The Proposal Ch. 01

It was the middle of the night, my girlfriend and I girlfriend Alice had just finished having sex, I was laying down cuddling with her in the bed thinking to myself "wow I am the luckiest man alive" completely oblivious of the change of fate that was about to spiral my life out of control.

When I woke up I couldn't help but admire this beautiful girl laying beside me, 23 years old, only an inch shorter than me being 5'5 with a thin figure but with a respectable-sized chest and ass, she was proud of her body and working out was as natural as breathing for her, not only that but she also has a stunning curly hair, shining gold that would go all the way to her waist. I stroked her hair as she woke up looking at me with a cute smile.

- Good morning Darling, today is the big day hun - She spoke warmly and softly, talking about the chance of promotion in my firm, I was told the boss wanted to talk to me and in my head, it was probably a promotion as I was working harder than ever and just finished a big project that night, Alice had always dreamed of a big wedding and a wonderful wedding ring, but with my current wage, there was no way I could afford that, especially having some student debts to pay off.

- Yes my princess, maybe today I get promoted and come home with a big surprise.

- Well let's have breakfast, I will make your favorite.

After she made me breakfast I eagerly left for work, but while on the way there something caught my attention, on the other side of the street a big sign "Wedding Rings 50% off today". I've been waiting for the right time, and now it made perfect sense for me, I put all the worries about bills aside and made up my mind "I am buying it today no matter what". I parked my car and entered the store, before I even got close to look at all of them I had already seen the perfect one, it had a white base with petals carved as details and a diamond in the middle, it wasn't very big, but it sure was beautiful and shined liked nonother. "this is it, I must buy it" I thought

- Hi how much does this one cost? - I said to the store clerk

- It's your lucky day sir, for only today it is $15,000 - That was a little out of range but I made up my mind, "money will be a little tight for a few months but we will manage" I thought as I bought the ring and went on my way to work.

Upon arriving at my construction firm I looked at it proudly, I was recently graduated from college and got a job straightaway, I already had supervised projects that were a success, and last night I finished my first unsupervised one, I was told I was the youngest engineer to do so at that firm. I was expecting a big raise as I victoriously entered the building. That didn't last long though, I entered the room to find a very bad atmosphere, My boss did not have a good expression, he seemed stressed and on edge.

- Hey, good morning sir. Did you want to see me? - I asked, trying to sound confident.

- Yes, please take a seat. I have some news that I think you should hear - He said in a serious tone, gesturing towards the chair in front of his desk. I sat down, feeling a knot form in my stomach. This didn't sound good.

- The project you finished last night collapsed due to a miscalculation, this mistake cost the firm hundred of thousands of dollars and we no longer trust you or want you in this firm, you are being let go.

I was stunned. This couldn't be happening, I had bills to pay, debts to clear, and just bought a wedding ring. I couldn't lose my job now. I walked out of the office, feeling defeated. I didn't know what to do next. I felt like my life was spiraling out of control and I didn't know how to stop it. As I drove home, my mind was racing with thoughts and worries. How was I going to tell Alice? What was she going to think of me now? I couldn't go home like this, I started to think over my life, feeling like a huge failure, and that's when I remembered my childhood friend George.

We grew up together, best friends, but over the years we kinda fell apart as we both got partners and jobs that were nothing alike. George was known to have some shady businesses but ones that could make money fast " Maybe he has something that can solve my problems " I thought. I called George, told him my situation, and asked if he had anything for me, he told me about some shady guy that needed someone to look after his place for a day, I hesitated for a moment. I wasn't sure if I wanted to get involved in anything illegal or shady, but at the same time, I was desperate for money.

- What kind of place is it? Nothing dangerous right? - I asked.

- Don't worry David, It's just his house, he used to work for my boss, now he is retired, he was very important before retirement and now seems adamant about having his house guarded at all times - George told me in a very chilled manner

- Is he shady? - I asked reluctantly

George chuckled.

- Does it matter? Look, the guy will pay you $5,000 for one day's work. He doesn't need muscles or combat experience, he just wants someone trustworthy, I can vouch for you. - I thought about it for a moment. $5,000 was a lot of money, and I needed it

- Okay - I said finally. - I'll do it. -

- Great, George said. - I'll give the guy your number. He'll contact you with the details -

I hung up the phone, feeling a mix of relief and apprehension. I knew that getting involved with the people George worked with was a risk, but I felt like I didn't have a choice. I just hoped that this one-day job wouldn't lead to anything worse. Still on the same evening he called. Told me some valuable items in the house were irreplaceable and that he just needed someone to make sure the items were safe. I was to go there in the morning, meet him to make sure everything was okay, and proceed to guard the house until dawn when he would return. I agreed to those terms and went home to Alice, even though I got some way of getting the money it was just a one-time thing and there was no prospect of paying the debt or the costs of living for the foreseeable future.

In my first job as an engineer, I made a mess of things, all those years studying and now I doubt any firm would think to hire me, sadden I walked into our small apartment, It was simple and small, but in a good part of town about 15 minutes away from my old job and 30 minutes from her college, we were behind had a couple of months of rent and the landlord was always on my ass, I figured the money of the job could help with that. Feeling exhausted and defeated I entered it to find Alice sitting on the couch, she was still finishing college but had no classes that day, and she was reading a romance book. She looked up and smiled when she saw me.

- Hey! how was work? - she asked, setting aside her book.

I sighed and sat down next to her. I couldn't bring myself to tell her about the firing or the new job.

- It was fine, not the promotion we were hoping for, just a long day - I said, trying to sound casual.

Alice looked at me for a moment, sensing that something was off, but didn't push the matter.

- Well, dinner's almost ready - she said, getting up from the couch. - I made your favorite, spaghetti carbonara -

It seemed simple but she had a special ability to make me feel good even when things were not going my way, I made up my mind, I didn't think twice, went on my knees pick up the ring, and said

- Alice West, will you marry me? - I felt a relief as I saw her doing little jumps of happiness, her eyes tearing up, she was shaking as she let me put the ring on her finger and said.

- Yes, David you are the man of my dreams, I am the happiest woman in the world -

At that point, all my worries went away, we kissed and couldn't let go of one another. After some time we sat down to eat, but this time we ate on the couch so we could snuggle, she called her family, one by one, to tell the news and I just sat there appreciating this wonderful moment. She was giggling while talking to her mother, all happy, after the phone call she told me.

- Mom said that we are going to be the prettiest lesbian couple, you know how she is, but she seemed genuinely happy -

I always had a feeling that her mom didn't like me very much, I sometimes overheard her saying that her daughter needed a "Real man" and that I was not it. We've been dating for 2 years now and I felt that she was slowly warming up to me, but we were no friends, she constantly made sure to mention that I looked like i girl every time we met.

I am 5'6 with a thin frame and very little muscle to my body, I had a tiny layer of fat under my skin that gave a "soft" look to it, I also had good genetics for my ass, it grew a bit during my teen years as I used my bike to go to school every day. My classmates would often make fun of my looks saying that I had my mom's ass, but I never let it bother me, and wouldn't let it now as a 24 years old man. "I managed to be with, in my opinion, the prettiest girl in the whole world, I am doing pretty well for myself" I thought. That night we made very loving sex, full of gentle kisses and eye contact, it lasted for what seemed forever but also not long enough. In the end, we were both exhausted and cuddled to sleep, and during that whole night, not a single worry appeared in my head.

As I woke up the next morning, I realized that I still had to deal with the reality of my situation. I couldn't keep the news of my firing a secret from Alice forever. I didn't want to ruin our engagement, but I also didn't want to keep any secrets from her. I was feeling very conflicted as I stood up and went to the kitchen to make coffee. While drinking my coffee and checking the news I got a phone call from the contact George had given me, I picked up and he said

- Hello, is this David? -

- Yes -

- I am Frank, the guy you'll be working for today. George said you are trustworthy, now I trust George with my life so I am putting my faith in you. Are you sure you wanna take this job? - He asked, he spoke in a strict serious manner, it gave me a bit of chill, but the job didn't sound that bad.

- Yes, I'll be there. Can you give me the address? -

- Sure, I'll send it to you in a text message. Just remember, some valuable items in the house need to be protected at all costs. I hope to see you here at 8 am. I'll be back by dawn after you finish I will give you the money, all in cash is that understood? -

- Yes sir, Understood. I'll make sure everything is safe -.

- I will see you at 8 - He said before ending the call. After the call ended, I received the address and checked the location on my phone's map app. It was in a nice very prestigious neighborhood, about half an hour away from my home, Alice had woken up and was already sitting at the kitchen table. She looked at me with a smile and asked.

- Morning my beautiful fiance, What are you looking at? - I closed my phone and smiled back at her

- Morning my perfect fiancee, I got so caught up with everything last night I forgot to tell you, the firm wants me to inspect a new project and I will be working overtime, and probably will be back by dawn -

- Dawn? That's a weird time to leave work don't you think?

- Well honey, my boss said the project is huge for the firm and wants me to overview it even during the night shift -

Lying felt awful but I didn't want to worry her, especially at such a happy time for us. She seemed to trust my explanation, we chatted a bit over breakfast, and she wished me a good day before kissing me goodbye. I left the house and went on my way to meet Frank.

I drove towards the address, I couldn't help but feel nervous about the job. I had never done anything like this before, and the thought of protecting valuable items made me anxious. When I arrived at the location I was surprised, even though it was in a prestigious neighborhood the house seemed rather regular, a 2-store building, not too big and not too flashy, with a plain garden. The other houses in the neighborhood made it look like a joke, Still, it was much better and spacious than mine. Mr. Frank was waiting for me outside. A tall man, about 6'1, in his mid-40s, with a few white hairs in the middle of his short scrubby black hair, he was a bit muscular but also had kind of a "bear belly", and was dressed very formally next to his black 4-door Cadillac seeming to be in a hurry. Yet He showed me around the house, The entrance was a small corridor, filled with vases and paints that seemed very expensive, he pointed at them and said.

- Look it's not a hard job okay, these pieces of art are worth a lot and are my prized possessions, but the rest of the house doesn't have anything special, I had a camera room for the house and all I want you to do is to clean the whole house and then watch these babies - He said truly proud of those pieces of art.

I was getting a bit annoyed, after all, there was no cleaning mentioned previously, but still, it was a 5.000$ paycheck for a singular day of work, so I thought it best to just comply.

- If you see anyone on the property or anything strange just press the button on the surveillance room and I will come right over, also here are the keys to the house, every room that you can open with these you can feel free to clean, but don't even try to get in the ones that are locked you hear me? -

- Understood, I won't touch anything off-limits. And I'll make sure to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity, Mr. Frank. - I replied, taking the keys from him.

- Enjoy your day - he said leaving the house. I was left alone in the quiet house, I thought " well, no point complaining now better get on with the job". I took a deep breath and started to explore the house. It was a spacious two-story house with cozy decorations.

The living room had a big couch and a big TV in front of it, and also a really expensive set of sound systems and a headphone. The living room connected to the kitchen had modern appliances and granite countertops. The bedroom was on the second floor, it was tidy and had a comfortable kingsized bed. I could see that Mr. Frank was a neat person, and there wasn't much cleaning to do, but I still went through each room thoroughly, dusting, vacuuming, and wiping surfaces. I only found a room with a weird hardwood door on it that had no decoration and a strange red lock. "I know George deals with some shady guys, best not to know and get on with the job," I thought to myself.

The cleaning didn't take long as most of the house was already well kept, so at about 2 pm, after I had my lunch I headed to the surveillance room, there were 6 different screens all showing different locations of the house and its surroundings, the was one in particular that would not change its transmissions at all, the one in the middle, that constantly showed the entrance where all the arts were kept.

I decided to focus on my job however, the whole day was quite uneventful, I spent all day in that room just looking at screens and eating what I had prepared before leaving my house, went the night arrived I found it impossible to maintain my eyes open and fell asleep. I woke up with the sound of Mr.Frank's car coming into the driveway, it was already dawn, and to my terror when I looked a the middle camera one of the vases had broken, falling into the ground. I rushed to meet Mr. Frank in the front way before he could enter the house.

As soon as Mr. Frank stepped out of his car, I quickly approached him, hoping to explain the situation before he could discover the broken vase himself.

- Mr. Frank, there's been a slight issue - I began, trying to sound as calm as possible but my mind was racing a million miles an hour.

- One of the vases in the entrance fell and broke, I'm not sure how it happened - I said with a very sorry expression

Mr. Frank's face turned serious as he quickly made his way toward the entrance. I followed closely behind, feeling nervous about what his reaction would be. When we reached the broken vase, Mr. Frank seemed to lose it. He held my neck with anger and shouted.

- YOU HAD ONE FUCKING JOB, ONE! do you know how much this was dear to me? how many people would die to have it? -

"This is it. This is how I die" I thought, but after shouting at me he seemed to have calmed down a bit, as he let go of my neck.

- I'm sorry, Mr. Frank, I don't know how it happened. I was in the surveillance room and I didn't see anyone come in or anything out of the ordinary. Maybe it was just a freak accident - I explained, trying to reason with him. He spend a couple of seconds thinking to himself and said to me.

- The way I see it you have only a few options. One, you try to pay yourself for this $50.000 Vase. Option two you try to bullshit this and get away from me, but I can guarantee you it won't end well for you. Or option three, you agree to 5 testing sessions with me for 3 hours long. What do you say? -

I was taken aback by the options presented to me, but the thought of paying for a $50,000 vase was completely out of the question for me. The second option seemed like a dead end, so the third option seemed like the best way out of this situation but was also the one that gave me the most chills, I just couldn't make the decision, I said.

- Mr. Frank I am desperate but I don't want to do any of those options, please understand, I need to find a job, I can't be spending that much time here - I said, holding back my tears -

- I will sweeten the deal for you, if you agree with option three not only we will forget about paying for the vase but I will also throw you $10.000 per session since I know you are struggling with money, what do you say? - "test subject? what does that mean?" I thought.

- And what would I have to do Mr. Frank? - I asked looking to the ground feeling very desperate.

- Just obey my orders around the house, of course, I won't ask you anything that could physically harm you or anything that would greatly trespass your limits, I am, after all, a very reasonable man - He said calmly

- Alright, I'll do it - I said, trying to sound confident but my voice betrayed my nervousness. Mr. Frank seemed pleased with my answer and patted me on the back.

- Excellent choice. I think you'll find our sessions quite... enlightening - he said with a smirk.

- We'll start tomorrow, you can come at 8 am. And make sure to shave all your body hair you hear me - he said, giving me a stern look before walking off into the house.

I was left standing there, feeling a bit uneasy about the whole situation "no body hair, what's that about?" I thought as I had no idea what would come of this decision, but I knew that I needed the money, and I didn't want to anger Mr. Frank any further. I decided to head home and get some rest, hoping that tomorrow would bring some clarity to this bizarre turn of events.