Sparks And Spills

Chapter 7: Deal with the Devil

Elena sat in quiet worry, her mind already turning over her next move, when Rhoda entered.

“I came over to tell you that Mr. Garcia has initiated a meeting at the Denver Restaurant on Mackerel Street,” Rhoda said.

Elena paused. “When are we supposed to meet?”

“At eleven o’clock this morning.”

“And what’s the time now?”

“It’s already ten.”

Elena rose at once. “Then we should leave.”

—

Across the city, Seth and John were still deep in the contract with Seth’s lawyer. John checked his watch and straightened.

“It’s already ten, sir. We should get going.”

John gathered the papers and followed Seth out. They arrived at the restaurant at a quarter to eleven. Five minutes later, Elena and Rhoda walked in. Seth noted the timing with quiet approval. He had wondered what sort of woman she would prove to be. Arriving five minutes early suggested she wanted this meeting and approached it with genuine seriousness.

The parties took their seats. An awkward silence settled between the two people who were about to become a couple; neither seemed willing to acknowledge the other. John finally broke it.

Seth drew out the contract and passed it across the table.

“If we are going to go through with this wedding,” he said, “I think we need to get a few things straight. I can tell you have no atom of love for me, just as I have none for you. I won’t ask what your reasons were for accepting this proposal, but at least we should have a formal guide for this marriage of convenience.”

Elena nodded. “Very well said, Mr. Garcia.”

She began reading carefully. At the fourth clause she stopped.

“No. I won’t be obligated to attend each and every one of your family gatherings. I won’t ask you to attend mine, so that should be removed.”

Seth found himself impressed by the focused way she studied the document. This was clearly a contract marriage to her as well; he was not acquiring a trophy wife eager to climb the elite ranks on his name and title.

Elena continued. “I will also keep my apartment. That is where I will spend most of my days. I will come to your mansion only on weekends or when occasionally required.”

When the meeting ended they shook hands, ready to part. The moment their palms met, something unexpected sparked between them. Both felt it at once—something beginning to build—and both were unsettled by it. Each already carried private demons they had not yet resolved. Now another, stronger force had found its way into their hearts: feeling. Something neither had encountered in a long while.

Their assistants went to bring the cars. The silence that followed was heavy. Both avoided each other’s eyes.

Elena could not stop the sudden, teenage restlessness that overtook her—tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, twisting her legs, lightly stomping one foot against the floor. Seth could not look away. Her figure was striking, her nose finely shaped, her dark hair falling gracefully past her shoulders. Most arresting of all were her full, pink lips. He kept staring until she glanced up and caught him. He looked away at once and busied himself with his phone.

That was when the message appeared.

A news alert about the Solar Project, of which he was a major investor. Elena Parker had founded it and was scheduled to launch it the following month. The update stated that she had been removed; Susan Parker was now named as the new head, and the launch would not proceed as planned.

Seth broke the silence with a low, husky voice.

“Why were you laid off the Solar Project?”

Elena, lost in her own thoughts, did not answer at first. He asked again, more firmly.

“Why were you laid off the Solar Project?”

She looked up with a small, knowing smirk. “Why do you think?”

Seth was quick. He understood at once that their marriage alliance was the cause—Susan Parker had taken her place.

“What do you plan to do about it?” he asked.

Elena’s voice softened. “I’ve only just been told—minutes before we met. My mind is clouded. I can’t think clearly right now.”

For the first time he heard genuine concern in her tone, the faint tremor that suggested she had held this project close. Her usual confidence had thinned.

“How about I help you with this,” he said, “and then you will owe me a favor.”

Elena stared at him, startled. “And what could that favor be?”

He smirked, the expression almost devilish. “I’ll use it later. Just consider it making a deal with the devil.”

Desperate enough to laugh, she answered, “All right then. It’s a deal, Mr. Devil.”

His smirk eased into the faintest of smiles.

John appeared at that moment. “Sir, the car is ready. We can leave now.”

Seth did not move. “Change of plans. We’re going to pay my wife’s family a visit.”

Everyone froze. Had he just said my wife?

Elena stared at him, equally stunned.