Charles woke up with a splitting headache. Light was filtering through the partially shut curtains in his hotel room. He doesn't quite remember how he got back to his room, or much of what happened last night. Grumbling, he looks around the room. He notices that there are some clothes and shoes on the ground. Of course, some were his, but the others definitely belonged to a woman.
Charles stopped for a moment. He tried to recall who the woman could be. He looked down at himself, and was still wearing his pants and under shirt. So, it seems nothing too crazy happened last night. But then he looked at his hand, and he noticed a ring on his finger. A wedding band to be precise.
At that moment, a woman dressed only in a towel came out of the bathroom. She looked at him for a moment, and then said, "Good morning, sweetheart!"
Then suddenly, memories flooded into his mind. This was Casie, the girl he met last night while he was fiddling with the slot machines in the casino. He was on a Vegas trip with his friends, they thought it would help him to relieve some stress as he's a workaholic. He remembered they had dinner together, and they watched a show. And then when they almost parted ways, he asked her to marry him then and there.
"You look like you've seen a ghost?" Casie said in a lighthearted tone. She sat at the edge of the bed with her legs crossed.
"I just remembered what happened last night." Charles said in a hoarse voice. He was still recovering from what appeared to be a hang over.
"Which part? The part where we got married?" Casie rested her elbow on her knee with her head in her hand. "Or the part where you got wasted and paid for multiple rounds at the bar?"
"The getting married part." Charles winced at the thought of making a fool of himself.
"Regretting it already?" Casie knitted her eyebrows together. Her long red red hair, that was still damp, hung to her right side. The left side of her head was shaved in a buzz cut. She peered at him with her sharp, green eyes.
"More so the getting wasted. Was I a complete idiot?" He looked back at her with his grey, blue eyes. His short brown hair was a mess. He looked like he had been dragged through the entire strip.
Casie chuckled a bit, and considered her answer. "Hmmm, well, you said that your love for me is never ending, and that I'm the girl of your dreams." She smiled back with a sly look in her eyes.
Charles covered his eyes with his palm and massaged his temples. He leaned forward, getting read to get out of bed. "Well, hopefully no one recorded it."
"Oh, I have proof right here!" She jumped out of the bed, and ran to her bag on the floor. After rummaging for a bit, she brought out her phone. She searched until she found an embarrassing clip.
Charles watched in horror as his self from last night. He was slurring his words all over the place. He looked like a love sick puppy. He couldn't take it anymore, so he took the phone from her hand, and stopped the video.
He breathed a deep breath and held his face in both of his hands. Casie sat beside him on the edge of the bed. She leaned her head on his shoulder, and said, "I hope that your bank account isn't totally drained. Because you definitely paid for several rounds of drinks last night for everyone at the bar."
Charles shot her a questioning look. He lifted his eye brow and asked, "You do know who I am, right?"
Casie raised her head, and replied with a grin, "My husband, Charlie!"
Charles blinked for a couple of seconds. There were very few people who ever referred to him as Charlie, mainly his dad. "I'm Charles Payne, the CEO of Payne Enterprises."
Casie made a slow whistle sound. She was dumbfound for a moment, but quickly regained her senses. "Well, look at you, Mr. Money Bags."
"Did you really not know who I was when we met last night?" He asked her with suspicion. She shook her head to indicate that she had no idea. "Then why did you agree to get married?"
"Ah, well," she stammered a bit, "you were just so sincere, and honestly, I'm so done with the dating scene. I felt an instant connection with you, so I thought, 'hey, let's give this a try!'"
Charles wasn't used to people, especially women, to like him just for him. Most people were looking for some sort of benefits by being acquainted with him. Casie seemed to be honest, and he couldn't see any lies in her statement, so he left it at that. He was about to head to the bathroom to clean up, but then Casie took hold of his wrist.
"Hey, I know all of this is a shock, and truthfully, it hasn't totally settled in for me either. Why don't we make a deal?" He nodded in agreement. "How about, we try being husband and wife for one year, and if we decide that we can't make it, then I'll walk away without taking a dime. I'm not as well off as you, but I don't really care about your money or anything, if that's your concern."
Charles thought about it. It didn't seem like a terrible deal. He didn't have to worry about the piranhas in the dating pool. And he does seem to really like being with Casie. She doesn't seem bothered by his status in the least. So, he stuck out his hand to shake on the deal. Casie returned in kind.
"Deal!" They both exclaimed at the same time.