Lucia's heart was beating in her chest, she could feel him studying her and she was trying to avoid those piercing eyes of his, then she heard him say,
"Hello Lucia, I believe we've met before".
She gulped, "yes we have".
"Yes I remember you", he said, smiling ruefully as he motioned for her to take a seat, "you ruined my sixty-thousand dollar suit".
Lucia nearly choked, she straightened up in her seat, she wasn't going to let him see the effect he had on her, "I'm sorry for my behavior that night Mr. Baxter, it was unbecoming. But in my defense, you wrongfully accused me of being a gold digger", she said and stared him squarely in the eye.
Stefan was taken aback, he could see a fire in her eyes, "what can I do for you Ms. Delgado?", he asked and reclined on his seat.
"As you've been told, I'm a writer for The Scope and we wanted an interview with you", she said.
"On what?", he asked.
Slightly pissed at his apathetic demeanor, she retorted, "it's no news that you are one of the richest men in Seattle, and at such a young age, we want to know how you're taking all of this".
Gary's head popped back through the door, "um sir, your mother is on the phone, she says it's urgent".
"Tell her I'll be with her soon", he was sure she wanted to remind him of their family dinner, which also meant that he needed to get a wife as soon as possible.
"Can I go on?", Lucia's voice interrupted.
Just then, an idea popped into his head, "I'll grant you an interview", he said.
Lucia couldn't believe her luck, "wow, thank you so m-",
"On one condition", he interrupted.
"And that is?",
"You agree to be my wife".
Lucia was dumbstruck, she wasn't sure she had heard him quite right, "Excuse me?".
"Did I stutter?", he retorted.
"You just asked me to be your wife", she said.
"Yes",
"I don't understand", she was becoming exasperated.
Stefan sat up and leaned forward on his table and stared straight into her eyes, "you want an interview with me and I want someone to pose as my bride for a certain period until I file for a divorce and we go our separate ways".
"And if I say no?", Lucia asked.
"Then you can quietly get out of my office Ms. Delgado, I don't have all day", he said and smiled his usual charming smile. Lucia's insides swirled,
"You can't do that", she said.
"Sweetheart I'm Stefan Baxter, I can do whatever the fuck I want". Lucia went silent. She was contemplating what to do, if she didn't get this story, she could lose her job, and as much as he is enticing to think about, marrying Stefan Baxter could cause a ripple in her life that she wasn't ready to handle. She was at a loss for what to do.
"And besides, you owe me a favor, I mean, after you ruined my evening and not to mention, my favorite suit, this is the least you could do", he said shrugging. Not that he cared about the suit, he just wanted Lucia to feel guilty about it so that she would give in, he had seen a possible solution to the problem with his mother, and he wasn't ready to let go. Also, she had an innocence about her and Stefan admired that, he didn't want to ask any of his sexual flings because they would cause trouble with the press, they were all after the money, but Lucia seemed different.
"You don't have to give me an answer straight away, my assistant would be in touch with you by tomorrow, I'll be expecting your decision then", he said looking at her, "and I'm sure your people gave you an ultimatum, so the earlier you decide, the better", he said and stood up.
Lucia, still confused, stood up and shook his hand, "just give me time to think about it", she said. He nodded and said, "of course, my assistant would be in touch". As she was leaving, he added, "and oh Lucia, it's a Non Disclosure Agreement, meaning no one must know about this".
*********************
"Arrgggggghhhhhhhhh!", Lucia was screaming into her pillow later that day.
"Yikes, was the interview that bad?", Jenna asked, she was at Lucia's place.
"He's just being so difficult, God he's so annoying!", Lucia said and threw her pillow against the wall.
"Okayyyy, don't take it out on Mr. Pillow here, in fact, you should be grateful he agreed to an interview with you after what you did, Stefan Baxter doesn't take kindly to insults, he's one arrogant son-of-a-bitch", Jenna said.
"Well, he didn't entirely agree to it….",
"I don't understand,'' Jenna said, confused.
"He gave me an offer, and I dunno Jenna, if I don't do this, it could affect my job, and if I do, it could affect my life", she said looking at Jenna for help.
"Umm, isn't it obvious? Duh, lose the job and keep your life intact Lue, besides, what is this offer anyways?",
Lucia wanted to speak, but she remembered that it was a Non Disclosure Agreement, an NDA, "I don't think I'm allowed to talk about it".
"Oh", Jenna said, "even with close friends?",
"Even with close friends". Lucia said.
"Oh", Jenna said, a little hurt, "oh alright", she was standing up to leave, "um Janine is gonna be home anytime soon, she didn't take her key so I've got to Lue",
"Uhh, okay", Lucia said.
"Laters Lue, and don't worry, you'll figure this out".
"I hope so".
At work the next day, Lucia was patiently seated in her boss's office. She had decided the night before that she wasn't going to do the interview, and if it meant that she was going to lose her job, so be it.
"Lucia, how are you this fine morning?"Leticia singsonged as she entered her office, she was in a good mood.
"Great", Lucia said nervously, "um Leticia I wanted to talk about the interview", Leticia didn't let her finish,
"Yunno Lucia, a new spot just opened up, Sibel turned in her resignation yesterday, and if you play your cards right and get me this interview, you might just be well on your way to the senior-level writing position". Lucia's mouth was agape. She couldn't believe it, not only would she be a writer for The Scope, but she would be a senior writer, meaning her original content gets to be published, she thought about the deal with Stefan, maybe it wasn't such a bad idea after all, it would be done and over with before she knew it. "So what about the interview?", Leticia brought Lucia out of her reverie, "what?"Lucia asked momentarily confused, "the interview?, umm yeah, I just wanted to say that I would get it ready before my time expires".
Leticia looked at her for a moment, "Okay, fine, anything else?",
"No ma'am", Lucia said and left her office, she was going to let Stefan know of her decision, she was going to be his wife.
.