CHAPTER TWO

 Nelson was taken aback by her nonsensical question. She looked genuinely surprised, like she was just hearing the topic for the first time. He had assumed that Spencer had discussed the whole thing with his daughter. Personally, he was not too happy about getting shackled into marriage with a ill-looking young lady after two failed marriages. Natasha King reminded him of one of the orphans in a charity home he had recently donated a huge sum of money to. She looked distasteful and lacked simple fashion sense.  He still has the scars of divorce to prove that all women were the same. Once they perceived that a man was wealthy, they did everything humanly possible to burrow their way into his life and immediately they got what they wanted, they were on their way. At least, he had enough experience to criticize them. 

 His first marriage had been to Janice Bridge, an English model and thirteen years his junior. He had been young and foolish back then to fall for her wiles and charming words. Eventually, she had trapped him into marriage with a pregnancy allegation and because he was enthralled by her exquisite beauty, he had given in her persuasion. At the end, she had been exposed after an ultrasound test impossible on her by him disproved her claims, showing no baby in her womb. He had sent her packing the very next day with divorce papers as a departure gift. Connie was his second mistake two years later after which she cheated on him with a younger man. She was equally a crack addict and had only married him so she could fund her expensive habits. Since then, Nelson had decided that getting married was an awful waste of time management.

 “Miss Tina, I will not be a party to any pretentious attitude from you. Do you really want me to believe that Spencer sent you here without telling you the details of our agreement? That is impossible.”

 Her weak chin wobbled in despair and she hid her teary eyes behind her thick glasses. “It’s Tasha, sir and no, my father told me nothing about this. I actually thought I was coming to pick up a cheque or. . . some money. I hope to go to school and. . . you must believe me, sir!” she asserted, as soon as she saw the disbelief in his angry eyes. Suddenly, he burst into a humourless laugh, one that did not reach his eyes. He didn't resemble a man that laughed at all except the matter involved profit.

 “ ‘A cheque or some money?’ ” he mimicked her, a rude repetition of her shy words. “Young lady, I don't know what you and your father discussed in my absence but I cannot shoulder such a debt on your family's behalf without something in it for me. Don’t flatter yourself though. This is strictly a contracted marriage and I am a businessman. Other than that, I want nothing to do with you, physically and emotionally. Therefore, I suggest you quit stalling, pick up that pen and sign the dotted lines accordingly.”

 “But I don't want to get married. I'm just 22 and I have my whole life ahead of me. All my schoolmates are in college, having the time of their lives. I haven't achieved anything and I just got. . . I can't get married now.” She held her tongue at the last minute, pausing halfway in the process of spilling her secret to a man who didn't give a damn about her. He tsked lightly and sat up prominently, his sneer disapproving and lacking sympathy. 

 “Then your father should have thought about it before coming to me with his offer. Granted, you are not much of a handsome package but he did say you were his most prized possession. Spencer might think otherwise hearing your argument. What a total waste of time you are.”

 Tasha swallowed deeply, a knot forming quickly in her throat. It was not fair; her father had deceived her with lies, plying her to dance to his tune. He had played her like a puppet, weaving tales of the possibility of her returning back to school if the debt was resolved. Nobody had mentioned marriage to her, not even her mother, who was her closest confidante. They had let her wander into the lion’s den, unawares of the consequences that awaited her. Besides, Mr Radcliffe was not even within her age bracket. She was barely twenty-two, with only limited knowledge about life and at thirty-eight, he had been in and out of two marriages. The age difference between them was older than her younger brother and it would be odd, despite how wealthy he was.

 She patted her purse, mentally caressing the paper that laid within it. Despite their financial difficulties, she had studied hard and nailed the entrance exams into UCLA, the school of her dreams. Her counselor at high school, Mrs. Scholes had encouraged her, telling her not to give up furthering her education, even after two years of sitting at home. She had saved up her pocket money, washed dishes at a diner and worked briefly at a drycleaning shop just to raise the money she needed to purchase the form. Her earliest birthday gift had been a pocket calculator and since then, Tasha had been fascinated by the magic of numbers. That fascination grew into a love for mathematics and at UCLA, she wanted to study Business Administration.

 “Make up your mind, Miss Taylor. I am a very busy man.” He ostentatiously checked the time on his Rolex gold watch and returned his eyes to the young woman before him. He had another meeting but it was in an hour’s time. Regardless, he was not excited at the thought of spending anymore time than required with the unattractive female. Her eyes drooped, filled with feat and something that looked like disappointment. Nelson was used to people being terrified of being in his presence. However, he felt he had not done anything worth scaring her to silence. Either she was a great coward or he was just that good at frowning. 

 Tasha picked up the ballpoint pen, twisting her wrist in indecision. It was a sacrifice, a price she had to pay to save her family. Finally, she scrawled her signature across the lines neatly, signing away her freedom.