She had just entered the lobby of the hotel when she heard the phone in her pocket ring. She looked at the screen and saw it was a number she didn't know. She swiped down on her phone to ignore the call.
A second later her phone rang again. She checked the screen and once again it was the same unfamiliar number. She ignored it again. A moment later she heard her phone ding. A text message had just been sent from the same number.
'I am awaiting your response to our conversation this morning. You have until midnight.'
Lillian reread the message a few times before deciding to reply. 'Wrong number.'
Ding, not a second later they sent another text. 'Really?'
What? Who responds that way when someone says wrong number? She hastily replied, 'YES. REALLY.'
'Then why do you appear to be typing on your phone right now?'
Huh? Lillian looked up from her phone and scanned the hotel lobby. Not many people were there aside from her, a couple staff, and another guest. She looked around again when she saw a well dressed man wearing sunglasses seated in the corner of the hotel cafe on the far side of the wide open space. He was sipping what appeared to be a cup of coffee in one hand and waved to her with the other, his cellphone still in his grip. The man was far away and that time of night the lobby was more dimly lit, so she walked over a little and squinted making out the lean figure of Andrew Geldan himself.
Oh my god! I thought that man was cold, but I was wrong. He's crazy! 110% crazy! Who just shows up out of nowhere like that? And where the h*ll did he get my phone number from?
She turned around and bee lined straight for the elevator, ignoring the man in the corner.
Ding, another message came through. 'Would you like to join me for a cup of tea?'
'No' She texted back and made her way back to her room.
However, immediately after she closed the door, she found a note on the table. Her mom wrote that they wanted to give her some space to process the move, and that she and her dad had gone out to get some boxes from the grocery store.
Ah, I still don't have a place to stay? I don't want to move to the farm.
She plopped herself on the bed and stared up at the ceiling, contemplating the state of her life.
Her phone dinged again. This time it was a picture message. Andrew Geldan had texted her a picture of a hot cup of tea placed next to a small plate with a tiramisu cake on it. Lillian only glanced at it before rolling her eyes, when she had a sudden idea.
'Are you still downstairs?' She texted back.
'Yes'
'I'll be right down.'
Lillian put on her warm boots, then headed back down to the lobby cafe.
Andrew Geldan was still sitting in the same spot, but this time he was holding a wine glass instead of a small ceramic cup.
Lillian tentatively, made her way over, shocked by her own change of heart, and quietly sat down across from the man. He swirled around the liquid in his glass and took a small sip, then removed the sunglasses from his face to look Lillian straight in the eyes.
"So. I take it you have an answer for me-"
"I'd like to discuss the contents of the contract." Lillian cut off, anxious to get this over with and not second guess the words about to come out of her mouth.
"Hm?" Andrew gave Lillian an interested look.
"First off, I want you to know that I have no desire to marry you. However, I may be willing to sign the contract if some changes can be made. Number one, $3,000,000 is too unreasonable for a fine. I respect the intention behind it, so I'd like to lower it to $30,000 for myself. Yours may stay at $3,000,000. I think this is fair based on the difference in our financial situation." She paused for a moment to observe Andrew's reaction.
His expression remained unchanged, not giving any information from behind his icy gaze. "Is that all?"
"No, there's more. I don't feel it's right that I be given a promotion in the company based on the signing of this contract. I'd rather find a job based on my own merit and work alone. Though, I appreciate the thought," she added in the last bit, hoping not to offend the CEO based on her remark before sharing her last and most important request. "Maybe it is considered one of the typical engagement activities, but I did not see it clearly written in the contract. Would Party A be given a place to stay, if she agrees to the contract?"
"A lot of people these days don't wait until marriage before moving out from their parent's place. It's common for some to even move in together prior to engagement. I'm not trying to say I want to live with you. I just think it would be better if I moved out from my parents place. An apartment near work would be nice." She trailed off, looking anywhere but at the CEO until she briefly made eye contact and gave a shy smile. "That's everything…"
A long silence passed between them. Nervous, Lillian, downed the cup of tea in front of her in 3 big gulps, then grabbed the bottle of wine and began to fill her teacup.
"Stop." Andrew stuck his hand out to block hers, then motioned to someone to bring over another glass. He took the bottle from her hand and filled the clean glass until it was about a quarter way full. "Here."
"Ah, thank you," Her cheeks flushed a bit with embarrassment when handed the glass.
"I'll have a new version of the contract ready by tomorrow to include your revisions. Meet me at my office tomorrow at 8am."
"Actually, I won't be coming into work tomorrow. I have a family thing I need to take care of."
"Fine, text me your location and I'll send my secretary over with the documents. If you have any problems, you can reach me at the same number."