For Love or Money

I got to wondering if an arranged marriage could be a loving relationship. Then I thought about how an arranged marriage would occur in the USA. This is a story of such a marriage.

I saluted the OOD, turned, and saluted the flag, then walked down the gangplank and onto the pier. It was over, I was out. Four years of hard work and horseshit. I was glad to get off that tin can and resume my life. Oh sure, I'd miss some of the guys I'd served with, but I'm pretty sure the Navy would not miss me at all.

Interior Communications Electrician 2nd Class Petty Officer, or IC2, that's what it said on my DD213. I'm sure that would mean nothing to the registrations folks when I applied to enroll at the university, except they'd know the GI Bill would pretty much guarantee they got paid and that's really all they cared about.

My time in the Navy provided me with training in basic electricity and electronics which helped me get through college and earn my BS in electoral engineering. That degree landed me an interview with Rollins Technologies Incorporated which was scheduled for 11:45 this morning.

I looked down at my freshly polished shoes and snickered when the term "Ship Shape" popped into my head. I looked around the large, well-appointed, outer office area and couldn't help but smile at the very attractive young receptionist that had greeted me when I arrive.

A door to my left opened and an attractive, classy-looking, mature lady entered. She wore a trim-fitting blue skirt and a white silk blouse. Her stockings were dark and her 4-inch heels matched her skirt. She carried what looked to be a matching jacket over one arm. As she strode up to her desk the pretty receptionist jumped to her feet.

"Good morning, Mrs. Rollins! He has Mr. Roberts in with him, is he expecting you?"

"Good morning, Ann, this won't take but a minute, I'm sure they won't mind a brief interruption."

The receptionist stuttered, but the classy lady just sailed right past her, opened the door without knocking, and walked in. A few minutes passed and the door opened again as a well-dressed, distinguished-looking gentleman ushered the classy lady through the door.

"Don't worry about it Darling, I'll talk to her and get it all straightened out. I know she can be pig-headed, but I'm sure she'll listen to reason.

"Well, she better, I'm at my wits end with that girl and her nonsense!"

"Yes, Dear, I'll speak with her, thank you for stopping by."

He stood in the doorway until the lady left and then he spoke to the receptionist. "Ann, please call Holly and ask her to come see me as soon as possible.

"Yes, Mr. Rollins, and, uh, (she pointed at me) your 11:45 is here."

He turned to me. "My apologies for keeping you waiting, if you'll indulge me, I'll be free in just a few minutes."

I stood when he addressed me, "Of course, Mr. Rollins, thank you."

He smiled and went back into his office. Twenty minutes later I was comfortably seated in front of his impressive desk.

"Again, Mr. Clark, I apologize for keeping you waiting. Now, tell me why you think I should hire you."

"I, uh, well, Mr. Rollins. I graduated in the top five percent of my class and while I'm seeking my first job as an engineer, I did get some practical experience during my four years in the Navy."

"Jim, may I call you, Jim? (I nodded) I am impressed with your work at OSU. I know most of the instructors there and they all spoke highly of your abilities and work ethic. I have hired several of their grads and they've all done well here.

'Currently, we are expanding and need to bring on some new folks. I think you might fit in well with ..."

The door burst open and a red-faced young lady came storming in. "What the hell, Dad! I was in the middle of an important dem... Oh, uh excuse me."

John Rollins sighed, "Holly, this is Jim Clark, Jim this is my daughter, Holly Rollins."

I stood and extended a hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Rollins."

She took my hand and gave me a firm, but friendly, handshake that seemed to linger. After a few heartbeats, I glanced down at my hand.

"Oh, uh, sorry, yes, I'm pleased to meet you, as well. Please forgive my interruption."

"Um, Jim would you please step out and hand this to Ann and tell her you need to complete an A-4."

He stood and handed me the file he was holding. I smiled at them both, turned, and left the office. I got a lovely smile from Ann as I approached her desk.

"Mr. Rollins asked me to give this to you and said I needed to complete an A-4."

"Oh! Well, congratulations Mr. Clark, and welcome to RTI!"

I looked at her blankly, "Uh, I'm hired?"

"Of course, silly! I need to enter a couple of these numbers and then you can have the A-4. It's our standard employment and nondisclosure agreement form. Please give ..."

The door to Mr. Rollins's office flew open. "I don't care! I will get my own date! I DO NOT want a date with one of her Ken Dolls!"

"But honey, the wedding is five days away and Bradly has already agreed to escort you."

"No!" She stopped and looked me up and down. "You, Jim is it? (I nodded) you're not wearing a wedding ring, are you engaged or anything? (I shook my head) Fine! You can take me to a wedding this Saturday night, it's formal so, black-tie. It will be god-awful, but there will be plenty of free booze. I will pick you up at 6:30 sharp!"

She turned back to her father, "There! I have a date so tell Gail to stay out of my life!" Then she marched off, heels tapping loudly on the beautiful Italian marble floors.

Ann handed me the A-4 form and shrugged. I heard Mr. Rollins clear his throat. "Uh, Jim, could you step back in please."

I followed him in and sat when he pointed at a chair. "Jim, it seems all I've done is apologize to you today, but please forgive my daughter, she is usually a nicer person. She and Gail, her mother, are constantly fighting and I do my best to keep the peace.

"No problem Sir, I'm honored she asked me to escort her to the wedding."

He laughed, "How diplomatic of you to say she "ASKED" you to escort her. As I said, she is usually much more polite. Jim, escorting Molly to the wedding is not part of your new job, but I'd be most grateful if you indulged her request."

"Happy to do it, Sir."

He extended his hand and took the form I was holding. He looked over everything and then paused. "You're a new grad, when I graduated, I had a chest full of jeans and teeshirts, nothing formal. She wasn't kidding about the black-tie attire. Not to be indelicate, but do you have any formal wear?"

"No sir, I was thinking of borrowing a tux from a friend who does formal catering."

He smiled, picked up his phone, and punched in a few numbers. "Alfonso, this is John Rollins."

A voice boomed, "MR. ROLLINS! How are you, my friend?"

"Fine, thanks. Listen I have a special friend that needs a complete ensemble for a black-tie event this Saturday, can you help him out?"

"THIS Saturday? Normally that would be impossible, but for you, my good friend, I will make it happen! Can you send him to me right away?"

Rollins looked up at me and I nodded. "Yes, of course, he'll be there in an hour. Thank you so much, Alfonso, you're the best! Oh, and just bill it to my account. Ciao!"

He hung up the phone and smiled at me. "This will be a little signing bonus and a further apology for all I've put you through today." He pulled out his cell and hit several keys. "There I just sent Alfonso's contact information to you. Please sign the form and give it to Ann on your way out. He stood and extended his hand. Welcome aboard, Jim"

Two hours later Alfonso patted me on the back, "Come back Friday noon and I will personally check the fit for you, James. I suggest you wear those shoes for a couple of hours each evening this week so they will be more comfortable on Saturday."

I looked down at the box that contained the shiny black shoes he had chosen for me. I gulped loudly when I saw the $800.00 price tag and again at the $3,000.00 tag on the formal dinner jacket and slacks that were being tailored to fit me perfectly. The formal shirt, bowtie, and accessories were another $700.00. It was overwhelming to think I'd be wearing nearly $5000. worth of new clothes. I'm pretty sure all my other clothes combined were not worth $5000.

"My ensemble will look spectacular on you, James. I will be sure to leave a few of my cards in the breast pocket," He said and laughed loudly.

At precisely 6:30 Saturday evening a horn sounded outside my apartment. I looked out and saw a limo with the driver standing by the rear door. I hustled out and he opened the car door for me.

"Good, you are on time, that's important to me."

"Hello, Holly, thanks for picking me up. You look lovely."

She blinked a few times and then shook her head. "Sorry, Jim, I guess I have been a bit brusk with you. ... Good evening, you look quite dashing in that tux." She leaned over and felt the lapel and then smiled. "Alfonso, right? Daddy must think you have potential."

I gave her a crooked smile and said, "And you, Holly? Do you think I have potential?"

She gaped at me and then burst into laughter. "Damn! I may have underestimated you!"

The wedding was a pompous production, but the reception was okay. Holly proved to be a very good dance partner - for about 30 minutes, then she dumped me at a table and was off visiting her friends.

I sat undisturbed by the other guest for maybe 40 minutes and had just decided to leave when John and Gail Rollins walked up.

"There you are, Jim! Are you having a good time," John asked and then looked around. "And where is my daughter?"

I smiled at him, "She went to say hello to a few friends."

"She parked him! Such a handsome young man should not be ignored! Please, Jim, would you permit an old lady the privilege of one dance?"

"Of course, if you would just point me in the direction of an old lady, I 'd be happy to ask her to dance."

"Ooh, I like this one, John!" She extended her hand and I escorted her to the dance floor. I smiled at Mr. Rollins and he chuckled.

"James, you'll have to forgive Holly. She really didn't want to come this evening, but I knew her absence would cause hurt feelings in John's family. She and I bump heads regularly, but I do love the spoiled little bitch."

I laughed, "She does seem to be strong-willed and it's easy to see her father is quite fond of his little girl."

"You're exactly right. Holly is brilliant and has been a big help to John at RTI."

I spun her across the floor and she followed me expertly. "You are an exceptional dancer, Mrs. Rollins," I said as I gathered her into my arms.

"Thank you, and please, James, call me Gail. John is a fair dancer, but it's obvious you've had a great deal of practice."

I escorted Gail back to her table. "Mr. Rollins, thank you for allowing me the honor of dancing with your lovely wife."

"Well, I fear you may be a tough act to follow. You two looked spectacular out there."

"Well, it's hard not to look good with such an attractive lady on my arm."

Gail laughed loudly and said, "John, you had better keep an eye on this one."

I headed over to a table near the bar where Holly was ensconced with several young ladies.

"Excuse me." They all stopped talking and looked up at me. "Holly, I just wanted to thank you for letting me tag along, I hope you have a lovely rest of the evening."

I immediately turned and headed for the exit. Once outside I pulled up my Uber app and requested a car. Luckily there was a car nearby and my wait would be just a few minutes.

"What the hell are you doing?"

I turned around to find Holly standing there with her hands on her hips, glaring at me.

"I'm waiting for my ride, what are you doing out here?"

"I came to find out why my date was dumping me and leaving me on my own!"

I took a quick look at my watch. "You parked me at a back table more than an hour ago. When I found you it appeared you were enjoying the company of some friends and our "date" had ended, so I'm headed home."

"I was coming back, I just got caught up with some old friends."

"Look, Holly, no hard feelings, I understand. Go back in and enjoy your time with your friends. Maybe I'll see you at work sometime."

"You can't just dismiss me, you arrogant prick!"

"No Holly, it was you that dismissed me. Please, just forget about me and go have fun with your old friends. My ride is here, Good night, Holly."

Her mouth hung open in disbelief as I climbed into my Uber and left.

On Monday I was being escorted around the engineer's workstations when my guild stopped outside of an office with Holly's name on the door.

"Oh, I should introduce you to the big boss, she likes to meet all the new hires." He reached out to knock on the door and I grabbed his arm.

"Sorry, no need to disturb Ms. Rollins, we've already met."

"Oh, okay, well that pretty much completes the tour," he said as we stepped away from Holly's door. I guess we should go back and see Stevens for your first assign..."

"Jim, could you step into my office please."

We turned to see Holly standing in her office doorway. My escort gave me a nervous smile and scurried away. I sighed and stepped into her office.

"Close the door, please."

I knew the shit was about to hit the fan. Damn, I thought I was going to be happy working at RTI and it only lasted part of one day. I reluctantly pushed the door closed and turned back to face the music.

Holly glared at me. "You really pissed me off Saturday night. On Sunday I told my dad to fire your ass because I'd never be able to work with you."

"I'm sorry, HR must not have gotten the memo. When I checked in this morning they told me to report to Mr. Stevens."

"Yeah, well, there was no memo. He told me he was very pleased to have you working here, so I'm stuck with you until you screw up."

I tried very hard not to smile and just said, "I see."

"I called you in here to say I have decided to forgive you for what you did. I hope we can just put it behind us."

"Sorry, that doesn't work for me. I did nothing that requires your forgiveness. In fact, I think I handled your rudeness quite well."

I could almost see the steam coming out of her ears as she clenched her fists at her sides.

"FINE! Go see Stevens and stay out of my way!"

"As you wish." I spun on my heel and calmly left her office. As I walked I cursed myself for not keeping my big mouth shut. "Nothing like mouthing off to the big boss, you dumb ass!"

Two months in and I had successfully avoided any prolonged, direct contact with Holly. But now the team I'd been assigned to was giving her a brief demo of what we proposed as a solution to a new client's problem. She asked intelligent questions and nodded when I responded to one of her inquiries. When we concluded, she offered one minor suggestion and it was readily accepted.

As the meeting broke up and everyone began to leave, I stepped into the hallway and directly into the path of Gail Rollins. "Oh, I'm so sorry," I said as we collided.

Gail stepped back and then realized it was me who had tried to knock her down. Her face broke into a huge smile. "Jim! So nice to run into you, literally," she said and laughed.

"Sorry, Mrs. Rollins, I should have been watching where I was going."

"That makes two of us, and what's with the "Mrs. Rollins" crap? I thought we were friends?"

"Sorry, Gail, I just thought here at the office ..."

"Nonsense!" She looped an arm around one of mine. "I stopped by to see if maybe John had time for lunch, but he's tied up, so I'm headed home. Wait, have you had lunch? Would you care to escort an old lady to lunch?"

"An old lady? Sure, do you know one? Maybe the three of us could go together."

She beamed at me, "You are quite the flatterer, Mr. Clark."

"Hello Gail," Bill Stevens called out as he walked up to us. "I see you've met my newest team member."

"Hi Bill, Yes, and I'd like to steal him for a bit as my companion for lunch, would that be okay with you?"

He gave me a slightly quizzical look and then said, "Of course, take as long as you wish." His smile didn't completely hide his surprise and I wondered if this lunch would cause me problems.

"Thank you! I stopped in to try to steal John away for a bit, but he was tied up, so I recruited this handsome young man to take his place. I promise not to keep him too long."

"Anything for you, Gail. And perhaps next time you will permit me the honor," Stevens said with a hint of a smile.

I felt Gail's grip on my arm tighten as she said, "Perhaps."

She directed me to a restaurant across the street and the Maitre D greeted her by name. Once seated she asked how I liked working for Bill Stevens.

"I don't interact with him much, other than to get my assignments. He is pleasant enough. He doesn't spend much time with me, as I'm still the new kid on the team." I smiled at Gail as I took a sip of my iced tea, "He seems to be a fan of yours."

"Ha! He kinda creeps me out, But John likes him, so I put up with his little comments. Last year at the Christmas event, I slapped him when he put his hand on my backside while we danced."

"Oh my! I'll have to be extra careful the next time we dance."

Gail laughed, "I don't slap everyone who lets their hands roam, some I actually encourage." She giggled and ordered a second glass of wine.

"So, James, tell me what's happening between you and Holly."

"Holly? Uh, nothing. She has no interest in me. I think she made that quite clear at the wedding."

"No interest? Well, at home she talks about you all the time. Now, I admit, early on she did complain to John about you and may have asked him to fire you, but at least she showed an interest. That's way more attention than any other young man has ever received."

I laughed, "Yeah, well maybe I'd be better off if she just ignored me and let me do the job I was hired to do."

Gail gave me a conspiratorial smile. "James, I took one look at you and told John to hire you. I knew you were just the man we needed to tame that little hellcat."

I was completely baffled by that. "YOU told him to hire me? What? When? I, I."

She reached across and used a dainty finger under my chin to close my mouth.

"James, darling, I'm sure you're a fine engineer, we have loads of fine engineers, but you have something else. I saw it that morning I interrupted your interview. I instantly knew you were the man I'd been looking for."

I stared at her, not believing what I'd heard, "The man you'd been looking for?" I blushed deeply.

Gail laughed loudly, "Oh you naughty boy! Although, if I wasn't madly in love with John, er, never mind. Now you've got me thinking naughty things," she said and giggled. She put a hand on mine and looked into my eyes.

"What I'm about to say must stay our little secret. Do I have your solemn promise you will never tell anyone about our conversation? (I nodded).

"James, I want you to marry Holly, and give John and me some grandkids to spoil. I may be her stepmother, but I raised that girl and I love her like she was my own. That girl needs a good man in her life and I want you to be that man."

I'm sure my eyes were the size of silver dollars. I was blown away by what I'd just heard.

"Gail, that's very flattering, but I think Holly actually hates me. You do remember she tried to get me fired?"

"Forget about that! If you are willing to do as I ask, I'm sure you'll have no trouble winning her over. She's a beautiful girl and the two of you would never want for anything.

"James, I was very wealthy before I met John. I am embarrassed to admit it, but I was also a bigger bitch than Holly is. It took a man like John to break through all my defenses and rescue me from myself. I want you to do that for Holly and I will provide all the resources you could ever want."