A Curvy Deal

Negociations

JANE

Mr Brown showed me to a large room with huge sofa sets and an enormous chandelier hanging as centerpiece. As usual the whole decor screamed luxury and elegance. I blinked my eyes trying to get rid of the fatigue. Last night was a sleepless one. I tried to sleep but to no avail. Everytime Mr ALEXANDER'S proposition popped up. I must admit that it was an excellent solution for both of us. In a contract marriage you must go through every possible bad turn. The main ones being blackmailed to wanting something more physical from it. I got a bit hot thinking about the latter. Emilio was drop dead gorgeous. He was well built, not the lean athletic type. There was more body and muscles. You could see his biceps flexed under his designer suits and this left me wondering how good he must be naked. His face was built in arrogance and pure confidence with strong jaw lines and piercing black eyes which could stir any dead soul. But I knew I wasn't his type and nor was he mine. In my life everything was supposed to be logical and practical. A relationship even only a physical one was impossible between the two of us. He would never like to be with a fat girl like myself. His type was used to classy girls dripping in pearls and diamonds with designer everything. I was way way out of his league. This did hurt a little bit but atleast I was well aware of this fact. So this might turn out to be a good deal. Here in this case, we both had something on the line so it was obvious no one would go behind the other to create a complicated situation. Also Emilio was super rich, i didnt have to bother about him trying to take my little savings. But I guess he might think that I would go for his wealth and status. I would have to convince him that I wasn't this type of person. I was dragged out my reverie when I heard my name
'Jane' he called. I turned to see him standing next to me and looking at me with a perplexed expression on his face. Oh my god how long has he been here? I didn't think aloud, did i? I blinked fast, tried to regain my posture and put my hand forward
'Good morning, Mr Alexander' He moved a bit closer and took my hand into his. I never thought that my plus size hands would feel small in his large and rough ones. I felt a sort of electricity when our skin touched. I looked at him to see if he felt the same but his face was blank. I should stop thinking about him. He dropped my hand and said
'Good morning Jane. I think you should call me by my name now that we are going to be husband and wife' I quickly look away from him and tried not to stutter
'You.. You mean you agree to get into this contract thing?' Get a hold on yourself girl I screamed mentally at myself.
' Yes, were you expecting something else? Did you come here to refuse the deal?' I inhaled deeply and moved closer to the window. The view was spectacular from this room. I needed a bit space away from him, he was too close and I was afraid I would let my wayward hormones get in between logic and sense. I did not look at him still and said
' I was 90% percent sure that you will refuse this deal. After all as I pointed out yesterday we have nothing in common.' He quickly asked
'What about the 10% then? What will be your repsonse if the situation was within those 10%?' I smiled. I must admit he was quite witty and quick. I turned to face him.

'we  still have to go over many things including conditions'
'Conditions?' he asked. I was about to tell him when his father walked towards us
'Hello Jane, how are you? Please have a seat.' I sat on the closest sofa which was a three seater one and was a bit surprised when Emilio chose to sit next to me. I did not know why I was bothered so much by his closeness. He wasn't even that close to me. Damn hormones.. Reel yourself in I mentally scolded myself.
' I know about Emilio's decision. What about yours Jane?' Mr Alexander asked
'As I told your son before, I was expecting him to disagree..'
'Why were you expecting him to say no?' interrupted Mr Alexander. I continued
'Well first of all we are a complete mismatch. I believe your son here, if ever he choose to get married, will choose someone closer to his lifestyle and needless to say I am not that. I still think that going ahead with this will be very difficult. People will have a hard time believing that this business tycoon fell for a nobody. I mean you could have a line of pretty and famous people willing to enter a contract marriage with him and yet you choose me. Why me? My visa problem could have been solved another way. ' Mr Alexander was staring at some invisible on the table between us. He was silent for a moment and then said
' You are right here Jane. You are doing us more a favor than entering a 50 50 deal. The thing is that you are the best candidate we have. Emilio, even if it's true that he has a rather large number of female acquaintances, cannot simply trust anyone with this. We have too much at stake her Jane. And I know you. I know how hard working you are and most importantly how you handle situations with fairness and tactness. We needed someone like you so your visa problem was just icing on the cake' Woah this wasn't what I expected to hear from Mr Alexander. He was being honest and I couldn't just turn my back on this. Emilio shifted in the sofa next to me drawing my attention.
' Look Jane, I know this is hard. It is hard for me too but we can atleast enter this deal as two people who are trying their best to save what matters to them. My grandma's happiness matters a lot to me and I know your careers matters to you. This is enough for us understand each other' he said while holding my gaze. I tried to break the contact but there was something holding me back almost as if projecting me towards him. I could feel a pull nudging me to go towards this person. The person i should try to avoid as much as I could. I closed my eyes and said
' I am willing to do the contract thing but...' I opened my eyes and looked at him
' There are conditions Emilio'
Mr Alexander interjected
' We can discuss about the amount you'll get once the contract is over. You can opt for a transaction right after signing the papers or after completion of.....' He stopped and looked at me in a strange way. It must be because I was utterly confused about what he was saying. What amount? What transaction? Ohhhh
' You are thinking about money?'i asked Emilio
' Yes, do not worry. We will give you whatever is reasonable and you could..... '
' Stop! I do not want money for this. I never meant money for God sake' I tried to control myself and inhaled deeply and continued. Obviously both of them were quite startled
' By conditions I meant, where am. I suppose to stay? Obviously we will have separate rooms but will we stay in the same house? For how long should we go on with the marriage pretense? There should not be any public appearances together. For example attending parties etc... I do not want that. I do not want my colleagues to know that I am married to my boss's son.. Too many complications'
' Jane dear, one day or the other they will know.. It is not something you can hide from them. You will have to tell them as soon as possible' reprimanded Mr Alexander.
'So I am supposed to explain that one day I am a hardcore spinster and the other one I am happily married to prince charming?' Emilio chuckled next to me and I had no idea why but then he said
'This is why we need planning. We need to go through every single details to make this convincing, not only for my family but for the immigration office too' He paused and took a catalogue from the table. He handed it over to me and went on
' There are some jewelry designs in it. Choose one that you like for the wedding ring. Choose for me too if you like. We will stay in my apartment which is two blocks away from this building. The contract will be for 1 year term. I do not like parties much so there will not be any public appearances but yes you can be clicked by some paparazzi. But don't worry I will have my security detail look after those situations if ever it happen. But first are there any other things you will like to know or clear out?'
I was surprised by his prompt and firm replies. There has been something that I wanted to discuss with him.
' There's something I wanted to request you. I know it sort of personal but I have to make it clear before we go forward... It's humm... Uhh.. '
' Jane you have nothing to be afraid of. I will do everything I can to make this as comfortable as it can be for you... '
I hesitated and finally let it out
' If people are going to assume that we are really married, I would like to request you to keep your relationships away from the house I'll be staying' I was staring at my lap and the silence was a bit too long. I hesitantly lifted my gaze to meet his and saw  his confused. I sighed and went on explaining
'Look for 1 year of fake marriage, i will not expect you to abstain from, uhmm, physical or whatever relationship you are having at the moment, or whatever you choose to have in the future. My only request is that you keep it under wrap and don't do it in the house I'll be living in' There it was. I blurted it all out. I turned to look at Mr Alexander and he looked like he was enjoying whatever was going on between me and his son. Emilio stared at me before saying
' Jane, I will try as much as possible to avoid situations that may be embarrassing to you but I expect you to do the same.' I smiled at him and replied
' Oh you don't have to worry about this where it concerns me...' you idiot! I kicked myself mentally.
' Huh I mean to say I will respect our marriage. ' Mr Alexander sort of saved me when he quickly asked
' So that's it then. Do we have a deal?'
' Deal' Emilio said
' Deal' I confirmed.