"Can you really afford all my debt?" Maya asked.
Vincent actually laughed. It was a single, sharp bark but it still counted. "I promise you that no amount of debt would be too much for me. You'll be fine. And in case you have reservations, I do have everything written down right here in this contract."
He pulled a sheaf of papers out of his laptop bag and handed them to her. She read over it quickly—she had always been a speed reader—and noticed that there wasn't anything weird about it aside from the fact that it was being offered in the first place.
The terms were exactly as he had offered and she couldn't detect any loopholes or clauses that would cause her problems later. This offer really was too good to be true. How desperate was this man to have a "partner"?
Maya was tired. She didn't like working at this job she was overqualified for and she was fairly certain that a few more days at the women's shelter would completely destroy what was left of her sanity. She had no real reason to say no, especially since Vincent didn't expect any physical favors in exchange.
She sighed. "Fine. But don't we need a witness in order to sign this?"
Vincent's lips twitched again. "I think I hear one coming right now."
Sure enough, another customer was entering the store. This was incredibly unprofessional of her but she was about to quit anyway...she got their order and made it quickly before asking them to act as a witness for the contract signing.
The man looked at her like she was nuts but did as she asked. Feeling apprehensive yet relieved at the same time, Maya didn't know what she was supposed to do now. Her boss was still in the back conducting interviews and she was the only one manning the shop.
"Uh…I can't do anything until my boss comes out," she said a bit sheepishly.
Vincent shrugged. "I can wait. In the meantime, can I have my usual order?"
She couldn't believe he still cared about getting coffee and a danish at a time like this. He was acting way too casual considering she just agreed to his impromptu proposal. She would kill to know what was going on inside that head of his.
"…sure."
Maya got to work making that for him and her boss finally came out of the office with another person by the time she was done. He bid them farewell cheerfully before turning to her.
"I finally managed to hire two more people! You won't have to deal with the rush by yourself anymore."
"Actually, I won't have to deal with the rush at all. I've experienced a change in circumstances that require my immediate attention. I quit. Thanks for letting me work here as long as you have; I did really need the job," she said casually.
He gaped at her. "Are you serious?!"
"Dead serious. Later, boss." Maya took off her company apron and visor and handed them to him with a real smile because of the look on his face. This was actually kind of fun. She turned to Vincent and said, "Shall we?"
He nodded pleasantly in agreement and held out his arm to escort her like a maiden in a Regency drama. She nearly snorted at the sight but figured what the heck? She may as well go all the way with her dramatic exit.
They made it out of the shop and to Vincent's car, which was way fancier and more high-tech than she would have anticipated. It was a two-seater sports car that reminded her oddly of the Batmobile from the old Batman cartoons she watched as a kid. It appeared that he truly didn't have a problem paying off her debts after all.
Suddenly Maya felt a bit awkward. Who had she just signed her life away to?
"So uh…what now?" she asked trying to hide her nerves.
"We need to go to wherever you keep your important documents so we can proceed with getting a marriage certificate. I would like to get this taken care of today," Vincent replied simply.
Today? He seriously wanted to get married today? It wasn't like she had anyone she cared about inviting but didn't he have any friends or family members that would be put out about not being invited to his wedding?
Maya put that aside when a thought struck her. Her important documents were in a safe in the office of the women's shelter. She had to go back there to get her two suitcases' worth of items that she had been able to take with her when she was evicted anyway but she was embarrassed about Vincent seeing how far she had fallen.
Which was stupid since he already knew she was considering becoming a stripper to pay off her debts. Living in a women's shelter was tame by comparison.
She sighed. "Turn left up here."
She continued giving him directions until they arrived and instructed him to stay outside. She told the woman in the office that she needed to take out her documents because she had found a place to live.
Guilt squirmed in her stomach when Maya saw how pleased she was. The woman genuinely thought her situation had gotten better and that she was now able to stand on her own two feet, which was the goal for all women and their children that came to stay here.
That wasn't necessarily the case. She may have gone out of the frying pan and into the fire with this bizarre deal one of her regular customers had proposed. She had no idea how things were going to be from here on out but anything had to be better than living here and slaving away at the coffee shop on her feet eight hours a day, right?
She thanked the woman for all of her help up until this point before gathering up the binder that held her important documents and her two suitcases. She left the women's shelter for what was hopefully the last time in her life with a heavy sigh, steeling herself for the uncertain future she had chosen.
Maya would rather venture into the unknown than stay with the familiar yet terrible. She had to keep reminding herself of that as she felt slightly sick for agreeing to this.
She had told herself after the fiasco with that rotten creep Scott Langford that she would never get involved with a man again. Yet here she was, actually on her way to get married to a man she only had her first proper conversation with today.
Vincent's silver eyes were sharper and colder than before when she returned to the car. "You didn't mention you were staying at a women's shelter."
Maya raised an eyebrow. How had he known? He hadn't come inside with her and it wasn't like they advertised the location or anything. There wasn't even a sign. They did things that way to keep abusers away; security was tight.
This particular women's shelter was a series of connected houses in a neighborhood that looked like any other houses. You couldn't see from the street that their backyards were all connected because there weren't any fences between them.
The one she had stayed in before was disguised as a daycare tucked away in a residential area with no advertising or online presence. Even though the buildings were different, the feeling she got staying in them was exactly the same. Absolute hopelessness.
"I didn't find it relevant. How did you know it was a women's shelter?" she asked with narrowed eyes.
Vincent's brow furrowed—the most expression he had shown in front of her—and he didn't answer. Okay then. He was certainly welcome to keep his secrets since she didn't exactly consider him a confidant either.
He was a means to an end. Maya had no intention of getting closer to him than the contract required. Whatever he needed a partner for was going to be the extent of her involvement with him.
She decided to break the silence permeating the car after a few minutes. "Hey, if I'm gonna get married today, can I at least put on something nicer than my old work clothes?"
The apron and visor belonged to the café but the black shirt and pants were hers. She didn't want to wear something so blah to the courthouse. Whoever was marrying them might get suspicious.
Vincent seemed surprised though his face didn't exactly show it. It was hard to explain but she could just tell.
"You want a wedding dress?"
"No. I don't care about that but a dress or at least a skirt would be nice. I have something in one of my suitcases that should work," Maya said with a shrug.
One suitcase was full of clothes while the other was full of the handful of sentimental items she had managed to accrue over the course of her life. It really wasn't much considering the way she lived for most of it but she still didn't want to leave those things behind.
She had brought her one pair of black pumps with her. She had a dress that should work with that. The dress wasn't all that fancy—she wasn't much of a shopper—but it would do the job.
Vincent shook his head. "No, if you're going to wear a dress, it should be something new for the occasion. We can stop at a clothing store before we go to the courthouse."
Maya tried protesting that it really wasn't necessary but was ignored. She sighed and let him do what he wanted. Maybe he was self-conscious about getting married in a baby blue polo shirt and wanted to get himself something to wear as well.