CHAPTER 9 #2
In panic, I paced up and down the room, trying to steady my breathing. Tears swelled in my eyes and my legs went numb. Why me? Why is it always me?
My head throbbed in pain and I squeezed my eyes shut, curling my fingers into fists at my side.
Breathe, Nirah. Deep, slow breaths.
I threw my head back, blinking away tears as my breathing slowly but surely steadied.
I shook my hands, inhaling. I held my breath then exhaled. You’re okay. You’re. Okay.
After having calmed down, I sipped some water and got comfortable on the sofa. I ran a soothing palm over my heart, feeling it ache.
My door opened and I jumped up in fear but it dissolved when Antonio stepped inside.
“ Sit .”
“Not a dog,” I shook my head, and he got comfortable on the sofa.
“I have a proposal,” he explained, and I narrowed my eyes at him. I walked over to the mini fridge and grabbed a bowl of grapes.
“This is going to be interesting,” I smiled, leaning my ass against the vanity. The ache in my chest hadn’t subsided yet, but I’d be dammed if I let him see me afraid.
“Sit, Nirah,” he once again said and I walked over to the couch, sitting down beside him.
He seemed serious so for once, I didn’t want to unnecessarily push his buttons.
“You have a few minutes. Make it count.”
“I have a way that we can both get what we want, in your case being protection from the mother fucker who can’t keep his hands off of you.”
“And in your case…” I trailed off.
“Doesn’t matter,” he shook his head.
“Yes, it does,” I nodded. “And what’s your proposal?”
“It’s simple. Marriage .”
My eyes grew wide for a second as I blinked at him profusely. Marri—what!?
“Marriage?” I almost laughed and he nodded. “Elaborate, sweetheart ,” I pulled my legs onto the couch.
“If we get married I can guarantee you money and protection.”
“Yeah? And what’s in it for you?” I asked, popping a grape into my mouth. Sure, I’ll entertain this horrid idea.
“Don’t worry about me.”
“Nope,” I shook my head, popping the ‘ p ’. “You’re telling me or I won’t even consider it.”
He heavily sighed, looking around then back at me. “If I can’t find a wife of my liking, my family will suggest an arranged marriage.”
I paused, nodding my head. Slowly, a grin formed. “So you like me,” I smiled.
“I tolerate you. There’s a difference.”
“Well…” I rolled my eyes. “I’ll have you know I’m very likable.”
“I’m sure,” he deadpanned.
“Is this some kind of joke?” I asked but he only raised a brow at me. “Because I could’ve sworn you walked in with a date.”
“She was my business partner; she wasn’t my date.”
“Right, because you bring all your business partners to strip clubs.”
He seemed conflicted, and reluctant. “The business aspect of it is complicated .”
I faked a playful gasp. “Oh, like sexual ?” I leaned in to whisper and slowly enunciated the word.
“Scandalous,” I teased but he didn’t seem to be in the mood for jokes.
But what the hell, when was he ever? “Are you trying to start some polygamous thing because I’ll have you know, I’m not into that,” I shook my head.
“Plus, the women in your life, that I’ve met, are far too basic to call my sister wives. ”
“I’m not married.”
“Yeah. I’m sure you say that to get the women to agree and then bam! Sister wives,” I said and watched the muscle in his jaw tick.
“I’m not starting anything polygamous, Nirah. You’ll be my only wife,” he calmly said and I pressed my lips into a thin line. “What do you think?”
“I think you’re extremely annoyed with me right now.”
His question held a sarcastic edge. “Really?”
“Yeah. I’m good at reading people. Your face says it all.”
He proceeded to play my little game. “What exactly am I thinking?”
“That you would love nothing more than to hit this bowl of grapes out of my hand and smack some trust into me.”
“I don’t hit women.”
“Oh, how I’ve heard that before,” I dramatically rolled my eyes. Yeah, right.
“What?”
“I don’t know. Seems too good to be true,” I shrugged my shoulders as I crossed my legs. “I mean, how many women do you know that’ll say yes to marrying a man they know absolutely nothing about.”
“Women who need protection.”
“Fair enough,” I nodded.
The dressing room door opened, grabbing my attention. “Ah, it’s Daddy Daycare!” Silvia laughed as she walked inside.
I cringed, remembering that Silvia sometimes can’t keep information to herself. “Am I interrupting some weird sex cult?” she asked, walking over to her make-up drawer and yanked it open.
“Hi, Silvia,” Antonio kept his voice flat.
“You know, Antonio. Right?” I forced a smile.
“Yeah, of course, I know him. He comes here quite often. He’s one of the few men in here that aren’t complete assholes.”
“Oh, well, I beg to differ,” I chuckled, and he raised a brow at me. “Silvia, give us a second, okay?”
“Sure, I just need to grab a few things.”
After she left, I looked over at Antonio, who was already staring at me. “Why me?” I asked narrowing my eyes at him. I don’t trust this. Nor do I trust him. At least not enough to marry him.
“ You need protection. I need a strong woman at my side.”
“Mm-hmm,” I slowly nodded. “Thanks, I guess. And how do you even know you can trust me?”
“I’m not giving you my heart. I’m giving you money and protection. So if you end up breaking my trust it’ll be that much easier to get rid of you.”
“And by get rid of me you mean kill me?”
“Smart girl,” he tilted his head to the side. I was joking, but a large part of me screamed that he was not.
“You’re fucking with me, right?”
“Jesus. I know your trust issues are fucked up but set them aside for me. Just this one time.”
“So… hypothetically, in said marriage, what do you expect from me? Because God knows I’m nobody’s housewife.”
“Just be my wife in front of my family and the cameras. We attend events together. We’re seen in public being husband and wife.”
“Do emphasize, ‘ husband and wife ’,” I popped another grape into my mouth.
“And does it require kissing, because I know kissing me is hard for you since it makes your nonexistent heart flutter,” I teased and his face morphed into confusion.
“Well, considering after the last time we kissed you offered to drive me home, keep me safe from all the bad men and be my knight in shining armor.”
“I offered you a ride home because you didn’t have money for a cab.”
“Same thing,” I pressed a smile onto my face.
I pondered on the thought of whether or not to accept. It was absurd. “And if you accept, you’ll never have to work a day in your life. You can escape all of this,” he motioned his finger in a circle.
“What makes you think I’ll sit at home all day, attending to your needs?”
“People work for money. If you have more than enough, having a job is pointless.”
“Yeah, well, some of us work because we actually enjoy it. Money doesn’t control our lives.”
He seemed appalled. “So you like working here?” No, I don’t. But I’d rather not him think that he was my savior.
“Yes. And if you think I’ll stop working just because of this deal we have,” I said as I motioned my finger between the two of us. “Then you’re surely mistaken.”
“No wife of mine is going to dance half-naked for other men.”
“Good thing I’m not your wife yet, so you can still back out, but just know, I won’t quit. I will keep working here whether you like it or not.”
“You’re a stubborn little thing, aren’t you?” he asked and his tone sent a chill crawling down my spine.
“And you’re a possessive little thing , aren’t you?”
There was comfortable silence for a second before he spoke. “Fine. You can work here. On one condition of course.”
“Yeah, and what’s that?”
“No physical contact with any of the men in here.”
My tone turned playful. “Not even my sweetheart , Giovanni?”
“Especially, him .”
Something had shifted behind his eyes and my heart dropped for a second but I brushed it off.
“And no private sessions,” he sternly emphasized with no hesitation.
“Now you’re standing between a woman and her money?” I teased.
“When you get an offer, you decline, let me know, and I’ll transfer double the money you would have made.”
“You’re joking,” I shook my head.
“Dead serious.”
I pondered on his offer for a minute. “Triple.”
“Done,” he gave me a single nod. I knew it’d probably be a far stretch, but I wanted to see just how much I could milk this.
“And does this proposal come with a black Mercedes?”
His reply was instant. “In any model your heart desires.”
“G-Wagon, of course,” I smiled, watching him give me a single nod of confirmation. “How about a red Porsche—no. Scratch that. A white Rolls-Royce.”
“Yes. So does this mean you’re accepting my offer?”
I chewed my bottom lip, fighting a smile. “Well as tempting as this sounds… really ,” I said, getting up. “I’m going to need a few days to think it over. I mean, you don’t decide to sell your soul to the devil overnight.”
“You have until Wednesday.”
“And you have until now to stop telling me what to do,” I pointed a finger at him. “Plus, Wednesday is in four days. I need a week or so.”
“Fine. A week,” he agreed, standing up. “We’ll work on that attitude,” he gave me a single nod.
I rolled my eyes and he smiled.
“I’ll see you soon, De Luca,” I grinned, sending him a playful finger wave.
As soon as he closed the door behind himself I fell back down onto the couch, heavily exhaling. It’s as though a weight had been lifted off my shoulders and I could breathe again.
I contemplated the most ridiculous proposal I had just gotten. He can’t be serious, can he? Me and him? Married? He can’t be…
Silvia bursts through the door seconds later. “So? What was that all about?”
“Uh… yeah. He just asked me to marry him. No big deal,” I said, lifting my fingers to hover over the front of my throat. Suddenly, it felt as though I wasn’t getting enough air.
“What?” she gasped and I nodded. “So Antonio asked you to marry him? And what did you say?”
“I need time to think about it.”
Her jaw dropped and her hands landed on her hips. “ That man asks you to marry him and you respond with ‘ I need time to think about it’ ?”
“A week, actually. I said a week,” I clarified, staring at the blank wall. “And yes. I do.”
“No, what you need to do is get your head checked out,” she laughed and I frowned. “But I guess you’re right. What do you even know about him?” she sighed and crashed down next to me.
Another little detail I almost missed. He’s still a stranger.