Chapter Four

ANASTASIA

The man in the grey suit sat and listened attentively throughout my interview. A subtle smile was on his lips. After the interview, as I left the building, my mind replayed the entire encounter, the questions, my answers, and most prominently, the mysterious Mr. Grey Suit. Reaching home, I found Mia laying down on the couch with a tub of popcorn balanced on her lap.

"So, how was it?" Mia asked. "How did the interview go? Did you wow them with your HR expertise?"

I sat down on the opposite end of the couch, i sighed and looked up at Mia.

"I think I might have… stuck my foot in my mouth," I confessed, I narrated my entire interaction with the handsome stranger.

Mia's eyes widened in surprise. "You told him to go home and change because he looked too rich?" She asked and started laughing

She laughed so hard tears started flowing from her eyes.

"Oh, Anastasia! What were you thinking?"

I buried my face in a throw pillow, mortified.

"I don't know", I exclaimed.

"You needed to have seen him, he looked so… out of place in his fancy suit. Plus, you know my past experiences with rich snobs haven't been pleasant. Besides I was so nervous and you know I speak out of turn when I am nervous "

"Hey, don't worry about it too much," Mia said as she sympathetically patted my shoulders.

"You still made a memorable impression, even if it wasn't exactly the one you intended."

Two days later, I received an email requesting a meeting. 'This has to be good news!', I thought, as I jumped for joy. Why else would they call me in instead of just sending a rejection email?

I happily entered the office, prepared to be offered the HR manager position. I was led straight to the Director's office, where I found myself face-to-face with the guy in the grey suit and another older gentleman. I assumed the older man was the company owner and director.

I smiled from ear to ear as I waited to hear the good news. The older man, who introduced himself as Adam Foster, began, "Ms. Perry, thank you for coming in today. Unfortunately, we won't be selecting you for the HR manager position. However, if there are any future openings..."

My heart sank. Rejected? Did my earlier comments about the fancy suit offend him? Was he even the director? Confusion swirled in my head as anger bubbled up.

"Anastasia Perry?" the man called, snapping me back to reality.

"Yes," I mumbled, my eyes darting towards the grey-suited man, wondering what games he was playing.

"The director has a few more words," he said politely before exiting the office.

"While you weren't chosen for the HR role," the grey-suit guy continued, "I do have another job offer for you.", he said as he began explaining the job he was offering me. By the time he was done talking, my mouth was open, I was in shock.

Later that day, I told Mia everything that had happened to me.

Mia's eyes mirrored my own astonishment as I recounted the meeting's events. "So, you're saying that the man in the grey suit... the one you told to change out of his fancy clothes... was actually the director?" she asked, disbelief lacing her voice.

"Apparently so," I muttered, still trying to wrap my head around the whole thing.

"So, what job did he offer?" she asked as she picked up her wine glass.

"He wants me to... marry him," I blurted out, bracing myself for her reaction.

Mia choked on the wine and it splattered on the coffee table, the couch and on her blouse. I rushed to the kitchen, grabbed a paper towel, and hurried back to her side.

"Marry him?" she repeated, wiping the wine from her blouse with wide, incredulous eyes. "He wants you to be his wife?"

"For a year," I clarified, still reeling from the unexpected offer.

Confusion etched across Mia's face. "But... why? I thought you said he was good-looking. Why would he need a pretend wife?"

Mia's question sent me reeling back to the bizarre meeting that morning. It all came flooding back.

"After our conversation the other day," the grey suit man said, "it became clear to me that you possess the ideal qualities for this position."

I remained silent, unsure how to respond to this unexpected statement. He continued, "If I am not married within the next month, I stand to lose my inheritance. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not hurting financially. But my mother, alongside my father, built his entire business empire from the ground up. She has threatened to disown me if everything falls into the hands of my nephew, my half-brother's son."

Seeing my continued silence, he pressed on, "Therefore, I'm willing to offer you five million dollars in exchange for one year of being my wife."

Mia's jaw dropped, her eyes reflecting the pure shock I felt. "This sounds like something out of a movie or one of those crazy romance novels," she exclaimed.

"But there's more," I informed her.

"There's more?" she echoed, a tinge of disbelief lacing her voice.

I nodded solemnly. "his so-called 'nephew' happens to be Matthew Smith."

Mia's eyes widened further.

"You're kidding me?", Mia said, "I wish I was, "I answered her.

"The world is really small," she muttered. "Ana, you can't possibly consider this! It would be a disaster. Are you even ready to face Matthew? ", she asked.

When I didn't respond, she drew closer, "Ana you can't accept this offer without telling him you were engaged to his nephew," she insisted, her voice firm.

My mind raced, formulating a plan.

Mia, noticing I wasn't listening to her anymore, tapped me on the shoulder, "What games are you playing?" she asked, I could tell she was very concerned.

"Anastasia, are you accepting the offer? Will you be disclosing your history with his nephew to him?"She asked.