Business Deal

Chapter 3 - Will she? Won't she?

"I've got to be adult about things Lettie, you must see that?"

Lettie shook her head furiously, "you aren't this woman, you know that. This is the sort of thing I do, cos I can cope with it, the uncertainty, the recklessness. You can't! You don't do cheap affairs, you don't do casual sex, hell the one time you threw caution to the wind in your WHOLE life, that prick breaks your heart!"

Melissa stood and started to pace, "Ryan didn't break my heart, I was devastated when he disappeared, but more because I looked a fool, and because it was days after burying my father. I don't miss him. You are the one who falls in love every five minutes, I'm the one who rationalizes things."

Lettie stared at her for an age, "I think this is too much for you sweetheart, you're not as strong as you make out. I go into things aware of the consequences, preparing to fail. You don't."

"If I don't do this he'll wait till we're liquidated, then destroy everything. Why should all those investors and employees lose everything because of my stupidity?" Melissa hated that the tears were so close to falling, but Lettie had seen her cry more times than she cared to remember. 

Lettie grabbed her friends' shoulders, "Liss, you didn't do this. You loved a man and he used you, he hurt you. Ryan Porter is a cheating bastard, and all this is his fault. Don't do this, don't let him destroy you. If you go away and let Liam Hart do this then Ryan wins all over again."

Melissa shook her head, "I've known everyone at Wharton's since I was a baby Lettie, they're like family. How can I see them lose their jobs, their shares, their pensions.....I can't do it. If I have to crawl around naked at Liam's beck and call then it'll be worth it to guarantee they all have secure futures. At the end of the day, Ryan slept with me purely to get my money. What's different if I sleep with Liam for money too. Hell I can't be ruined twice. At least I'm going into this head first with my eyes wide open. It's just sex after all. How hard can this be?"

Melissa tried to ignore the impending decision all week. On Tuesday she received several emails from Liam asking questions about various issues in the documentation she'd given him. There was no personal discussion or mention of the weekend, but the fact that he was plowing on with the technical side of the deal meant that nothing had changed. 

Wednesday she couldn't cope anymore. She sent him a quick email, 'I don't think I can do this Liam. It's all a bit over my head. Can't we discuss things more rationally?'

Liam was sat looking out over the Thames when the email popped up on his screen. He'd been trying to work out how he'd got himself into this predicament all week. His desire for the Wharton company, and his own wounded pride meant that he couldn't...and wouldn't back down. When the plea came via email he knew he had two choices. But for some reason, the words seemed to type themselves.

Melissa had barely pressed send when his reply almost immediately pinged on her laptop screen. 

'New York is a great place, you'll have the days to yourself, it's only the evenings that I'll need your company. It'll be fun Melissa, I find you intriguing, I think we'll get along really well. But it is your choice. How much do you want my financial help?'

She pondered this reply for several hours, it was such a big risk, but he seemed to know her too well already. How much did she want his help? More than anything! Her inbuilt sense of duty to the other people she'd let down meant she had to do this. She didn't reply, but later that day the tickets came via courier as promised. All evening they sat on her kitchen table like a flashing light, a constant reminder of how low she was having to sink to make up for her impulsiveness with Ryan Porter. 

Packing a bag that night she was still unsure whether she would go. She was never a risk taker, the least likely to gamble on anything. Except for one time...But inevitably her own guilt ruled her. It was her fault that things had gone wrong, her naivety and her lust for a different tall handsome man.