BARGAIN
"WHAT?!" Suzanne barked out. "ME?! Dang, you must be as crazy as they say!"
He merely gave her a short look before focusing on Henry. "What do you say, Henry? Would you give me your daughter's hand in marriage?"
"Marriage?" Ruth was baffled. "You, marry Suzanne? After you…"
She did not complete her words, but everyone knew what she was about to say. She was insinuating that he killed Diane, and now he wanted to take one of hers. Suzanne stepped down on her anger; now was not the right time to show it. She went to a decorum school, after all. They teach manners and timing with great skill. She would not marry him; that was not what they had come here for. She looked to her father for support, to see the same kind of anger that she felt.
That was however, not what she saw on his face when she looked at him. He had a wild, calculative look, like he was grasping at the seams of the hint of an opportunity. Suzanne felt a twinge of disappointment. What was he doing? This wasn't what they discussed. The initial plan was to get him to confess, record it and send it to the police and media. No matter how rich he was, he would not escape it if they take it to the right sources. Now he had to change the plan at the end and come here to do what, tale some bribe?
"Dad," Suzanne called.
"Why do you want to marry her before giving us the money?" Henry was saying to Andrei. "You owe us."
"I do not owe you, and it is my money, so I can do whatever the hell I want with it."
"You killed Diane," there was a broken edge in Henry's voice.
"There is no proven fact to your accusation," Andrei smirked cruelly. "What? Because I dated her and put her into the world?"
"Because you sent us her body!"
"Isn't that what a gentleman would do?" Andrei raised his hands like one who was casting judgment into the earth. "Will you or will you not take the deal?"
"Three hundred million," Henry said.
Andrei brought down his hands, "What?"
"Three hundred million. You want my daughter, you're going to have to pay for it."
Suzanne was baffled. "DAD!"
Ruth grabbed her hands with tears in her eyes, telling her to stay put. Andrei merely glanced at her and away, as if she was no more than a product he did not care for. She was beginning to think that this was what he wanted; to infuriate her family into taking drastic action towards him. The surprise in his face when he saw that Henry wanted to take the deal was sort of fulfilling for Suzanne, but not all the way through as she's the bait in this whole mess.
"I don't want your daughter," Andrei said. "Matter of fact, I have no need for her. I am merely trying to help you and you're increasing your price?"
"Help me?" Henry shot back. "You owe me and you say you do not! I ask that you fix my company, and you're refusing to do so!"
Andrei looked at the door they had come through, as though regretting his decision to bring them in. The topic of Diane was getting rather boring and insensitive; Suzanne hoped her father would stop bringing it up as an avenue to extort from him.
Suzanne looked at Andrei again. He still had that mean expression on his face, but she could see the calculative mask within. He suddenly turned to her, and their eyes met.
Suzanne gasped.
He had intense grey eyes. She hadn't even noticed it until she stared at him. His thoughts did not reflect in his eyes, they were locked up wherever they were. What she did notice, however, was the way his countenance changed after critically studying her. He turned to Henry with a new purpose.
"What is her name?" he asked.
"Suzy," Henry answered.
"Suzanne," she corrected.
"Suzanne," Andrei said, and her name sounded so velvety in his lips. "She is stunning, but not particularly so. Mr. Mackenzie, I think we set off on the wrong foot."
Henry arched an eyebrow at him. "You think?"
"Yes. You see, life becomes very lonely when you're alone in a mansion," he vaguely gestured to the house. "I would have come sooner, but I guess this company incident of yours served a hand in bringing us closer."
Suzanne instantly became suspicious of his tone, his countenance, and the soft way he spoke despite his cold appearance. She saw that her father was suspicious too, but his inquisition far outweighed his intuition.
Henry stepped towards Andrei sub-consciously. "What do you mean?"
"It means that I would have come even if you didn't, Mr. Mackenzie. There is something I need from you." Andrei walked to Suzanne and stood directly in front of her. "Her."
He was so close that she could smell the faint scent of his woody shampoo.
"It's not possible," Suzanne said. "You cannot have me."
"I can, and I will." He looked up at Henry with an infuriating smile. "It so happens that I am lonely, and you need help. We have two things in common, don't you think?"
"It was exactly the same thing we were discussing," Henry said, a bolt of panic in his voice.
"Oh, no it isn't, Mr. Mackenzie. You wanted money, and I only said that you give me Suzanne as a joke. However, I do not think I find it funny anymore."
Andrei lifted a finger and touched Suzanne's cheek. So soft, so fleeting. It was gone as soon as she felt it.
"I have missed Diane so much, and I think I am willing to find a replacement in her sister," he finished.
Suzanne's face was so red that she thought she was going to burst. Andrei smiled at this, then turned fully to look at Henry.
"Let us make it a bargain, shall we? I fix your company, make it stable and running, and I will remit a hundred thousand to you every month for support. As an exchange, you will let me have your daughter for a year."