"Where is he now?" Nancy asked without turning around, her swivel chair facing the breathtaking view of Manhattan's skyline.
Emma swallowed hard. Coming to see her had been a mistake per se, but coming to her office had been worse. She felt like a hopeless rabbit that had just entered the wolf's lair. But it was necessary, for his sake. "It doesn't matter where he is," she said, willing strength into her words. It was time to bring Allison Healy back, or at least her fierce nature that bowed to no one.
"Doesn't it?" Nancy laughed, turning around. "Doesn't it all revolve around him?"
"I know about your deal." Emma said in a flat tone without beating around the bush. It'd taken a lot to convince Alexander to go back to New York, and she'd been able to only on condition that she accepted the apartment and the job he'd found for her.
Right now, there he was, still sleeping in the same bed where they'd cuddled each other until dawn after having made love. Emma knew the memory of that night would be the most endearing one of her life, and she would cherish it forever, whichever the outcome of this meeting would be.
He would wake up soon, but she didn't want to go back to him before having solved the problem. It was the one thing she could do for him, after all. "I know everything."
"Awww, he confessed? So cute."
"I am not here to discuss the nature of your relationship, Nancy. I'm only here to make a deal."
"Oh?" The young lawyer feigned surprise.
Emma pursed her lips, taking a moment to think carefully about her next words. It was always like that, around Nancy you could not speak without thinking, she would use it against you sooner or later. "Maybe you two have known each other longer, he knows you better than I do for sure," she said, "but I believe there's something Alexander hasn't realized yet."
"Which is?"
"That your relationship isn't supposed to have an end in sight." Emma stated. Alexander was hopeful, he thought that in 13 months he would be free and they could start their new life together. If only it were that easy.
There was something he hadn't considered. "Given your ... milestones, any relationship wouldn't suffice," Emma explained, talking to herself more than to Nancy. "What purpose would a timed relationship have, if it didn't involve a more specific end?"
Nancy sneered. "What do you know, the lost kitten can put two and two together."
Emma didn't react to the not so veiled insult. "You intend to set him up, don't you?" She accused without missing a beat. "Either he thinks too high of you, or he's naïve, I don't know which is it. What I do know, is that you don't intend to free him from your contract, do you?"
The young lawyer smirked, standing up and going to stand before her large windows. "Alexander is smart," she conceded, crossing her arms, "but he's still a man. Men can be blind to some things that only women perceive."
"So I'm right."
"I didn't say you were."
"Nancy, let's be honest here." Emma raised her voice, moving closer to the desk the more she acquired strength. At each word she proffered, she felt something of her old self resurfacing, which came in handy when facing someone like the person in front of her right now. Emma pulled a copy of their contract out of her bag, and placed it on the desk.
"Once a thief, always a thief, huh?"
"You should really treat your employees better. That way they won't betray you for free even." Emma scoffed. "But that's beside the point."
"If you think that's my only copy ..."
"Of course, it isn't." Emma rolled her eyes. "Like I said, not the point." She opened the contract to the page she needed, pointing at the bottom of it. "White ink is kind of a childish move," she scoffed, "Alexander didn't see it because he didn't even know to look for it. Marriage," she spat, "you plan to set him up, force him to marry you. And for how long?"
"If you've read the clause, then you know." Nancy shrugged, admiring her nails.
"I don't even want to try to understand your motives, Nancy." Emma spat, slamming the papers onto the desk. "But you cannot trap him like that."
"He signed the contract, he is bound to it."
"You made him sign under false promises. As far as he knows, in 13 months he'll be free, which is far from true. You basically own him for life."
"Well, I wouldn't say life." Nancy laughed wryly. "Just long enough to get what I want."
Emma clenched her jaw. "Which is?"
"None of your business."
"On the contrary," Emma spat, "Alexander's life is my concern. More than it is yours."
"Awww, so you two are a thing now?" Nancy mocked. "How cute. A murderer and a whore, really nice couple."
"Still better than the fake romance you put up for 2 years." Emma shrugged. "Now, what do you want?" She asked sternly. "What would make you rip that stupid agreement?"
"Why would I give up on our deal?"
"Because you cannot force someone to marry you!" Emma yelled, slamming her hands onto the desk as she lost patience. "You cannot chain someone to you, ruin their lives, just to get your way."
"You forget one thing," Nancy scoffed, "the life he has, I gave it to him." She bypassed the desk to get right in front of Emma. "I pulled him out of the shithole he'd sunk in. I gave him a second chance. I made sure that not a single word of his past came out. If Alexander Adams has a second life, it's only because of me." She clenched her jaw. "So, you see, I don't have to force him, because he owes me."
"And for how long? Is the rest of his life enough to repay you? Or maybe he needs another one or two just to be even with you?" Emma scoffed, taking a step closer to her ex-friend. "You cannot buy someone's love, Nancy. You cannot force him to love you, or even think that if he stays long enough, eventually he will come to feel for you what you, evidently, feel for him."
The young lawyer let out a loud coarse laugh, taking a step back. "You think I'm in love with him?" She guffawed. "You people seriously need to stop watching Hallmark movies. Life's not all about love, Emma. There are way more important things than love."
"Nothing is more important than freedom." Emma stated. "Nothing, no goal, no milestone is worth taking someone's freedom."
"Like I said, he had a choice. He chose to sign the contract, he is bound to it."
"He didn't know it would be for life!"
"Which it isn't," Nancy scoffed, "it's just ... a bit longer than he expected."
Emma furrowed her brows, stopping to think for a moment. She would keep him prisoner until she got what she wanted, Nancy had said. What could she possibly want more than marriage? Then, she realized. "A baby." Emma thought out loud. "You ... you're not going to free him until he gives you a baby."
Nancy remained mostly impassive, letting out only a light smirk. She went to lean against her desk, and remained staring at Emma for a long moment, without letting transpire a single emotion. Then, she pressed a button on the intercom. "Holly?" She called her assistant.
"Yes, Ms. Dorsey?" The girl answered promptly.
"Tell security I'm ready now."
"Yes, Ms. Dorsey."
A moment later, two buff men came in, and approached Emma, who wasn't surprised. She'd seen them standing right outside, they'd been called right after she'd been announced. Either Nancy wanted to be sure nothing physical happened, or she just wanted to make a show. Probably the latter, Emma thought.
"I don't need to be escorted out." She shrugged off their hands when the guards tried to grab her. "You think about what I said." Emma told Nancy. "You know where to find me." Having said that, she left.
She knew that getting Nancy to comply wouldn't be easy, but at least now she knew what the woman really wanted from Alexander.
Emma didn't even want to try to understand her motives. Why would anyone trap someone in a marriage and into having a kid? Was Nancy's grandmother's plan that detailed?
However, that wasn't important. What mattered the most was doing anything in her power to free Alexander from his trap. She was certain that only one thing would convince Nancy to let him go. She hoped it wouldn't get that far, but if it did, she would give anything for him.