CHAPTER 5
827 Words
Austin's POV
I told Desmond Dean my proposal and he was a very good listener. He never interrupted me once until I was done.
"You are in a very huge mess, Mr. Austin, I must say. And my condolences for your losses but this is business, and once you make the wrong decisions, you are in for a wreck. And just like you, I have been in such situations before."
"Situations?"
He nodded. "Yes. But it took me a strong hand to get back to where I am now. Sacrifices. Do not forget that. What you are asking for is quite playful but shrewd, Mr. Austin."
"How do you mean?"
"Most men in your shoes would need money to pay back their investors, sell off the company and what valuable assets they own, and go live a simple life elsewhere."
"Yea, most men would surely do that. But I am not most men, Mr. Desmond. And I do not like to be seen as a failure."
"No one wants to. But are you sure you can revive the company? Back to what it was before?"
"Yea, I am sure. I just need to go back to what I have been doing. Taking a fork in genre was what got me into this mess in the first place. I will not repeat that mistake again."
Desmond Dean nodded. He stopped stroking his goatee and interlocked his fingers. "I will help you get back your company, Mr. Austin. But I will need something in return."
I expected this. And I was even ready to offer him fifty percent of the profits after the investors have been paid off. But what he said next took me by surprise.
"I want your daughter to be my wife, Mr. Austin."
**********
I was silent for a while. It must have been quite long because Desmond began asking if I was still with him.
I simply nodded.
"Were you considering what I said, Mr. Austin?"
"Yea, yea. I... was."
"And would that be a problem for you?" he wanted to know, and I noticed an edge in his voice that wasn't there before.
Before I could think of something to say, Desmond called for a maid and ordered some wine. She brought it and poured him a cup.
"Care for some?" he asked.
I just looked at him and shook my head.
"Alright. So?"
"Let me be clear, Mr. Austin. You will help me on the condition that my only daughter becomes your wife?"
"You have it," he said, and chuckled.
"But whom she wishes to spend the rest of her life with should be her own decision, not a condition she would have no power over. Wouldn't that be unfair to her?"
Desmond Dean put his cup on a table. "Would it not be unfair to her that you failed as a businessman only to have your investors put you in jail until you both can pay them off? I do not wish this for you, Mr. Austin, seeing that I have been in such situations myself and know how you feel. But sacrifices must be made for the greater good. And I am sure that your daughter will like me when we get to know each other."
I sighed deeply. I never expected to face such. It was like history was repeating itself. Back to the time I made the sole decision to fork the genres we published. And I didn't want to make that mistake again.
"I shall consider it, Mr. Desmond. Permit me to speak with my daughter first. I shall return with word."
"Hope it is a positive one, Mr. Austin. For her sake."
I nodded, thanked him for his hospitality, and left the Dean mansion. It was good that I didn't eat anything. I wouldn't have had any space left to stomach his suggestion? Or was it a front?
I drove back to my home and my daughter was there to welcome me. How could I tell Roshni? How could I tell her mother that for us to survive, her daughter would have to become the wife of a billionaire she knows nothing about?
"How did your meeting go father?" asked my curious daughter.
And I couldn't even hide the sad look on my face. She noticed.
"What is it, father?"
"Let us go in, Roshni."
We went in and sat in the dining, where we ate our meals. "Tell me everything, father."
"I have found a way to save my company."
The frown on her face slowly disappeared and a smile replaced it. "That is good news, father. But why do you look so sad?"
"The man who would help me asked for something in return."
"And?"
"And I am confused because it isn't I who will make it possible."
"What do you mean, father? What are you saying?"
"Desmond Dean, the billionaire, has agreed to help me on the condition that you... become... his wife."
- Writer
