“I told you it’s supposed to be six months,” I said. “Six months contract and then you go your separate ways.”
That was supposed to be the deal between my brother and his forced proximity wife. He knew quite well that the media and shareholders whose daughters were on the list of women Troy was supposed to marry wouldn’t accept Camille. They might withdraw their shares once Troy's marriage news was out.
The outcome wouldn’t be nice for either party.
“You have a lawyer binding this marriage. You can't act on your own.”
“The lawyer is my best friend," he replied. “He can bend the law for my sake.”
Troy's mind seemed made up about Camille. “So, what do you want to do? Propose to her once more and prepare proper marriage papers?”
“Yes.”
“You have to break up with her once your contract period elapses.”
Troy shook his head. “I can’t do that,” he said. “I’m in love with Camille and I want to be with her forever.”
“Mom is going to be so mad at you,” I scoffed. “Now, she has all the reasons to go wild on destroying your marriage.”
“You think I don’t know that?”
Of course, he knew, but he would risk it all just to go against Mother's rules.
“I want to make Camille mine forever. It's the only time I'd have peace of mind.”
Troy put the ring box into his pocket. “Best of luck, man,” was all I could say.
We went back into the dining room, and the two ladies greeted us with a smiles. Troy helped me stow the dishes in the kitchen; while Amelia and Camille's gossip became more personal, Troy and I gave them some privacy. Amelia seemed more lively after dinner. She chattered away about hospital gossip, and I listened, pretending to understand.
“I'll talk to my father,” Amelia said as I cuddle with her on the sofa. She was watching her favorite TV show.
“For your sake…”
“No, Amelia, “I replied. “Don't do it for my sake; do it for your sake.”
Amelia sighed heavily as she held me even tighter. I was happy the evening had gone well. I was even happier that Amelia considered talking to her father this evening.
****
I went to the hotel today because business called for my attention. My accountant had a gap in his accounting records this month, one that could cost me millions of dollars. I swirled the rolling chair around my huge office, trying to go over the records my accountant had sent to me. My computer was open before me, but I found it hard to concentrate as Amelia’s face kept popping up on the screen.
I was worried about her, but my worrying shouldn't justify the crazy obsession that might be growing in my head. Somehow, I carried her scent with me to my office as everywhere smelled of her expensive cologne and body spray. My assistant, Johnathan, knocked on the door as he turned the knob.
“A lady won’t stop calling the office line,” Johnathan said with panic in his voice. I think he knew who the caller was, but he was trying to be modest.
“Did she give a name?”
“No,” Johnathan replied, “she told me you’d know who, already.”
I wracked my brain to guess who would anonymously call my office line. I wondered if Amelia was pulling some harmless prank on me, but she wasn’t in a state of mind to do that yet.
“Did she leave a message?”
“No, she only said you should call her immediately,” Jonathan said. “It sounded urgent.”
It hit me that only one person was so mischievous as to get a hold of my office number – Julia.
The only reason Julia called my office was because I’d blocked her number on my home line.