✔️ The Arrangement (A Kinky Romance) [1st Draft]

The Waiting Game

Once that ring was on her finger, Selene was not taking it off. Of course, people at the restaurant noticed, including many of the men who'd repeatedly hit on her. Fortunately, she wasn't generally waiting tables and they weren't ballsy enough to make a scene in front of the other people around. Mrs. Robinson was thrilled and wanted to plan them an engagement party. With everything going on, Selene was reluctant, but after talking with Nick, she got her way. Secretly, Selene was thrilled because she knew the woman didn't do things for many people. It told her how much the older woman thought of her.

On top of all that, adjustments were made to their security and they looked at a lot of houses. Half were ruled out as being too difficult to secure, others because one or the other of them didn't like it. Selene wanted a big yard, no large windows, an attached garage, and a stone wall they could add to. Nick wanted something with class and preferred to focus on the finer parts of the house, such as marble floors and exotic wood floors. The contrast was a reflection of their own – one more interested in the basics, one more interested in the quality. Between the two of them, though, they settled on two houses that Nick bought outright and had them quickly modified and set up. Should they have to retreat to either of them, they could continue life as if nothing had happened.

Selene had finally met the Marshall and she immediately felt incredibly uncomfortable with him. As with the men in her life, he set off her inner alarm. The difference was that he seemed familiar to her, somehow, but she couldn't put her finger on just what it was triggering that feeling. Nick and Ahmed hadn't been messing around, either. The man couldn't get near her without someone stepping into the area. She'd been introduced to the whole team now, so she knew exactly who she could trust – to some degree, anyway.

"Isn't this all a little extreme," she asked as she watched them replace the windows with what she'd been told was bulletproof. "I mean, it's not like we're going to be under attack from an army or anything."

Ahmed and Nick shared a look.

"Honey, these people could be connected to anything. It is possible someone could send people out to kill you or people close to you to keep you quiet," Nick explained. "There are some suspected ties to one of the cartels," he reminded her.

"It just seems so ridiculous. I'm just one person and I only know so much," she said with frustration. "Plus, this must be costing a fortune!"

"I have more than enough to cover all of this. I could buy and do this to 10 more houses right this minute, if I wanted. Relax," he told her, "it's just money. I can't put a price on your life – there isn't any amount of money in the world to make up for you. I'd rather get it all right the first time. I can't lose you, Selene."

"Are you really sure we have to do all this?"

"I would rather waste money making this place 100% safe than risk losing you or your getting hurt."

Selene sighed, still not convinced. The reinforcements on the doors, the security locks inside the house, the safe room, the hidden staircases, the guard shacks at the entrances to the property. The spotlights outside around the fence and closer to the house made sense. Alarms on the windows and doors make sense. The sensors on the added fencing made sense. Reinforcing doors and windows, plus the walls around them, all made sense. But bulletproof windows, fingerprint scanners, the double redundant ultra-secure security system with cameras, motion activation devices, heat sensors, and security patrolling the property at all hours just seemed to go a bit overboard. She always ended up shaking her head and going on to pick out paint colors and light fixtures and everything else that had to be updated or redone.

While this was going on, they first had their anniversary party that was fairly small and intimate. It was just their closest friends and a few important in their social circle. Then, they received the notifications about the party Mrs. Robinson was throwing. It included a date to take their pictures together with a date at a dress shop that only allowed shopping by appointment. It was ultra-exclusive and held a very prestigious list of clients who were each personally invited to shop there. The clothing they sold were apparently one-of-a-kinds and were only available in certain sizes unless they were custom for a specific client, something that was completely at the discretion of the designer.