Let’s get married.

“Grrr! Grrr!! Grrr! Grrr!!!”

Natasha’s phone rang so loud that it cut across the room and filled the air. She shook her head and instantly snapped out of her sleep.

She sat up and reached for her phone which was next to her. She looked at the caller and realized he was Mr. Manager.

“Mr. Manager? Oh my… what could be the problem this time?”

She answered the phone and anxiously placed it on her ear.

“Mr. Manager?” She called.

“Mrs. Jones. Good morning, and how are you today?”

“I planned to wake up on the right side of my bed today, but unfortunately, I’m on this call with you. Please, Mr, Manager, tell me everything's alright.”

“Everything isn’t alright, Mrs. Jones. You know this very well. After serious account balancing and checking, it was found out that the payment of $12 million to one of our clients was made twice because you failed to record it when it was first paid. Now, you have to repay the $12 million.”

“Oh God…” Natasha yanked the duvet off her body in frustration and got out of bed. She began to pace in front of the large window.

“You have to pay this money as soon as possible.”

“But… but, Mr. Manager, I think I did record the first payment. This can’t be true. Please can you let me go over the records again? I don’t have such a huge amount of money.”

“Mrs. Jones, I would be stupid to let you touch those records again. I’m sorry I have to wake you up with these. Also, you’d have to visit the company today. The CEO would be visiting, and he is going to need an explanation for this mistake. I won’t be the only one doing that explanation.”

“What? Eddy Gracias is visiting? Why? Because of me? You said you wouldn’t tell him.”

“Is that possible? This isn’t a $10 loss, Natasha. This is $12 million! The time for the meeting is scheduled to begin at 10am. Please make yourself available. Bye for now.”

After he hung up, Natasha’s hand fell to her side weakly. She dropped her phone on the bed and sat.

She hadn’t seen the CEO since she started working at the company, and she seemed so scared he’d be visiting because of her.

She had heard so many things about him, and one thing she was very sure of was not to get on his bad side, which she found herself in.

“You need to face this, Natasha. This is your fault. You can’t run away now. What if he presses charge? I’d talk to my father about it. He should be able to loan me that amount of money.”

“Natasha.” Emma, who lay next to her, called with a low voice.

Natasha looked back and put on a smile. She leaned closer to her and caressed her face.

“Good morning. Emma. How are you today? Are you still feeling pains in your left leg?”

They both looked at her left leg and she slowly lifted it. “No, not anymore.” Emma responded.

“Good! That’s my girl.”

“Natasha. I’m sorry for what happened yesterday. I’m sorry for scaring you.”

Natasha smiled widely at her statement and planted a kiss on her forehead.

“I’m not mad at you, okay? These accidents happen, and you need to be more careful. Let’s be thankful to God and the man that rescued you yesterday.”

“I am thankful to God and the man that rescued me. Can I say thank you to him today?” Emma asked as she sat up and rubbed her eyes.

“Errm, I’m not so sure about that, Emma. I need to go to work this morning, so we’d have to leave early. And I don’t know where this man is. He may have left the beach already. But I promise I’ve said thank you to him since yesterday.”

“So we have to go back home now?”

“Yes, Emma. I’m so sorry. I promise to make it up to you later, okay? Big sis needs to be out of here.”

“Okay. I’d have my bath now then.”

Emma got out of bed and slowly placed her legs on the floor. “I’d help you in the bathroom.”

Emma bounced her head and walked up to Natasha at the other side of the bed.

“Are you feeling any pain?”

“A little, but it’s not that bad. The massage last night helped me so much. Thank you, Natasha.”

“You’re welcome, beautiful Princess. Now, let’s get you cleaned up. I’d drop you at home first, so that you can rest better. I’d try to catch up with dinner at home.”

*

After Natasha dropped Emma at home, she headed straight to the company. She got there thirty minutes before the commencement of the meeting.

She sat outside the Manager’s office, waiting for the meeting to start, when she saw Jeremy walking out of the elevator.

“Jeremy!” She called out, and he looked at her.

“Natasha!”

He ran up to her and before he got to her place, she stood up and opened her arms. He ran into her hands and hugged her tightly.

“Are you back?”

“I’m not back, Jeremy. I’m here to see the CEO. I think I’m in more trouble than I thought.”

“What? $12 million?”

“I think I’d have to pay it back. I made a very silly mistake, and now I have to pay for it.”

“Oh my… where are you going to get such a huge amount of money? Have you talked to your dad about it?”

“Not yet. I went on a vacation to clear my head, and then I got a call from Mr. Manager today, he told me all these and here I am, about to face Eddy Gracias. I hope I’m not thrown in prison for this.”

Jeremy sighed and looked at Natasha with great pity.

“Coming face to face with Eddy Gracias can be terrifying, most especially when it has to do with his money. But, keep calm. Who knows? It may not be as bad as you think.”

Shortly, the office door behind Natasha opened and Jeremy looked into the office. His eyes met with Eddy Gracias’ and he gulped hard.

“I have to go now. I think your attention is needed there.”

Before Natasha could look back, the Manager had already stepped out and closed the door.

“Mrs. Jones. The CEO is ready for you. I’d be out here waiting for you.”

“What? You wouldn’t be there with me? Why?”

“Because he doesn’t want me in there with both of you. He wants a private chat.”

“Okay, that sounds bad.” Jeremy mumbled.

“Go in now, Mrs. Jones. He is waiting for you.” The manager added.

Natasha looked at Jeremy with terror in her eyes. Jeremy gave her hand a tight squeeze and gave her a reassuring nod.

He let go of her, and she turned to leave. She opened the door to the office and walked in. She looked up and saw Eddy Gracias sitting on the chair behind the desk, his back turned against her.

“Good morning, sir. I’m Natasha Jones…”

“I know you.” He cut her short and turned the chair to look at her.

Natasha’s eyes widened as she realized that Eddy Gracias was the same man that had rescued Emma from drowning.

“We meet again, Mrs Natasha.”

“You are Eddy Gracias?”

Eddy sighed and stood up. “I’m fond of people reacting that way when they meet me for the first time. Not being on social media pays off I guess. Less pressure from people.”

“So he is the CEO and he isn’t on social media? Maybe that is why I haven’t seen his face before. His name is more popular than his face.” Natasha thought as she stared at him.

“I heard about the mistake you made in balancing the company’s finances.” He stated with a super straight face.

“About that sir, I…”

“What else are you so careless about in your life? Firstly, it was your daughter, and now it’s your job?”

“Sir, this is a misunderstanding. I believe I recorded the first payment.”

“You did? Here, check the papers and show me where you recorded it. If you can’t find it, then we will have bigger problems.”

Natasha swallowed hard and lowered her head. “I’m sorry, sir. I admit that I let my problems get the best of me.”

“Problems? What problems?”

“I think it’s best I kept this to myself, Mr. Eddy.”

Eddy chuckled and shook his head. “You mean you want to keep the fact that you are married to Leo Jones, got divorced about a month ago, and you seem to be barren, a secret?”

Natasha’s jaw dropped in uttermost shock.

“Have you been stalking me?”

“Do I have to do that before I know you? I need any information about you, I get it. It’s that simple.”

“Mr. Eddy, I’m sorry about the mistake I made in balancing the account, and I know sorry can’t amend this issue, and I know I’d have to pay the money back. Please give me two months to sort for this money. I promise…”

“I want to press charges.” Eddy cut in and stood up.

Natasha shook her head and clasped her hands. “Please sir, don’t. I promise to pay every dime.”

“You don’t get it, do you? I don’t want you to pay me back with money.”

“But this is what I owe.”

“I want something else, or I’d press charges.”

Natasha lowered her head and clenched her jaw. “What do you want from me, sir?”

Eddy grinned and began to walk closer to her. He got so close to her that he could perceive the shampoo she used to wash her hair.

He took a deep breath and his eyes slightly closed. All this while, Natasha stared at him with curiosity.

“You're not the only one having issues at home. So, let’s get married.”

“What?” She smacked.

“It’s simple. I don’t like you, you probably don’t like me too, so nothing romantic can happen between us, which means a contract marriage is perfect for us.” He answered with a grin.