Contract (pt 2)

"You'd just have to pretend to be my fiancee for a single month before we have a marriage ceremony. After that, we can divorce right away - I would've technically fulfilled my grandmother's ridiculous request and you can work in a position that better suits your qualifications." Andrew carried on with his proposal without any ounce of emotion, as if it was nothing more than another business deal on his list of tasks to complete.

"…" Lillian struggled to process all of the words that just came out of her CEOs mouth.

A marriage contract? With him? This must be a joke. His strange way to get back at me for what happened Friday. Didn't he have like 15 or so potential wives just from this past weekend alone?! I guarantee at least one of them would be able to look past his… particular demeanor, and genuinely want to marry him.

"Well, it would appear you're quite shocked. Lucky for you, I happen to be a patient man. Have a look over the contract and get back to me by the end of the day. I admit, I have not been married before, so we can discuss any issues you might find with the contract. I'm willing to make adjustments… within reason." He calmly stood up and returned to his desk. He pushed a small button, and the next moment Peter appeared and escorted Lillian out of the room.

Lillian stood there, her hands gripping the thick paper tight, as Peter closed the door behind them. "Um. Please, be honest with me. This is just some weirdly complex joke your boss is trying to pull, right?" Lillian looked at Peter nervously, trying to read an answer from his eyes.

She could tell from his reaction, that he had no idea as to the contents of their meeting. He confirmed this when he replied, "It's probably just a misunderstanding. He's not exactly the joking type, and in the rare case he does try, it's only him who gets the joke. Did he not thank you for your help this weekend?"

"No. He- , uh, never mind! I'll be going now," she ran off to the elevators and pushed the down button multiple times until it arrived seconds later, avoiding eye contact with the secretary the whole time as he watched her rushed exit from behind.

She went down to the security department where it was mostly men, and locked herself in the woman's bathroom to clear her mind. She remembered to text Jacky that it'd be a bit longer until she was back, saying she had to run an errand, worried that crazy girl would actually storm up to the CEOs office and do god knows what.

"Okay, it's okay. This is just a crazy dream, that's all. I was stressing about work so much, I actually went to work in my dream." She stared down at floor in front of her and remembered the feeling of waking up and stubbing her toe that morning on route to the closet. The pain was so real, she knew she wasn't dreaming then and she definitely hadn't fallen asleep since.

Maybe my sense of reality is just warped. I heard marriage, but he could've meant something else.

She looked again at the document in her hand. Dejectedly, she read the word 'marriage' and decided to turn to the next page and scan the contents. The whole document was 15 pages total and full of a lot of legal jargon. Lillian couldn't believe he had put all that together in one morning, it was amazing anyone could be so efficient and thorough. No wonder he was the youngest CEO in the country.

Lillian was glad that at one of her work studies during university, her supervisor taught her how to read and understand the complicated legal language of business contracts. The details of the marriage contract in her hands mainly boiled down to a few key points.

Lillian Grace, in the contract known as Party A, and Andrew Geldan, Party B, would, upon signing, enter an engagement period of 30 days. During the 30 day period, both parties agree to attend typical engagement activities requested by the other party. This may include family introductions, a private engagement party, etc. At the end of the 30 days, Party A and Party B will enter a marriage of 2 years. If either Party would like to annul or divorce the marriage before the 2 years are up, they will be required to pay a fine of $3,000,000. However, in the case of adultery or criminal offense, the contract may be terminated without any damages. Should Party A agree to these conditions, Party B promises to provide Party A with a salaried position in the marketing department of the Geldan Group, domestic team. No romance or physical contact is required of either Party.

$3,000,000. Lillians eyes nearly fell out of her head when she read that amount. Andrew just told her she could divorce him after 1 day if she wanted, but now she saw there was a catch. A very expensive and impossible to pay fine, that made it very clear who could be the only one requesting a divorce.

"That b*stard! Does he really think anyone would agree to such a ridiculous proposal?" She cursed to herself and swung her head back. She sat there for a moment, staring at the ceiling, thinking what to do next.

Let's just pretend it doesn't exist. If I just continue on with the day as if everything is normal, then maybe we can forget this ever happened and keep on living as we always have.

Lillian took a minute to compose herself and brush away the contract from her mind. She then made her way back to the front desk and assured her worried coworker that everything was alright. Luckily, Jacky was quick to steer their conversation back to the topic of her own engagement. Lillian was glad that her excited talk distracted her mind away from her meeting with the CEO that morning, as she completed her daily tasks without any incident.

Once work hours were over, Lillian swiftly made her leave and returned back to her room at the hotel, having successfully avoided the CEO the rest of the day. When she opened the door to the room, her mom got up from the round table in the corner and waved her over excitedly to sit down.

"Just a sec, I still need to take my boots off," Lillian remarked after her mom told her to hurry up and sit down. She took off her second winter boot then made her way over to the table where her parents sat and pulled out a seat for herself.

She felt impatient as her mom just sat there, staring at her with wide eyes and a small grin on her face as her body leaned over the table, her hands tightly clasped together. Lillian tilted her head and gave her mom a confused smile, as she looked back and forth between her two parents, waiting for someone to break the awkward silence.

"Umm.. Did the meeting with the real estate agent go well?" She asked hesitantly, wondering the reason why her parents were acting so weird.

Her mom's eyes lit up then she nudged her husband in the side. "Go on, tell her the news."

"Ahem," her dad cleared his throat then he look at her with a serious expression. "Well, as you know we went to meet with an agent today about selling the house. Frankly, we had few expectations going in as the house is older and it needs immediate repairs. The agent went through all the necessary procedures with us and explained her opinion on the housing market when-"

"When a man at table next to us offered to buy our house!" Her mom cut off excitedly.

"Yes, a man offered to buy the house." Her dad gave her mom a look as if to express some unspoken dialogue between them, to which her mom smiled in return, then he continued their story. "It turns out the man is a contractor and works with his friend fixing and remodeling homes that they can then resell for a profit. We discussed the matter with the agent and decided to take the man up on his offer. If all goes well, we'll be able to sell the house as soon as the day after tomorrow."

"Since things are happening so fast, your grandfather and Ben are coming by in 2 days with the truck to help us move out our stuff. Do you think you could take off work tomorrow to pack up your room?" Her mom added.

"Wow, um-" Lillian's voice wavered as she felt her throat tensing up. Soon, tears began to swell in her eyes and she tried to blink them back in an attempt to pull herself together. So much had happened those last few days and everything was moving so fast. It was all so overwhelming, that she could not hold back any longer and the tears rolled down her face. "That's amazing," she choked up, struggling to get out her next words. "I'll, uh, I'll be right back."

She stiffly got up from the table and walked to the hotel room door, grabbing her coat on her way out. Her mom called out to her with concern as she walked out the door. Her mind was so blurred that she had forgotten to put on her winter boots and walked out into the halls then outside with just a thin pair of slippers on. She continued on and walked until she reached a park nearby, where she found a bench to sit on as she wiped away her tears.

About 30 minutes had passed by the time she was able to get a handle on her emotions and organize her thoughts.

Okay, no use wasting time. Mom and Dad are going to be moving in a couple days and I have to figure out whether or not to go with them. But, even if I decide to go, I can't just up and leave my job like that without any notice. They'd need at least a week to fill my position and I can't leave Jacky to handle all that work on her own. We have 2 more days at the hotel, so I need to figure out where to stay after then. Ok, first let's try asking Michelle, she and her boyfriend have their own apartment relatively close to downtown.

Lillian rang up her childhood friend to see if she'd be able to stay with them for a few days, but it turned out the pipes in their building had burst during the storm as well. Their landlord lived in another country, so coordination for repairs was pretty slow. It sounded like they'd be staying at her boyfriend's sister's place for the next 2 weeks.

Lillian went through all her contacts on her phone that still lived in the area, but every time the answer was the same. They wished they could help out, but based on the situation it was impossible at that point in time. One friend was still living with her family and her sister had just moved back in with her baby after leaving her husband. Another friend was out of town on holiday in Hawaii and had no way of getting her a set of keys, though she was welcome to move in once she was back - 3 weeks from now.

She paused for a moment, wondering whether or not it'd be okay to call Jacky. But then she remembered their conversation earlier that day. Though she had only been half listening as she was working on some tasks, she recalled Jacky telling her that she was busy moving in with her fiancé along with her big dog Pluto.

Lillian sighed as she made her way back to the hotel, when she got a call.