; in place of the walls was one-way glass, allowing him to be able to see what was going on in the club, although the office was soundproof.

“ Mr. Salvatore,” the Manager, greeted him, nodding his head. “ This is Vienna Stewart,“ he said, gesturing to Vienna. These are her friends Kiara Pond and Joyce Kim.”

Damian looked at his friends and then slowly slid his gaze to Vienna; he assessed her from head to toe; she seemed to be more beautiful than the pictures his private investigator had sent to him; the combination of her green eyes and fair skin seemed to draw him in even in her sloppy state.

Vienna’s jaw locked, her gaze down as she felt him scrutinize her, her heart beating faster and faster. “Ms. Stewart, it was reported to me that you caused an incident that resulted in the damage to some very expensive vintage bottles of wine at my club,” Damien said as he managed to keep his face indifferent.

“ I- I’m so sorry for the d- damage, Sir,“ she stuttered.” It was an accident.” She said, her voice getting fainter.

“ Do you understand the magnitude of what you did?” Damian said,“ Do you have any idea the worth of the wine you destroyed?”

“Well, I’ll let you know, and then we can discuss the terms of the settlement,” Damien said, his expression still unreadable.

“According to estimates, the total number of bottles of wine lost was four, and each cost half a million Euros, summing up to 2 million Euros,” Damien said again, leaning back on his chair and dropping his tablets. “Ms. Stewart, how do you intend to pay up?”

Vienna remained silent as tears welled up in her eyes, she could barely pay her rent nor remain in school. How could she possibly come up with 2 million Euros?

“Mr. Salvatore, Vienna doesn’t have that kind of money, she barely scrapes enough to get by,” Kiara said.

“ Well then, Ms. Pond do you or Ms. Kim intends to help her pay the money?” Damian asked. “ I run a business, not a charity, I can’t wave off such a huge loss.”

“I also don't have that kind of money,“ Kiara said, her voice faltering. “Ms. Kim?” Damien asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m sorry, Vienna, I don’t have access to such an amount of money,” Joyce said in a shaky voice, feeling guilty.

Vienna felt tears streaming down her face; even if she gave up all her earnings, a year's worth of her salary couldn’t reach a quarter million Euros. She was stuck in a hopeless situation.

Damian watched her carefully, he watched the hope drain from her.

“Mr. Salvatore, I don’t have any means of coming up with the money. Isn’t there any other way I could pay up the debt?” Vienna asked in a shaky voice, her fist curved into a fist and draped by her sides.

Damian studied her for a minute, and an idea began to form in his mind. “ What if I offered you a deal?”

Vienna’s head snapped up with speed, her eyes filled with hope. “ Anything, Mr. Salvatore, I would do anything. I would even work for free as your assistant if that is what you demand,” Vienna said.

“ I already have an assistant, Ms. Stewart,” Damian said, amused. Peter, his personal assistant, glared at Vienna, feeling like she was trying to rob him of his job.

“ But what I don’t have is a wife. Marry me, Vienna, For a year, and I’ll wave off your debt.”

Vienna stared at him shocked.” Marry you, but we don’t know each other, and we aren’t in love.”

Vienna stared at him in shock. “Marry you? I don’t even know you.”

“You are right; this deal has a lot to offer you, though; you get your debts waived and status as a Salvatore. As for me, I got a wife in the public eye.

She hesitated. “But Mr. Salvatore, you could marry anyone, even someone within your class; why would you want someone like me?”

Damian smirked, “Well that’s for me to know.”

“Can I at least think about it, Mr. Salvatore? It’s a big decision to make?” She said.

“Alright then, you have 24 hours. Time is ticking. Remember you stand to gain a lot from this arrangement,” Damian said. “ Meet me here by this time tomorrow.”

Vienna and her friends were finally released from the club and dropped at home by Damian's driver. The car was completely silent, each of them in their world. Their minds reeling with the experience they just had.