Be A Doll

by Stephanie Witter

  “Hm,’’ he mumbled and fixed the file once again. As he moved, his watch, expensive without a doubt, caught a sunray before it disappeared once again under the sleeve of his suit. The man exuded money and importance and somehow it threw me for a loop.

  Since coming to the Manor I had met many very important men and none of them ever unsettled me, maybe because most of them were old enough to be my father and the ones young enough to be considered close to my age weren’t interesting in the least.

  Mr. Grimes, though, he was interesting, merely because I couldn’t read him and at Carter Manor we’ve been taught to read people to better act accordingly. I had never realized how much I had relied on the skills I acquired here before.

  “It says here that you don’t have any relatives.’’

  “Indeed.’’

  Once again, he drew his lower lip with the tips of his fingers, his eyes trained on me as if he was contemplating something, and considering the deep frown on his face it didn’t seem very pleasant.

  My mouth dried as I waited for his next question, his next move. Someone like him couldn’t have acquired so much in so little time if he wasn’t a few steps ahead of everybody else. If I didn’t want to either become his wife or go back to where I came from to be homeless, I needed to be careful. At least, it was starting to be quite obvious that he wouldn’t be picking me as his wife considering how guarded he was and how stone cold he stared at me.

  “It looks like they’ve trained you well. I wonder how come you received these two marks on your file.’’

  I blinked and briefly glanced at the file still poised on his powerful thigh. My eyes then wandered to his hand holding it in place. He really had strong and big hands, something I wouldn’t have expected on a businessman, more on a man who worked with his hands. The thick wrists only accentuated what was blatant about him; he was the kind of strong who was unyielding in all aspects.

  “I’m afraid I wasn’t a good match to the men I met previously,’’ I retorted using the same controlled voice I had been using since stepping in the interview room.

  Suddenly, he closed the file and threw it on the console table between us. It glided a few inches before it stopped, right next to the tea service. My eyes widened a fraction of a second at the sudden move, but I otherwise didn’t move. My hands briefly gripped the fabric of my dressing pants, but I quickly relaxed and hoped he hadn’t seen my reaction. I couldn’t give him any ammunition to shoot me on sight when he talked to Mrs. Stein, which would lead me exactly where I didn’t want to go. The streets.

  “Not a good match, you say?’’ He crossed his arms over his chest and I found myself watching the fabric molding more to the muscles in his shoulders and arms, accentuating the obvious strict regimen he lived by, made of sports and a good diet. I bet that man exerted control in all aspects of his life and I couldn’t see myself living with such a man. Really, I couldn’t see myself living with a man, period. It was pretty ironic considering I lived in a wife making palace.

  “Miss Hodge, from what I’ve seen so far, you seem very…’’ he trailed off as if searching for the right word. “Tamed.’’

  Tamed? Like an animal?

  I swallowed past the boulder in my throat, this time formed not from fear but from an anger I couldn’t unleash. Frustration filled me. I tensed on the couch and a distant part of me hoped it wasn’t visible, but the biggest part of me didn’t care much. I knew I was slipping, playing right into his hand. I couldn’t fathom why he was pushing me, but it was working. Maybe he was a sadist and wanted to ruin me because I disappointed him. I didn’t know and I honestly didn’t care. I wouldn’t see him after this interview anyway.

  “Were you expecting some kind of animal, Mr. Grimes? Mrs. Stein makes sure all her trainees are respectable women before we meet a prospective husband.’’

  He sighed and waved me off with an off-handed movement of his hand, his attention now away from me and back to the door. “Yes, of course. Listen pet, would you buzz and ask for Mrs. Stein?’’

  I blinked at him, mouth slightly ajar. It probably ruined the picture perfect lady I was supposed to incarnate, but ‘pet’!

  “What?’’ I asked brusquely.

  He pointed at the button next to the door that would call one of the maids in the Manor. “That button, press it for me, pet.’’ Then, when I still didn’t move, he locked eyes with me and gave me what I could only describe as a smirk. One side of his mouth turned higher up than the other, carving a wicked dimple on his perfectly shaved cheek. “Be a doll.’’

  Be a doll.

  Be a doll?

  A doll. Yes, that’s exactly what I was. A doll, someone who didn’t think with her head, but followed someone else’s whims and orders. I was supposed to sit there and look pretty. That was all my life was reduced to.

  Carter Manor was a damn doll factory.

  And that man was an asshole. If I had to go back to the streets and be forever homeless, I’d rather go with a bang by lashing out at that insufferable man.

  My mind made up, I sprung to my feet without a care if I moved with grace or if I teetered on my high heels and pointed at him with my perfectly manicured hand from my side of the console table. “You have no right to treat me as if I was nothing. You may be here to shop for a wife, but you should remember that we’ve all been trained to be able to think by ourselves and I’m smart enough to recognize a despicable man when I see one. I’m not going to be standing in this room while you degrade me with such a condescending behavior.’’

  All the while his smirk hadn’t disappeared, but his frown did. “There it is,’’ he said ominously, stood up and walked to the door and pressed the button next to it.

  He didn’t spare me a look and I now didn’t know what to do with myself. Or think.

  That foreboding moment I had felt before stepping in the interview room came back and with it, fear.

  MATHIS

  “I wasn’t expecting that interview to end so soon, Mr. Grimes,’’ Mrs. Stein said with a silky voice, but I prided myself in reading people well enough to be sure that woman was buttering me up.

  I unbuttoned my jacket and sat in the chair in front of her probably authentic Louis Philip desk. I extended Miss Hodge’s file for her to take and she complied immediately. Her eyes hardened when they fell on the name penciled on the top.

  So little Miss Hodge gave some trouble to the stuck up woman. It only concurred with what I thought of the young woman. She had spirit, something I hadn’t thought I could find in a woman who had been here, groomed and shaped to be a trophy wife.

  When it became obvious I needed a wife for my business’ sake—and to make my mother happy—I decided that Carter Manor would do. In my circle, they’re known to be the best at this. I was only thirty-two and I knew I could have found any woman to marry me, but with Carter Manor I wouldn’t have to go through the whole daunting process and anyway, the women here knew what they got. I wouldn’t have to go through a fight and passive aggressive comments when I had an affair.

  With Carter Manor I was ensured it was all business.

  But what I hadn’t expected was Miss Hodge’s spirit. Upon coming here I was presented files of the available women along with pictures, of course. All women were beautiful, some more naturally elegant than others, but one stood out immediately for me.

  Miss Hodge.

  Her beauty was striking, so much so that I twitched in my pants, but beyond her beauty, it was her eyes that captured my interest. In her cornflower blue eyes, I saw someone who couldn’t be tamed, someone who had a strength like you rarely met in a lifetime.

  She didn’t disappoint. If anything, I couldn’t wait to fuck her and see what she had. For the first time, I wasn’t as repulsed at the idea of getting married. Business or not, I could bet it would be interesting to see this woman unravel. I was willing to gamble on her and I hoped she would still remember some of the things Carter Manor taught her, starting with the fact that this was only a c
onvenience marriage, nothing more.

  “Waffling isn’t part of my make up, Mrs. Stein. I wouldn’t be where I am otherwise.’’ I nodded at Miss Hodge’s file. “I find Miss Hodge fitting.’’

  “You do?’’ Her eyes briefly widened behind her glasses before she recomposed herself. “I mean, as I warned you, Miss Hodge can be…difficult.’’

  “I’m aware of the comments in her file.’’

  She frowned and straightened the file in front of her so it lay perfectly parallel with the edges of the desk. “Mr. Grimes, I know Miss Hodge is very attractive and smart, but you’re a young man yourself and you must keep in mind that—’’

  “Are you saying that you know better than myself what I need and what I’m looking for as a wife, Mrs. Stein?’’ I stopped her, my voice dripping with warning. My eyes narrowed on her. “Miss Hodge is the one I want. I’m sure you have other perfect candidates, but I’m not interested. Understood?’’

  “Of course, Mr. Grimes. I apologize if I came across as assertive,’’ she quickly apologized and cleared her throat. “I wanted to make sure you understood that when the marriage is ordained we, Carter Manor, can’t do anything for you anymore if Miss Hodge doesn’t mesh well with you and your expectations.’’

  “I’m well aware. I always read the contracts I sign.’’

  “Fine.’’ She cleared her throat again and nodded, clearly rattled. “As you know, we will take care of the wedding following your specifications. I have your file here so I’ll immediately contact the wedding planner we work with in New York and start the preparations.’’

  “Good,’’ I said and stood up, buttoning my jacket again. “I have to go back to New York for a meeting tomorrow morning. I expect a weekly report on the progress of preparations up until the wedding in two months. And please, advise Miss Hodge that she can pick any wedding dress she wishes. If there’s an issue, contact me at the number I provided, not my office.’’

  “Yes, Mr. Grimes. Thank you again for working with us.’’

  I nodded and walked out without waiting for her to lead me back to her office door. In the hall, the butler appeared at my side and quietly walked me back outside where my driver waited for me.

  ***

  MATHIS

  “How did it go, sir?’’ my driver, Lucas, asked me with a small smile.

  “Better than expected.’’ I looked outside and watched the countryside flashing as we drove back towards civilization and the airport where my private jet waited to fly us back to New York. “I’ll be a married man in two months.’’

  “Congratulations, sir. If you don’t mind my asking, but what’s your fiancée’s name?’’

  Fiancée. It still sounded odd to me. I rubbed my temple when a headache started pounding. “Lila Hodge.’’

  “Pretty name,’’ Lucas commented before silence fell around us again.

  Pretty name for a gorgeous woman. I couldn’t remember a time when a woman had intrigued me quite like her. It was undoubtedly due to the circumstances. When I decided to pay Carter Manor to find me a wife, I hadn’t expected to find someone who wouldn’t be polished until nothing else was left, but I had been wrong.

  My phone buzzed in the inside pocket of my jacket. I sighed and fished it out, glancing quickly at the screen and wasn’t surprised to find my mother’s name on it.

  “Hello, Mother.’’

  “Mathis,’’ she said warmly and I heard the smile in her voice. “Mon garçon,’’ she said in French, the lilting accent warm in my ear. “Tell me you found someone.’’

  “Her name is Lila Hodge. Expect a wedding in two months.’’

  “C’est vrai?’’ Her voice went higher with the excitement. For all of my mother’s concerns when I told her and my father of my intentions to contact Carter Manor for a wife, it seemed like the prospect of marrying her son was tramping the rest. “I thought you’d never get married. This morning I was just telling your father that I was sure you’d find something wrong with any woman they would present you.’’

  “It’s only a business transaction, Mother,’’ I said and distractedly checked my watch to make sure I’d be on time back in New York City for the business dinner with the new client I signed last week after long and drawn out negotiations that played with my very limited patience. “Hold on, Mother.’’ I leaned forward and tapped on Lucas’ shoulder to get his attention.

  “Sir?’’

  “I’m running late, Lucas. Make sure you get us to the airport under thirty minutes.’’

  “Yes, sir.’’

  He floored the accelerator and the car lurched, gaining speed on the country roads, the view outside turning a greener blur as I focused on my mother again. “Mother, the wedding organization is taken care of, I hope you remember that.’’

  She sighed in the receiver and I grimaced when the parasites echoed in my ear. “You are my only son and you take away the fun from me of planning your wedding. It may be a marriage of convenience, but it’s a marriage nonetheless. You can’t treat it or your fiancée as if it’s not important.’’

  Fiancée. I wondered when that word would become familiar to me. Not anytime soon I bet. That word distracted me enough to numb some of the bite when she said I was her only son. “Listen, I’ll get you the contact information of the person in charge of the wedding organization. You can do whatever you like then, as long as you respect the demands I made. The rest is of no importance to me.’’

  “Mathis…’’

  “No, Mother. I think you need to forget your romantic notions here. It’s time. After all, I basically picked my fiancée out of a catalogue.’’ I shook my head and took a deep breath trying to calm down when it became obvious I was letting the situation get to me. It was ridiculous. “Listen, I have work to do. I already ditched enough to get this done. I’ll see you for your Sunday brunch like usual.’’

  “All right, mon garçon, but remember that no matter how you see this, this is real. Marriage shouldn’t be taken lightly and some traditions shouldn’t be overlooked or forgotten.’’

  With a few parting words I hung up and placed my phone back in my jacket without checking my emails, something I should be doing. The problem was that I was rattled by her words.

  For all the issues I had had over the years and the conflicts I had with my father, my mother raised me with a certain notion regarding love, marriage and traditions. I didn’t believe in love and marriage as much as I believed in people settling once the passion and lust extinguished, but traditions were another story.

  I was engaged.

  I would be a married man in two months.

  I sighed and took my phone out again and called my assistant, Jonatan. He answered on the second ring. “Mr. Grimes, what can I do for you?’’

  “Jonatan, I need you to look for the best jeweler in Manhattan and get me an appointment with their director for tomorrow at the latest.’’

  A beat of silence greeted my words, something I wasn’t used to with my ever-efficient assistant. “A jeweler, sir?’’

  “Yes.’’

  He cleared his throat at my snapped words and quickly went to work when I heard him typing away on his keyboard. “Tiffany & Co. on Fifth Avenue is the best as far as I can see, sir. I’ll contact them immediately.’’

  “Do that.’’ I hung up and placed my phone back in my pocket and sighed.

  I was used to being in my element, having things done and usually my way, but being engaged was so very new that in a way I had a hard time believing it. When I graduated from Harvard and instead of joining the family business to work alongside my father, I used the trust fund I had to buy off a start-up and made it grow until it far exceeded my father’s company. During that time building my empire and becoming one of the most important businessmen in the country, not once did I feel quite as unsettled as I was at that moment.

  ***

  LILA

  Before I dropped out of high school at seventeen and took off from the last awful
and abusive foster family I was placed in, I remembered that feeling when I was summoned to the principal’s office. There was always that apprehension that would make my body tense when all I wanted was to find an escape.

  That was pretty much how I felt while waiting in Mrs. Stein’s office. I already knew what was coming after my interview with that asshole. I bet he had a field day recounting my words. In retrospect and after a couple of hours, I believed that he was testing me, making sure I was trained well enough to never stray from my imposed role. I had never failed a test as badly as that one.

  I looked down in my lap at my hands twisting. I had a hard time staying still and I wondered why I still fought my natural inclinations considering I was probably spending my last minutes at Carter Manor. Tonight, I would be back to square one with no money, no food, no roof over my head and no prospects After four years spent in luxury I couldn’t fathom how I would go back to that damn life. One would think I went through enough in my twenty-four years of life.

  The office door opened and Mrs. Stein’s kitten heels clacked on the wooden floor until she appeared in my line of sight, rounding the Louis Philip desk to sit in front of me in her throne looking chair.

  Her eyes were narrowed behind her glasses and for the first time since I met the woman it made me sweat. In a last ditch effort to placate her, I lowered my eyes diligently.

  “How do you think your interview with Mr. Grimes went?’’

  “I’m not sure what you expect me to say, Mrs. Stein,’’ I said without looking up, already seeing the humid nights I’d spend in Manhattan, fighting off the sick bastards who would want to touch me and avoiding the junkies that were too unpredictable.

  “I’ll be honest with you, Lila,’’ she went on as if I said nothing and the strange tone in her voice had me looking up. She was watching me with thinly veiled contempt, but there was also a hint of something else I couldn’t place. “When you first arrived, while you were undisciplined and lacking any sense of courtesy and manners, your intelligence and pride made you an incredible asset for Carter Manor. Unfortunately, you’ve shown less than stellar attitude when your results during your formation have been the best I had seen in years. You’re a little bit of a conundrum and strangely enough, while you can be unpredictable and I’m not sure of what will come out of this, Mr. Grimes is set on having you as his wife.’’