Chapter Three: Signature Please

Bad habits.

Everyone has one, two or several. I have several but one of them that I am particularly struggling with is 3AM snacking. I made a resolution -the ones people swear by as they begin a new year- that I haven't stuck to. The plan was to lose 30lbs by summer. I even bought a little polka dot bikini but I don't think I will fit into it if I am stuffing my face with chocolate chip ice cream at 3AM in the morning.

But first, I savor the delightfully delicious ice cream. I will regret it later, probably in a few hours when I am unable to climb the two flights of stairs at the tribune.

"Mm-mmm!" I moaned from the sweetness while quietly blessing the company that made this ice cream. 

I opened my eyes for another scoop and caught my mother's reflection on the glossy surface of the fridge. 

"For a second there I was excited to burst you with a man." She spoke in her usual unenthusiastic tone. "So disappointing. I am 61 years old and still, no grandchildren."

She is another one with a not so guilty pleasure; tea.

"I already told you ma, I am not in a hurry to have a baby. I don't even like children."

The look the old woman gave me could have sent me to my grave years too early. I lost my appetite and put away the ice cream in readiness for the speech. 

"Careers don't bring happiness!"

And so it begins. My mother is one of those old-timers who strongly believe that happiness comes from a family. Let me break it down. In her opinion, I should find myself a man, marry the man, have a basketball team of children and spend the rest of my life being at the beck and call of my husband and children. 

I have the utmost respect for my mother but we will forever disagree on her idea of happiness. Call me odd but I am pretty satisfied with a glass of wine at the end of the day all alone in a bathtub listening to Carrie Underwood. That is a good way to end a day and not slaving over a hot stove to feed stomachs that are not my own.

I don't come from a big family. I only have one sibling. My father passed away when I was in high school. He fell asleep on his leather recliner with a bottle of bear in his hand. My mom went to bed and left him because that was the night she wanted him to wake up with a bad back ache so that he can remember to go to bed but when her conscience battered her for not being a good Christian, she came to wake him up and that is when she realized he was gone. She sold that recliner immediately after the funeral. She has been sad and mostly sour since then. 

I don't blame her. A criminal for a son and a career obsessed daughter later, she feels alone and neither one of us are bringing the grandchildren home.

I am used to these speeches. I actually fast forward to when they will end and then I just sit there pretending to listen. Sometimes I throw in a little arguing to spice it up and the dramatic walk out. That makes her day. She is usually fired up for round two but I yield when she starts something and it ends until it starts again when she remembers I am 26 years old with no prospects of a love story she would like to tell her friends.

The sound of a hooting car is the only reason she stopped talking. Like most people in this town, she is nosy as hell. With her face obviously plastered against the window, she asked, "Is that your bug?"

"Bug?" I joined her. 

It is my little purple bug! 

"And it comes with a man!" She was running to the door when I was chasing her down. "Oh heavens! There is a man outside our door! Maybe he wants to marry you!"

"Ma! Don't embarrass me!"

Too late!

At least this time she is not showing naked baby photos of me. It is always naked baby photos of me!

Lincoln Bancroft raised his green eyes to look at me as soon as I stepped in the porch. When he smiled, it is like the sun rose a little quicker. I fought the urge to smile back but when I lost, he was already talking to my mom and he did not see the stupid grin on my face. 

Choosing to end the conversation before my mother invites him in for tea, I got closer. "Ma, you left the stove on!"

"Dear me!" She went back into the house. 

My mother can leave the house only to return to check if the stove is off. For me, it's the iron box.

"Good morning." He rested his tall sinewy frame against the car. My throat is dry. What is the response to good morning again? "I asked them to rush. It's all good." He continued when I didn't speak. "Are you okay or are you not just a morning person?"

"Not a Bancroft fan." Ouch! I cringed on the inside. My mouth is something very independent from my brain most of the times.

"I won't waste a second more of your time." He cast his gaze down forcing me to notice the mismatched bunny slippers. The silly neighbor's dog ate one of my slippers thinking it's a bunny because of the pointy ears. "Cute."

I hate his smile. I hate him for looking this good even before seven in the morning!

"Keys."

"Do you want to take it for a test drive to make sure everything is working fine?"

"Did you do something to it?"

He narrowed his dark green eyes at me. "Are you usually this paranoid?"

"On my good days yes. On my bad days I'm a bat from hell crazy."

"Noted. It should be fine. If anything is wrong or amiss, call me but mostly text." He offered me a card. I looked at the auto shop dealership. He reached out and his fingers grazed over my skin. I almost jumped. "My number is at the back. Sorry."

With this proximity, I caught a whiff of sweat mixed with a sweeter scent but he backed away suddenly. "My lawyer will come by your work. You have to sign an NDA so that we put this thing to rest." He rubbed the back of his head. "Well... have a lovely day."

He pulled the dark hoodie over his head, tucked his hands in the pockets of his sweat pants and walked away. I watched until he disappeared into the line of trees forming the woods. 

"Is he gone?" My mother asked me. "I had to pee. The stove wasn't on! Where is he? He is a polite young man."

"He is the snake's child." 

She followed after me. "Excuse me but he is a good catch!"

"Yes ma, he looks that way! The devils are created to look that way! The handsome face, the charming personality, the bank vaults scents-"

"He is rich too!" That is all she has gotten, dollar signs in her head.

"Do you know who he is?" She has followed me to my bedroom and will not give me any privacy until she deems this conversation over.

"He said his name is Linc! Just Linc!"

"And you want to marry me off to a man with a single name?" I grimaced.

"Don't be silly! There is a first date, he comes over for dinner, I burst you two going at it and then you get married and little grand babies with green eyes fill thus house!"

"That sounds like something from a horror story ma. I have to get ready for work, out you go." I pushed her out of my bedroom and locked the door. "Don't bother! I have a spare key!"

I think she cursed me. 

He said his name is Linc. Just Linc. Why am I still thinking about you?

*

 I am losing my job soon and I am busy trying to figure out how I will be too valuable to be disposed off. 

I need a big story!

I need something that will capture the attention of the whole town and set my career rolling. The drawing board is still blank. It is so blank it is making my head hurt from the absence of ideas. Where do I get a big story in a small town?

"Miss Nolan I presume."

I turned my head so that my eyes, met an older man's eyes hiding behind a thick pair of lens. He must be as blind as a bat. 

"Mostly Clara but how can I help you?"

He looks important. Maybe it is the clean cut suit that looks expensive. I spotted my boss looking over with interest at the old man. Indeed, he must be important. 

"Mr. Grieves!" My boss chirped with excitement while extending both hands to him. "I wasn't expecting you."

"I am here to talk to Miss Nolan." He stated flatly. "Where can we talk?"

"Up on the roof-"

"In the board room!" My boss offered with a big smile.

I have no respect for people who fire me from job for no valid reason and also people who suck up to others because of what they have. This man must be a big deal. 

My boss accompanied us to the boardroom. I followed the two men with all the eyes in the office escorting me. It feels like they all know something I do not. "Is there anything I can do to make you comfortable Mr. Grieves?"

 "Close the door and make sure you're on the other side of it." He stated in a bored tone. I restrained my laughter. "Miss Nolan, my name is Peter Grieves and I am one of the Bancroft family lawyers." I don't even have a lawyer and this family has so many that they identify themselves as 'one of the Bancroft lawyers'. "I am sure you were informed that you are expected to sign an NDA today. In case you don't know what that means, it is a-"

"Non Disclosure Agreement. Did Linc send you?"

"I did not know you are on first name basis."

"If we call all of them Mr. Bancroft, won't it be ambiguous?"

He smiled fleetingly. He passed me the document and provided a pen. I like to read what I am signing. I picked it up and read word for word. The old man waited patiently until I was done. "Sign on the dotted line."

"What if I don't sign this? What will you do?"

He leaned forward. He lowered his glasses and exposed his brown eyes with a grey ring around his iris. "Miss Nolan, I am just the lawyer. I am not responsible for what happens when you refuse to put your signature on the dotted line."

"Are you... are you thr-reatening me?" I merely squeaked.

"I said I am just the lawyer. I am not responsible for what happens when you refuse to put your signature on the dotted line."

Clever chap. He won't be caught if something happens to me outside this building. It could be a hit and run. A stabbing during a mugging. It could be failed brakes. Good Lord! I can die and they will make it look like an accident. Once the Bancrofts consider someone a problem, they get rid of them.

I signed as expected. The man thanked me and left. 

When I got back to my desk, people were still looking at me. Kimberly, the office gossip monger promptly made her way to my desk. "What were you doing with the Bancroft lawyer?"

Judging from the spark in her eyes, she already has a theory and I bet she has shared this with as many people as she possibly can. I bet she sent out emails beginning this way: 'I just heard from a credible source...' She is the credible source. "Run your theory by me."

"It's just a hunch but I think it is a prenup."

My eyes bulged at her. "Prenup?" I asked a little loudly and from the frenzy that followed, it served as confirmation for the rumor Kimberly Shelton has started.

I can already see it on the gossip section. 

'Local girl to get hitched to Sunrise Cove's own billionaire, Lincoln Bancroft!'