Marriage Of Convenience: A BWWM Billionaire Love Story (8 page)

“
It
was cool. I mean they really do some good work. I was inspired. And
she’s
the project manager.”

“
She
as in the mystery woman you think will make the perfect bride?”
Jaime asked.

“
The
mystery woman I
know
will make a perfect
bride,”
Jonathon said.

“
So
you asked her already?” Jaime asked straightening up from her
bags.

“
Yes
and no,” Jonathon hedged.

“
What
does that mean?” Jaime asked hands on hips.

“
It
means I made an initial foray into the fray. It's an ongoing
process.”

“
I’m
not James, don’t prevaricate with me boy,” Jaime warned.

Jonathon sighed, “Okay
fine, I propositioned her yesterday. She said no. I pushed. She asked
for time to think about it. I think she’ll see reason.”

“
She
refused huh? That is interesting,” Jaime said.

“
Yeah,”
Jonathon agreed.

“
When
do I meet this paragon of virtue?”

“
I
said I’d give her till tomorrow to decide. I thought I’d
send in the big guns then,” he said grinning at her.

“
Oooh,
am I your big gun Jonny? I’m sure there is some Freudian
analogy there we probably don’t want to explore too closely.”

“
Eww.
So you’ll go in for the final push then?” he asked.

“
Have
I ever said no to you?” Jaime asked.

“
Not
when it counted,” Jonathon said.

*****

Leila was on her third
cup of coffee when Martha walked into her office to tell her she had
a guest from the James Maitland foundation.

“
Who
is it?” she asked straightening her suit and pouring the rest
of the coffee in her money plant.

“
She
didn’t give me a name,” Martha said looking distressed.

“
Never
mind, send her in,” Leila replied.

A tall slim woman
walked in, she had long blonde hair and hazel eyes. She was a woman
past her prime judging by the crow’s feet around her eyes but
that could just be white skin cracking. She looked vaguely familiar.

“
Leila
Masters?” she asked seemingly surprised as she stopped short at
her doorway.

“
Yes?”
Leila said.

“
Huh,”
the woman said. “He didn’t say you were black.”

Leila frowned, “I’m
sorry, is there a problem?”

The woman started and
came forward hand held out in apology, “I’m sorry. You
must think I’m crazy. My name is Jaime Leary, I’m
Jonathon’s mother.”

Leila couldn’t
help it, her face fell, “I see.”

“
Do
you?” Jaime asked.

“
No,
not really,” Leila conceded.

Jaime laughed. “I
see why he likes you anyway,” she said looking her up and down.
“You’re very pretty in a Nubian princess type way.”

Leila didn’t know
whether to take offense or not so she said nothing.

“
Can
I buy you a cup of coffee perhaps?” Jaime asked her, further
throwing her.

“
Er..now?”
she asked.

“
Yes.
Don’t worry, I told your secretary I’m from the
foundation so it should still be considered a business meeting. And
just in case you need to account for your time, I do have a check in
my purse for you.”

Leila hesitated, her
head was whirling and she wasn’t sure what was happening right
now but she came out from behind her desk and followed Jaime out of
the office.

They went to the coffee
shop across the street. It was the middle of the day so the place was
relatively empty. They both ordered cappuccinos and then Leila sat
back and waited to hear what was what.

“
My
son told me what he offered you,” was her opening gambit. Leila
nodded.

“
It
sounds…” Jaime said.

“
Like
high class prostitution? Tawdry? Like selling my soul to the devil?”
Leila filled in for her. Jaime smiled.

“
Yes.
That’s probably what it sounds like to you if you’re
anything like Jonathon thinks you are,” she said.

“
And
you’re here to white wash it? To make it seem all okay?”

Jaime’s smile
widened, “I see why Jonathon likes you. And I guess you’re
right. That’s my job. To make it seem all okay.”

Leila grimaced but said
nothing.

“
My
son was always the popular kid; very athletic, handsome…he
could have any woman he wanted.”

Leila smiled, “So
why bother with lil ol’ me?”

“
Shush
your mouth and listen first. He could always have any woman he
wanted…but he was no good at getting the woman he needed. This
is the first time-“

Leila laughed, “Really?
You’re going with the ‘you’re Ms. Right’
narrative? Save your breath; I ain’t fallin’ for that
romantic bullshit.”

“
You
misunderstand me. This isn’t about romance. It's about choosing
the right woman for your purposes. Jonathon tends to go with his
heart on these types of decisions. It gets him in trouble. This time,
it seems he’s using his head. The question is, are you?”

Leila sighed deeply and
contemplated her cup of coffee, “My mother does need the care.”

“
Uh
huh,” Jaime agreed.

“
And
it's not forever,” Leila continued.

“
Exactly,”
Jaime said.

“
Its
not like I have a boyfriend who'd care,” Leila mused.

“
Always
a plus,” Jaime added.

“
How
am I having this conversation right now?” Leila asked totally
bemused.

“
When
you strip it down to the bare bones, all it is, is spending some time
with an extremely intelligent, funny, billionaire who also happens to
be very easy on the eyes. On top of that, your mother gets what she
needs. Anything else is simply extras, and you set the parameters for
that. What’s not to like?” Jaime asked.

“
Wow,
you’re good,” Leila conceded.

Jaime inclined her head
and smiled, “I aim to please. So? Do we have a deal?”

Leila hesitated then
lifted her coffee cup. “We have a deal,” she said. Their
coffee cups touched briefly and they drank to seal the deal.

*****

“
Well?”
Jonathon asked as soon as she returned.

“
You
didn’t tell me she was black,” Jaime said. Jonathon’s
face fell.

“
Will
that be a problem?” he asked.

Jaime shrugged. “It’s
a complication. Whether or not it is a problem is up to you two I
guess.”

“
It's
not like…” Jonathon said hesitating to finish the
sentence.

“
It's
not like you’re head over heels for her?” Jaime asked; it
sounded like a challenge.

Jonathon shrugged,
“Something like that.”

“
Well
anyway, she’s on board with the plan. Do you have the
paperwork? We should get everything signed and sealed before she has
too much time to reconsider.”

“
Why
does this feel like making deals with the devil…? And we’re
the devil?” Jonathon asked pensively.

Jaime shrugged, “You
can always change your mind.”

Jonathon shook his
head. “I didn’t say I didn’t want to go through
with it,” he said with a reluctant grin.

“
Yeah,”
Jaime agreed, her face impassive. “Anyway, you have the
papers?”

“
No.
But I have the lawyer’s number on speed dial. He could email
the papers in ten minutes.”

“
Do
it,” Jaime said and Jonathon picked up his phone.

*****

“
Ms.
Leila Masters?” a delivery guy said as she opened her door.

“
Yeah?”
Leila said inclining her head inquiringly.

“
I
have a package for you to sign for,” he said and Leila held her
hand out automatically.

“
What
is it?” she asked.

The guy shrugged, “I’m
just the delivery guy.”

“
That’s
what she said,” Leila joked with a laugh. The guy stared at her
like she might be crazy and she stopped mid-laugh and shrugged. The
delivery guy handed her the papers and she closed the door, wondering
what the hell….

The first paper was a
pre-nup, the second was a non-disclosure agreement. Leila stared at
them, frozen in surprise. She and Jonathon’s mother had just
agreed this morning to do this and already…

It was all very fast.
Her phone went off just as she was about to freak out.

FOR THOSE ABOUT TO
ROCK, WE SALUTE YOU

Blared from the tiny
speakers and Leila glared; Sheila had been at her phone again.

She picked it up and
looked at the caller ID; it was a strange number and she hesitated
before picking up. But then she thought of the papers she’d
just received and the possibility that the phone call was related.

“
Hello,”
she said.

“
Hi
Leila. Did you get the papers?” Jonathon asked.

“
Yes,
I did.”

“
I’m
sorry if I did it wrong. I didn’t really have a template for
how to arrange a marriage of convenience,” Jonathon said. Leila
laughed in spite of herself. The knot in her chest had somehow
loosened.

“
Yeah.
Me neither,” she said.

“
Cool.
So we’re both stumbling in the dark. This could be a good
thing,” Jonathon said.

“
How
do you figure?” Leila asked.

“
I
don’t know. The mistakes we make will be our own? We might get
it right by accident?” he said. Leila found she was smiling
from ear to ear.

“
Great.
So you want me to sign these or what?”

“
That
would be great,” Jonathon replied.

“
Then
what?” Leila asked.

“
Then…we
get married,” Jonathon said. He sounded like he was trying to
break it really gently so she didn’t freak out. “I
thought we’d go to the Attorney General’s office, sign
some papers?”

“
Okay…not
exactly the wedding my mother dreamed of but…”

“
You
can have the wedding your mother dreamed of, and she’ll be
healthy and able to walk you down the aisle and you’ll live
happily ever after,” he said.

Leila laughed, “It’s
a nice fairy tale anyway.”

“
Absolutely,”
Jonathon agreed.

There was a small
silence on the line.

“
Okay
then, I’ll sign,” she said at last.

“
Thank
you Leila. I appreciate your help. Oh and look between the second and
third sheets of paper on the pre-nup, there is a small ‘signing
bonus’ for you.”

“
What?
Jonathon…” Leila began to protest.

“
Just
take a look,” Jonathon interrupted.

Leila shuffled the
papers until she came to the right page. A piece of paper fell out
and she leaned down to pick it up. She read the words but halfway
through, her vision blurred. It was an appointment with a respiratory
specialist at the foremost hospital in Georgia. They were expected
there the following Friday, ten am.

“
I
don’t know what to say,” she said into the phone.

“
Don’t
say anything. I’ll be in touch okay?” Jonathon said.

“
Yeah,
okay,” Leila replied. She hung up, shuffled through the papers,
read through them carefully. Her severance pay after a minimum of two
years of marriage was generous. It got higher the longer she stayed
which was an interesting twist. The care and treatment of her mother
was not expressly stated, but then it was a pre-nup not a contract.
It simply referred her to a separate one sheet document in which the
nuts and bolts of their marriage contract was outlined. It was fairly
comprehensive and she was satisfied that every contingency was
covered.

“
Well…good
then,” she said.

She picked up her pen
and signed all three documents, letting out a breath after it was
done.

“
There
you go Leila, you just signed away at least two years of your life.
Congratulations!” she said.

“
What
you congratulating yourself about?” Sheila asked wandering into
her room and startling Leila quite badly.

“
When
did you get here?” she asked as a distraction.

Sheila shrugged, “Half
an hour ago. I thought I’d check on your mom; didn’t
expect you to be here yet.”

“
I
left work early. I figured I deserved a personal day after the stress
of the past few weeks. Why am I explaining myself to you?”

Sheila laughed and
shrugged, “You’re avoiding my question.”

“
I
was just congratulating myself on my upcoming nuptials,” Leila
found herself saying.

“
Say
what now?” Sheila asked almost dropping the glass of juice she
was carrying.

“
Yeah.
I’m getting married,” Leila said enjoying the look of
utter shock on Sheila’s face.

“
Who
are you marrying?” she asked, totally stupefied.

Leila shrugged, “You’ll
see. Now gimme some juice. I’m thirsty.”

Raychelle was admitted
to the hospital for tests so she couldn’t attend the wedding.
That was fine, in fact, it was a relief. Leila could embellish at
will if she wanted to when she told her about it. They went to the
attorney general’s office that Saturday with Ken and Niall as
witnesses. Leila thought about calling Sheila but there would be too
much to try to explain. She figured this way was better. She’d
present them with a fait accompli, come up with some reason why the
wedding was just so rushed and then try to fake it for the next two
years so they didn’t think anything was the matter. Still, it
was going to be a struggle and she knew it. Her family knew her well;
they would know something was off about this whole thing.