The Marriage Contract

by Natasha L. Black

  I had to run out to a local department store to get them and standing in front of the mirror in the hotel, looking at how plain and dreary it looked, I frowned. At least I was doing something for myself. At least it was a job.

  And it was going to be my first day of work anywhere, ever. I hoped I didn’t let Hannah down.

  I could do it. I knew I could. I had to tell myself that over and over again in the mirror as I threw my hair up in a ponytail. I knew it was worth it, that went without saying, but I had to know I actually could manage it. Hannah believed in me. And she would be there in case I had questions or got overwhelmed. I just had to be brave.

  It was pretty warm outside, and I needed to do something with the nervous energy I had, so I decided to walk to the bar. It wasn’t very far, and I needed to get used to the city a bit better anyway. I gave myself plenty of time to get there, knowing it should take far less time, in case I wanted to stop for a coffee on the way in. Sure enough, a coffee shop near the bar lured me in with the smell of dark roast, and I grabbed one for Hannah, too. When I got to the bar, it seemed pretty empty, and I took a deep breath.

  You got this. You’re a badass, independent woman. Slay bitch, slay. Walking in, Hannah greeted me at the door and brought me back to the office. I sat down at the table and filled out the paperwork as best I could. I had never had to fill out tax information before, so I kind of winged it and hoped I wouldn’t get arrested later. Pretty soon, Matt was at the door.

  “Finished?” he asked.

  “I think so,” I said, handing him the papers.

  He glanced over them. “Looks good to me. I’ll let you know if there’s something missing when I enter everything in on the computer. Hannah’s going to let you shadow her for the first couple of days so you can get the hang of things.”

  “Great,” I said. “Thank you again for giving me a job.”

  “It’s no big deal,” he said, grinning. “We needed a waitress, and you needed a job. Everybody wins.”

  “I hope so.”

  “Alright, well, tonight should be a pretty busy night. Since we’re down one waitress, Hannah will be moving fast. Try to keep up. If you have questions, you can always come grab me. I’ll be in the kitchen,” he said.

  “Okay, thank you.”

  Matt walked away, and I stood up, heading to the door. A busy night. It was a lot of pressure, but I had to get over it. It was time to sink or swim.

  “That’s it,” I said as I spilled the fourth drink of the night all over myself. “I am clearly not cut out for this.”

  “Oh, Chloe,” Hannah said, her mouth pursed in what I assumed was loving disappointment. She grabbed a towel for me from the bar and handed it over. I began to pat myself dry before mopping up what was on the floor. “Don’t worry, this happens sometimes. I have klutz days, too.”

  “Yeah, but they aren’t your first day,” I said.

  “No, but everyone makes mistakes. It’s okay. Dry off and bring a new drink to table four. Diet, remember,” she said, heading toward the table.

  I kept patting myself dry, wondering what it was I had gotten myself into. Busy was a good word for it, but while everyone else seemed to think it was manageable, my head was spinning. Trying to learn the shorthand for orders, keeping drink orders in my head so I could fill them myself, remembering which person ordered what at each table… it was a lot.

  Not to mention the first spill had gone right down my shirt. I felt sticky and wet for a good long while and had just started to feel less gross when a small child tipped a drink over onto my back. Then a third drink spilled on me when I tried to grab a beer off the bar to bring to a patron, getting all down my arm. Now this one, soaking my left leg and part of my hip.

  I went and got a second drink, bringing it behind Hannah and dropping it off at the table. I grabbed her by the arm before she could go anywhere else and leaned in close.

  “I think I need a little break,” I said. “I’m going to go out back and just take a second.”

  “Okay, you’re good,” Hannah said.

  I stomped away, heading to the back and exiting through the back door. The cool air hit me, and I exhaled deeply. I didn’t even realize I had been holding my breath, desperate to get outside and take a minute. I had been out there for only a few seconds, long enough to sit on the top step, when Matt came through the door behind me. I hopped up, surprising him enough that he leaned back a bit.

  “I’m so sorry,” I blurted out. “I know, I get it. I’ve never worked anywhere before, and this isn’t working out. If you just want to fire me, I get it.”

  “Hey, hey, what? Whoa. Slow down,” he said. “I was just coming out for a breather. Kitchens are hot. What’s going on? Is this about the spilled drinks?”

  I sighed. “Yes, I figured Hannah told you I spilled another drink or you saw it or something.”

  “Don’t worry about that,” he said. “It’s your first day. It’s okay. You’ll get the hang of it.”

  Looking down at my shoes, I blushed. He didn’t need to be that nice to me, but I appreciated it.

  “Thanks,” I said. “You’ve been very nice to me.”

  He grinned and looked away for a moment before taking a sip from his bottle of water.

  “Do you remember much of what you were talking about the other night when you were drunk?” he asked.

  “Oh God,” I said. “You mean about the guy my parents wanted me to marry and the fight I had with them?”

  “Yeah.”

  I sighed. “My parents are just very stuck on themselves and their image. They wanted to be socialites and elite power brokers in LA and beyond. They raised me to be like a tiny Paris Hilton. So, naturally, they wanted me to marry someone that reflected well on them, and they chose the son of one of Dad’s business partners. This guy named Adam.”

  “They just chose your husband? Like in olden times?” he joked.

  “Oh, but they did,” I said, getting a laugh from him. “He was an absolute sleazeball too. Cheated on every girlfriend he ever had, was already divorced with two kids and everything. He never saw his kids unless there were cameras there to document it, too. Then he put on the Super Dad act. It was disgusting. But everyone thinks his wife is the terrible one because he hired a PR group to smear her and make him sound great. It’s such bullshit.”

  “That guy sounds like a real piece of work,” Matt said.

  “He is. And I wanted absolutely nothing to do with him, but my parents insisted and insisted. They kept talking about how good it was for the family. How well our children would turn out. It was like I was being offered up as a breeding horse. So, I had a big fight with them and realized in the middle of one of the sentences that nothing was going to change. They were going to be that way forever. I could either run away like Hannah did, or stay there and marry Adam and be miserable. So, I waited until they left for some function or another, and I packed up my shit and left.”

  “Wow,” he said. “That is insane. Like legitimately insane. I know I don’t know you all that well yet, but trust me, you deserve better than that.”

  “Thanks,” I said. “It’s good to hear that once in a while. Most people would look at the life I had and the life I could have had with Adam and say I was the one who was crazy.”

  “No way,” Matt said. “Money isn’t worth misery. At all. I, for one, am glad you’re here.” He turned to look into the restaurant through the screen door. His brows furrowed, and he turned back to me. “You’ll have to excuse me, though—my line cook seems to have gone missing. I guess my break is about over.”

  “No worries,” I said. “I’ll head back in, too, in just a second.”

  Matt offered a smile and opened the door, heading back in with a purposeful pace. I turned and sat again, looking at the street as I took in the fresh air. I felt a little less nervous now, and a little more like I might be able to handle the job. If Matt was as supportive as he just was, and everyone else seemed to be, too, then they might be willing
to put up with my learning curve.

  Heading back inside, I found Hannah and joined her on her round again, carrying trays for her and copying everything she wrote down in my own pad so I could get used to how to do it. As the shift progressed, I started to pick it up, and by the end of the night, I was pretty comfortable at it. Comfortable enough that Hannah had me handle a couple of tables while she watched me and gave advice.

  Getting the story of my parents and Adam off my chest seemed to make me better and more focused. I had Matt to thank for that. As I finished up some of the last tables of the night, I started to think about how he had helped me since I got there and how nice he had been. I felt like I should come up with a way to thank him for all his help and reassurance.

  Plans formed in my head as I wiped down the tables and sent stuff to the back, occupying my mind as we ended the night.

  7

  Matt

  It was still morning when I found myself awake, staring at the ceiling. The apartment was quiet now that I was alone, but the silence only made me go inward even more. The dream I had been having was delicious, and I wanted to go back to it, but it was already slipping away. It was fragmented, and I couldn’t concentrate on any one piece of it to bring it back to the front of my mind, and I yawned in frustration.

  I couldn’t flip over, though. Not with the raging hard-on I had. That only reiterated the frustration of leaving that dream, topped off with the frustration of how long it had been since I’d gotten laid. Still, it wasn’t going away, and I knew I needed to take care of it if I meant to be able to focus on anything else that day.

  Slipping my hand down under the covers, I clenched my cock through my boxers. It was rock hard, and I slipped it through the flap in the center and pulled it out. I started to stroke it slowly, letting my mind wander and hoping it settled back on the dream. At first, nothing was there, but then I remembered. Closing my eyes, I decided to just go with it.

  I tried to bring up how she looked on that back porch when we talked mid-shift the night before. How the tight black shirt barely held her large breasts, and there was a tiny peek of cleavage over the top. I imagined being on that back porch with her, our lips pressed against one another and her hand on my cock instead of my own. I could see her lifting her shirt and revealing her breasts to me. I would suckle them while she undid her pants.

  Then, when her pants were down just enough, I would push her against the wall, facing away from me. My cock would slide into her from behind, and she would gasp. Her hands would hold herself up against the brick wall as I fucked her. The road behind us would be full of traffic, any one of them able to look over and see me pounding into her. Her moans would fill my ears as she begged me to go harder.

  Suddenly, the tension released, and I came hard. I lay there, breathing heavy and unclenching my jaw. I removed my boxers, grabbing a towel and cleaning myself off before stripping the sheets off the bed.

  I hopped into the shower, letting the hot water soothe me and let me relax. I felt kind of bad for thinking about Chloe that way, but she was so damn sexy. It wasn’t the first time I had imagined what she looked like without some of those clothes on, but it was the first time I had let my mind wander beyond that. I hoped it wouldn’t impact me at work interacting with her.

  When I got out of the shower, feeling much better about the day and happy I was up early for once, I got dressed. I was about to head out of the door to grab a big lunch before heading into work, thinking that eating somewhere else would inspire me, when my phone rang. I looked down at it and saw it was Tom. Not knowing if this was going to be one of those sit-down calls where we went over a ton of things, I decided against my lunch plans and instead opened the fridge as I hit the Accept button. Cold deli meat sandwiches it was. Again.

  “Hey, bro,” I said, answering the phone.

  “Matt, how are you?” he asked on the other end.

  “Good, good. Making lunch. How about you?” I said, making my sandwich.

  “Also eating. Are you on evening shift tonight? I didn’t wake you, did I?” he asked.

  “No, I’m on evening tonight, but I was up already. Just got out of the shower, actually,” I said.

  “Well, good,” Tom said. “I was calling to see how the Portland location was doing these days.”

  I knew what that meant. That was Tom-speak for “I haven’t gotten your reports in the last however long I deem that I should get them.” I didn’t begrudge my brother and his business acumen; it clearly was a strong suit of his. But, dammit, sometimes he could be such a big brother about it, hounding us just to get us on a schedule for things that he thought was best.

  “Yeah, I was going to be sending you the new reports today when I got in, actually,” I said. “But we’ve been doing great. Last night was the first slow night in a while.”

  “That’s fantastic,” he said. “Good to hear. Anything I can do to help things run more smoothly?”

  “Nothing I can think of. Maybe a bigger limit on the business expense credit card?”

  We both laughed, and then the line went quiet.

  “Wait, there isn’t really an issue, is there?” he said. “I can have the limit expanded, but I would worry if it were getting close to maxed out.”

  “No, no, it was a joke. We’re good,” I said. “Harder to tell over the phone, I guess.”

  “Speaking of that. Are you guys coming down for Mom’s birthday? We are going to make it and do a little thing for her. She won’t be happy unless she has all the kids.”

  “Yeah,” I said. “Of course. We should be able to do that just fine.”

  “Good deal, good deal,” he said. “Well, I won’t keep you from your lunch. I just wanted to check in. Tell Jordan and Hannah I said hello and that I’ll see them in a couple of weeks.”

  “Will do,” I said. I ended the call and set the phone down. “Shit.”

  I had forgotten that her birthday was coming up. It was still a couple of weeks away, but still, I should have remembered that. At least I had some time to come up with something to get her and make sure we had the day either closed or covered. I spent the time heading to work coming up with possibilities for things to get Mom.

  As soon as I got in, I went to the office and started collecting all the files I needed to send to Tom and putting together an email. I could hear the end of lunch happening outside the door while I worked, and eventually Jordan poked his head in.

  “You busy?” he asked.

  “Just sending Tom the reports,” I said, not looking up.

  “Ahh, yeah, I should have sent those the other day, sorry. Did he call?” he asked.

  I nodded. “Yup.”

  “Of course he did,” Jordan said, shaking his head. “I think I’m going to head out early today. Babysitter isn’t feeling great, so I’m going to head home to relieve her. Hannah will stay, though, help Chloe train.”

  “Sounds good,” I said. “I’ll cut her as soon as things slow down after the last call.”

  “Awesome. See you tomorrow,” he said.

  “Don’t forget Mom’s birthday,” I called out, and he almost fell back into the room after having pulled away.

  “Right. He asked about that, too, didn’t he?” I nodded. “We’re going down there, aren’t we?” I nodded again. “Alright then.”

  Jordan took off, and I finished off the email and sent it off. Without Jordan there, that meant I needed to get out there and get things prepped. Heading out onto the floor, I noticed Chloe was already there, sitting and talking in a booth with Hannah. Jordan was still there, saying his goodbyes, and I waved at him as he walked out.

  Service began not much later, and I was in and out of the kitchen, relying mostly on the line cook. Otherwise, I was bouncing behind the bar and checking on tables in a management role. That meant I was always within eyesight of Chloe. Every time she left a table, I watched her walk away, and occasionally I would go check on the table myself and getting some really good reviews of her service. Hann
ah was handling the tables beside hers, splitting her section with her, and Chloe was doing pretty well.

  As she went into the back to put up some tickets in the window, I followed her back there. She seemed surprised to see me, but not upset. I flashed a smile and hoped she didn’t think I was coming at her to fire her again like I did the day before. At least we weren’t meeting on the back porch, or else I would have a hard time not thinking about the dream from earlier in the day.

  “Hey,” she said.

  “Hey,” I said back. “I just wanted to come tell you that it seems like you’re doing a lot better tonight. No spilled drinks.” I grinned, and she smiled back.

  “Yeah, knock on wood. I feel like I at least got control of my balance today and haven’t been a total klutz,” she said.

  “Well, I’ve been doing the manager work, talking to tables, and they seem to like you out there too, so keep it up.”

  “Thank you,” she said. “And thank you again for being so nice to me. It really means a lot for people to just accept me and help me out. I know a lot of it is because of Hannah, but I still appreciate it.”

  “I mean, Hannah vouching for you helped, but you’ve proven yourself so far.”

  She smiled and went back to her ticket, making sure the line cook got it. I was about to walk into the office, but I decided that there was something about her that I couldn’t let go of. I needed to pursue it, or else I would be thinking about it all the time and kicking myself.

  “Hey,” I said, catching her before she headed back onto the floor. “I have a question for you. If you don’t feel comfortable with it, it’s totally cool, but I wanted to ask if I could use your number. So we could hang out sometime. Not at work.”

  I worried that I sounded too dorky, like I was tripping over my words. But she smiled again, and this time it was wider than the others. Then she bit her bottom lip and grinned.

  “I’d love to hang out sometime,” she said.