The Black Chapel (5 page)

We finish our meal discussing much lighter subjects and head to the ballet. I cry during the bedroom scene of Romeo and Juliet because it’s such a tragic story and the music is so powerful. Michael hands me a monogrammed handkerchief. At least if I accept his inappropriate proposal, I’d be marrying a nice enough guy.

We stay for the soirée after the ballet performance, and Michael introduces me as a dear friend to all his high-end acquaintances. I pose for some photos to be included in tomorrow’s newspaper and smile, but on the inside I feel utterly lost and torn. If all these people only knew I was a stripper who could barely make ends meet and who was considering marrying a billionaire for his money, they’d think twice about standing next to me in the photo, or even smiling at me or shaking my hand.

After the soiree, Michael takes me back home and I invite him in.

“Can I make you some coffee or tea?” I ask once we’re inside. I turn up the furnace, because it has gotten really cold outside.

“No, thank you. Maybe a glass of water?” Michael says.

I get him a glass of water and we sit down on my parents’ old brown soft leather sofa.

“Nice place,” he says, looking at all the different pictures of our family above the fireplace.

I study his gorgeous face while he’s not looking at me. “Yes, well, since my mom died in a car accident last year, and I had to put my dad in an old folks’ home, it seems more like a burden. My father and uncle built this house decades ago. I always thought I’d raise my kids here and…” I don’t want to bore him with my personal life so I stop.

“And what?” he says, looking genuinely interested.

“Well, now I am having a really difficult time making ends meet. The mortgage is really twice of what I can afford,” I say.

He smiles softly, looking slightly mischievous.

“What?” I say.

“My proposal could solve a lot of things for you, Scarlett.”

Why does my name sound so sexy when he says it? “I know. But there’s just something not right about it. I always wanted a solid marriage built on trust and love, like the one my parents had.”

“You’re young. You can have that later,” he says, faintly.

“I know your contract would solve all my financial problems, but I just don’t know if I want to marry just for the money,” I say.

Michael sets his empty glass onto the mahogany table. “I know what you mean. I don’t really want to get married for that reason either. My mother is the one who made the rule. She comes from a long line of European dignitaries, and she will not budge on her terms. She thinks if I’m not married, I’ll squander the money, so she’d rather give it to charity.”

“But can’t she see that you are a successful, hard-working man?” I say.

“How do you know I am?” he teases.

I smile. “Well, I don’t really, but you seem like a hard-worker.”

He smiles.

Oh, those dimples. And his lips are so full and red. I just want to kiss them once. Stop thinking about that! I reprimand myself.

“Listen. I don’t want to force you into this, but are you willing to seriously consider it?” Michael asks.

I had had a wonderful evening with him, and he seemed genuine and trustworthy. And I definitely was interested, even though his proposal had caught me completely off guard and was, quite frankly, downright inappropriate. I look at him, and I can see that he is studying my face.

I blush and look down, because I don’t want him to read in my eyes that I’m really attracted to him. “Yes,” I say.

“Really?” He sounds excited beyond measure.

“Sure. Let me think about it.”

“You will not regret this, Scarlett. I will treat you like a queen, and when we’re done, you will be so happy you will wonder why you ever even hesitated to accept the deal in the first place.” He hugs me and after a moment of hesitation, I hug him back, too.

He pulls away and I have to make myself think like a businesswoman, not a teen-aged girl with a major crush. So does this mean I have to give up my job as a stripper? I have to talk to Anne about this. She’s my rock, and I need her input. And if I do decide to quit working at The Black Chapel, I have to give Laila a minimum two-week notice.

“Now, this information must not get out, because if it does and my mother finds out about it, there’s no deal, and we both lose,” Michael says.

“But I can tell my best friend, right?” I say.

“As long as she doesn’t say anything. And are you willing to risk one and a half billion dollars by telling her?” Michael’s eyebrows rise.

“My best friend would never say anything to anyone. I would trust her with my life,” I say.

Michael nods and then stands up. “Great. Can I pick you up tomorrow for dinner?”

“I can’t,” I say. I have to work at the strip club.

“How about breakfast, then?”

“That works,” I say. “What time?”

“How’s ten o’clock?” Michael says.

“Sounds great.” I follow him to the door.

He holds out his hand and I take it. But then instead of shaking my hand he does something unexpected. He pulls me in and this time gives me a long hug. I melt in his arms as I inhale his fresh cologne and then I smile, because I’m going to marry this man, and then I’m going to seduce him into falling in love with me.

Right before I go to bed, I text Anne.

We need to talk

Anne replies about ten seconds later.

Spill the beans

I reply

In person

Five seconds later the reply comes.

Ok, lunch tomorrow 1 pm, Panera

Ok

I reply and go to sleep.

Michael picks me up at ten o’clock sharp in his royal blue Porsche. He’s wearing a dark gray turtleneck wool sweater and jeans. I check out his taut derrière. There is no part of this man that isn’t sexy.

I’m wearing my black jeans, a white long sleeve cashmere sweater and my winter jacket.

He opens the door for me, scoots around to the driver’s side, gets in, and starts the engine.

“Ready for an adventure?” he says, beaming at me.

“Yes,” I say, but I’m really re-thinking the deal. I don’t know if I can follow through on this. I can’t wait to talk with Anne. She’ll know what to do.

“Is The Broken Egg an acceptable breakfast choice for you?” Michael asks.

“Yes,” I say. His cinnamon hair is extra messy today, and I love a guy with messy hair. It just makes me want to run my fingers through it.

We’re at The Broken Egg in ten minutes. The small breakfast/lunch restaurant is packed. The waitress finds us a seat in the back, a small table for two, and recites the daily special from memory.

“I’ll try the daily special,” I say, not even fully having listened to what I ordered. “And coffee with cream and sugar.”

“And I’ll have the blueberry pancakes, sausages and orange juice,” Michael says, looking up from the menu.

I don’t know how to begin this conversation, so I drink some of my water.

“Are you still considering my proposal after having slept on it?” Michael asks.

I adjust uneasily in my chair. “Still thinking,” I say.

“Good. Take the time you need. But before we begin the questions, I do want to apologize again for having sprung this on you so suddenly.”

“I understand why you did it,” I say. “You have a very limited timeframe to make this happen.”

He smiles. “Exactly. But it was rather sudden. I can’t imagine what you were thinking. It’s just I know a good deal when I see it.”

My heart drops
.
He truly isn’t considering me in any other way.

Our waitress comes back with our drinks, and I take a sip of my steaming coffee.

He pulls out a pen and a yellow notebook. “I wanted to take notes of our agreement, if that’s okay with you, so I can have my lawyer write up a preliminary contract.”

I nod, but feel very disappointed. But then my subconscious gets annoyed with how pathetic I’m acting. If I’m to get this man, I need to turn the charm on. I mean, I strip in front of and seduce men for a living! I lick my lips and lean forward.

“I was thinking,” I say in my sexy voice.

“Yes?” Michael says.

I can tell by his facial expression that I have his attention now. “You should introduce me to your mother as soon as possible, because she’s going to want to get to know the woman who is marrying her son.”

“You’ve decided to do it then? It’s a firm yes?”

Oh, what the hell. “Yes,” I say. Either I’m going to make an enormous amount on this business deal, or I’ll end up in love, married and filthy rich. There is no bad outcome to this deal as far as I can see.

“I am more than thrilled,” Michael says.

“Is it warm in here?” I say, and pull off my sweater. Underneath I’m wearing a low scoop, round neck shirt. I lean forward. “I want this deal to go smoothly. One and a half of a billion dollars is a lot of money.”

“Exactly. But don’t you need to know the details first?” Michael says, quickly glancing at my cleavage.

“I think they’re pretty straight forward. I marry you. Kissing is involved for show, maybe some light petting. Sex is not involved. After your mother has passed away, we divorce and I get one and a half a billion dollars.” Wow, I can’t even comprehend how much money that is.

“And I treat you like a queen in the meantime,” Michael adds, cocking his head to the side and smiling.

I grin and our eyes lock for a moment. My heart is suddenly pounding fiercely, but this time I do not look away.

“You are a very beautiful woman, Scarlett,” Michael says.

My breathing becomes shallow. “Thank you.”

The waitress brings us our food and the moment is gone.

“I also chose you because I met you in a church. So you must be a decent girl,” Michael says.

I smile, but cringe inside. “Well, I’m not… perfect.” What a stupid comeback. Of course I’m not perfect. “I mean, I’m not really a saint. I don’t attend religiously.”

“I know, but it says a lot about you anyway, that you’d go. And I’m not looking for a saint. I’m looking for a wife.”

“And you’ve found one,” I say.

This week we start ‘Countdown to Christmas’ at the Black Chapel. Christmas is only seven days away, and the cheer is in the air.

Tuesday nights are usually slow so I only have two numbers and outfits tonight. Only half the girls are working. Anne had to cancel our lunch appointment, for an emergency dental procedure, so she said she’d catch up with me tonight. She walks in about fifteen minutes before we open and heads for me right away.

“Ok, can you pleash, tell me now what’sh going on?” Her right cheek is red and swollen.

“Are you okay?” I ask, feeling her pain. Dental work is the absolute pits.

“I’m fine,” she says, clearly unable to move the right side of her mouth.

I squeeze my lips together to avoid laughing at her and drag her with me to find a quiet place in the hallway. “I don’t know where to start. First, promise me on your own life that you will not tell anyone about this.”

She looks at me like I have three eyes. “I phromise.”

I inhale a deep cleansing breath. “Michael took me to dinner yesterday and to the ballet gala, but he didn’t ask me to go out with him because he’s interested in me in the—normal way.”

“Then why did he ashk you out?” Anne asks, looking perplexed.

“Because he wants to marry me.” I sigh deeply.

“What? Like marry, marry you?” Anne says, clearly shocked.

“Yes! His mother is dying of cancer, and apparently she has a huge inheritance. But she won’t give it to Michael unless he’s married,” I say.

Just then Laila walks by and we both turn and smile at her.

“Getting ready, ladies?” Laila says.

“Yes, in a millisecond,” I say.

Laila continues on into the dressing room.

Anne looks back at me and looks confused at first, but then her eyes widen. “So he wants to marry you and then he gets the money?”

I nod.

“Whass in it for you?”

“Half of his inheritance,” I say.

“How much is half?” she says.

“Way more than I’m comfortable revealing,” I say.

“Tell me,” Anne says. “Tell me now.”

“One and a half billion dollars,” I whisper.

She looks like she is about to pass out. “Shweet mother of—”

Laila walks by again. “Is everything okay with you two?”

“Yes,” I say.

“You both seem awfully secretive these days,” Laila says.

“Oh, we’re just talking. You know, like girl shtuff,” Anne says, sporting half a smile.

Laila’s eyebrows wrinkle. “What’s wrong with your mouth?”

“I went to the dentisht today,” Anne says.

Laila rolls her eyes. “Well, it better have worn off before you go on stage.”

Anne nods and the left side of her mouth rises.

“Ten minutes till opening everyone!” Laila shakes her head and then disappears with her clipboard.

“Sho what did you tell him?” Anne asks.

“I told him I’d consider it.” I don’t want to tell her that I’d accepted Michael’s proposal just yet.

Anne looks at me like she’s not buying it.

Crap, Anne knows me all too well. “Ok, I told him I’m in, but I haven’t signed any contracts yet.”

“Ish this what you really want Shcarlett? I mean, I know we’re working here and life hasn’t exactly turned out for the either of ush, but I alsho know you have dreamsh of meeting and marrying a man you can love. Shomeone like your father.”

I moan, because I know she’s right. “Yes, but there will be time for that later. His mom is going to die in like a few weeks, and after that, I’m free.”

“I thought you kind of were intereshted in this guy?” Anne’s eyes narrow.

Dammit, she can always see right through me. “Well, I, uh—”

She looks at me like my mother always did when I was about to do something stupid. “You’re not going to try and make him fall in love with you, are you?”