by Holly Rayner
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he whispered.
He sat next to his father’s grave and stared out at the estate. The mansion was stately as ever, surrounded by meticulously tended gardens, a large stable and a variety of orchards. His mother had always loved going out and picking her own fruit. Jay saw to it that the fruit continued to flourish, and he sent much of it to the local shelters to ensure that it was put to good use.
That is what she would have wanted.
“So, you found me on some philanthropic mission, huh? Feels like that would have made for a good bedtime story at some point.”
He plucked at the grass, like he was once again a small boy, unsure as he looked up to his parents for everything.
He glanced down at the gravestones and listened to the continued silence.
What was he expecting? The answers to the universe?
“My lawyer thinks that one of my only options is a green card marriage, you know,” Jay said. “Of course, I think it’s a terrible idea. I’m sure I’m going to be cleared any day now and can make those investments.”
Jay thought back to his conversation with Harry. If he called again, he’d likely be held in contempt, and they’d deport him for insubordination. His hands were completely tied there, and with no end in sight and Immigration Services breathing down his neck, a wave of desperation washed over him.
Much like the desperation he’d seen in Marianne earlier.
An idea fluttered across his mind, sparking a whole series of other ideas that could possibly solve his problems.
Or, could be the worst idea he’d ever had.
She needed money. He got that. Pretty much everyone he dealt with asked for it at some point or another. This was different, though.
There had been more in her eyes today than worry. There was anger.
She’d looked like she hated him.
And yet she took the money anyway, without an explanation on either side.
“A green card marriage…” Jay said, letting the idea drift out on the breeze.
A gust of wind hit him them, the dangling branches of the willow tree dancing all around. He lifted his face to the sky and allowed the sun and wind to soothe his weathered spirit.
It could work. If he did it as a deal, an arrangement. It would be very formal, of course, and they could both benefit from it, if she was willing.
Did she happen to be wearing a ring? He hadn’t noticed. She hadn’t corrected him when he’d addressed her as a “Ms.” though, now had she? Surely, a married woman would have done so?
Jay stood up and brushed off his shorts, gazing down one last time at his parents’ graves.
“I think this might work, but if it doesn’t, I hope you know that I will be very upset with you when we meet again.”
A gentle breeze tickled the back of his neck, and for a moment, it felt as though his mother was running her fingertips along the edge of his hair, much like she’d done when he was a child. He shook his head, clearly imagining flights of fancy, and he turned and ran back down the hill toward the house.
His heart pounded in his chest as he sprinted all the way back home, refilled with an energy he hadn’t experienced in months. He came across Logan when he burst in the back door and placed a hand on the man’s shoulder.
“I’m going to need you to get me the direct number for a Marianne Lawson. She works in accounting, down at the office. Can you do that?”
“Of course,” Logan said, watching as Jay panted like a fool before him. “I can get that for you right away.”
“Thanks,” Jay breathed.
He headed back to his room, his mind racing a mile a minute as he considered the logistics of the entire endeavor. It would be tricky business, and they would have to be convincing.
Just how far would he be willing to go? Could he really do this?
Jay imagined himself married to the lovely Ms. Lawson. A family was all he’d ever wanted, especially after his parents’ death. He’d felt so alone for so long, but he had to remind himself that this wouldn’t fulfill that emptiness he’d been living with.
None of it would be real. It would be simply business, and that was all.
Yes, this could work.
Chapter 5
Marianne
Marianne pored over a few bills as Zoe brushed her teeth in the bathroom.
The flowing wellspring of relief that had replaced the boulder of stress in her belly was the single greatest sensation she’d ever known. With her mom unable to pay for much of her own expenses, Marianne had taken them on herself, putting her mother’s bills and mortgage before her own. It was the reason for so many overdue bills—managing two households on a meager secretarial salary was impossible.
Jay’s money had come in the very nick of time.
“Mom, I’m done!” Zoe called.
The little girl jumped down from her stool and skipped across the hall to her bedroom. Marianne left the paid bills on the table to file away later and joined her daughter in her room.
“I think we should have a sleepover,” Zoe said.
She was sitting on her bed, but Marianne noticed that she very purposely was not under the comforter, in the off-chance that she might get her way. Marianne sat on the bed and patted the blanket.
“You say that every night,” Marianne said.
Zoe’s eyes glittered with mischief.
“And sometimes you say yes,” she said.
“Not tonight, my love. I have some work I need to get done.”
“What work?” Zoe asked.
“It’s boring,” Marianne warned.
That was enough for the six-year-old. She’d tried to listen to Marianne speak about work in the past and had never lasted longer than a few minutes, if that.
“Do you have to do it tonight? I just miss you.”
Marianne’s heart squeezed, but she knew her cunning little girl knew exactly the right words to say to get to the bottom of her mother’s heart.
It usually didn’t take more than a single I love you or an I miss you to get Marianne to relent to her daughter’s wish to spend more time together. Normally, she would toss it all to the wind, but there was a bit more financial finagling she wanted to do, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to get it out of her mind until she did.
“Tomorrow, sweet pea,” Marianne said, pulling the blanket back for Zoe to tuck in.
The little girl considered for a moment, clearly trying to decide if she should push a little more, then gave up the cause and slid beneath her blanket.
“I wish Grandma lived with us,” Zoe sighed.
“She basically does. She’s with you after school until I get home and has dinner here almost every night.”
“I know, but I bet she’d have a sleepover with me.”
“Maybe, but then you’d have to listen to her snoring all night,” Marianne said, leaning forward and tickling Zoe’s side.
Zoe giggled and wiggled away.
“She sounds like a growling tiger,” she said, giggling some more.
“Or a bear,” Marianne said, lying next to her daughter and wrapping her arm around her.
“Tell me one story, please,” Zoe said.
Marianne considered, and then began a tale.
“Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Zoe, and she went on a hundred grand adventures. She traveled the whole world. She swam deep beneath the ocean waves, and she took a rocket ship all the way into space. When she was done exploring the entire universe, she came back home and had spaghetti with her mom and grandma, and the three of them watched a movie, then fell asleep. The end.”
“That was a super short story,” Zoe protested.
“And it’s getting late. You need to get some good sleep for school tomorrow.”
“We’re learning about bugs,” Zoe said.
“Can’t wait to hear all about them,” Marianne replied.
She kissed the top of her daughter’s head and hugged her one more time.
&n
bsp; “Good night, my love. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“I’m thirsty,” Zoe said.
Marianne plucked a water bottle from the bedside table.
“Nice try. You have water right here.”
“It’s not cold water.”
“Nonsense. It’s room temperature. That’s how they drink water in Europe.”
“Really?” Zoe asked.
Marianne nodded, handing Zoe her water bottle.
“Really. If you want to travel the world, you need to learn how to drink water without ice.”
“Okay,” Zoe said.
When there was no further comment, Marianne seized her moment and shifted off the bed. She turned out the light.
“Good night, Mama. I love you,” Zoe said.
Marianne’s heart glowed.
“I love you, too. Good night.”
She closed the door gently and stood in the hallway a moment, waiting to see if Zoe would call for anything else. Six-year-olds were notorious for finding any excuse to avoid bedtime, and in this, Zoe was no exception. When the silence lasted, Marianne crept back down the hall and sat at the kitchen table, ready to budget in depth.
She laced her fingers together and stretched them outward before picking up a pencil and writing out the numbers from the various bills piled on the table. She was lost in deep concentration when her phone rang, startling her.
“Who on earth…” she grumbled.
When she glanced at the phone and saw her mother’s number, she set the pencil down and tapped the ‘Answer’ button.
“Hi, Mom,” she said.
“Hello,” Elaine replied. “How did Zoe do?”
“Fine. She tried to get a sleepover and protested a little bit, but she’s sleeping.”
“Good,” Elaine said. “How was your day?”
A bubble of excitement rushed through her as Marianne grinned. It was so rare when she was able to impart good news.
“Kind of amazing, actually,” she said.
“Oh? You sound excited,” Elaine said.
“I am. I managed to find a solution to our financial issues today,” Marianne said.
“What? How?”
“Don’t worry about it. The important thing is, I got enough money to keep us all secure for the next several months, at least. For now, our money worries are over.”
“Marianne, I…” her mother said, unable to finish the thought. Marianne waited for her mother to compose herself. Elaine cleared her throat.
“I’m eternally grateful for how much you’ve helped over these past few months,” she breathed.
“Mom, please. You’re my mother. You took care of me on your own and still gave me a beautiful childhood. I’m going to take care of you for as long as I live.”
“Yes, but at what cost? How much money did you get?”
“Ten thousand,” Marianne said.
“Ten thousand?” her mother replied, incredulous. “Did you win a lottery?”
“Nope,” Marianne said.
“Did you take out a bank loan? If you did, honey, I’ll pay you back every cent.”
“It wasn’t a bank loan, Mom.”
There was a small silence on the other end of the line.
“Marianne…what did you have to do to get that kind of money?”
The concern and worry in her mother’s voice almost put Marianne on the defensive, but she remembered that it was her mom she was talking to. Her intentions were always for the best, even when she voiced concern. Elaine Lawson was nothing if not straightforward and outspoken about her opinions. It was a trait Marianne herself had inherited to some extent, and Zoe certainly had that personality trait, was well.
The Lawson women were a force to be reckoned with.
“It’s nothing nefarious, Mom,” Marianne said. “I simply set up a meeting with Jay Parish and asked him for a sort of advance on my paycheck. Something to keep us afloat while he continues to work through the retirement issue.”
At the mention of Jay’s name, Elaine huffed into the phone, and Marianne prepared for the usual trashing that always followed.
“Jay Parish is an abomination of a man that deserves nothing but the worst in life. I hope that he loses everything so he can see how this feels, so he can understand what he’s done to so many of us.”
“I know, Mom,” Marianne said.
Until that afternoon, she had agreed with her mother without a single reservation. Having seen the man up close, how tired he’d looked, how worn-down and stressed…
Well.
Perhaps he wasn’t entirely without heart. He’d also given her the money she’d asked for without batting an eye, which was very generous, even if it didn’t seem so to him.
Marianne couldn’t shake the feeling that perhaps there was more to Jay Parish than the papers and news reporters let on.
“I’m not so sure that going to him was the best decision, Marianne,” Elaine said. “The man is the devil in a designer suit. He’s all about power and control, and you may have just given him a reason to control you now, too.”
“Mom. It’s not like that, okay? Just trust me. We are covered now for the next few months. We can breathe easy, and Zoe will be taken care of. That’s what really matters, right?”
The silence on her mom’s end of the line stretched for a moment before she heard a breath release.
“Fine. But if you need me to go to bat for you, I will do it. I will not let that man ruin any more of my life than he already has, and I will protect you until my dying breath.”
“I know, Mama,” Marianne said. “But for tonight, breathe easy, and know that we are all safe. Will that do for now?”
“For now. The wait continues,” Elaine said.
Marianne knew that on the subject of the retirement scandal and Jay Parish, the conversation would never take a positive or hopeful turn. She changed the subject to Zoe and shared a few tidbits of their earlier conversations, which her mother was always happy to hear about, and then ended the call on a much happier note.
“I love you, Mama,” she said.
“I love you to the moon and back. Sleep well, Marianne,” Elaine said.
“You, too.”
She ended the call and sat back in her seat, wishing that she felt a little better than she did about taking the money from Jay. Was her mother right? Would he use that money as leverage somehow, like some kind of mob boss? Had she made a huge mistake?
Her brow creased as she stared into space, imagining unlikely and outlandish scenarios. After a moment, she rubbed her eyes and shook her head.
Clearly, she needed to get some sleep.
The phone rang again. Looking at the clock, which showed it was ten o’clock, she wondered who would be calling so close to bedtime. The number was private, though with bill collectors recently and frequently at her heels, she’d gotten used to seeing private numbers flash across her screen. Her usual reaction was to ignore the call and go on fretting about money, but in that moment, she had a full bank account.
Whatever bill they wanted paid, she could pay it and then go to bed.
She answered the call and held the phone up to her ear.
“Hello, this is Marianne,” she said.
“Hi, Marianne. This is Jay Parish.”
A tingling rush pulsed through Marianne’s body as she froze in place. Were her worst fears being realized? Was he about to take back his generosity?
What would she do if he did? She’d already done some spending, and if she gave the money back, her family faced dire consequences.
Marianne swallowed.
“Hello? Marianne? Are you still there?” he asked.
“Um, yeah,” she said. She cleared her throat, which had decided to go desert dry. “Hello, Mr. Parish.”
“You can call me Jay,” he reminded her.
“I know I can,” she replied.
“But you won’t?” he asked.
“What is this about, Mr. Parish? I should tell you that the check y
ou gave me has already been cashed.”
“Oh, great. I hope it’s useful. That’s not what I’m calling about,” he said.
The tight little knot in her belly loosened ever so slightly, but her body remained tense.
What on earth could the man want?
“It’s not?” she asked.
“No. I wanted to see if you’d like to go out for a drink with me tomorrow evening.”
A drink? With Jay Parish?
Had the world turned completely on its head?
“What will we be drinking to?” she asked.
Honestly, she had no idea what to say, and that question was the first to come to mind. This was all so very strange!
“Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? Also, there’s something I’d like to ask you about.”
Like a favor. Marianne had the word pressed against her lips. She could tell him no, and then what would he do? Take the money back? She’d cashed it, and he didn’t seem to care one way or the other.
“I promise this will be in your interest, too, if you’re willing to consider a business proposal. Someone with your gumption surely has the courage to hear me out on a possible opportunity that can benefit us both.”
That piqued her interest. A business opportunity? Perhaps her courage in addressing him personally had shown potential. Maybe she could find a way to move up in the company, and have more security.
A better life for Zoe.
Thinking about her daughter secured it for her.
“Yes, I will meet you. Would it be all right to do so straight after work?”
“Of course, if that’s what’s most convenient for you,” he said.
She considered bringing up her daughter, but kept that to herself. The less the man knew, the better. Probably. Marianne was so in over her head she had no idea which way was up and which was down.
“It is,” she said.
“Great. I’ll meet you in front of the building after work, then, if that suits.”
“That will be fine,” she said.
“Sounds good. Until tomorrow, then.”
“Okay, bye,” she said.
She tapped the red button on her phone screen, effectively ending the call without giving him a chance to reply.
