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“Alotdifferent,” Des chimed in from the laptop on the coffee table between us. “And honestly… Orion Sterling wouldn’t be the worst thing that could happen to you.”
“Neither would a refrigerator landing on my big toe, but I don’t wantthatshit either.”
Demetria laughed. “I understand where you’re coming from, Nala, but Des is right. He’s gotrealmoney, he’s fine as shit, and I’ve never heard any um…storiesabout him. If you know what I mean.”
“I don’t,” I insisted. “And with all this shit, I don’t have the brain power for inference. Just tell it to me straight.”
“She means he’s not an abuser or a freak, in the bad way,” Des clarified. “People always act shocked when these rich men get their business put on blast in the media, but thetruthis that… certain people know these… open secrets. Orion doesn’t have anything like that. He’s probably just your run-of-the-mill womanizer, which… again, at that tax bracket…?”
“Got it. So I won’t get my ass kicked or get fucked with a bat, but I should expect cheating? Where do I sign?” I grumbled, rolling my eyes.
“You don’t have to accept anything,” Demetria said. “You can write it into your end of the contract that if he cheats, the whole thing is null and void, and you get… whatever he agrees to. Or, maybe you don’t care what he does, as long as it’s kept on the low. Side bitch runs to the blogs? Deal is off. If that’s what you want.Everythingcan be negotiated.”
“But if you tell him he can’t fuck anybody else, youdefinitelyhave to fuck him.” Des giggled. “You can’t have it both ways. You can even pick a frequency, once a week, once a month, only on federal holidays—”
“Fine. I’ll fuck him once a year, on his birthday. With somebody else’s pussy.”
“I donotthink it works like that.” Demetria laughed.
“Ugh,” I groaned. “When can I get divorced?”
“That’s probably going to depend on if and when he wants kids, and I can almost guarantee you, he’s going to want kids,” Des said and I sucked my teeth.
“Why is everything you sayawful?” I asked her.
“Because I know very well how all this stuff works. That’s why y’all called me, remember?”
I pushed out a deep sigh, dropping back against the couch cushions for another long sip. “I remember.”
“Good. Now, I’m just telling you what I know from a lot of experience dealing with men like Orion, from his kind of family. I’d bet good money that he’s on some sort of timeline, and that’s why he’s doing this. He’ll be forty in another two years. He’s probably crossing off criteria for another level of his trust fund.”
“Oooh,” Demetria mused. “That’s a great point. He probably needs a wife and an heir to get it. Those might even be prerequisites for a higher job role that he wants withinStellar Foods.”
“This is the worst thing I’ve ever heard in my life. It’s like a shitty romance novel,” I whined.
“Truth is much stranger than fiction, my dear,” Demetria said. “Now… come on, sit up, we’ve got to get serious about this if we’re supposed to be giving him an answer by tomorrow.”
I huffed. “I don’t think I cangetmore serious.”
“Let’s try,” Des said. “We want this to favor you as much as possible, unfairly, even, because he’s going to pushback. So ask for more than you even want.”
“All Iwantis my damn building back.”
“Soaskfor it,” Demetria countered. “Didn’t you say he made some smart remark aboutNectarbeing a great wedding gift?Ask for it,” she insisted. “He may not give it to you outright, maybe just partial ownership, or it reverts to you after a certain number of years, something like that. But a closed mouth will not get fed. And if you’ve gotta eat shit… I’m assuming it’s much better with some sweet extras on the side.”
I shook my head, notwantingto accept anything she was saying, but knowing it was futile. Just to be sure though, I asked, “And there’snothingwe can do to get around this?”
“Unfortunately not,” Demetria confirmed. “It shouldn’t be an issue to getNectar. If the board doesn’t put you at the head, you’ve got enough capital to simply buy your father out.Ifit comes to that. The issue with the land and the building is a whole other thing, and everything is on the up and up with that. Now, I can talk to Clayton Reed, and get him on looking for a new building if—”
“No,” I cut her off. “That’s not… I don’t want that.”
“Which we understand, completely,” Des spoke up. “But… you don’t have a lot of options.”
“I don’t haveanyoptions,” I countered, but Demetria shook her head.
“Don’t think about it like that. Look, you can marry a billionaire and keep your mother’s store, or you start fresh somewhere else. Honestly, I think you’ll be perfectly fine either way.”
“Of course you find a positive spin for it,” I chuckled, then took the last hefty swallow of my wine. “But… I think we all know what the onlyrealoption is here.”
