A job?

That was a lie and the two men at the table had actually cared enough to look at her to know that it wasn't true.

“I have told you already. You are a part of the family. Call me Chris.” 

“I'm sorry, sir…sorry..uhm.. Chris. It's just that I've been thinking...” Gina 

“Don't you worry your pretty head over anything, Gina. I'm sure you'll soon get used to everything here.” He quickly cut her short, thinking she was still bothered about their escapade. 

Adams couldn't help but chip in. “Sure. Don’t worry about whatever. There's a way of doing things here and you’ll get to learn them soon enough, that's if you want to survive here.” 

Survive here? She didn't know that she was being brought here to survive. She had thought she was getting married, no one had told her she was signing up to be thrown into prison. Had she known, she wouldn't have signed on the dotted lines then. 

“Don't scare her, Adams.” Chris scolded Adams before turning to Gina. “What do you plan to do now that you're here?” 

“That's what I've been meaning to say, I've been thinking about getting a…”

Adams stepped in. “What do you mean father? She is here to take on her dutiful role as my wife. I have all the facilities and resources that she might need provided for her.” 

Chris hissed. “Let me speak to the woman.”

“It's okay, Chris. I'm okay with staying at home and performing my wifely duties,” Gina swallowed, not wanting to bring another conflict between the two men.

But once again her face betrayed her true intentions. The last thing she wanted was to sit around the house just looking pretty and bored. 

She was never built to be a housewife. 

Chris sighed. “Oh, don't pay any attention to my son.” He dismissed her resignation with a wave of his hand. 

“In fact, would you like to work for the company?”

Gina looked up from her food, dropping her fork. 

A job offer was something she was looking for to keep her busy. She had hoped that when she had settled in soon enough, she would begin to search for what would keep her busy since her husband didn't want anything to do with her. 

But a job offer from Chris was not in her expectations. 

When he had begun fighting words with Adams, defending her, she had been silent. She was still new here and the last thing she wanted to do was either cause a scene or get on anyone's bad side. 

She had enjoyed listening to Chris fighting for her subtly. In a way, she found it more romantic of him. 

To be honest, she thought that her father in-law would be the uptight one and all. How the tables flipped.

Meanwhile, Adams couldn't believe his ears. He finally tore his eyes away from his plate and looked up at his father.

“Father, are you being for real? You can't offer my wife a job!” 

“I can offer anyone I want a job in my company, Adams. And I think there's somewhere that we can fit her in. That will give the public more time to see the both of you together. She doesn't have to stay home all day like an object waiting for its owner to return to it.” 

“But, father!” 

“No more arguments, son.” Chris said with a tone of finality. 

Gina wanted to burst into tears. She pushed her chair back, standing up. “I need to use the restroom.” She walked off before they could say anything. 

Chris turned to his son. 

“Adams,” he called sharply. “What the hell is the matter with you?” 

For the life of him, Chris couldn't understand why his son disliked the girl so much. She was beautiful, smart. What else was Adams looking for? 

“She is doing everything to try to impress you. She is making an effort to stick to whatever silly rules you gave her and you still treat her like trash. Why then did you marry her?”

Adams sighed. “Father, I don't dislike her. There's just nothing between us. You wanted me to get a wife, now I have one, what more do you want? Gina is only here to fill a vacant position.” 

“Enough of that nonsense. No matter what, she is your wife and you shouldn't treat her that way. You have no idea what she gave up to marry you?” 

“That is none of my concern father.” He was getting irritated. 

“Her father should have thought of what the marriage would do to his daughter before he signed that deal with me. I am only keeping to my part of the agreement and none of it says that I have to love Gina.” 

“Well, as your father, I'm asking you to at least act like you care about the girl. Don't you see how your actions are affecting her?” 

Adams looked up at his father in disbelief. “Since when do you care about how people feel?” Adams breathed out. 

Chris inhaled deeply. “I don't. It's just that this case is different. I promised her father that I would take good care of her.” 

That was a lie. Her father had asked that he take good care of her when they had agreed to go on with the deal. But Chris acted like he hadn't heard. At the time, he hadn't known he would be meeting Gina otherwise he would have assured her father that she would be well taken care of. 

In fact, while Anthony and Adams had been finalizing the details of the deal the evening before the marriage signing at the registry, Chris' mind had the previous night's imagery running through it. 

“That was your promise not mine. She is aware that she is to stay as far away from me as possible except when the need arises to make a public appearance. Other than that, she is supposed to stay the hell out of my life and I'll stay out of hers.” Adams nonchalant words made his father shake his head.

Chris looked at his son in disappointment. He had taught the boy to be strong but the young man has grown to be heartless. 

“You should do better. I never treated your mom like this.” 

Adams grip on his fork tightened.

That was it! The silence, the chilling atmosphere, the fact that Chris had said something he shouldn't have. That was the height of it!