Chapter 5: Deal or not?

Laurel felt a wave of surprise. Why would Rhett be calling her? How did he get her number? How could his voice sound so attractive over the phone? Questions raced through her mind, momentarily making her forget that someone was on the other end of the call.

“Laurel?” Rhett said, bringing her back to reality.

“How did you get my number?” She blurted out in frustration.

“Relax. We can talk about that later. I’d like to see you for a moment,” Rhett answered calmly.

“And why would you want to see me at this time of day?” Laurel retorted.

“It’s concerning the company where you work. Meet me there in 30 minutes.” Rhett replied, sending her the venue details via text.

Laurel scoffed as he ended the call.

“It better be something worthwhile,” she said as she grabbed her mask and cap and headed out of her apartment.

The day was getting dark and Laurel tried hailing cabs, all to no avail. After waiting for 20 minutes, she decided to walk to the venue since it wasn’t far from her apartment and she was already running late.

With just 10 minutes more to spare, she began walking, plugging her earphones into her ears and enjoying the cool evening breeze. All of a sudden, she noticed two men following her from behind. She sped up, and they both followed, causing Laurel to break into a run. The men caught up with her, suffocating her with a piece of cloth around her nose, and everything faded to black as Laurel closed her eyes.

***

“Laurel… Laurel?” Laurel heard a faint sound as she slowly opened her eyes.

“Can you see me? It’s Rhett,” The voice said, waving his hands over her face.

Laurel, with her eyes still half-closed, stretched her left hand, placing it on Rhett’s cheek.

“So cute,” She murmured, moving her hands down to his lips. She caressed them gently, and a faint smile played on her lips as Rhett watched her, puzzled.

“Laurel?” He called again after a few moments, her hand still on his lips. Laurel’s eyes opened clearly.

She jumped abruptly from the bed she was lying on, looking round at her surroundings, with confusion.

“Where—where am I?” She asked Rhett, who was now seated on the bed.

"At my place. Remember anything from last night?" Rhett inquired as Laurel tried to piece together the events of the previous night.

“Oh,” Laurel replied, recollecting the previous night. “So how did I get here?” She asked, turning to face Rhett.

“Well, on my way to the restaurant, I saw a group of men trying to forcefully take a lady. I tried helping as a human and turned out it was you. That’s how you ended up here.” Rhett explained, his gaze on Laurel who listened attentively.

“Thank you so much. I appreciate your kind gesture.” Laurel said softly in gratitude and heaved a sigh.

“So, why did you want to see me? What was it about my place of work?” She broke in, not giving Rhett a chance to respond.

“Well, follow me,” Rhett instructed as they moved to the living room. Taking their seats, he placed a file on the table between them.

"What's this?" Laurel asked as she opened the file and quickly scanned its contents.

Her eyes widened. "A contract? A marriage contract? How does this relate to me and my workplace?" Laurel inquired, fixing her gaze on Rhett and awaiting his explanation.

"Get into a contract marriage with me," Rhett stated firmly.

"Are you out of your mind? Why on earth should I agree to a contract marriage with you?" Laurel exclaimed, slamming the file on the table and rising to her feet, visibly angered.

"I'll be deciding whether to invest in your company or not in two days. The choice is yours. Agree to a six-month contract marriage with me, and I'll invest in your company. I’ll make it bigger than it has ever been. A better life for you, your coworkers and your boss, Rhett said, maintaining eye contact as he folded his hands and leaned back in his seat.

“You must think I’m some cheap lady, don’t you? You’re insane!” She screamed as she stood up from her seat, finding her way out of his house.

“I’ll be expecting your call! Just two days left!” Rhett screamed after her.

Laurel stopped on her tracks. “How did you even get my number?” She screamed and turned back at Rhett.

“It’s a secret.” Rhett teased at Laurel who was standing furious at the doorway.

“You’re insane!” She snapped back and continued on her tracks.

“What does he take me for? I never want to lay my eyes on this man ever again but why do I keep coming across him?” She screamed angrily as she stormed out of his house in anger.

She boarded a cab back to her apartment and quickly freshened up, hurrying to work.

The next day, Laurel got to work as usual and was summoned by her boss.

“Laurel, we’re in trouble!” Shirley exclaimed as soon as she entered her office.

“What’s wrong, ma’am?” Laurel inquired, concern written all over her face.

“All the investors gave a negative response. They refused to invest in our company and it might go bankrupt soon.” Shirley explained, tears welling up in her eyes.

“We’re left with just the Opulentia Group. Tomorrow is the final day and we don’t know what their response will be.” Shirley added, placing her hand on her head out of frustration.

“Everything will be alright ma’am. Hopefully, they’ll give us a positive response.” Laurel tried to comfort Shirley.

Laurel went back home deep in thought. Seeing her boss break down in tears weighed heavily on her. If the company went bankrupt, she’d become jobless and go back to square one. Finding another job might be difficult, given the recent headlines and controversies about her. Her co-workers would also suffer and her boss would lose everything she had worked so hard to build.

She couldn't afford to go back to square one, not after all the struggles she had gone through to finally secure a job. The ball was now in her court. A six-month contract marriage would not be the end of her after all. She’ll come out of it bigger and better. Making her decision, she picked up her phone and dialled Rhett’s number,

“Hello, Rhett. I’ll sign the contract. Where should we meet?”