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“I don’t know if I would feel comfortable taking money to marry you,” I admitted. It felt icky, like I was using him, or he was using me, or both.
“Would it help if you saw it as a kind of business transaction? I don’t want to bribe you; I want to offer a partnership. If you decide you don’t want to do this, I won’t make you. We both want something the other can provide. It will be business. Nothing more. I’m prepared to offer your company, from my own pocket, two million dollars.”
I sucked in a deep breath. That would do wonders for us, especially as such a small, new brand. I was surprised at how seriously I was considering his offer. If it was a business deal, then I had to speak to Michael before I accepted. Or maybe just so my best friend could talk me out of going through with this. “I’ll have to think about it.”
“Can I have an answer by tomorrow?”
It didn’t seem like a lot of time, but I nodded my head in acceptance. I wished I had years to think this over.
“Here.” He scribbled something down on a sticky note, pulled something out of his pocket, and slid them over the desk to me. “My personal phone number. When you decide, call me and we can schedule a meeting.” He pointed to what he placed on the sticky note. “That is a token of our deal. Keep it if you agree, return it if not.”
I picked it up: on the post-it note was a ring.
I put them both in my skirt pocket. My throat felt dry when I asked, “My briefcase?”
“Of course.” He pulled it from behind his desk and stood up to hand it to me. I stood and took it. He was careful not to let our hands touch.
I had turned around, my thoughts boiling over when a question suddenly came to me. I spun back around to see him already sitting and working at his computer. I gathered all of my courage. “Why me?”
He glanced up from the screen. “What?”
My throat still felt like it wanted to close in on itself, but I had to know the truth. “Why. Me.”
He tilted his head to the side, like he was thinking. “You’re attractive.”
I felt my face grow hot.
He wasn’t finished. “And I trust you.” He then went back to typing something, not sparing me another glance.
I walked out of his office like I was in a daze. I was still feeling flushed, the compliment took me off guard, for sure, but the “I trust you” was what repeated over and over again in my head.What did he mean by that?I thought as I took the elevator ride down.How can you trust someone you’ve only met once?
***
I got back to our apartment a few hours later, around four pm. I wanted to try to organize my thoughts, so I had wandered up and down the streets and through a park or two to see if anything would be any clearer to me. No luck. I got our mail before heading up to the small two-bedroom apartment Michael and I shared. We put almost everything we earned back into Sew Fit so this was the best we could afford. Our apartment could be described as cozy, if I was being charitable. I flipped through the junk before my eyes landed on a letter from my aunt. I frowned a little and put it in my room. I couldn’t deal with that and this marriage proposal. I brought a change of clothes to my bathroom and turned the water on. I did all my best thinking in the shower.
When I was finished, I put on some sweatpants and a loose top. I felt a little better from the shower, but I still hadn’t made up my mind. As I was just about to decide to forget my problems by putting on the T.V. and zoning out for a few hours, I heard the door unlock.
“I’m home!” Michael shouted. “And I brought a guest.”
I rolled my eyes and sat up from the couch, untangling myself from the blanket cocoon I was going to ignore my worries in. “Hey Mike. Hey Virgo.”
“Hello baby!” Virgo ran up to me and gave me kisses on each cheek. Virgo was Michael’s girlfriend and professional supermodel. They met at fashion week last year and had been nearly inseparable since. She’d moved here from California; her parents the kind who would name her after her star sign. Virgo was thin, tall, with skin tanned always like she’d just been at the beach, and long, dirty blonde hair. When I first met her, I was a little intimidated, she seemed so cool. “How is my Lydia today?” She asked, fixing my hair a little. I quickly learned that Virgo was the biggest mom friend I’d ever had.
“I’m.” I didn’t know how to describe what I was feeling. “A lot happened.”
“Did you get your briefcase back?” Michael asked.
“Yes. And…” my voice trailed off.
“And?” Both he and Virgo said at the same time.
“It’s a long story.”
“We’re ordering Sushi, you can explain over some sashimi,” Virgo said, clapping her hands together. “Have you eaten today?”
“Yes, mom,” I said, teasing.
Dinner arrived quickly, and while we ate over the coffee table in the living room I explained as much as I could remember about the meeting. I finished the story and added, “Also please don’t tell anyone. This should stay between the three of us.”
