by Maise, Ella
“My first name is Jack.”
She studied me for a long moment, our gazes holding.
“You’re serious, aren’t you? Is this a service you offer to all your clients, Jack Hawthorne? Offering to help them by marrying them?”
“You’re the first, Miss Coleson.”
“So, I’m the special snowflake.”
“In a way, yes.”
Turning back to the view, she dropped her head and rubbed her temples. “Why?”
“Are you asking me why you’re a special snowflake?”
Snorting, she glanced at me over her shoulder. “No, I’m not asking you… Can you give me more information, please? Like actual sentences that explain things and actually makes sense? I’m pretty sure you’re not asking me to marry you just to help me out. What’s in it for you? What are all those reasons you mentioned?” She looked around my office, taking everything in, me included—all the expensive furniture, my clothes, the view, the clients and lawyers walking by. “I’m gonna go out on a limb and say it isn’t about money, because I don’t think I have anything to offer you on that front.”
“You’re right, I don’t need money. Like I said before, this is strictly a business deal. It means nothing else to me. When we go ahead with the marriage—”
“You’re awfully sure of yourself while I’m still trying to figure out if you’re the one who is mocking me.”
I ignored her assessment and continued. “It’ll be nothing more than a business transaction between two people.” I got up and walked toward her. “I made partner this year, Miss Coleson. I’m thirty-one years old, the youngest partner in the firm, and to properly deal with some of my current and future clients, I need to make a good impression. There are formal and informal dinners, events I need to attend. Although it’s not a requirement to be in a serious relationship or to be a ‘family man’, as they put it, I believe I can use the illusion a marriage will provide to my advantage. I don’t want to lose any of my clients or any potential clients to other partners.”
Crossing her arms against her chest, she faced me, and we looked at each other. I couldn’t even begin to guess what was going through her mind. My own damn mind, however, was at war with my conscience.
“Why not marry someone you love? Someone you’re dating? Someone you actually know? Why would you even consider asking me? You know nothing about me. We’re nothing but two strangers.” Seemingly trying to hold back her emotions, she took a deep breath. “Call me old-fashioned, Mr. Hawthorne, but I’m a romantic. I believe in marrying someone for love and only for love. Marriage is… Marriage means something completely different to me than what I think it means to you. I don’t want to be insulting, I don’t know you, but you don’t strike me as someone who necessarily puts much meaning…”
“You can finish your sentence, Miss Coleson.” I jammed my hands back into the pockets of my pants.
“I think you get where I’m coming from.”
I nodded because I did get it. “I don’t have time for personal relationships at the moment, and I’m not going to marry someone who’ll end up expecting more than what I’m offering. I’m not offering you something I’m not ready to give, and you can’t be that naïve, can you? You can’t think I only want to marry you to have someone hang on my arm on appropriate occasions and pay me a small amount of rent.”
Her spine straightened, her eyes shooting daggers at me. “Naïve? Trust me, Mr. Hawthorne, I’m not that naïve. If I was married my husband would own the property, that’s what the will says. So if you’re my husband…” She paused and then shrugged. “I get that you’re after the property as well, but I’m still waiting to hear about the part where you’d help me. So far all I’ve heard is you getting everything you want out of this. I’m failing to see how marrying you will help me save the—to you, very meager, I’m sure—life savings I’ve already spent to buy everything for the coffee shop. Where does me opening the coffee shop fit? In this scenario, you get the fake wife and the property, a property I’m assuming you can buy from my cousins if they’re considering selling it, if that’s what you want.”
“I don’t think they’re interested in selling. Even if they were, why would I spend so much money on something I can get for free? And to give you more context on the subject, I wasn’t actively searching for someone to marry, but when I was asked to read the will to advise on a few subjects, I found out about your situation and thought we could help each other out. To expand on another thing you mentioned, we’re not complete strangers. We did meet before—once, a year ago. It was just a brief encounter at one of your uncle’s parties, but it still helped me put a face to your name. As vague as it was, I had an idea of who you are, and as for the rest…I had enough time to learn what I needed to learn about you, and I’m sure you’ll have the same opportunity regarding me.”
“We met? Where? I don’t remember.”
Uncomfortable, I shifted in place and, not wanting to go into too much detail, waved her question off. “If you don’t remember, there is no point in repeating it. Like I said, it was nothing more than a brief introduction anyway. Anything else you’d like to know?”
“You’re genuinely being serious about this? Really?”
I glanced at the clock on the wall. Time was wasting. “I’m not going to keep repeating myself, Miss Coleson. If you accept, we’ll get married and the property will be transferred to me. After that, I’ll honor the initial contract terms and you can go ahead with your plans.”
She sighed and seemed to mull my words over. “That’s it? That’s all? The property, attending events, and acting like we’re married in front of other people? Nothing more?”
“That’s exactly it, and only for two years. Nothing more, nothing less.”
Glancing away from me, she worried her lips between her teeth. “Two years—right, because that’s nothing. Isn’t this illegal? Wouldn’t it be illegal?”
“Why would it be?”
She gave me an exasperated look. “Fine. What about Jodi and Bryan? There is no way they’ll believe it was a real marriage. Can’t he dispute, challenge, or whatever it is people would do in this situation to stop me from opening the coffee shop and you having ownership?” With a frown on her face, she shook her head. “I’m not saying I’d do this, but if for some insane reason I accepted your offer… I can’t even believe I’m thinking this, let alone saying it out loud.”
It wasn’t hard to see the hopeful look on her face. Knowing it was the right time, I gave her another small push.
“It’s not a hard decision, Miss Coleson. If I suspected there would be blowback, for me or for you, I wouldn’t make this offer. I’m the best at what I do, and no one will be disputing anything. If you accept, I’ll handle your cousins. They won’t be an issue, I can assure you of that.” I lifted my shoulder in a careless shrug. “It’s no one’s business but ours, and you don’t owe anyone any explanations.”
Her eyes focused on the ground, she kept shaking her head. I already knew what her answer would be—she was asking questions, which meant she was considering it. It was already a done deal. If I hadn’t already been sure of the outcome, I wouldn’t have come to her with the offer. She had spent all her savings on her dream, and I didn’t see her passing on my offer, which would benefit us both. I also knew it didn’t mean I’d get her answer with no resistance.
Startled, we both looked at my assistant, Cynthia, when she knocked on the glass door and stepped inside. “Your next appointment is here, Mr. Hawthorne, and you wanted me to inform you when the other meeting had started.”
“Thank you, Cynthia. I’m going to need a few more minutes here.”
As Cynthia nodded and closed the door, Rose Coleson headed back to her chair and picked up her bag. “I’m going to leave…and I’ll think about—”
“I’m afraid you’ll have to give me your answer now.” I didn’t move from my spot.
She stopped messing with her bag and met my gaze. “What? Why?”<
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“Because as Cynthia just let us know, your cousins are in the meeting room at the moment, discussing how to handle the properties. If you accept my offer, we’ll go join them and announce our situation. If you don’t, you’ll lose your last chance.”
“You can’t really expect me to decide right now. Do you think they’re just going to believe we fell in love at first sight? And then decided to get married in a week?”
“And how would they know that? How would they know when or how we met?” I took my hands out of my pockets and shrugged, moving back toward my desk. “It’s not our problem if they assume we met weeks or months ago.”
“My fiancé just left me a few weeks ago, Mr. Hawthorne. Out of the blue. For no reason whatsoever. They know me enough to know I wouldn’t marry someone else that quickly.”
“Your point being?”
“My point being?” Frustrated, she shook her head. “I can’t believe this is happening right now.”
Overwhelmed and looking confused, she dropped down on the chair. I felt like a bastard for forcing an answer from her, but I had a million things to do and not enough time to do them. If we were going to go forward with this, I needed to know immediately because I wouldn’t put myself in this situation again. “I’m going to need that answer from you, Miss Coleson.”
“And I need to know more details, Mr. Hawthorne. Also, could you please stop calling me Miss Coleson?”
“The details aren’t important at the moment. It’s either a yes or a no.”
“You’re pressuring me. I don’t like it. I don’t like this.”
“I’m doing nothing of the sort. You can walk out of my office at any time—after you give me a definitive answer, that is. You don’t have to say yes, but when you do answer, don’t forget that this is completely your own decision. I have nothing to lose in this. If I don’t end up with that property, I’ll find something else on Madison Avenue. Can you say the same?”
Her hands resting on her lap, palms down on her jeans, she lifted her head and looked up at me. “This is insane. If I do this, I’m insane. You’re insane.”
“I think I’m quite clear on what you think of me.” Half sitting on my desk, I crossed my arms. “This will benefit us both, Miss Coleson. If we sign that simple piece of paper that states we’re married, you’ll get to open up your coffee shop, and nothing else will change for two years. If we don’t, you’ll lose all your money on furniture and equipment you’ve bought that you can’t use at the moment. From where I’m standing, there is no decision to make. I’m offering you a lifeline. If you’re okay with losing all that, we have nothing more to discuss.”
“We’re not a good fit, Mr. Hawthorne. Surely you can see that.”
“No, I guess we’re not. I completely agree with you, but then again, I believe it’s good enough for what we have in mind. If your answer is no, please let me know so I can get on with my next meeting.”
Seconds ticked by as I waited for her answer, and I could see the exact moment her dream of opening her own coffee shop swayed her decision, just as I’d suspected it would. “I can’t believe I’m saying this. I can’t even believe this is happening right now, but if we’re going to make them believe we’re getting married, I think you should start calling me Rose.”
“Good. We’ll discuss the details at another date. In the meantime, I’ll draw up a marriage contract that covers everything.” Straightening from the desk, I crossed to the door and opened it for her.
“Six months,” she blurted out.
I arched an eyebrow as she got up and turned around to meet my gaze.
“Six months?”
“Yes. I want you to give me six months before I start paying you the amount of rent that was discussed in the original contract.” She nodded with a frown, as if she wasn’t so sure what she was asking. “I know that was not in the initial contract I made with my uncle, but since you’re going to end up with the property anyway, I want those first six months to be rent free so I can at least try to make some profit.” She paused, thinking. “I think you can afford it. And truth be told, I can’t. Sure, the rent I’ll be paying you is nothing for a place on Madison Avenue, but with everything going on, I won’t be able to afford it. But those rent-free six months will help me get a good start.”
I studied her more closely. “You’re right, I can afford not getting rent from you. Deal. Is that all?”
“I… Yes, that’s it.”
“You could ask me for the half of the property. If you had gotten married to Joshua, you’d get the half.”
“Would you give it to me?”
“I’m afraid the answer would be no.”
“I thought so. Not paying rent for six months will help me.”
“Good. Then we have no problem. Let’s join the meeting.”
“Just like that?”
“Do you have any more questions?”
“Only about a hundred.” She stopped next to me and met my eyes.
I arched an eyebrow. “I’m afraid we can’t go through them all at the moment. Maybe next time. You’ll have plenty of time to ask me anything you want after we’re married. Let me do the talking in the meeting and we’ll be fine.”
Paler than she’d been when she had first entered my office and maybe a little shell-shocked, she nodded and followed behind me as we headed toward the meeting room.
I cursed myself for the bastard I was with every step I took.
When we were only a few steps away from the meeting room and I could see Bryan and Jodi Coleson sitting next to each other, their backs to us, I glanced at Rose and saw her breathing was a little out of control, her eyes huge and unsure.
“Ready?” I asked, already guessing what her answer would be.
“Can’t really say that I am.”
I nodded. That was good enough.
“When was the last time you talked to your cousins?”
She rubbed her temples before looking up at me. “Last week, maybe? Maybe more? Why?”
“Leave it to me.”
We stepped in the room. Standing side by side. She had that particular death grip on her handbag that was hanging on her shoulder again.
“Tim,” I interrupted and everyone in the room, including Jodi Coleson and Bryan Coleson, turned to look at us. “I’m sorry for being late to the meeting.”
Tim shuffled the pages he held in his hand, stood up and took off his glasses, his eyes on Rose. “Hello Jack. Miss Rose, I’m glad you could join us. I won’t hold you for too long, we just need you to—”
“Tim,” I said again and waited until his gaze met mine. “I thought you’d like to be informed so you can make the necessary changes. Rose Coleson is my fiancée and we’re getting married in a few days.”
“You’re…you’re getting married to Miss Rose? What?” While Tim stood there staring at me and Rose with a stupefied expression, Bryan slowly pushed himself up and faced Rose.
“What’s going on here?” he asked, his already hard gaze jumping from Rose to me. “Explain.”
“Bryan, Jack and I are getting married.” She forced out a laugh and shifted on her feet. “I know that sounds a little—”
“It sounds like you’re fucking with me, cuz.”
I took a step forward and left, putting myself in front of Bryan and forcing Rose to take a step back.
“I know this is a surprise to your family, Mr. Coleson, so I’ll let that one go, but I’d suggest you watch your words when you’re speaking to my fiancé.” I looked away from him and addressed the room. “I proposed to Rose last week, and we thought this would be a good time to share the news with you. We couldn’t do it before because we wanted some privacy to celebrate. Tim, I believe this will change the situation regarding the property on Madison Avenue.”
“This is complete bullshit,” Bryan burst out as his sister, Jodi, sat there and watched it all unfold with a bored expression. “This situation, whatever the hell this act is, changes nothing. She still isn’t g
etting the property. How stupid do you think I am?”
“Oh, I couldn’t say, Mr. Coleson. We’ll be family shortly and I wouldn’t want to insult you.” I watched as the color on his face darkened. “Also, in the will, Gary Coleson clearly states that, in the event that he passes away, the ownership of the property on Madison Avenue will transfer to Rose’s husband. The time limit was until 2020, I believe, but we can always check. I’m only explaining this for your sake, Mr. Coleson, because I’m not marrying your cousin for a property. My feelings for her has nothing to do with what’s going on here.”
“Jack, maybe we should—” Tim started.
“If it has nothing to do with what’s going on here, you’ll lay no claim on the property,” Bryan forced out through clenched teeth, his eyes sliding to Rose.
“The property, I believe is Gary Coleson’s last gift to his niece. I’m sure you’re not trying to ignore your father’s wishes.”
Bryan’s hands slowly balled into fists and he took one more step forward.
Tim cleared his throat and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index finger. “Jack maybe this wasn’t the best time to…uh, share the good news. Maybe we can schedule another meeting for—”
“Yes, I think that would be better. Rose and I will expect to hear from you soon.”
“I will contest the will,” Bryan said, his eyes glittering with anger before I could get us out of there. He was talking to Rose, his eyes on her. “I won’t let you have this. You’re doing this because I wouldn’t let you use the place and told you I had other plans.”
“If you contest, you’ll have to wait a long time to get your own share. I fight back Mr. Coleson,” I warned.
“Bryan,” Rose said from behind me. “I’m not marrying Jack for the property. I know the timing is…awkward, but it isn’t what you think. We met when…” She stepped up next to me and pushed her arm through mine.