19 The Contract

"Well, I suppose I can see your dad's point." Meredith took in everything Brayden Charles Maxwell had told her and responded accordingly. "He wants you all to be happy and not just work yourselves to death for the sake of the company. He wants you to have hobbies, friends, family; it makes sense and I suppose it is a good idea. It seems like he is trying to do what is best for you in his own way that only a billionaire CEO could do. My question is, What does that have to do with me? I'm not involved in this sibling rivalry and chase to the top. Why ask for my help? How could I possibly help you get CEO?

I mean I can definitely listen to you vent but there are people who do that professionally and would be much better suited for the project than I would. I definitely don't mind your choice in dinner so if you want to make this a regular thing where we eat and I listen to your problems, I'm game. Do you need help brainstorming? All these things I could do for you there are far better suited individuals. Why me? What else could I do that would be able to help you in anyway?" Meredith asked, then took a sip of her wine as it was refilled and their souffle dishes taken away.

The souffle left on her tongue accented the wine perfectly. She forgot what they were talking about entirely for a moment and sighed deeply into her wine glass allowing the scent to flow through her very being. It was light and fresh and laid on her tongue over the rich creamy remnant of creme brulee. It was as though the wine and the creme brulee were made specifically for one another. It would be a crime to have one without the other, she thought. She wished she had eaten her souffle slower and had known to savor this combination longer. It was beyond divine.

This David really was god-like to have chosen such an amazing pairing. He was an elevator god and a wine pairing god. Meredith had never particularly been into wine before. She just drank whatever anyone gave her. Usually Taylor was the one to pick the drinks when they went out. If it were left to Meredith to choose, they would be drinking long island iced teas all night. She never understood why they were called teas when there was nothing tea like about them. Meredith mulled this thought over while she took another amazing sip of whine and let it caress the taste buds in her mouth.

"Well as I said," Brayden began, bringing Meredith's attention back to the topic at hand. "I will need help in the social aspect so I need someone who has hobbies that I can get behind and help support. Something that could bring about event opportunities and charity functions that could bring me more into the social light while I am focused with work." He looked down at his paper. "You have a cat, Dino, is it?"

"Yes, how do you know that?" She looked at him completely baffled. He knew she had a cat. He knew her cat's name even. Did he follow her home? He couldn't have. They just met earlier in the elevator. Was it another one of his god-like powers? Meredith was confused.

"So you are passionate about animals?" He looked up and waited for her response. She was still confused as to how he knew Dion's name but finally she gave into his waiting and those eyes of his and responded.

"I don't know if I would say I am passionate, but yes, I like animals, particularly my cat Dino." She thought that his eyes might be very dangerous. They seemed ot have some sort of power behind them that she was weak to. She imagined it was just another one of the perks to being a god.

"You are a member of a movie Group Meet and attend theater outings quite frequently." He looked up calmly, waiting for her to respond. She noticed his eyelashes framed his clear green eyes perfectly. She shook her head to get rid of the spell and stopped playing his games. Or at least that's what she thought she was doing when she asked her next question.

"Where are you getting this information from?" Meredith looked into his eyes with determination this time. She wanted to know who had been stalking her and why this guy she had just met a few hours ago knew everything about her.

"Have you been to the Chicago Film Festival?" Brayden asked her curiously.

"No." She had forgotten all of her recent determination in light of his sincere question. "I've seen the movies featured but I haven't actually been able to go to the film fest yet. I haven't finished a full year with Maxwell Sharpe so I don't have enough vacation time yet. I would love to get the full experience of such an amazing event though."

"I see." Brayden watched her facial reactions and she seem to drift into some sort of film festival fantasy. He looked down at his notes again and then added, "You are very into origami. Do you plan to go to the museum exhibit when it comes to town?"

"Wait. How do you know I like origami? No one knows that!" Meredith was taken aback. This went beyond stalking. Where was he getting all this from. Had she been set up. This had to go back further; there was no way he could know all that in a few hours. A light bulb went off in her head. She had figured it all out. "Do you know a brit named Jordan?"

"Jordan? I don't think so. Why?" He asked perplexed.

"Because he is the only one I told about my origami. How else do you know these things?" Meredith called his bluff. She knew there was something weird about Jordan. He must have been working for Brayden from the get go.

"I asked for a full report." Brayden looked at Meredith as though that was obvious. "It was necessary to see if you could help me."

"Oh?" Meredith said dejectedly. Even though her theory about Jordan was off she was still feeling violated somehow.

"Your hobbies will be very helpful particularly film seeing as Chicago has a great film involvement each year. And with the upcoming origami exhibit it will have an opening night that we could take advantage of and animals are a huge bonus there are all kinds of animal outreach programs and events. Socially you have great prospects. And they are very uniquely you."

"Thanks." She was still annoyed at him knowing her secret about origami. She was glad to have some fascinating characteristics. But she still didn't know how they were able to find out all that information on her in just a few hours. Whoever he had working for him was very good at their job.

"You're welcome." He responded not noticing the sarcasm. "My father will retire at the end of next year and will have a five year clause to whoever he hands the company over to. That's to prevent say Edward from winning a couple of big clients over just to get CEO, then not putting in the time once he gets the title. Or either of us from getting married then as soon as we are named CEO getting a divorce. The paperwork is pretty bulletproof. I had my lawyers look it over."

"Your father is smart." She was starting to like his dad, he had thought of everything. As interesting as it all was she still wasn't connecting his father's CEO contest amongst the three brothers and Brayden collecting all her secrets into a little folder.

"Yes, he is. So I would need to not only be engaged like my brother Edward but married like my brother Clinton and for at least five years during the clause to keep the title CEO afterwards." Brayden told her as if he was explaining the twist in the plot of a suspense movie before she saw it. Meredith just gave him an odd note and decided to ignore his weird attitude.

"True. If you want to win your father's contest through til the end." She already knew the twist at the end she had been following along. His father was a very smart man. He had to have been to be able to create such a successful company from the ground up. She had finally decided that Brayden just wanted a friend. This was a stressful competition she was sure and he wanted a buddy to lean on during it all. He could have just asked her all those things instead of sending someone to spy on her or whatever it was they did. She didn't mind being his friend if he paid her for it.

"The non-disclosure agreement you signed basically states that anything we talk about tonight is not repeated outside of the two of us subject to change should party A, myself, change the limitations of the agreement."

"Okay. I signed already." She wasn't sure what the big deal was and although dinner was great she was exhausted and wanted to go home. She was ready for him to get it all over with so she could get out of her fancy work clothes and those stilts Taylor called heels. Her feet were killing her. She had a rough last two weeks working on her project and now this random elevator god was revealing every little detail about her life. She wanted to wake up from this weird dream and watch a movie with Dino.

"The contract I am to propose will be the duration of the CEO clause and begin next Friday. That will give you a week to get your affairs in order, which shouldn't be too hard since you aren't seeing anyone."

"Seeing anyone? What? What are you talking about?" Meredith held back a yawn and tried to understand where he was going with this.

"Earlier in the elevator I noted that you were not married and in my office you said you didn't have a boyfriend or a lover." Brayden just looked at her and she looked back. He raised an eyebrow at her and her eyes went wide in enlightenment.

"Wait you don't mean you want me to…"

"It won't be a simple wedding really, we don't have time for all that. It's a private signing of documents primarily. Divorce would be permitted after the clause was complete." He told her and folded his hands over the papers in front of him.

"M-marriage? You're serious? Why me? You're filthy rich you can pick anyone."

"Several reasons. I saw you on the elevator and you fit with my style, so I inquired about you and had my assistant compile this information for me. Your hobbies are perfect. You don't know who I am so you won't be trying to get into my pockets or anything. You're smart, hardworking, and beautiful.

Best of all you already work for me so I can fire you and have you blacklisted from any other major marketing or design company if you don't. You're a win win for me. You don't have to have sex with me but I expect you to sleep in my bed with me and to look like you do today not when you bumped into my driver those other two times.

You will not have to worry about clothes or rent or expenses at all for the full six years and can save your money or do whatever you like with it. I get very generous vacation time and families tend to spend vacations together so if you want to travel that will make it all the better for me to look like a happy family during the clause duration and it will be on my dime anywhere you want to go."

"You make it sound amazing but you also aren't giving me a choice are you?

"Correct. You don't have much of a choice. And you cannot discuss this with anyone." He pulled out a series of papers and handed them to her. "Her is your copy of the NDA if you want to have a lawyer look over it without mentioning what we talked about just to be safe. It's pretty fool proof."

"Sure." Meredith was beyond exhausted and just wanted to go home to bed and forget all this even happened. Well except the dinner which was amazing. "Do you eat like this everyday?"

"No, but you can if you want. As long as you maintain your current looks, with the acception of freak accident, which has to be an accident otherwise should you somehow break the contract You will have to pay for all expenses used up til now, as well as a lawsuit for injury to my driver on two accounts, not to mention being fired and blacklisted from any job other than a simple clerk."

"Wow, blackmail much?"

"No, actually. This is my first time. But I am very thorough." He told her matter of factly.

"I'd say." She mumbled. "Look, thanks for the dinner. I'm flattered you think I'm marriage material and all but I am exhausted after working my butt off for your brother so if you are giving me a week to think about ruining my life by marrying you or ruining my life by not marrying you I'd like to go home to bed now. Please."

"Oh." He waved his hand for the waiter and signed the check then got out his phone and sent a text message and got up and walked her out. "I'll give you a ride so you can get home sooner. I have taken up enough of your time for the night and soon to be the next six years."

"Right." Meredith rolled her eyes and got into the car as Sean held the door for her. "Thank you, Sean."

"You're welcome Ms. Glenn." Did all of Brayden's workers know everything about her she wondered. They rode in silence to her apartment in Uptown. Just before she got out she asked, "Where do you live? Where would I live?"

"Streeterville." Brayden responded. She realized he was already near his hoe and rode with her all the way to uptown. He could have just had Sean drop her off.

"Good night." She told him and shut the door then headed up to her apartment.

Meredith fed Dino, took a shower and changed into pajamas then headed to bed reminding herself to get her overnight bag from Taylor later...and to find a lawyer.