Chapter Three: Contract

The driver swerved the limo into the gate and turned the ignition off when he’d parked in the space reserved for Darnell. He alighted from the driver's seat and pulled the passenger door open for Sasha. She made her way to the VVIP section where she and Darnell had met the last time.

Darnell paced while on a phone call, so she quietly took a seat and waited for him to be done with it. There was a sealed file sitting on the table, and she surmised it contained their marriage contract. He ended his call and joined her on the table

“I expected a lawyer,” she said.

“It’s a private matter,” he replied. “No one except you and me can know.”

“My sister knows,” she said.

“Your family can know. They can’t do anything.”

His arrogance irked her.

“There are some ground rules that you must obey while you’re married to me,” he said as he opened the file.

If this were a real relationship, she would have walked out at that moment.

“You can’t see anyone for the duration of our marriage,” he started. “No boyfriends, lovers dates, or anything of the sort. If you must, limit it to internet stuff until we’re divorced. Cheating is a scandal in the family. We want to avoid that,” he added.

“Does that apply to you as well, or is it just me?” she inquired.

He raised his head and looked in her eyes. “Just you.”

She hated him. She hated him badly. Of course he was that kind of man. Of course, he believed infidelity was only a problem when a woman did it.

He turned his attention back to the file and continued reading. “You also can’t work for the duration of the marriage. Whatever you need would be provided for you.”

“What about my job? Am I supposed to just quit?” she asked.

“If it’s important to you, then you can have it back after the divorce,” he assured. “I’ll see to it that your job is still there when you return. Any more questions?”

“You brother owns my firm. What if he catches me someday? What if I get a promotion that requires me to see him face-to-face?” she asked.

“You only get to see each on the day of the wedding. I doubt he’d ever remember you,” Darnell replied.

“Okay…and…do we…would you…do I have to…sleep with you?” She looked at his face to see his reaction.

“That’s entirely up to you.” He smirked.

“Well, I don’t want to,” she said as-a-matter-of-factly, hoping to deflate his overinflated ego.

“If you say so.”

“So, where do I sign?”

“Right here.” He pushed the contract to her side of the table and tapped on the spot.

She signed the paper after scanning through the contract, then pushed it back to him. “Anything else?”

He leaned back in his chair. “I don’t think you like me very much.”

“Is that a problem?”

“No. I think it’s great,” he replied. He wouldn’t have a problem getting rid of her after their divorce.

“But I do think we should spend some time getting to know each other. If we’re going to live together, we must make sure we don’t want to kill each other,” he said. “Resume our dates from where we left off?”

“What more is there to know?” she asked.

“Your previous intention,” he said. “What did you hope to get out of going on a date with me?”

The piano man stopped playing and it dramatized the moment he asked the question.

“I thought you were nice. And I wanted to sleep with you,” she said. “Anything else?”

She was a grown woman who didn’t care if anyone judged her. And she needed him to know that she didn’t like him. He was just for sex, nothing more.

“But that was before I knew you were kind of an ass,” she added before he could answer.

“Tsk. Maybe, I should have waited a little longer before I popped the question,” he said.

“Are you teasing me, Mr. King?” she leaned forward, placing her elbows on the table and looking into his eyes through her long lashes with a smirk across her lips.

“Call me Darnell,” he said in a low drawl, with his eyes staring right back at her. “And I’ll call you Sasha.” His smirk had disappeared and his eyes read danger.

It did something to her internally. She pulled back and turned her eyes away. He smiled with satisfaction.

“I have to go,” she said and started to leave. “See you at the wedding.”

He wasn’t used to the kind of woman she was—razor-sharp mouth, blunt, and fearless. Other women melted easily for him. This woman didn’t. She liked to be in control.

This should be fun, he thought to himself.

*

As Sasha packed the rest of her things into a cardboard box, she looked around her office one more time and wondered if she was making a mistake. She’d never imagined herself leaving this office so soon, despite having been there for seven years. But Darnell had promised she would get it back. She hoped to God that he would keep his words.

She heard a knock on her door and turned around to see Tom McCarthy standing at her door. He was tall, and his head almost reached the door frame. His dirty blonde hair was groomed to lay at the sides, with a few short hairs falling in front to form a fringe. He was in his 40s, but still had that youthful playboy air about him.

“Remind me again why you’re abandoning us,” he said as he entered the office.

Sasha smiled, “I just…want to see what’s out there for once.”

“Not to discourage you but…there isn’t always better out there, you know?” said Tom. “Sometimes what you have is the best you can get, especially in this economy. And you were so great at your job. It’s a pity.” He shook his head.

“Thank you. And…I’ll take my chances. Who knows, maybe if I don’t succeed out there, I can come back and my old job would be waiting for me.”

Tom gritted his teeth and tilted his head. Sasha laugh.

“Speaking of,” Sasha said. “With all due respect, I expected to get that promotion for director. You always said I worked so hard. Even now. And I’ve been in this company for seven years. So, why him and not me?” She continued, “Under normal circumstances, this would be inappropriate, but since I don’t work here anymore, I might as well ask.”

“About that…,” Tom moved closer to her. “I did think you deserved the promotion. But you just didn’t convince me enough that you wanted it.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I was in a tight spot. The CSO of our office in Seattle is a good friend. He wanted me to give the job to Mr. Fletcher, so I put him into consideration. So, you see…it’s not enough to be good at your job. It’s better when you have...a trusted relationship…with someone powerful.”

“W…what are you trying to say?” Sasha stuttered.

Tom laughed. “How old are you? 29? 30? You’re mature. Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about. All the compliments that I give you? The good things I only have to say about you? You know what I’m talking about. You chose to pretend not to.”

Sasha’s gaze shifted between his eyes. They were a light blue but carried some darkness in them. She closed her mouth when she realized it was open.

“I can still guide you in this industry,” Tom continued. “I know people in high places. I can get you another job…” he snapped his fingers. “Just like that. Maybe, you thought it was unprofessional, and so you ignored me. I get it. But now, we can connect. What do you say?”

Sasha shook her head and exhaled.

“Goodbye Tom. Till we meet again,” she said and headed for the door.

*

A few days to the wedding, Sasha and Tatiana went shopping for a wedding dress. Darnell had assigned an assistant, Mary, to go with the pair. Sasha and Tatiana had taken the opportunity to shop other things. With two bags each in both hands, they hopped out of the store and headed for the limo where a driver waited for them. They were close to the car when Sasha spotted him.

“What?” Tatiana said when Sasha stopped. She followed the direction of her gaze and saw Trey on the other side of the road, about to cross the street. “Oh.”

He spotted Sasha and Tatiana and waved. Tatiana waved back while Sasha just stared, her mind filled with anger. Trey crossed the road and approached them.

“Hi,” he said nervously.

“Hi?” Sasha repeated, still looking him in the eyes.

“How have you been, Sasha?” he asked.

“What do you care?” she fired back.

Trey sighed. “What do you want me to say? It’s been more than a month, Sasha. Are you going to hate me forever?”

“You know, I wasn’t sure, but then I heard from my mother that you got a new girlfriend already, and so I decided that maybe you deserve to be hated forever,” she said. “What happened to wanting to find yourself? What, you got lost in another woman’s vagina?”

“Look, I…” He shrugged. “It just happened.”

“How could it take you ten years to realize you didn’t want to be with me and less than a month to be with someone new?”

“Do you really want to do this again? Here? Fine. You weren’t exactly easy to be with. You…you didn’t make me feel needed,” he said.

“You mean I didn’t shrink myself to make you feel more like a man?’ she fired. “Your fragility is not my responsibility, and I will not let you or my mum or anyone else make me feel like I’m too much, because I’m not.”

Just then, Mary neared them, carrying the wedding dress Sasha had picked in a transparent garment bag as she headed to the car.

“Let’s go, Sash. Your wedding dress is ready,” Tatiana said to the hearing of Trey.

“I don’t understand,” said Trey. “Who’s getting married?”

“She is,” Tatiana said.

“You didn’t feel needed because you weren’t enough,” said Sasha, as she caught on to her sister’s act. “You didn’t deserve me, so I found someone who did.”

“Wait, wait, wait, what?” Trey narrowed his eyes and tiled his head in confusion. “How long have you been seeing him?”

“Goodbye, Trey.” Tatiana pulled Sasha away.

“Wait! Sasha!” Trey yelled after them.

But Sasha and Tatiana jogged on, giggling.