Page 16 of The Marriage Deal
"That's easy for you to say. You're not the one who sent him the email."
"It's Levi Hawthorne. It's not like he's some skeevy dude who approached you in the street. And besides, his family is loaded loaded. A million dollars to him is like a penny."
Everyone on campus knew how rich Levi's family was. The Hawthorne name was synonymous with high fashion as well as philanthropy. They were one of the most illustrious families in the entire state of New York. So he did have the money. And he was Levi. He wasn't a stranger. I knew him. But that wasn't what was making me apprehensive.
That night at Levi's place flashed through my mind. That moment of the two of us standing in the middle of his living room, and almost kissing. Only for me to vomit on myself a few seconds later. I didn't want a repeat of that again. But the former. The almost kiss. My brain has played multiple scenarios of how it could have happened and how it could happen again. I didn't want to think of him like that. He was my boss. He had been kind to me once, and my brain had gone into overdrive. But whenever I was alone at night and sleep was evading me…
"I can't marry him," I said definitively.
"Didn't you say you won't be staying together as a couple?"
"That's not the issue."
"Then what is it?"
I want him.
I dismissed the stray thought as quickly as it came. "Because…"
"Because you have no excuse. You called me because you want me to say no. You want to use me as your justification to refuse a wonderful opportunity like this, don't you?"
"No!"
"But I am not going to. Think how happy your sister will be when she is finally free of those partners who are harassing her. Think how amazing it would be not to have to sell your family business."
I thought of Effie's weary face the last time I spoke to her. The fight had been drained out of her, and she was at her wit's end. She would be so happy if I relieved her of this burden. She had been like a mother to me after our parents died, and I've never had the chance to thank her.
"You're right." I took a deep breath, reckoning with what I was about to do.
"Damn right I am."
I went back to Levi's office. He seemed surprised to see me. His eyebrows raised, and his face lit up. "You need clarification?"
I shook my head. "I'm ready to give you an answer."
He nodded. That brief light gone, replaced with a blank expression.
"I will do it."
He shifted forward. "Are you sure?"
I nodded. "But for eight hundred and sixty thousand dollars only. I don't want any more."
He scoffed. "You realize I am worth like four billion dollars, right? If I gain access to my trust fund, a million dollars is like a penny."
I gulped. How did I not know he was that rich? But I didn't want to marry him for money I didn't deserve. The thought of getting even a few more than I needed was icky. I would owe him."Eight hundred and sixty thousand will be adequate."
"Fine."
He got up from his chair and stalked over to me until he was standing a few inches away. Oak and morning dew wafted into my nostrils. My heart rate accelerated. A flash of that night we almost kissed passed through my mind. My breath hitched. Levi extended his hand. I shook it.
"It's a deal."
6
Elvira
THE TWO PROFESSORS WERE having a not-so-quiet conversation in Levi's office. Levi, shouting in a way I had never heard him before, and Francis whining like a little boy who was told he could not get on a rollercoaster.
