Chapter 3

I’m at home working on a few reports I received then a call from a strange number comes in. I consider ignoring but something makes me pick.

“Who is this?” I say clearly uninterested in small talk

“It’s Samantha West and I want to tell you I accept the offer.” her voice is broken . She sounds so different from the hyper woman that walked into my office earlier. Something must have happened but then again why should I care? Whatever happened made her call me and that’s all that matters.

“Well smart choice, meet me at an address I'll text you. We will discuss the contract details make sure you dress… appropriately” I say before ending the call, there was nothing left to discuss.

I don’t know why I told her to dress appropriately knowing fully well she’s a fashion designer and from everything I’ve seen she has an amazing talent. If I didn’t see something worth investing in her I wouldn’t have made such a risky proposal.

I have to admit I was desperate when I asked her to marry me, maybe even stupid but I had to at least try. I always knew if I ever got married it wouldn’t be for love but I never knew I’d need to get married so soon.

There is this contract our company has been trying to get for years, closing this deal would bring an enormous amount of profit for the company and I’m the one in charge of getting it. Mr Richards is the man I’ve been trying to persuade to give me this contract but he has been so indecisive saying his companies target audience are families and he’s not sure he wants to work with someone that doesn’t know the true importance of family since I’m already 32 with no wife, girlfriend or even an ex-wife. My father has been breathing down my neck to get married because he’s desperate to have a grandkid before he dies and I’m honestly sick of it all.

I don’t believe in love, it’s a waste of time. If love was real my mother would have stayed, if love was real my father would have tried to be present more instead of focusing on his career. I appreciate my father but when that woman left him a part of him followed. The only thing I care about is my job, I love it and I will become the president of our company even if it’s the last thing I do. When my father heard why Mr Richards isn’t willing to give in, he used it as an opportunity. He called me during my meeting with the fashion designer and gave me an ultimatum, if you don’t get the contract your younger brother will become president of Biggs and associates. I’d rather die than let that happen. My brother is impulsive and can be a brat, he’d run the company to the ground so when I entered the office and saw the beautiful and charismatic designer the idea sparked.

I struggled to swallow my pride and ask. It definitely wasn’t the most romantic proposal and not what she expected but I offered her something only a fool would refuse. From everything I gathered she seems intelligent which would be important when I introduce her publicly, she is also quite attractive. Her hair colors a usual shade of auburn, it complimented her pale skin, she blushes a lot but it's cute. Her face is innocent and soft, she doesn’t look broken like me. Her body betrays her face though she has curves everywhere. I have to admit she is beautiful. Her eyes put me in a trance anytime our eyes meet. A shade of blue that looks almost unreal, just too magical. It helps that she isn’t short; I mean short for a woman because I still easily tower over her but a reasonable amount. In essence she is a very attractive, intelligent woman who dresses properly. I struggled to not stare at her and act unaffected by her looks. Pretending to love her will be easy, she seems tolerable. I just pray she isn’t a piece of work.

I call my assistant to help me do a background check on her so I don’t get involved with a psychopath or a scandal. Avoiding anything that’ll damage my reputation is important.

He sends all her details later and I go through it. Her educational record is impressive, how she didn’t get a job sooner beats me. She doesn’t have any scandal attached to her, she looks normal enough, she has a male best friend and they’re inseparable but I see something that piques my interest. Her mother is very sick, was that why she sounded so upset on the phone? Maybe something happened and that’s what made her accept the contract.

I’ll ask her about it when we meet tomorrow, she doesn’t have a boyfriend for now so there’s nothing to worry about. Everything I see makes me feel better about asking her to marry me. Looking for a wife now would be such a hassle, the whole process of going on dates and faking interest gives me the ick. Of course, I’ve been with multiple women but I never felt anything for them and the feeling was mutual. Mostly flings with no strings attached as a distraction but it became boring. Everything just became a waste of time. All I cared about was work. Investing in someone who I have no interest in is just stressful. I'd rather invest my time and energy into making my company grow. I would do anything even if it means getting married, I’m very sure I won’t get feelings along the way. I never fell in love and I won’t start now. I tell my plan for my next meeting with Samantha so she’ll sign the NDA as soon as possible. I don’t need anyone finding out it's all planned. I just hope she’s not loudmouthed and I really did make the right decision picking her instead of interviewing women. I pray this works