by Nora Ford
“Let her in and cancel my next meeting,” I said shortly.
Before I could reach the door to welcome her myself, she entered my office. I didn’t understand how she could look so sexy wearing a pair of skinny black jeans and an oversize crème pullover.
She didn’t bother with greeting me, chastising, she said, “That was rude, hasn’t your mother taught you to say 'please' and 'thank you'?”
For a moment I was confused, no one has ever accused me of being rude, yet they always wanted something from me. I just shook my head and answered, “My mom had other things in mind than teaching me manners.” She didn’t know about my relationship to my mother, and I wanted to keep it that way.
I extended my hand to shake hers, but she didn’t take it. Instead, she leaned in and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. Not only her friendly attitude surprised me but also the way I reacted to her simple kiss. It was electrifying. I managed to hide my surprise.
“Sorry, I am late. I was planning to be here on time, but the roads were too busy. Please don’t think I’m trying to play hard to get,” she simply said.
Again, she managed to surprise me; I didn’t expect this kind of honesty. So, I spared her the lecture about how busy I am and just said, “It’s okay, you’re still on time.” I gave her a copy of the prenup and the draft I wrote earlier. “We have a few points to discuss. I wrote everything here.”
She took the papers I gave her and said, “I have a couple of points I’d like to discuss with you too, but I didn’t write them down. We can go through your list first.”
She took a seat on the couch in the seating area of my office. After she quickly scanned my list, she said, “Well as for number one; I don’t need your shopper or stylist. Believe it or not, I know how to dress. I have a well-stocked wardrobe, but I am willing to add a few items to it. I’ll buy them myself, however.”
Before I could object, she turned to number two. “What’s wrong with my car?”
“You can’t be married to me and drive a fifteen years old car,” I said impatiently.
“How do you know that? No, don’t answer that. It’s stupid to ask. You probably have a file on me,” she asked and answered herself.
“You’re right; I know everything about you,” I confirmed.
“In that case, you must know about my car accident record. I guess you won’t give me your Bugatti,” she gave me an amused smile.
When I hesitated, she shook her head and said, “Don’t worry, I don’t want your Bugatti. I will buy a car, nothing fancy but new.”
“Your new car will be delivered to your home this afternoon, consider it a wedding present,” I said dismissing the subject.
“Thanks, but I can’t accept it. First, this is a fake wedding, second, you’re paying me well enough to afford a car. Besides, you don’t want me to look like a spoiled rich man’s wife. It’s better for your image,” she said and moved quickly to the third point.
“Number three is a deal breaker,” I heard her saying. I looked at the list in my hands and frowned. Number three says that I’m going to hire a qualified nanny for her son.
“I don't understand, what is wrong with having a nanny? It’s going to free your time and give you more flexibility,” I asked confused.
“I’m a full-time mom, and I intend to stay that way. I won’t accompany you on your business trips, dinners, and events unless my mom or one of my sisters will take care of Timo for me. If you have a problem with that, you have to find someone else.” Her tone was relaxed but decisive.
I felt it was a take it or leave it deal, although I hate these kinds of deals, I nodded and said, “I can live with that.” I looked at my list and told her, “The next topic would be your ex-husband.”
“What about him?” She looked puzzled.
“Well, is he going to cause any problems in the future? It’s not an issue but I need to know so that I can prepare myself,” I told her.
“No, he won’t cause any problems” she assured me.
“How can you be so sure?” I inquired.
She took a deep breath and told me,
“Fine, to cut the story short, he married me for the money, I was twenty-one when we got divorced, he took all the money that was in my trust fund, in return he gave up all his legal rights to see or contact his son.”
She looked at me and explained, “Timor has my maiden name. We don’t have any relationship with him anymore. He is out of the picture for good.”
“And you gave him everything without a fight?” I couldn’t believe it.
“I got the better part of the deal, I got my son,” she said proudly.
I didn’t know how to respond to that so I just nodded.
After a few moments, she smiled and said, “Good, the next point would be the wedding party this Friday. It’s impossible for my mom to plan a wedding in four days,” she sighed.
“That won’t be a problem, I have a capable PR team, they will do all the work,” I assured her.
“Fine, I will leave that to you and your PR team then. Since the wedding is going to take place at my parents’ house, they have to contact my mom. But it has to wait until tomorrow,” she told me.
When I nodded, she moved to our last point, the contract. She picked up a pen from the table in front of her and just signed the two copies and gave me mine.
“How could you sign something without reading it carefully first?” I was shocked.
“I trust you,” she shrugged.
I shook my head still not believing what she had just done, “You shouldn’t trust anybody.”
“Good thing we’re getting married, you can teach me how to mistrust people, and I will show you how to trust them,” she suggested.
My trust issues were deeply rooted, but I didn’t tell her that.
“We have covered my list; now it’s your turn,” I said changing the subject.
“I have two points. First, I still want to do work for you. If you like my work, your companies will keep using my services even after the divorce,” she said.
“You’ve got it. I’ll have my legal team put this in writing.” I instantly agreed.
“Not necessary, your word is enough,” she gave me a genuine smile.
I wanted to point out that she should be more careful but I didn’t argue. Instead, I asked, “What is your second point?”
She hesitated, for a moment I thought she was going to ask for more money. Then she finally said, “Are you… are you going to have affairs? I mean twelve to eighteen months could be a long time and you…”
“And I might want to have sex. Is that what you’re trying to say,” I finished the sentence for her.
She didn’t answer, she just nodded.
“I am not seeing anyone at the moment, but if I had an affair during our marriage, I would let you know first, and I will be very discrete about it,” I assured her.
“Good, I can be very discrete too,” she simply said.
I was horrified by her remark, I instantly asked, “Are you seeing someone?”
“No, but I want both of us to be on the same page. I am an equal partner in this relationship, and I expect to have the same rights,” she warned me.
I wasn’t prepared for that, but she had a point. I can’t sleep around and expect her to be faithful.
“Fine, no affairs either of us,” I finally said.
“Everything is settled then. I’ll leave you to your work,” she rose up to leave.
Before she reached the door, I stopped her by saying, “You can buy your car today if you want. I have transferred two months payment to your account.”
She shook her head and said, “You shouldn’t do that, I could run now with your money.”
Without waiting for my answer, she opened the door and left.
Acknowledgments
First of all, I want thank my friend and writing partner Lucy Alice for your great support, valuable contribution, love and encouragement. You were there when I needed a frien
d. You can’t imagine how much your friendship mean to me.
Thank you to the following people for their help and contributions in the making of
The Seattle Billionaires series 2
The Agreement:
Beta Readers: Laila & Dalia
Proofreading: Luschka van Onselen
Cover design: Matt stone
Last but not least I want to thank you so much for reading my book. If you enjoyed Aron and Tessa’s story, please look out for Jason and Olivia’s story in The Opportunity