Chapter 8 - A Business Proposal

Cadence arrived at the office early Friday morning, and was surprised to see coffee and a chocolate chip scone waiting for her on the desk. She quickly peeked into the assistants' office down the hall, but none of them had arrived yet. Doubtfully, she knocked on Mr. Oliver's door. It was exceedingly rare for him to be in before 9am. "Come in" he said. Cadence walked in, coffee in hand and asked "Are you the right person to thank?" James had an odd expression on his face as he said "Yes, but you don't need to thank me. I just wanted to make sure you were fed and alert for our first meeting." Cadence raised an eyebrow in question, not remembering having scheduled any early meetings. In answer, James said "I put it on your calendar just now. Wanted to discuss that special topic first thing." He looked very awkward, seemingly not wanting to make eye contact with her. Cadence saw that James had yet to touch his own scone but an empty coffee cup was already in the waste basket. He looked tired and had a strange demeanor, like he was unsure about something. "Give me five minutes to skim my email and make you some fresh coffee. Then how about we do a working breakfast?" James nodded his agreement before she walked out.

True to her word, Cadence was back quickly. She entered James's office while successfully balancing her scone and both their coffees on a notebook in front of her like a tray. James had moved to sit in the comfortable arm chair in front of his large windows and was already a few bites into his scone. Cadence sat adjacent to him on the loveseat, setting everything neatly on the coffee table. She opened the notebook and pulled out the pen she'd previously slipped into it's spiral binding. "Alright, which ones have you decided on?" she asked, before taking a delicate bite of her scone, which turned out to be delicious. James gazed at her for a long moment before clearing his throat and saying "I'd like to propose an alternative option actually." He leaned closer, lowering his voice, as if afraid they'd be heard even within the confines of his office. This sudden action brought the familiar fragrance of his cologne to her attention and she was jolted by the memory of this morning's dream. Suddenly, the mystery man from her fantasy had a face - the same face that looked at her tentatively now. With an earnest quality to his voice, James said "Cadence, I think we should get married."

Cadence blinked several times, struggling to register James's words. Finally composed, she took a deep breath in preparation to argue with him. He held up a hand, indicating he wasn't done. "I have a good idea of what you're going to say. It's unprofessional. It will complicate our work relationship. It's just plain weird. I get it. However, this 'marriage' is more of a business transaction than anything else. Your professionalism has been nothing but exemplary since you began working here and I don't expect a marriage certificate to change that. With the exception of having to live together, not much will change in our relationship." James had hit on most of her concerns, but Cadence had one major one left. "What about your sister?" she asked simply. She could see his facial expression morph from confusion to realization in an instant. His sister, Belinda Oliver-Bradshaw, was greedy, jealous, and petty. If she found out about the stipulations of the will and the contractual nature of James's marriage, she would do everything in her power to orchestrate a divorce before the one year mark. They new Belinda wasn't above threats, public humiliation, and general harassment. Even if Belinda didn't actually believe she would be successful, she would make it her personal responsibility to make them both miserable anyway.

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James sat back, considering whether his sister's possible involvement should have any bearing on his decision of who to marry. If anything, he became more firmly resolved in his belief that Cadence was the best candidate. "Knowing my grandfather, he likely hasn't told Belinda anything about the changes in the will. A sudden marriage might make her suspicious of course, but honestly, what's more believable than a businessman falling for his assistant?" he asked. "I suppose you're right there" Cadence said, still sounding as if she weren't fully convinced. "Look, all the women you picked out were great in their own ways, but I already know that the two of us work exceedingly well together. So, if we have to act like a real couple in front of my family and the public to keep my sister in the dark, it won't be that hard. We're practically half way there as it is. Also, to be perfectly honest, I need to marry someone I can trust. You are literally the only eligible woman in my life that I can trust right now, this very second" James said, having raised his voice by the end of his speech and becoming a bit breathless. He swallowed hard as he looked into Cadence's stunned face. She was silent for a long time as they held each other's gaze. This gave him the perfect opportunity to properly study her face. With her hair pulled back tight in it's usual bun, nothing was hidden from James. He noticed her slightly uneven hairline with short wisps of curls escaping here in there. He familiarized himself with the exact color of her eyes - a reddish brown that reminded him of freshly ground cinnamon. Her skin was smooth with just a slight tan that complemented her full pink lips. His eyes lingered there, on those lips and he thought how easy it might be to just lean forward and press his mouth to hers. He savored this thought a second more before forcing himself to resume eye contact. He was blatantly ignoring his obvious bourgeoning attraction to Cadence and hoped stupidly that it wouldn't make his proposed arrangement more complicated.

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Cadence was startled by the raw honesty and desperation in James's admission. She wanted to reject his claim, that she was the only woman in his life he could trust. Suddenly, she was reminded of a hushed conversation she had with Mary Henson, during the time she was training for her current position.

Mr. Oliver had been in a rare terrible mood that day, finding fault with her work where none existed. She vented to Mary, expecting some sympathy, but was instead met by a plea to cut him some slack and not take it personally. This wasn't good enough for Cadence and she pressed Mary for an explanation of their boss's unjust behavior. It was then that Cadence heard the story of Sarah Wilmington. James had met her in college and they'd gotten engaged after graduation. A few weeks before their wedding was to take place, his best friend Daniel mentioned that something felt off about Sarah. He admitted to James that Sarah had come on to him pretty aggressively the last time they'd all gone out drinking together. Mary didn't know all the details, but said James quickly discovered Sarah had been having multiple affairs with men and women, including James's own mother. His parents' relationship barely recovered. James broke things off with Sarah, but she would periodically call him out of the blue to ask him to take her back, even if just for a night. James's terrible mood that day was the result of receiving a sloppy drunken 3am voicemail from Sarah that morning. His bitter mood didn't last long and Mary successfully convinced him to change his phone number before she left the company.

Yes, she hadn't realized it before, but Cadence was in fact the most consistent and trustworthy woman in James's life right now (with the exception of Mrs. Garcia). If she said yes, she would inexplicably tie herself to James even more than she already was. She wasn't sure how much more of herself she was willing to lose, but she also couldn't imagine not helping him. She suddenly remembered her promise to him just yesterday that she would do whatever she could. She wasn't the type of person to go back on her word. During her rumination, her eyes had become unfocused but she now realized her boss's gaze was still firmly fixed on her, waiting for her answer. She took a breath, before exhaling slowly and saying "Yes, I'll marry you…but I have some conditions."