“But you won’t? You know what Hannigan did, but you won’t give me my job back?” Her voice was flat, showing no emotions. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction that she was disappointed.
“We would be delighted to have you back, of course, but a client has asked us to be represented to obtain your …” He cleared his throat. “… hmm, services. I drafted the contract myself, and I know that our firm could never offer you what he’s willing to pay.”
Sabrina was more than surprised. She’d had very little client contact during her time at the firm, and it was impossible that a client had noticed her and decided to offer her a job.
“I don’t understand.”
Merriweather pushed a dossier across the table. “This is the contract. Before you read it, let me assure you that I’ve done everything in my power to protect you with the terms of this contract. It’s watertight, and should you decide to accept it, believe me if I say, nobody will think the worse of you. It’s an offer not many in your position would reject. We all have our price,” he added cryptically.
She raised an eyebrow but didn’t answer.
“And should you decide to reject my client’s offer, I’ll be the first to welcome you back into the firm.” He stood and rounded the desk. “I’ll leave you to read over the contract.”
“Thank you, Mr. Merriweather.”
He shook her hand and went for the door. When she heard it open and then close a few moments later, she reached for the dossier and opened it.
***
Daniel watched Sabrina sit with her back to him. He’d silently slipped into the office when Merriweather had exited, just as they'd agreed beforehand. Sabrina hadn’t noticed him come in, and he remained standing motionless near the door.
As she scanned the first page of the contract, he let his eyes glide over her. He’d missed her, truly missed her and didn’t know how much longer he could bear the separation.
“Oh my God!” she exclaimed as she went further and further down the page. He wanted her to have a chance to read the entire three-page contract, as impatient as he felt.
As she went to the second page, she suddenly jumped up from her chair. “Oh God!” came another incredulous exclamation. The shock at his proposal was evident, even though he couldn’t see her face. It was killing him, since her expressions didn’t tell him whether she was inclined to accept or reject. He needed to know. He couldn’t stand the suspense any longer.
“Sabrina.”
With a low shriek that got stuck in her throat, she twirled around. The sheets of paper landed on the floor, involuntarily released by her trembling hands. She was more beautiful that he’d ever seen her.
“You …” Her voice was shaky and broke off.
He took two steps toward her when he saw her steady herself against the desk behind her and stopped. He didn’t want to scare her.
“This is what you want?” She pointed at the contract at her feet.
Daniel nodded. “Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because at this point I’ll take whatever I can get.”
He came closer and bent to pick up the pages, pressing them back into her hands. Being this close to her after not seeing her in five days, made him want to reach out and touch her.
Her eyes locked with his. “You want me to be your escort?”
“That’s what you wanted, isn’t it? Just sex. You said so yourself.”
Sabrina held the pages up with her hand. “This is not just about sex.” She pointed at a spot on the page. “Paragraph nine: Children. Care to explain what this paragraph is doing in this contract?”
“Any children resulting from this contract shall be my legal heirs,” he recited a portion of the contract. “So, it’s all about sex. I guarantee you’ll become pregnant when you share my bed every night.”
“Paragraph six: Living Arrangements. The employee will live with the employer, sharing his bed,” she read.
“You know as well as I do what happens when we share a bed. Do you want me to remind you?” He inched closer to her, and he noticed her hold her breath.
“Paragraph seventeen: Compensation,” Daniel stated.
“I haven’t read that far,” she said hastily.
“Let me paraphrase. The employee is entitled to half the net worth of the employer.”
Sabrina gasped in shock. “You can’t be serious.”
He nodded slowly. “Read for yourself.”
She searched for the place on the page and found it. Her eyes danced over the page like a ping pong ball at a competition until her mouth fell open then quickly closed again. Instead of looking back at him, she continued reading.