Chapter 10
“Hey. I didn’t mean to interrupt. How are you, Anika?” I greeted.
“I’m fine, Mr. Goode. I was just leaving. I’ll see you tomorrow, Malyah.”
I didn’t speak until we were alone and I’d closed the door, leaning against it.
“How are you? Did I interrupt something important?” I asked.
“I’m good, and no, we were just talking. I still need to do a couple of things before I leave. What’s up?”
“I took the rest of the afternoon off. We need to go to the courthouse to get our marriage license, and our rings have been sized and are ready to be picked up. I was also thinking you could find a dress today.”
“Oh, yeah. I don’t have anything that would be appropriate, but I can’t afford—”
“Check your account.”
“My account? You mean my bank account?”
“Yeah.”
She picked up her phone, and I watched as her fingers moved across the screen.
“Oh my God!” she exclaimed. “I’ve never had this much money at one time. Thank you.”
I’d gotten her bank account information from our payroll department and deposited $50,000 into her account, just as I said I would. She rushed to embrace me, and I was surprised but happily returned the hug.
“Do you know how much this money will change my life? I can pay off all my debt,” she announced.
“I’m just holding up my end of the bargain, but I’ll pay for your dress and anything else you think you’ll need for the ceremony.”
“We’re only going to the courthouse, and this isn’t a real wedding, so I don’t need anything special.”
Her statement wasn’t wrong, but I hated that she felt that way.
“Regardless of the circumstances surrounding our union, I want you to find something that makes you feel good and not worry about how much anything costs. I’ve already booked an early morning appointment for you at the hotel salon and spa on Friday.”
“Kenzo, you didn’t have to do all that.”
“I know, but it’s the least I can do, and I don’t mind.”
“Thank you. It’s been years since the last time I was pampered. I’m looking forward to it.”
Her excitement made me smile. My parents had been doing well for themselves my whole life, and my mother had regularly scheduled self-care and pampering appointments.
I was aware that not everyone had that luxury, but hearing that it had been years since Malyah had been on the receiving end made me want to give her the world.
“How much longer before you’re ready to leave?” I asked.
“About thirty minutes.”
“Okay. I’ll grab my things and meet you at my car.”
“Did you forget we drove separately?”
“No, but you can leave your car parked here overnight, and I’ll give you a ride tomorrow.”
“Are you sure? I have to be here pretty early, and I don’t mind meeting you—”
“That’s not necessary. I’ll see you in thirty.”
I left her office and returned to mine to find my father sitting at my desk, waiting for me. I expected to see him sooner than this, so I wasn’t surprised.
“What’s up, Pops?”
“I waited up for you last night so we could talk.”
“I got home late.”
“Your mother, grandfather, and I were very disappointed by your behavior yesterday.”
“I’ve been disappointed ever since I was told I have to get married before my birthday.”
“You’re an intelligent man, Son. You should understand why we think this is for the best.”
“Not only am I intelligent, but I’m also very much a grown man. Pops, we can go back and forth on this until the end of time. I won’t agree to marry a woman I don’t choose. If you’re truly waiting for that to happen to retire, buckle up.”
“I never realized how selfish you were,” he said.
“I don’t think I’m selfish, but I am an only child, so it’s possible.”
“You’re an only child of an only child. The legacy my parents built, the legacy that I helped to grow, will be left in your hands.
As a soon-to-be thirty-five-year-old wealthy Black man, women have you on their radars.
Every interaction you have with a woman can turn into a lawsuit.
You need stability with a woman who matches your—”
“And that’s another thing I’m disappointed about.”
“Did you just interrupt me?”
My family didn’t play about respecting your elders, and I was rarely disrespectful, but this situation was too serious for me to handle with kid gloves.
“My bad, Pops, but I’ve always known you and Gramps, and even Ma when I was younger, to be down-to-earth, accepting of all people, regardless of their background, and far from uppity.
Now, Ma has a tendency to forget where she came from sometimes, and if I had to choose something I didn’t like about her, that would be it.
She keeps talking about finding me a ‘suitable’ woman and trying to set me up with a rich, bougie woman from the suburbs who I know I don’t have a thing in common with. ”
“You never know, Son. It wouldn’t hurt to get to know a few of them. You might be surprised.”
“I’d rather not. At this point, it’s more about the principle. I’m very capable of choosing my life partner. I have a few appointments I need to get to, so we’ll have to finish this conversation another time.”
“Kenny—”
“I gotta go, Pops.”
I gathered the things I wanted to take home and left my father in my office. Thankfully, he didn’t try to stop me.
“You’re quiet,” Malyah said.
We’d been in my car for about ten minutes, headed to the Orland Park courthouse. The conversation with my father kept replaying in my head, so I was very distracted.
“My father was waiting in my office when I returned.”
“You argued?”
“I wouldn’t say we argued, but the conversation wasn’t great. He’ll be all right, though. Once we get married, they’ll have what they want, and I won’t have to worry about being paired with someone I’m not even attracted to.”
“I’m sure I’m not the kind of woman your family envisioned you marrying. How do you think they’ll react to the news?”
“I don’t know, and honestly, I don’t particularly care. They want me to get married, so that’s what I’m doing.”
We were quiet for a few minutes before she asked a simple question that carried a lot of weight.
“How long?”
“How long what?”
“How long do you want to stay married? We should probably add that to the contract.”
I knew what we’d agreed to, but the fact that we weren’t married yet, and Malyah was already thinking about when the marriage would end, fucked with me.
“If you find being married to me to be insufferable, you can divorce me whenever you’re ready.”
“Unless you completely switch up on me, I doubt it will ever be insufferable,” she said with a laugh.
“What about a baby?”
I glanced her way for a moment to catch her reaction before turning back to the road. The first time I mentioned a baby, she almost ran for the hills. It was pointless to revisit it until now.
“Kenzo, don’t you think it would be irresponsible of us to bring a child into this situation, knowing it’s temporary?”
“It doesn’t have to be temporary.”
“Huh?”
“This doesn’t have to be temporary, but we’ll talk about it later. We’re here.”
I got out and went around to the passenger side to open the door. We held hands until we entered the building. After going through security, we followed the directions to the clerk’s office. The process took about thirty minutes since we didn’t complete the form beforehand.
“That was easy,” she said when we stepped outside.
“Were you expecting more?”
“I was, but it was painless. Where to now?”
“To the jeweler to pick up our rings. You want to handle the dress shopping alone, or would you like some company?”
“Isn’t there a rule against the groom seeing the bride in her dress before the wedding?”
“If you’re superstitious.”
Our conversation paused briefly while we got into my car.
“If you are, you can go shopping alone,” I continued.
“I don’t have time for superstitions. My luck is bad enough without them. Where are we going?”
“I have a few places in mind.”
We spent the rest of the afternoon and into the early part of the evening in and out of boutiques in the surrounding cities. It took a minute, but after several reprimands, Malyah finally stopped looking at the price tags.
At the last boutique, she found three dresses she liked, but she wouldn’t tell me which one she chose because she wanted to keep an element of surprise.
“That was fun,” she said when we sat across from each other at a restaurant not too far from the hotel.
“I enjoyed watching you.”
I had no idea that watching her try on dresses would be so satisfying.
Malyah was beautiful, and I doubt she knew how sexy she was.
She didn’t seem like the kind of woman who relied on her beauty to get what she wanted.
If she did, she probably wouldn’t have found herself in the predicament she was in.
“Really?”
“Yeah. Your smile and excitement each time you stepped out of the fitting room were contagious. I can already tell you that making you smile will be one of my greatest joys.”
She looked at me for a long moment before looking at the menu, and I followed her lead and did the same. A few minutes later, the server arrived, and we placed our drink, appetizer, and dinner orders.
“Everything we’re doing is a tad unorthodox, and—”
“A tad?”
I chuckled. “Extremely unorthodox, but people get married for convenience all the time.”
“Maybe in your world. In mine, people rarely get married at all.”
“If we’re intentional about this, we can make it work. It doesn’t have to be temporary.”
“I thought we were simply doing each other a favor.”
“We are, but that doesn’t mean we can’t treat this like it’s the real thing. You never know, you might enjoy being my wife.”
“Are you talking about having sex?” she asked with a raised brow.
“Oh, we’re definitely having sex. You can barely keep your hands off me now.”
“Boy! You lie all day. I haven’t touched you.”
“I can’t believe you lied with a straight face, because I recall waking up with your hands in my pants and wrapped around my—”
“I was asleep, so that doesn’t count.”
“You know what did count? That nut!”
“Kenzo!”