Her Agreement

Improvise

Pov: Laura

" You can deny it all you want, it doesn't change what has already happened."

"As much as I hate to be the one to say it, I told you..." Claire says.

"I blame you." I stare at him.

Claire raises her hands in the air. "No, it's not my fault, it's Alex's rotten attitude that is bigger than his dick."

Alexandar glares at Claire, then ruffles her hair like a kid. I ignore their bickering and walk on the carpet and go around them.

After finishing her glass, Claire stole my half-finished flute and drained it before paying attention to me. "That's why my grandfather made this inheritance clause in the first place. He knew Alexander wasn't ready to be CEO and thought having a family might soften him." I mean, how can someone like him, who scares people off without trying supposed to be able to inspire the masses?"

Alexander's clenched his teeth. Claire raises her eyebrows in a mute, cynical tone.

I point to Claire. "Stop acting like a child and use your smart brain to get us out of this mess." Alexander's eyes were already on me when I turned to him. "And you stop taking your anger out on other people. Your s**t has nothing to do with Claire, just you."

He just stares at me with that blank look I hate.

Claire sneers. "Of course he screwed it up. His latest software update contained no guide on how to be a decent human. ”

"Both of you are hopeless," I whispered as I picked up my cell phone and dialed Melissa's number. It rings twice before going straight to voicemail. I call again, but this time the voicemail goes straight away. "f**k!"

"She didn't pick up?" Claire has the audacity to sound amused.

"What happened?" I hissed at Alexander.

He pulls an invisible lint from his jacket sleeve as if it were the most boring conversation of the day. "She wasn't cut out for the job."

"And given that there are about two-hundred people waiting to hear about your engagement to a mysterious woman, what do you do with this information? I'm listening."

He squinted at me and I put my hands on his hips and looked straight at him.

Claire snorts loudly as if to remind us of his existence. "I'm also interested in hearing how this plays out. Father will be thrilled to hear that Alex's engagement fell through. ”

"Holy s**t. His father doesn't know about the letter from Ivan Vos that laid out the conditions for his inheritance, but he's not stupid. After all, he runs a successful business. He is a smart man and if he catches wind of this, he will run to the family lawyer to confirm and then it is over for Alexander. He will loose it all. Thinking of ways to solve this mess, I try Melissa's phone again and hope the fourth time is a success. The voice messages are loud and clear through the small phone's speaker.

Claire snickers. "That's the sound of Alex's future going down the drain,"

"Don't you have other friends or anywhere else to be but here?" Alexander says.

"Why would I go any where, when there is free alcohol here?" Claire waves her empty champagne glass in the air.

As I consider my options, I try to ignore them.

Should I just quit?

No. I will not give up now. Not when Alexander is so close to achieving his goals.

I could rely on option I have for her backup, but Declan made her cry-

"You know, Laura is single." Claire's smile turned creepy. "Nobody knows you better than she does, so she's a natural fit for the role."

"No," said Alexander.

Hang on.

Wait a sec!

There aren't many things that stops me from playing as a substitute. I don't have a special boyfriend or any previous commitments, so I could easily replace Melissa.

Just because i can, doesn't mean you should. Well, who if not me? We don't have time, we don't have a suitable fiancée.

As I open my mouth, I am interrupted by a squeaky voice of Rosa,

the wedding planner. "There you are! I was wondering where her future husband ran off to," Rosa's high-pitched voice echoes.

"Money can't buy this kind of entertainment," Claire says with a laugh as she takes another glass of Champagne and leans back on the table.

"Where's the bride-to-be we've barely heard of?" Rosa waves her clipboard in the air.

I'm glad I kept Melissa's identity a secret in case something like this happened.

I cannot seriously consider marrying him. I don't love him, but I don't have to love him. It's a contract, not a love game.

Alexander interrupts my thoughts. "Meli~"

"Her name is Rosa, love." I wrap my hand around his forearm. His body stiffened and I pat his chest to make him behave naturally.

His thick eyebrows furrows and he stares at my hand as if he was about to tear it off with his fingers. "What is this, what are you doing?" His words sound sharp enough to pierce my perfectly designed exterior.

“This saves me the hassle of introducing myself and explaining our story.” I gave him the sweetest smile I could under the circumstances.