Insidious
Page 36
The clothes Lisa mentioned fit perfectly. The jeans hugged my hips with tight, stretchy material and the top was a snug red t-shirt that showed just the right amount of cleavage: not too much to be slutty, but not too little to be prudish.
From the expression on Stewart’s face, when I entered his office and he looked up from the Wall Street Journal, I knew I’d done well. He looked different than he had yesterday too. Today he wasn’t as casual, dressed in a tailored gray suit with a teal tie. The color accentuated the ocean blue eyes that met mine and then slowly, unashamedly scanned my frame, up and down. Standing, he greeted, “Good morning, Miss Conway,” as he pulled back a chair.
Miss Conway? What happened to Tori?
Summoning my most sincere smile, I laid the tablet with my questions beside my place setting, accepted the chair he offered, and replied, “Good morning, Mr. Harrington.”
Just then, Lisa entered the office with a covered dish and set it before me. Raising the lid, she smiled and said, “I hope you like eggs and bacon.” Before I could answer, she asked, “What can I get you to drink?”
“Um, I’m fine with water.”
“Come, dear, we have many other options: coffee, tea, juice?”
Her endearment made me smile. “Thank you, orange juice would be wonderful.”
After she left, Stewart asked, “So you’re not a coffee or tea drinker?”
“Not really. I drink coffee sometimes when I’m studying late.” I glanced toward the cup near his plate. “But you are a coffee drinker, I see.”
“I am.” He smirked.
“What?”
“It seems as though we’re learning more and more about one another.”
I lowered my eyes to my plate. “I also don’t eat meat. I don’t mind that other people do. I just don’t.”
He reached across the table and scooped up the bacon and deposited it on his plate. “We didn’t know. What about eggs?”
Lifting my fork, I grinned. “I eat eggs, and scrambled is my favorite.”
Stewart leaned back and watched as I ate. Truthfully, the few grapes I’d eaten last night did little to suppress my hunger. With pink filling my cheeks, I remembered what had taken my mind away from food.
Looking toward my tablet, Stewart said, “I’m going to interpret your wanting clarification as a good sign. At least that means you weren’t prepared to come down here and just tell me no.”
Swallowing, I shook my head. “I believe it’s best to explore my options.”
Lifting his brow, he replied, “Hmmm, I like to explore as well.”
Shifting slightly in my seat, I asked, “What if I said yes right now? What would happen?”
“We’d wed on Thursday.”
“No, not that. What would happen with Randall and Marilyn, Marcus, Lyle, and Val?”
Stewart cleared his throat. “If you said yes, you and I would immediately leave here and go to my attorney’s office to sign the contract. We need witnesses, and Parker wants to go over some finer points with both of us present.”
“Parker?” I asked, feeling very intimidated. What attorney in his right mind would write up such an elaborate agreement, much less want to sit and discuss it?
“Parker Craven, of Craven and Knowles. He’s been my lead attorney for years.”
“I-I don’t know. Some of the things in the contract are pretty personal. I mean it spells out specifics about things like…”
“Sex.” Stewart volunteered. “Yes, Miss Conway.” Again with the Miss Conway? “If we are to wed and you’re to share my name and money, I expect sex. I expect birth control. I have many expectations centering on the way I want things. From our limited experience, I don’t foresee any of that being a problem; however, if you were to decide to withhold my desires from me, it would be grounds for termination of our contract. The only way to make that legal is to spell it out.”
“But I don’t know him. I don’t want to discuss my sex life with him.”
Stewart smirked. “You will know him. Though your parents believe that they live among the elite in Miami, they aren’t even close. This is a whole new world. Sometimes there’ll be instances that make you uncomfortable. When that happens, tell me. I’ll do what I can to help you. In this instance, I’ll be there with you. However, to make this all legal, the conversation with Parker is unavoidable.”
“Speaking of my parents, after we sign the contract, if we do, what happens to Randall?”
“I’ll give the go-ahead for the withdrawal of funds. Travis will take the funds to where they need to be, and Randall’s life will be spared.”
“Are you going to call him, let him know my decision?”
Stewart studied my face before answering. “Perhaps you’d prefer to make that call?”
My cheeks rose. “I haven’t made a decision. However, if I do, I think I’d like to wait until he calls me. After all, he and my mother put me in this situation, and other than a package with clothes and a note, I’ve yet to hear from them.”
He nodded approvingly. “Damn, sexy and bitchy. You, Miss Conway, get better by the minute. That is the perfect combination for success in my world.”
“And if I decide no, I also believe he can call me.”
“Yes, you, my darling, could make this work. So if…” he emphasized the word, “…you say yes, I’m assuming I won’t be burdened with my mother- and father-in-law’s presence?”
From the expression on Stewart’s face, when I entered his office and he looked up from the Wall Street Journal, I knew I’d done well. He looked different than he had yesterday too. Today he wasn’t as casual, dressed in a tailored gray suit with a teal tie. The color accentuated the ocean blue eyes that met mine and then slowly, unashamedly scanned my frame, up and down. Standing, he greeted, “Good morning, Miss Conway,” as he pulled back a chair.
Miss Conway? What happened to Tori?
Summoning my most sincere smile, I laid the tablet with my questions beside my place setting, accepted the chair he offered, and replied, “Good morning, Mr. Harrington.”
Just then, Lisa entered the office with a covered dish and set it before me. Raising the lid, she smiled and said, “I hope you like eggs and bacon.” Before I could answer, she asked, “What can I get you to drink?”
“Um, I’m fine with water.”
“Come, dear, we have many other options: coffee, tea, juice?”
Her endearment made me smile. “Thank you, orange juice would be wonderful.”
After she left, Stewart asked, “So you’re not a coffee or tea drinker?”
“Not really. I drink coffee sometimes when I’m studying late.” I glanced toward the cup near his plate. “But you are a coffee drinker, I see.”
“I am.” He smirked.
“What?”
“It seems as though we’re learning more and more about one another.”
I lowered my eyes to my plate. “I also don’t eat meat. I don’t mind that other people do. I just don’t.”
He reached across the table and scooped up the bacon and deposited it on his plate. “We didn’t know. What about eggs?”
Lifting my fork, I grinned. “I eat eggs, and scrambled is my favorite.”
Stewart leaned back and watched as I ate. Truthfully, the few grapes I’d eaten last night did little to suppress my hunger. With pink filling my cheeks, I remembered what had taken my mind away from food.
Looking toward my tablet, Stewart said, “I’m going to interpret your wanting clarification as a good sign. At least that means you weren’t prepared to come down here and just tell me no.”
Swallowing, I shook my head. “I believe it’s best to explore my options.”
Lifting his brow, he replied, “Hmmm, I like to explore as well.”
Shifting slightly in my seat, I asked, “What if I said yes right now? What would happen?”
“We’d wed on Thursday.”
“No, not that. What would happen with Randall and Marilyn, Marcus, Lyle, and Val?”
Stewart cleared his throat. “If you said yes, you and I would immediately leave here and go to my attorney’s office to sign the contract. We need witnesses, and Parker wants to go over some finer points with both of us present.”
“Parker?” I asked, feeling very intimidated. What attorney in his right mind would write up such an elaborate agreement, much less want to sit and discuss it?
“Parker Craven, of Craven and Knowles. He’s been my lead attorney for years.”
“I-I don’t know. Some of the things in the contract are pretty personal. I mean it spells out specifics about things like…”
“Sex.” Stewart volunteered. “Yes, Miss Conway.” Again with the Miss Conway? “If we are to wed and you’re to share my name and money, I expect sex. I expect birth control. I have many expectations centering on the way I want things. From our limited experience, I don’t foresee any of that being a problem; however, if you were to decide to withhold my desires from me, it would be grounds for termination of our contract. The only way to make that legal is to spell it out.”
“But I don’t know him. I don’t want to discuss my sex life with him.”
Stewart smirked. “You will know him. Though your parents believe that they live among the elite in Miami, they aren’t even close. This is a whole new world. Sometimes there’ll be instances that make you uncomfortable. When that happens, tell me. I’ll do what I can to help you. In this instance, I’ll be there with you. However, to make this all legal, the conversation with Parker is unavoidable.”
“Speaking of my parents, after we sign the contract, if we do, what happens to Randall?”
“I’ll give the go-ahead for the withdrawal of funds. Travis will take the funds to where they need to be, and Randall’s life will be spared.”
“Are you going to call him, let him know my decision?”
Stewart studied my face before answering. “Perhaps you’d prefer to make that call?”
My cheeks rose. “I haven’t made a decision. However, if I do, I think I’d like to wait until he calls me. After all, he and my mother put me in this situation, and other than a package with clothes and a note, I’ve yet to hear from them.”
He nodded approvingly. “Damn, sexy and bitchy. You, Miss Conway, get better by the minute. That is the perfect combination for success in my world.”
“And if I decide no, I also believe he can call me.”
“Yes, you, my darling, could make this work. So if…” he emphasized the word, “…you say yes, I’m assuming I won’t be burdened with my mother- and father-in-law’s presence?”
