His Appointed Wife

2. Psychos, deals and wives

"Somewhere along calling you a psycho and saying yes to your insane plans, I have learnt to appreciate you and your strangeness."- Alex.

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2. Psychos, deals and wives

(Alexandra)

"Will you marry me?"

Did she hear that right? Or was her ears not working properly because of her hunger?

"What?"

"Be my wife."

Okay, so she heard him alright. There was no problem with her ears. But there was surely a problem with his brain.

She narrowed her eyes as she looked at him. He was supermodel handsome, tall and there wasn't an ounce of unwanted muscle in him. Lean, lithe and as he walked, he walked like a predator. He was all male, all sexy and correct her if she was wrong, all psycho.

Her cheeks were red. Fire red. Her eyes, if they had the power to incinerate human, would have burnt him down to his polished loafers, but alas, she had no such super power.

Her fingers, pointing at his face shook as she tried, tried to form a response to what he had just asked, but she just couldn't.

She just gaped and gaped. Opened her mouth and closed as he stood there, in her superiority, with a smile.

Smiling? He was smiling. Damn it.

She was so angry. And hungry. And hunger always made her violence reach a whole new level.

"Tell me where the hell is that hidden camera?" She asked once she gathered her thoughts. She looked around suspiciously, but as far as she could see, there seemed to be no trace of any camera. But then, if it was hidden, how could she see? "Oh, you think this is funny? Haha. I am not foolish enough to fall for that. So, is everything that went on inside is also an effing show?"

"This is not a tv show and there is no hidden camera." He sounded exasperated.

"Dude, come on. Don't mess with me. I am so hungry and I will kill you if you keep messing with me." She said as she glared at him.

"Don't you understand what I am saying?" He sighed a weary sigh.

"I do and that is why I want to know whether this is some effing reality show!" She looked at the man in front of her. The joker, who had just threw a curve ball of a question at her without even blinking an eye. What kind of an i***t would do that? Could do that? He paid for her and she paid back and they shared two words and she didn't even know his damn name.

Now, he wanted to marry her and be his damn wife?

"No. No. Listen carefully, I don't have time to waste. So... as I have already told you, this isn't any tv show."

"Ok then." Her eyes sharpened as she looked at him up and down. "Are you clinically insane or really, incredibly stupid?

"I am not either and I hope we can talk about this a little more. Like adults." He said in his most patient voice. He didn't look insane, but looks were often deceiving. She had been deceived by them in the past.

"No, dude, you sure are. You should go see a shrink or something. I mean, who in their right mind would ask a stranger to be his wife? Wife. Haha." She chuckled at him and stopped when she saw his eyes. Uh-oh, angry.

He looked dangerous with that glint in his stormy grey eyes. He looked kind of sexy and all Alpha Male type, but... Yes, there must be some screw loose in his brain.

"What is the problem? I mean, you are broke, yes? You look hungry. And from what I gathered, you are drifting. You don't have a place to stay, right?"

How did he know all that? Did he get it just by looking at her.

Oh. So, dangerous. She thought.

"And I have a place that is much bigger for just me. So you can stay there for an year. So why can't you be my wife?" His eyebrows shot up as if she was the ridiculous one here.

"Man, I'm not going to live with you in your house, alone. I am sure you are not really normal. What if you are a psychopath? What if you marry girls and kill them later for the heck of it?" He waved a hand at her with a frown.

"I am no psycho. I am a well known businessman. And it is strange you don't know me. You are from around here, right?"

"Yes, yes. So you are Mr. Popular. Why do you need me, then?"

"You fit my checklist. Ok, to sweeten the deal, I'll pay you for your help a lot more than I originally planned to so that you can live quite comfortably after the term is up. It is only a year." He shrugged. "And then you can be free, single and rich and eat whenever you want to eat."

That sounded like a brilliant plan. She didn't have a house to stay and the seedy motel was getting dangerous by each passing moment and she had tried to work, but it didn't work out very well for her, --and she didn't even want to work in hotels--what with her naivety and not knowing who to trust and not.

"So, why do you want a wife that bad, that you, Mr. Popularity, will go as far as begging a stranger?" She stared at him with eyes that were dripping with exhaustion and derision.

"I am not begging you. We are talking business here..." He was cut off by her snort. He gave her a glare. "And to answer your question, I want my ex-girlfriend to realize how wrong she was." He answered and his eyes, God, they were totally solemn.

"That so? Man, she must be some girl."

"She is so and so. But I am not... "

"Not the type to take no for an answer? God!"

"Now, will you stop being annoying and come inside? And let us talk this out."

"Why not? But I want to eat whatever I want. As a payment to listen to your totally mental plans. But I am not saying yes."

"Finally."

"Yep."

~~~

(Logan)

Logan sighed. She was one stubborn woman for someone who was so broke.

She was very annoying with all the questions and as she asked each one, her eyes were filled with puzzle and mockery. And he was beginning to doubt himself.

She finally stopped talking and they both walked inside the eatery.

When they sat down, the same woman came to them and eyed them with disappointment.

She looked at the waitress, whose name badge said Martha, and gave her a sweet smile that was all so sugar.

The waitress, Martha grunted. "Your order please, sir?"

"Hi Martha. Nice to see you again." She answered and leaned against her chair. "Umm, a plate of chicken nuggets, a club sandwich with a side of curly fries, a slice of pumpkin pie, and a cup of extra strong coffee. And the right receipt this time, that is all. Thank you."

Logan wanted to laugh, but he held it in. So she is not as forgiving as she looked to be. Sassy. He liked it.

"Yes." She said grudgingly as she walked away.

"That is precious. Her face!" He said.

"I am usually not that bad. But today was such a bad day and to add salt to the wounds, she made it worse." She said and immediately he felt bad for whatever it was that made her look that tired.

"Oh, it must be so bad." He said. "You okay?"

"Me? As okay as a girl could be when strangers came and ask her to marry them! What life. So, you go on... Tell me." She looked at him. "God, I still don't know your name and you don't know mine."

"Names are pretty inconsequential." He said and then smiled. "But yes, calling you 'hey you' is not becoming."

"You are a weird one and believe me, I have known many weird people." She said as she started at him. "I am Alexandra."

"Logan."

"Good. We seem to be running backwards. I mean, who asked someone to be their wife without knowing their name. What if I was named something grotesque?"

"Oh, that is what we are worried about right now?" He shook his head.

"So tell me your story. Even though I know I am never going to say yes to you, I really want to know that story of yours. It seems intriguing."

"Story?" He huffed. "So, you see, I have pretty clear plans and goals about my life and this is the right time for me to get married. And we were together for a year now, and I thought why not? I mean, I wouldn't want to waste an year of courtship just like that."

She snorted. "Courtship? Really? And plans and goals? No wonder she bailed on you. God, where is love in this plan of yours? Where is your romance?"

"Love and romance are not for realists. It was all just a touch of magical nonsense to confuse people and make everything complex. I don't believe in it."

"Now, I know why she said no. You can't blame her. Did you say all that nonsense to her?"

"What, no. Do I look stupid?"

"Yes, but that is for another time. Now go on." She said and stopped him with a hand when Martha came back with a tray filled with food. "You didn't order anything." She said as if she had just noticed that.

"I don't need anything. Go on, eat until you can't eat anymore." He said with a smile and looked at her with what felt like fondness, as she took a bite of her sandwich.

"So... It is not a big deal. Her saying no. But you see..."

"Your ego is hurt. Poor baby."

"It is more than my ego. It is my reputation. I have this business rival and we hate each other and he dated Stacie first and he was always bitter. We had shared some words and he promised that Stacie would walk away from me too and I being..."

"...a smug, arrogant fool you are, challenged him. Am I right?"

"You eat your food and stop cutting me off. But yes, you are almost right. I am not smug or arrogant or a fool. But yes, he challenged me and I agreed."

"You are in a deep s**t, dude. A pit full of shit." She stopped and then smiled like a little kid. "Hey, that rhymed."

"Yeah, you can become the next Robert Frost." He said, and continued on with his story. "And I need to make it look like it was all because I found something with someone. Love at first sight or some other s**t like that. You know, or nobody will believe me."

"But you know... Marriage is such a big thing and it is..."

"And it is not just that. Stacie, she needs a lesson, too."

"For saying no."

"No. For being smug about that. I know she will come back, and then I can teach her how rejection feels like."

"Wow, you are one scary guy. May God help me if I ever make you that angry."

"So what do you say? You are desperate and I need something from you. So why not make the best out of it?" He looked at her. He really wanted her to say yes. And it felt like desperation.

Yes. If he tried hard enough, he would find someone else. It wouldn't be hard. Someone who was like her, desperate and not greedy. But...

He didn't know why, but he wanted her to be the part of his plan. Her.

"Dude, I know how desperation smells and you stink of it right now. More than me."

"Okay. So?"

"You need to prove your peers that you are the one who walked away from her. But do you think Stacie is going to stay silent? "

"Oh, she won't. And that is why I need a solid proof."

"A solid proof. A wife? Wife? Oh God, this is so freaking hilarious. That is so going the extra mile." She laughed and her eyes... His heart skipped a beat when he saw her eyes too close to his. Those green eyes were nothing like he had ever seen. She had the strangest set of eyes, green with sprinkles of gold in them, like a dessert sprinkled with brown sugar. They twinkled in merriment as she laughed at him, and oddly so, he wanted to laugh along.

"Yet you are the only one who is laughing."

"Oh, everyone will laugh if I tell them your story."

"Don't you dare."

"Okay, okay, but I think you should check your brain. I don't think it is working properly."

"Be serious for a moment." He looked at her with exhaustion. As she continued to talk, he was getting more and more doubtful about his plans, but he couldn't afford to doubt them.

"I am. I am being 200 percent serious. Logan, no one gets married to save face or get revenge. I can't let you throw away a chance at something true because you are all angry and bothered. It will go away. And Marriage is..."

"Save your preaching, okay. I have heard it a thousand time from my friend. Marriage is...two hearts in true love, blah blah blah. I am not interested."

"At least your friend has some brain cells left in him. Yours, I can clearly see, is sold somewhere for all these things you are wearing and all your money."

"It is kind of a profitable situation for you, but here you are trying to put me off from it. Why?"

"I can't let you waste your time for some silly revenge. Is there no way I can talk you out of this?"

"No. And this is why it has to be you." He muttered to himself as he looked at her with a new found admiration. It had to be her.

No one else could do.

"Ok, yes. But just for your information, you seems to think I am all this... Cool and sophistication, but let me tell you something. I am not."

"It is okay. I can take a little bit of adventure."

"Sure you can?" Her eyes glinted as she looked up at him in challenge and Logan was never the one to back away from challenge.

"Yes." He said with a smile.

~~~