The Arrangement: Book one in the Seattle Billionaires Series

by Nora Ford

  That evening I told Timor. Although he took the news lightly, I could feel that my son wasn’t acting normally. He slept in my bed for three nights in a row. That wasn’t like him at all. Last night we had a rather interesting conversation.

  When I tucked him in my bed, and was going to read him his favorite book, he said out of the blue, “You know Josh isn’t allowed to sleep in his mom’s bed anymore.” Josh was his best friend; Josh’s mom was divorced, but she remarried last year.

  “Um, … I think Josh is old enough to sleep in his bed.” I said, and I wasn’t sure where this conversation was heading.

  He shook his head, “Josh said it’s because his stepdad sleeps in his mother’s bed, there is no room for him.”

  Poor Josh I thought, “It’s not like that honey, I am sure Josh has a nice room, where he can sleep, and I bet his room is next to his mom’s room.” I knew Josh’s mom she’s a sweet woman and a caring mother, I don’t think she would neglect her son.

  “Yes, but he said, while he was looking at them from the keyhole he saw…” He leaned closer and whispered in my ears what his friend saw. I was speechless for a moment, then he added,

  “When he told our teacher at school, she said it is wrong to look from the keyhole, and he shouldn’t do that again.”

  “Your teacher is right; Josh shouldn’t have done that. That wasn’t nice. Besides, he shouldn’t tell everyone about it.” I gave him a “Don’t you ever do that” look. Poor Josh’s mom, I thought; sure, she had no idea that the whole first grade knew what was going on in her bedroom.

  I opened his book and wanted to distract him by reading, but before I could start he asked me, “Are you going to do like Josh’s mom?”

  “No,” I answered quickly.

  “Would I still be able to sleep in your bed?” He wanted to know.

  “You sure would,” I gave him a reassuring smile, then I added, “Nothing is going to change, I promise.”

  “You’re still going to sleep alone.” He said, and I nodded.

  “Why?” He asked.

  “Why what?” I asked back.

  “My friends at school say that moms and dads sleep in the same bed, this is how babies come.” He explained to me.

  “Um… I’ll tell you a secret but don’t tell everyone at school, okay.” I looked at him.

  He nodded and said “Okay.”

  “Well, Adam snores at night so that I will sleep in a separate room,” I said.

  He grinned and asked, “Do I have to wear a suit at the wedding?”

  “I am afraid yes” I confirmed.

  He nodded and didn’t argue. It seemed that the suit wasn’t a real issue. At last, he opened the book so that I can read it for him.

  After he fell asleep, I stayed up for a while. I was hoping that I was doing the right thing.

  Chapter Six

  Talia

  This morning I met my sisters to help me choose my dress. This was the easy part; I wasn’t wearing a wedding gown. I wanted something simple and elegant at the same time. I had an idea of how it should look like in my head.

  When I saw a crème cocktail dress, I knew it was the one. It was a sleeveless, knee-length dress. Its built-in bodice and straight cut skirt will give my figure the perfect shape. My sisters loved it when I tried it on. So, I didn’t look any further, I bought the dress and moved to the shoe department, where I found a pair of crème pumps that went perfectly with the dress; I bought them as well.

  “Mission accomplished.” I said and wanted to leave the store, but my older sister Olivia stopped me, “Wait! you still need to buy some sexy underwear.”

  “No one is going to see my underwear, come on let’s put the shopping bags in the car and have some early lunch, I am starving,” I said and dragged her out of the store before she could object.

  Tessa recommended an Italian restaurant that she newly discovered. The place was nice and cozy. After we took our seats at a rear table by the window, and a waiter took our orders, Olivia said again, “You should have bought new underwear.”

  I looked around, when I was sure that no one could hear us, I said, “What for? Adam won’t see my underwear.”

  “He won’t see it tomorrow, but he is going to see it soon.” She said.

  “No, he won’t, we have a deal, remember.” I insisted

  She shook her head and said, “This no sex rule is ridiculous, you won’t be able to keep that one. I bet you won’t last a week before you break it.”

  “No, Talia is stronger than that, I’d give her a month.” Tessa corrected her.

  “Thanks a lot for having so much faith in me,” I said sarcastically.

  “This has nothing to do with faith, but let’s face the facts here. You’re going to live together under the same roof for at least a year. He is handsome, attractive and very hot, you’d be tempted.” Olivia simply said.

  She was right about one thing; Adam is attractive, no one can argue that. His face is well-defined with sharp jaws and angular cheekbones. He has strong arched brows and eyelashes so thick, it could be illegal, and his eyes are deep and green. His dark brown thick hair and his slightly dark complexion make him look dangerously handsome.

  He isn’t one of those rich men, who looked like a fermented potato and hide their large bellies under their expensive suits and large bank accounts. He is tall and broad, if his suites hide anything, they would only hide his well-trained muscular body. In other words, Adam is gorgeous, but he isn’t mine. I have to remember that.

  “You two don’t understand, Adam won’t be around most of the time; he’s very busy, and he travels a lot. We won’t see each other that often. I am not going to get to know him. However, by the end of our marriage, I might be best friends with his assistant. Besides, he’s not interested.” I explained.

  In the past four days, I spoke to Adam only once, and it was short and formal. However, I met his assistant twice and talked to her on the phone several times. We discussed the wedding plans; she helped me move my things to his House. She also gave me a detailed idea of our honeymoon, which in fact is a business trip to New York, where Adam is going to attend few meetings.

  Although I appreciated his assistant’s help, the whole thing gave me an idea of how my life is going to be for the next twelve months.

  Tessa interrupted my thoughts, when she said, “You have to accompany him on some of his business trips, you’ll spend time alone together. Don’t worry; he is going to be interested.”

  “I am not worried, I am only trying to tell you that we’re going to stick to the rules,” I told them and was hoping they would finally drop the subject. Before Olivia could argue, the waiter brought our food.

  The food was excellent, and they were both distracted and left me alone for the rest of our meal.

  On the drive home, I thought about my sisters’ words, but I am not going to make the same mistake twice. I will not fall for Adam Grant. I am going to marry him tomorrow, but this marriage will remain a business deal and nothing more.

  Chapter Seven

  Adam

  It was my wedding, as expected everything was elegant and classy. We exchanged our vows and rings in front of all our guests, cut the cake, and had our first dance. I needed few minutes for myself to sort out my thoughts, that wasn’t possible with Talia by my side. So, I picked a distant table at the rear end of the garden and sat there to think.

  My decision to marry Talia was impulsive, but it was the right one. I had to find a way to stop the damage that my former fiancé’s photos and news were causing me.

  The best way was to make a clean cut, by getting married. I was practically telling everyone that we won’t go back together as she claims. Now people won’t connect her to me anymore; I made it clear to everyone that she was replaceable. Her actions won’t embarrass me or harm my image anymore. I did the right thing. I kept telling myself the whole evening.

  However, every time I see Talia, I think I got myself into a lot more trouble. She is
different than all the women I’ve known before; I’ve always known what they wanted, and I was the one who decided how much to give. With her, I am not sure.

  I can’t tell if she is the person she is claiming to be, or all this is a part of a big show. The past few days I tried to avoid her; I let my assistant call her and arrange everything with her instead of doing it myself.

  I wasn’t that busy; I just wasn’t sure how to deal with her. When she refused to hire a nanny for her son, I was alarmed. I thought she must have known my history with my mom and was pretending to be a devoted mom to score with me. So, I kept my distance.

  However, that isn’t going to work anymore; she’s my wife now, and I won’t be able to keep her at arm’s length any longer. I’ve been watching her the whole evening; she is a loving mom, there is no doubt about that. I could tell from the way she looks and smiles at her son; her eyes are full of love and affection.

  She has a lovely family; it doesn’t take a genius to notice that they are close. Although they all have welcomed me with opened arms into their family, they made it clear that this won’t be the case if I ever hurt her. She won’t get hurt if we stick to our plan, but I wasn’t sure I could do that anymore.

  I want to renegotiate our terms, this no sex rule, won’t work for me. I realized this when I kissed her earlier. We were exchanging the rings, and the kiss was supposed to be a part of the show, it should have been brief and casual, but it wasn’t.

  When my lips touched hers, sparks flew in every direction, instead of keeping it short and small I pulled her closer and kissed her deeper and more passionately. A kiss like that was a beginning; it was a promise of much more to come.

  Then came our dance, when I lead her to the dance floor, we were very close; our bodies almost touched. It was very hard to ignore the heat that was radiating between us. I was well aware of her warm body and her seductive scent.

  I want more; I don’t have any doubts about that. I can tell from the way she kissed me back and the way she was blushing during our dance; she wants more too. The problem is that I wasn’t sure how she would interpret it. Women often mistake sex with love. I don’t want her to get the wrong idea, this marriage is temporary, and it is going to stay that way.

  I was debating what was the best approach to make her agree to my new terms when I heard my father asking, “Why is the groom sitting here all by himself?”

  “Hi dad, I am only taking a break,” I said.

  “Grooms don’t take a break, son. Do you have cold feet already?” He grinned.

  “Why should I have cold feet? This is not real, remember.” I reminded him.

  He shook his head and said, “The way you kissed your bride earlier looked very real to me.”

  “Dad, it was part of the show. For the photos and the press; nothing serious.” I told him.

  “I like her though. She is different, if you let her, she would make you happy.” He said.

  “You don’t even know her,” I insisted.

  “It doesn’t take a genius to see that she is not like the others. You’re a smart man; you’ll know what you have to do.” He said and gave me an encouraging smile.

  “What do you mean?” I wanted to know.

  He sighed and said, “Forget this ridiculous agreement, make it real. You don’t want to live your life alone.”

  “What’s wrong with that? You haven’t remarried after mom left.” I countered.

  “Yes, but I had you, what do you have other than your money? You’re thirty-four, what are you waiting for to start a family and have kids of your own?” He asked.

  When I didn’t respond, he patted my shoulder and left.

  My dad’s words confused me a little, but he was wrong, even if Talia is different, she is still marrying me for my money. I can’t forget about this agreement.

  Marriage in my world is a contract, a business deal; it works as long as both parties agree to each other’s terms and conditions. What I’m doing isn’t new, persons with money and power do it all the time, and I am one of them.

  However, having a child won’t be a bad idea. I could add it when we renegotiate. I thought about the new terms for a while, and they made perfect sense to me. I am going to discuss them with Talia, not tonight but soon. I have to choose the right moment to bring this up.

  I took a look at my watch; I realized that I’ve been sitting here for almost half an hour. So, I rose up and went back to the party. Halfway to the house, I heard Timo calling, “Adam!”

  “Timo, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in bed now?” I asked.

  “I wanted to tell you goodnight before I go to sleep.” He said with a smile.

  “Goodnight, little champ,” I said and caressed his hair.

  I expected him to go inside, but instead, he looked at me and said, “Do you know why mom won’t sleep with you?”

  I was speechless; I didn’t know how to respond to that. Fortunately, Timo didn’t wait for my response, he just added, “Because you snore.”

  I didn’t know what he was talking about, but I nodded anyway.

  “I don’t snore; I can sleep in mom’s bed.” He said proudly.

  “Of course, you can,” I said quickly.

  Before he could say anything more, Talia came and rescued me. “Timo, what are you doing here? Granny is waiting for you upstairs.” She told her son.

  “I wanted to tell Adam goodnight.” He said.

  “Okay, but we don’t want to keep Granny waiting. Please go up and change into your PJ. I’ll come and tuck you in before I leave.” She told him and gave him a warm smile.

  He nodded and said, “Bye Adam.” Without waiting for me to reply he ran to the house.

  “A nice kid,” I said and watched him running.

  “Yeh, he’s the best. I am lucky to have him.” She said, and her eyes lit while she was watching her son go into the house.

  “He gave me a tip, why you won’t sleep with me,” I told her.

  Even though it was dark, I could see her blushing. I didn’t give her a chance to respond, I closed the distance between us and added softly, “If snoring is your only problem, I don’t snore.”

  When she raised her head to answer, her eyes were on the same level as my lips; the air was charged again. I could feel she wanted to kiss me. Before she could change her mind, I leaned in and kissed her slowly and softly. When she pulled away, she was blushing even more. “I… I’d better go check on Timo.” She said and quickly left.

  We are definitely going to renegotiate soon, and it won’t be that hard. I thought and was pleased with myself.

  Chapter Eight

  Talia

  What the Hell just happened?

  He kissed me again. When he kissed me after we exchanged our vows and rings, I was prepared, I knew it was for the show. Of course, I wasn’t expecting it to be that passionate, but I told myself he was trying to look convincing.

  What just happened was something else, we were alone, he wasn’t trying to prove anything to anybody.

  I wasn’t sure, how do I feel about that. We have chemistry; there is no doubt about that. I haven’t reacted that way to anyone in a very long time. No, I haven’t reacted that way ever, not even with my ex-husband.

  Chemistry or not, you should be careful, this is a business deal, don’t forget that.

  I kept reminding myself as I went upstairs to my old bedroom. When I entered the room, Timo was already in bed. His eyes lit and said, “I thought you left.”

  “How can I leave without kissing you goodbye?” I said and lied on the bed beside him.

  “Are you leaving now?” He asked.

  I nodded and said, “I’m going to miss you like crazy.”

  He smiled and said, “I’m going to miss you too, but Granny said you'd call us every day.”

  “I will, I promise. But you have to promise me to be a good boy and don’t give Granny hard time.” I told him.

  He didn’t reply, he just nodded and cuddled up to me.


  I kissed him and said, “I love you to the moon and back.”

  He rewarded me with a genuine smile before he started yawning.

  “Goodnight baby, sweet dreams,” I said and tucked him in.

  “Night mom.” He said, his voice was sleepy.

  I kissed him again and rose up to leave. Before I reached the door, I heard him calling, “Mom!”

  “Yes, honey.” I stopped and looked at him.