Complicated Love Pt. 01

"Ms. Stevens," he said, watching her squirm under his scrutiny. "Will you marry me?"

Cassie nearly jumped off her chair.

"What?"

"I asked, will you marry me?" Chris calmly repeated. "What you said just now makes a lot of sense. All I have to do to make my father happy is get married. And, I can get married on a purely professional basis. A contract with certain stipulated conditions should be enough. You will be given a generous allowance; and the only thing you have to do is pretend that both of us are very happy in front of my father."

Cassie rose from her chair and looked down at him. She was torn between incredulity at such an absurd idea and admiration for the love he had for his father.

"No," she said firmly.

"Oh, please Ms. Stevens. Won't you help me make the last days of a man happy?"

"It is not going to make him happy, it will hurt him! Mr. Quentin, what if he finds out? You're crazy. No way am I doing this," Cassie retorted, getting on her feet, hands placed on her hips, looking at Chris with real anger in her eyes.

Chris looked up at her, suddenly struck by how amazingly pretty she was. He shook his head. Now was not the time to be thinking of how amazingly pretty she was. Now was the time to get her to agree with his proposal. Quietly, Chris considered what would make a woman like Cassie agree to his proposal. Money wouldn't work. She actually had some integrity. The only thing that would work, Chris decided, was appealing to her emotions.

"It will hurt him if he finds out. And he won't. Ms. Stevens, I'm going to go through with this idea of mine whether you agree of not. If you're the one I marry, at least you will make sure he never finds out. If I marry some other woman, are you sure he won't get hurt?"

He was manipulating her, he knew, in the worst place. Cassie would be unable to back away now, but he refused to feel any guilt. Nothing was good enough for his father. As he looked at her furiously working features, he knew that he had her. She would agree. He felt some of the tightness in his chest loosen up. She would help him, he just knew it.

"You manipulative bastard," Cassie whispered. Chris resisted the urge to flinch.

She began pacing the room. A few minutes later, she started firing questions and demands at him. "It will be a contract."

"Yes."

"It has to be platonic."

"Definitely."

Cassie stopped, and turned to look at him, still unable to believe what was going on.

"Anything else?" Chris inquired, brows raised. He thought his father would like her.

"You will not pay me for this." Cassie said, looking straight into Chris' eyes.

"But..." Chris said, but Cassie held up her hand.

"Take it or leave it."

"Fine. I have a few conditions of my own, too." Chris said. He did not know how she would react to his demands.

"Shoot." Cassie said, her back to him.

"You must not tell anybody about this arrangement."

"Not even my friends?"

"No."

"Okay then, what's next?"

"You need to stop working." Chris held his breath as he said this, knowing that this was where Cassie would object, and object strongly. He had a good reason for saying this though. He figured that the more time Cassie spent with his father, the more time she would have to convince him that they had a good marriage.

"No way in hell," Cassie said, speaking these words quietly, without turning around.

Chris sighed. This, he knew, was going to be very, very hard.

"Ms. Stevens, I have my reasons. The more time you're with my father, the more time you'll have to convince him that our marriage is brilliant. Besides, my father is staying in my house outside city limits. Even I would be working from home."

"I'll work from the house then. I'm not quitting." Cassie said, finally turning around.

One look at her face and Chris was convinced that this was the best he would get out of the deal.

"Fine. The marriage will take place the day after tomorrow." Chris felt strange saying this. It was too soon, but right now, he did not have much time.

Cassie opened her mouth to argue, but she shut it again.

"Anything else?" she asked instead, cocking a brow.

"Nothing. I'll speak to some people and get the documents drawn up so you can take a look at them by tomorrow. Now will you please sit down? I don't think that carpet can take any more of your pacing."

Cassie sat down, and pulled some of the specs towards her to unroll them.

"If we are going to get married, you might as well call me Cassie."

With that, she pushed the specs to him, and they worked on it for the next hour and a half

---

When she got home that night, Cassie still couldn't believe what she had just agreed to do. It was the most ridiculous, hare-brained scheme in the world. She had just agreed to get married to a man to help him pretend that he was happy so that his father could die in peace.

And yes, that she would be putting her career on hold for an indefinite amount of time and would instead be a glorified nurse.

She shook her head mentally at the last thought; it was unkind. She truly wished to see the old man happy, even if she had only briefly met him. It was this urge in her, the urge to see everyone happy, that made her do the funniest, silliest, most ridiculous and the kindest things sometimes.

She recalled the conversation they had had in his office after reviewing the specs. He had told her that his sister would also be coming to stay there, so she would not be starved for company. He also mentioned that the house had a small stable, which housed three horses.

It would be a holiday, he had said, but she could see that it was everything but to him. For the first time, she had felt sorry for him, thought him almost human. His father was dying, and it was obvious to her that he loved his father a lot.

She sighed went to bed, sad for Chris and his family. That night too, she shed a few tears, but this time, they were for someone else, someone who did not have the luxury of crying.

---

Chris spent a sleepless night again, but this time thinking about Cassie.

This morning, when he had asked her, he had never expected her to say yes. When she had, she had completely startled him. But he had regained his composure and made a deal with her. A deal which he now began to regret.

He had asked her to do many things, most of them unreasonable, but she had agreed to all with little objection. What surprised him most was the fact that she had refused the money. Every other woman he knew would have jumped at it. He owed her a great deal, and he wondered whether he would ever be able to pay her back.

He had called the firm's legal head, Mr. Weller, and had asked him to prepare the papers. Mr. Weller was a grizzled old man, a great friend of Chris's father. He had guessed immediately where this was going.

"Christopher, are you sure you want to do this? It is a great step. What will you do after Andrew passes away?"

"I'll get the marriage annulled," Chris had replied, willing Mr. Weller to just draw up the papers as he wanted and ask no more questions. He had known Mr. Weller, or Uncle Rowan, from childhood, and found it extremely hard to hide things from him.

"If that is what you wish," Rowan replied, and walked out of the office. Chris had been assured that the papers would be on his desk the next morning when he walked into work.

Chris closed his eyes and willed himself to sleep. Only now was the magnanimity of the situation striking him. He tried to picture the happiness on his father's face when he saw Cassie, and that instantly soothed all his fears.

He turned over with a determined look on his face. He was going to make this work, no matter what.

---

The next morning, both Cassie and Chris walked into the office looking haggard and worn from a sleepless night. Chris looked a little worse, for he had had two of them to rival Cassie's one.

They met in the lobby and made their way to his office, each preoccupied with their own thoughts.

Cassie was wondering if she was doing the right thing. Then, when she recalled that expression on Chris' face and how his eyes had filled with tears when he had talked of his father, she decided that what she was doing was indeed the right thing to do.

Chris was wondering how Cassie had agreed to all this in such a short time. Anyone else would have taken much longer to make a decision, but she had made hers seemingly instantly, just like that. He wondered whether she would agree with the terms and conditions on the agreement. Well, that was yet to be seen.

They entered his office together, and sure enough, there were the promised documents on his desk. Rowan was sitting there, waiting for them.

Chris nodded towards the document, and Cassie walked forward and picked it up. She sank into a chair as she began to read. Everything was as they had discussed, except for one thing.

"Chris, it states here that I'll be receiving an allowance, and also that my salary wouldn't be reduced even if I work from home."

"Yes, it does." Chris replied, bracing himself.

"But I don't want it!" Cassie said. "I've told you before and I'm telling you this now. I'm not mercenary. I don't want your money."

Rowan looked at the Cassie with veiled admiration with his eyes. He knew that most would have demanded for more. It would have been understandable if she had been Chris's friend, but she had only known him for two years, as a boss, and from what he knew of office gossip, not a particularly likable boss.

"Cassie," Chris said quietly. "I know you're doing me a favour, and I need to repay that. No, don't say anything, hear me out." He said when he saw her open her mouth to retort. "I don't care what you do with the money. You can invest it, or donate it if you want, but you will receive that money. As for your salary, technically, you're working for me, so it should remain the same."

Cassie sighed, knowing that she could not refuse the money now.

"Can I take these home so I can study them a bit more?" she asked, looking from Rowan to Chris. "I'll bring them back tomorrow morning."

Chris nodded, but Rowan said, "Won't that be cutting things a bit too thin? You're getting married tomorrow."

Chris replied for her. "No, its okay. Let her take her time. I've not been fair to her at all; I just sprang this on her yesterday. She needs the time."

Rowan nodded and smiled. Cassie took the papers and, after excusing herself, made her way back to her cubicle.

"You know Chris, I still think what you're doing is extremely foolish, not to mention risky, but if anyone can help you pull it off, it's her. You're lucky."

Chris just grinned. Rowan could be exceedingly blunt sometimes. He thought that if only every woman in the world was like her, then life would be so much better.

---

Cassie looked over her papers again in her cubicle. Taking a deep breath, she made her decision. She rang Melissa.

"Lissy?" she said when Melissa picked up the phone.

"Yeah hon?" Melissa asked, a bit worried because she could sense the anxiety and confusion in her friend's voice,

"Lissy," Cassie repeated, and took a deep breath. "Tomorrow, I'm getting married."