EPISODE5:MARRIAGE TERMS
1183 Words
Lucas
"Madeline?" I said, a little surprised to see her. My secretary said Mr. Harper, and she didn't specify she was with someone. I managed to keep a neutral gaze, gesturing towards an area of my office with two leather couches sitting opposite each other, with a small glass table between them. "Please, have a seat."
Standing, I picked up the band of scripts and crossed the room, slumping into an empty couch before her. "So, Madeline, how is it going?"
She avoided my gaze with a shrug. "Well, last week was a breeze." I commented. "It can be hard getting used to work after a party—and a promise like that."
I chuckled a little, feeling a pang—my terms were too much. But I convinced myself that it was for the general good. When I met her gaze, her eyes were on the floor-to-ceiling windows behind my desk.
"You do have such an amazing view, Mr. Hayes."
"I'm fine as Lucas." I corrected it. "And that's the perks of being a CEO, I suppose." I gestured at the view. "We do have an unfinished conversation, Madeline."
She narrowed her gaze without a reply. I continued. "You never told me where you work."
"Was it necessary," a smirk appeared on her lips. I nodded.
"Well, I needed it to know why you made that point about work and play."
She chuckled softly. "Well, I work for Harper's cosmetics."
"I suppose so—"
"And double as the financial manager of Pearson."
"I suppose that's why the company was able to host such a huge conference without going bankrupt." He waggled a finger at me. "Your reputation precedes you."
"You give me too much credit." I doused the compliment. "There is a board, and there is Mr. Hardman."
"I suppose so." I heard the door behind me open with a soft click and glanced back. Mr. Harper had just walked through, glancing around and meeting my gaze. "Come over and join us, Mr. Harper."
He joined us briskly, taking the space beside his daughter. "My most sincere apologies, I had to ease myself."
I shook my head slightly. "Nothing to worry about. Madeline is such a good company."
He shared a look with his daughter, then fixed his gaze on me, nodding with a small smile. When I realized he had no comment, I continued?
"Alright. Like I said, I'm funding this project from my pocket, and I've made arrangements with the financial board so they don't suspect our transactions as illicit. You need not worry about that anymore."
"Thank you, Sir." Her father replied, and I continued.
"You're more like a beneficiary of this contract, Mr. Harper and your daughter here—well she is the—"
"Propitiation?" Madeline came in without warning.
I laughed a little, glancing her way. "That was a little harsh, Madeline. I was going to say, "participant." I turned to Mr. Harper. "She will go reviewers here and see if it does her good. If she's okay with it, then we can go ahead." I offered the band of papers to him, and he took it, giving it a glance before turning to Madeline.
"I guess it's your shot here." He offered her the document, and she took it.
Flipping across the pages, she looked calm as water, and I narrowed my gaze at her and noticed it. "She wasn't quiet—that was a façade to cover the obvious. She was afraid.
"All of this," she began, her gaze narrowing at the document, "are a lot of don'ts. And I'm not reckless. Isn't it so much?"
"They are simply the terms of the contract." I said. "If you like it, we can proceed. If you don't, well, there's the door."
Her eyes rose from off the document and met mine, narrowing, then went back to the document, flipping through. For a moment, I prayed that she wouldn't reject the offer. She was beautiful and one of a kind. Most of the girls in my social circles were pretty but had empty heads, and I'm a deep sucker for intelligence.
Convincing myself that the contract's benefit was much more than what I put down as terms and conditions, a buzz came from my desk. I stood up. "Please, excuse me."
Crossing the room to my desk, I glanced at the screen to see a text from Daniel asking me to join him in the conference room. With a grudge, I picked up my phone and crossed the room to the door.
"Please take your time, Ms. Harper." I said, making her look at me. "I have to attend to something briefly. I'll be joining you in a moment."
She nodded slowly, and I walked out.
Walking down several hallways, I arrived at a door and pulled it open to reveal an office. A long table stood with a few chairs around it. Two gentlemen in black suits sat backing me, and Daniel leaned back on a seat opposite them. His suit was unbuttoned, revealing a tie swung to the side.
"Mr. Hayes." He spoke. "Thank you for joining us."
The men craned their necks to see me, and I rounded the table to join Daniel. As I sat down, he slid a stack of papers towards me. "Just as we discussed, Gavin Corporation finally settled for fifteen million, and there are no records of slush funds."
"Stocks?" I raised a brow.
"They are handing over its ownership."
I nodded. "You handled it well. Why do you need me?" I struggled not to sound offended.
"You need to sign, sir."
I chuckled at how he stressed his statement, then picked up the pen and scribbled my signature on the blank line. When I stood up, one of them stood and offered his hand. "Thank you for accepting our proposal, Mr. Hayes."
I took the hand hesitantly, "my pleasure."
In a hurry, I walked out, heading towards the door, then added. "When you're done with them, notify me, and I'll come find you."
"Alright then." He said with a wary gaze, and I darted out of the conference room. I was back at my office in a moment, crossing the room to join my visitors.
"So, what's it going to be?"
"I have a few questions, Lucas." She looked up from the document. "You said you wanted a quiet wedding, a few presences of friends and family, and involvement of the judiciary. May I know the reason why?"
"You said so the other day, didn't you?" I c****d a brow. "Work and play are not supposed to go together."
"You clearly misunderstood—" She stopped herself. "It's okay."
I didn't probe her for whatever she wanted to say. Instead, I was impatiently waiting for her offer.
"Should I resign?" She slapped the document shut and threw it on the table, infuriated. "This is too much, Lucas. At least I should get to keep my job. I don't think I can do this."
Her father tensed but didn't stop her. I couldn't get myself to speak.
- Writer
