Arian

I had been waiting for almost ten minutes for Susan Claire to join me without knowing if she was running late or she'd changed her mind at the last minute. I was royally pissed at this point because although she'd been the one insisting on having this meeting, I was the one fucking waiting for her fucking ass and in my current state nonetheless. I had better things to do with my time. More importantly, I was still trying to adapt to using just one kidney.

damn!!! It hurt like a motherfucker the first few days but it was worth it. things we did for fucking family.

When the hospital called to tell me they had procured a heart for Adrian and his vitals were stable enough for the transplant, I started to believe that there might actually be a god and he heard my cries. The surgery wasn't just a success, the doctors said his body wasn’t rejecting any of the new organs, which was a good sign even though he was still in a coma. I was discharged after some days and prescribed bed rest for a month with a change of diet which meant no work or work out for me for now. But how could I rest when I'd lost two major investors and people were prejudiced against our franchise? Our fucking world was filled with homophobic bastards who I was sure had sold their souls to the devil in exchange for money, and whose money, unfortunately, I needed. It had gotten to the point where I wasn't just losing money, people who were associated with the company were also losing money. Nobody who knew about the scandal wanted to patronize our hotels or eat at our restaurants, and the board was breathing down my neck to do something quick. The worse part was I had put fucking ammunition in my uncle's fucking hands and he was using it like his life depended on it.

I shrugged, getting up to leave. I was done with the business I had come here for and I had another waiting for me at the office. As I walked past the main entrance to the restaurant, I decided to say my goodbyes to Frank before I left. My footsteps seized and my eyebrows involuntarily cocked at the sight of something that had caught my eyes, my lips pulled up in a smile. I stood still as I watched her roll her ass gracefully to the entrance of the restaurant. She looked sexy in mauve suit pants, those trousers doing wonders to her fat ass, and her pronounced neckline, painfully beautiful to look at. Her heels lifted her butt giving it a more rounded and firmer look.

Did she grow and I hadn't noticed?

My dick acknowledged her and made sure its acknowledgment was visible, another involuntary action. Somehow the sight of her makes my body do things without my permission or approval. I didn't realize I had been gawking until someone brushed past me.

I sighed, stifling a grin. She was overdressed for the place and it bothered her so much she couldn't even hide it.

Tapping her, I led her to the back of the restaurant. Her eyes went wide with excitement as she saw the view. Her expression reminded me of the first time I came here.

"What would you like?"

"A margarita is fine for now."

"They don't sell that here."

She looked at me with surprise. I knew that look.

"This is a non-alcoholic joint. Strictly healthy foods and drinks."

"I didn't take you for the non-alcoholic type."

"Isn't that a given? you don't know me very well."

"True. But your reputation precedes you."

A low blow. Fucking great. How low had I fallen for the infamous Susan fucking Claire to say those words to me? I didn't need any judgments right now, not now that I had too much to worry about and too much to lose. Judgments usually didn't offend me but I'm not at my best these days. I am too damn fractious to be teased or pissed off.

Like she could read my mind, her expression changed,

"I'm sorry. That wasn't me judging you."

"Why not?" I barked.

"Excuse you?"

"Why aren't you judging me? That's how our world works. People fucking make fucking assumptions from little or no information and judge you based on that. Now if those assumptions are good, then the business you freaking put your sweat and time into flourishes, and if they're bad then your business fails, unless they are afraid of what they stand to lose if they leave, like in your case."

Susan looked at me with blazing brown eyes. “That's exactly why I don't judge. All is never as it seems." She shrugged. “Even the eyes can be deceived, and one misguided word can turn an honest man into a thief. I don't think I ever want to be responsible for ruining a man's life."

She looked at me like she could see into my soul, like she knew my secrets and she understood why I did what I did. As I stared into her eyes, searchingly, there was truly no judgment.

I cleared my throat. "You had a business proposal for me?"

She adjusted in her seat. ''Yes. Well, no. Kind off?"

I laughed.

"I do. But it's more like a contract." she took her time to form the words and I let her, "A marriage contract."

I checked her face for any sign that she was joking but there was none. I nudged her to continue, not because it had particularly piqued my interest; I didn't need any complications now that Adrian was on the road to recovery, but because I was amused and I wanted to drag this out, whatever this is, for as long as it amused me. Besides, I'd dated a lot of women, more like slept with, but I'd never met anyone like her. No one had ever given me a fucking boner just because I looked at them.

She pushed out her lips in embarrassment and a hundred images of what she could be doing with them to me played in my mind. I squirmed, adjusting the bulge in my pants, my face a masked facade.

"This is what I'm proposing. We get married only on paper, no relationship needed because I know you don't like ... well... " she raised her brow, nodding her head, but saying nothing. It took me a minute to realise what she meant and I almost burst out laughing. I nodded my head to tell her I was following and she could continue.

"Since you're going through a crisis because of that, getting married to me would help clear some doubts about your…” she cleared her throat, “...preferences."

It was fucking adorable how she scrunched her nose whenever she fumbled with words to imply that I was gay. If only she fucking knew what this allegedly gay man had been thinking about her since the first day he met her?

“This isn’t charity so when are you going to tell me what’s in it for you.”

“I’m getting there.”

“You know the world we live in is brutal and judgmental but that’s not the worst. The worst part is never being able to find someone who you can trust, who loves you for you and not for what you can offer.”

“You’re stalling, Miss Claire. What do you stand to gain from this?”

“I want love and a family, a husband and children… but that’s never going to happen. I’ve made my peace with it. But there's something I just can’t let go. My need for a child.”

“So what? You want me to father your child?”

She panicked. “No, no, no, no, no, no. I didn’t mean it like that.”

She looked apologetic like she had just insulted me and I struggled to understand why?

“I can’t insult you by asking you to do something you’re obviously not comfortable with.”

There it was, the nose scrunching. I didn’t understand why she did that every time she said or thought about something associated with homosexuality. Did it make her uncomfortable to think about it? Or was she just a prude?

“What I want is for you to pretend to be the father of my child. I get artificially inseminated while we’re married and after I give birth we can get a divorce.”

Her eyes held fear, fear that I may reject what she was offering. Or was I wrong? Was I reading too much into the eyes of a woman I barely knew?

Why would she be afraid. If I were to turn her down she could always look for someone else to play daddy. And let’s say there’s a slim chance she doesn’t find anybody, she’s Susan fucking Claire, a badass in the business world. When she walked into a room filled with elites, she was noticed, and even respected though grudgingly, but she was respected nonetheless. I’m sure, just like her old escapades, when this comes out it will die before her baby clocks one.

“You may not understand but I’m an only child from an only child. I don’t have a lot of close relatives who I fully trust, and friends aren’t truly friends. The only person you can ever rely on is a blood you share a unique bond with. Maybe a sibling or your parents,” she smiled sadly, “although I wasn’t very lucky in the parent department. The point is my child is that person for me. He or she will be my blood that will never betray me and I will never betray. That will love me unconditionally and vice versa.”

She had me. She’d manage to drag my conscience into this conversation. Fuck. She was right, close blood is the only people you can rely on. Arian may have fucked me up but if I’m sure about one thing, it’s that he didn’t do it on purpose and if he were here he’d help clean up this mess like he has always done. He was my trusted compadre and I was his, and there was nothing on earth strong enough to break our bond. Susan wanted what we had, craved it and she needed me to help get it. How can I say no? Really, how can I say no…

"So let me understand what you're saying, you want us to get married..."

"Only on paper."

"Right. You want us to get married just on paper so that you can have a baby without the world asking questions about the father and I can prove to people that I'm not gay?"

"That's it. Simple. Strictly business. No need for strings or feelings or whatever. Just two business people having a perfectly normal business relationship."

She fumbled with the words, her fingers kneading together whilst her head was bowed. This was nothing like what the papers and blogs wrote about her every day. The accurate view people had about her was so far from the reality of who she is, but It was no rocket science why. This was the world we lived in. Nobody gave one fuck about the truth, they only cared about what would profit them, and if they weren't gaining anything from you then you were reduced to their biased-hatred-filled-strictly-for-amusement opinions.

The first time I saw Susan I was dumbstruck. Beautiful was an understatement, the photos online did not do her justice. She looked like sex on legs with her blue v-neck body-hugged gown and flats, and even though she had barely accessorized, she still glowed like diamonds under ultraviolet light. I was still staring when I heard her prick of an ex deprecating her and I lost it. I forgot I was a gentleman who'd been taught manners. I gave the prick a piece of my mind all the while she sat down head bent. I was furious. She was too good for an asshole like him. Worst of all, she liked him so much she said nothing while he hurt her with his words.

Our world condemned her every action and even made her out as a dumb lucky heir to her father's billion-dollar company but she was so much more than that, sitting across from her I could see it. She fucking emitted it. Fuck. I may just regret what I'm about to say the second I say it but fuck it.

"Okay. Let's do it."

For the first ten seconds, she sat in shock. I couldn't blame her, even I was shocked that I agreed to this ridiculous idea.

She squealed, "really. Oh my god... you won't regret this." She held my hand and it sent current all over my body. How did she do it? How did she make a guy lose all self-control with just a single touch?

"But on one condition."

"Anything."

I stared at her. If she only knew how tempting that one word was. anything. What I'd love to do to her on that one command.

get your head out of the gutters... for fucks sake.

"If I do this, then I'll be allowed to end this contract whenever the hell I want. No questions asked, no explanations, no nothing. The moment I call it quits, that's it."

Fear. Contemplation. She stayed quiet for a few seconds before she spoke.

"What if I'm not pregnant by then? I don't think that's fair?"

Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do about that. I wanted that clause even more than I wanted her. Adrian could wake up any day now and he'd need me to take care of him, I can't have anything occupying my mind when the time comes.

"You're asking me to be the father of your child to the world, a child that isn't mine. You've only thought about this for the short term, what about the long term. What happens when I decide to get married and have kids of my own someday? your kid will forever be known as mine. That's what's not fair. I'm just leveling the fields here with my request."

"I get that, but you're... you know... gay. Will you be getting married someday? Do you see a child in your future?"

Of course not, but that wasn’t the point. Arian needs me.

I raised a brow to her. I didn't have to explain myself to her, the truth wasn't something I could tell her or anybody else. I gave her a look telling her that I was serious about the clause. It was either that or no deal.

"Fine. It's a deal. I'll send the contract over to your office soon."