The Deal Novels & Stories

"You still got a page full of them." "But- That's no fair!" Nate whined again and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, biting into my cheek to hold a smile and going back to make a neat copy of my notes. "I demand a re-deal." "And what is that?" I hummed not glancing up. "For each problem I got right, you take one cloth off." my heart somersaulted and this time my wide eyes found his immediately. Was he for real? He smirked now having my attention. "Don't worry, I'll undress whenever I get one wrong. Deal?"

he continued, breaking my thoughts, “What you saw last night has never been seen by anyone before. Or at least none that has never lived long enough to tell the tale.” I gulped. This was not good at all. “And because of that, Anokai. I have a deal for you.” My heart almost lurched out. A deal. A deal was never good, not to mention one from the Alpha beast. “A…a deal..what deal..” I stuttered, sweat rolling down my back.

Kir grins down at me. “Deal.”

- still confused by his proposal - I think it would work. -then dear we have a deal- Sealing the deal with our hands intertwined...

"I'm here to make sure this deal is finalized today, by any means necessary." Before he has a chance to speak, I continue. "You seem to think that you're the only one able to finalize this deal. However your life is inconsequential. This deal is not a partnership with the Scorpions and Daniel Price. This deal is with the Scorpions and Seven Seas. Therefore whether you sign or not, this partnership will happen. We were being curteous by doing the transaction in a traditional manner. However, this deal will happen whether you're alive or dead."

I take a deep, shuddering breath, knowing I’ve already made the decision. “You have a deal.”

I took a deep breath and gave myself a small pep talk before I stood up "Um, okay hello everyone. My name is Mercedes and I'm a Media and International Relations major," I said as I sat down and released the breathe I didn't realize I was holding. After the whole introduction the group began their little talk as we got to know more about each other and laughed at the sleazy jokes everyone made particularly the guys. We were still in the middle of a playful argument of who was a better musician in between Black Atlass and Taylor Conrod when Kimberly spoke up

Every rip, every tear had been repaired with real gold leaf in the Japanese kintsugi style: the broken places now gleaming brighter than the rest. Across the top, in Killian’s bold handwriting, were the words: **ORIGINAL CONTRACT DECLARED VOID EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY** **REPLACED BY VOWS THAT CANNOT BE BROKEN, BOUGHT, OR BURNED** My breath caught so hard the fetal monitor squeaked.

"Straightforward. I appreciate that." He folded his hands together on the desk. "So," he said. "What have you decided?" The question hung in the air between us. I took a slow breath, steadying myself. "I’ve decided… I’ll accept the deal." Afterall, I didn't have to worry about getting my heart, broken. It's fake and more importantly, this is business. For a brief moment, he inhaled sharply. It was subtle, but I noticed it. Then he nodded. "Good."