Page 84 of Cruel Offer
Half an hour after Nate left the house this morning, a lawyer showed up asking to meet with me. My first thought was that it had something to do with my father, but he quickly reassured me that he was representing The Quattuor Group. Which confused me even more.
I invited him in, made us coffee, and then sat across from him at the kitchen table while he explained to me that his job requires him to review contracts with QG’s matchmaking clients to make sure all participants are aware of their rights regarding the auctions. Nate never once mentioned that this was a step in the process, and now I'm glad that he didn't. Because I wonder if he realizes how screwed he is right now. It turns out that I have a chance to decide what to do with my life.
I clear my throat and try to steady my voice. "The part where you said that I'm notobligatedto marry the winning bidder of my auction…can you go over that again?"
Joel doesn’t look like a typical lawyer. He’s young, probably in his early thirties, with a head of overly curly hair that's shaved underneath. His suit is a bit too tight for his muscular frame, and I get a peek of a forearm tattoo beneath his sleeve whenever he moves his arm just right. I get the sense he plays in a punk band on the weekends. I can easily picture him with a guitar slung over his shoulder, high fiving his bandmates after a show. Right now, though, he's as professional as they come, and I have no reason not to believe what he's telling me.
Joel slides the contract toward me and taps a paragraph with his black-painted fingernail. "Right here. This clause states that you have no contractual obligation to marry the winning bidder after the auction. This clause was designed to give you an opt out, even after the auction has concluded. In which case all auction funds are returned to the bidders, of course."
But why? Isn't that a huge financial loss for The Quattuor Group, not to mention really bad news for the winning bidder? Does the winner know that I'm not obligated to marry him?
"Thank you,” I say. “I just wanted to make sure that I understood you correctly. But why wasn’t I informed of this sooner? Shouldn’t this conversation have happened months ago?"
He shakes his head. "I’m not at liberty to say. I'm sure you understand."
"Of course."
Joel finishes his coffee and smiles at me. He checks his watch and then gathers his papers and puts them back inside his leather portfolio. "Do you have any more questions before I go to my next appointment?"
He's been here for two hours going over every single line on the contract and explaining it in depth. Something I wish I had thought to do myself a lot sooner.
"No, I don't. Thank you so much for going over everything."
He stands and pushes his chair in. "It was my pleasure."
I walk him to the door and falter when I spy Nate coming up the walkway from the garage. Butterflies unleash inside of me at the sight of him. He and Joel pause to make small talk and then Nate looks at me, his gaze unwavering as he heads up the steps and comes into the brownstone. I quietly close the door behind him, trembling with nerves.
I have so many questions. None of this makes complete sense. I don't understand why Nate never mentioned this important little detail before. Why go through all this effort to groom me and find me a match, and then give me the option to back out at the last possible moment?
Maybe Nate didn't want me to know. But if that were the case, wouldn't he have taken the clause out? He could have revised the whole damn contract and I never would've known.
I take a breath, about to start rapid-firing questions one by one, but I stop as I take in the shocking sight of him. Nate is a mess. The knot of his tie is loose, his suit is wrinkled, and his hair is tousled, as if he's been running his hands through it repeatedly. His eyes are glassy, too, as ifhe's been drinking. I subtly inhale and catch the unmistakable scent of scotch.
"It's over," he says. “Congratulations. You’re now the fiancée of a billionaire."
The fiancée of a billionaire. If you’d told me that six months ago, I might have felt something. Relief, probably. I would have thought about my Nana and felt elated that she’d be taken care of, and that I wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. Six months ago this would've been the best possible news. Right now, the news doesn’t bring me any relief.
"Oh," is all I manage to say. I clear my throat and gather my thoughts. "What's his name?"
"Archibald Montgomery. He's from California. I guess you should pack your bags."
Wow. So that’s really it. Nate expects me to just fly across the country and deliver myself to a man I don't even know. Pack my bags, give up my life, hand myself over to a stranger. All of this nonsense when all along, I could've just torn up the contract and had the one man I wanted more than anything. This home could've beenours. This life could have been something we grew into and navigated together. But he doesn’t want that.
"California? Good. No snow and no winter," I say coolly.
Nate's gaze tracks over me. His eyes pause on my lips and linger there, as if he's remembering their taste. My body begins to heat. I cross my arms over my chest and step back.
"You never told me a lawyer would be showing up today to talk about the contract."
Shrugging, he moves past me to the kitchen, where he fills a glass of water.
"It's standard protocol. We arrange a formal contract review for all our clients, so there are absolutely no misunderstandings regarding the auction process. Usually someone from legal meets with the parents to go over the details, but since you’re the client in this case, our lawyer met with you instead.”
“Funny, though. The auction had already started before he finished explaining the contract to me. I wouldn’t have been able to back out by the time he was done, because it would’ve been too late to prevent the auction, correct?”
Narrowing my eyes, I watch Nate for any reaction. I’d hoped he’d flinch when I mentioned backing out. But I get nothing from him.
“That’s my mistake, then,” he concedes. “I should’ve had him come sooner. In any event, this turned out better than expected. Do you know what your auction price was? It?—"
