The Marriage Deal [Jenlisa FF]

Part 2

It felt like she'd been staring at the piece of paper on her desk for hours, when in fact, it had only been twenty minutes. Twenty longs, agonizing minutes of planning and wondering, decisions and answers, changing her mind over and over again until she came up with a new answer she disliked even more. For probably the first time in her life, she found herself in a quarry.

Lisa Manoban didn't shock easily, not as a habit. Being one of the top defence attorneys in South Korea, she was expected to remain non-plussed by any course of events, no matter what the twist. And in thirty years of life, nothing had ever shocked her more than her uncle's will. Even two weeks later, she was still amazed. And screwed.

'I, John Bruschweiler , in the event of my death, bequeath the bulk of my estate to my niece Lalisa Manoban on her thirty-first birthday. However, the sum of two hundred million dollars will be given to her only on the day of her wedding. If she is not married by the age of thirty-one, and married for three years following, she shall receive nothing except the law firm of John and Pryce. The money will be taken away and distributed among other family members if said marriage lasts less than three years.'

After having read the will at least a million times, Lisa shook her head. "This is complete bullshit," she stated, not caring that she was alone in her office, and nobody could hear her. "Why? What the hell did I ever do to Uncle John?"

She just didn't know. Granted, her uncle John Bruschweiler had always been rather peculiar, but Lisa never thought anything of it. She had been John's favourite niece, giving her a job at his prestigious law firm the day after she graduated from law school. But the codicil in the will, that was over the top, even for John. Her uncle was always on her back about settling down with the right girl and getting married, but Lisa had laughed every single time.

"Why bother looking for Miss Right when I'm having so much fun with Miss Wrong?" Lisa quipped each and every time. "I don't want to settle down."

"You will someday, Lalisa."

"It's Lisa. Nobody calls me 'Lalisa' anymore, Uncle John," she corrected. "And I refuse to get married. Ever."

Picking up her pen and grabbing a blank sheet of paper, Lisa began to think. "This must be some form of cruel and unusual punishment to make me get married. After what I went through with my parents, how could Uncle John make me suffer through that?" she wondered aloud.

A list of potential brides ran through the lawyer's mind. 'Bella? no, she's married already. Wendy was *way* too much of a nutcase for my liking. I can't imagine spending three years with her. Serena? No, she'd cling the second I tell her about the money. This is going to be next to impossible! There is not a single woman I know whom I could trust enough to marry for three years.'

'I don't *want* a wife, but I *need* one. I need someone who won't get too emotionally attached, because as soon as the three years is up, I'm gone. Sure, I'll give her a little something for her troubles, but that's it. The last thing I'm looking for is a lifetime commitment; it will be a marriage in name only. Sex just complicates things.'

Her intercom buzzed as she was putting away her papers, coming up with no possible matches for her search. "Yeah, Minnie?" she asked her secretary through the speaker.

"There's a Miss Kim here to see you. She said she doesn't have an appointment," her secretary told her.

'Miss Kim?' Lisa thought, knitting her eyebrows together. 'I don't know anyone with that last name. Unless ...no, I don't think that was Andrea's last name. Besides, we only met last night, and we never got around to last names; she couldn't possibly know where to find me.'