Hop, Skip, Wed

Agreement

"Hurting someone can be as easy as throwing a stone in the sea. But do you have any idea how deep that stone can go?"

-Anonymous

***

I walked into the dining room to see an older couple sitting next to my mom. My dad was sitting at the head of the table leaving only one seat open, the one next to Archer. I gave myself a pep talk before I slid into the chair next to his. Everyone's attention turned to me and the lady, who I assumed was Archer's mother shot me a smile.

"I'm Kelly Smith, Archer's mom. How was the flight?" She said in a sweet voice.

Before I could reply, the food was brought out. I got too distracted by the delicious food into in front of me to remember to answer her question. Archer's mom and I made small talk while Archer sat silently, not saying anything, just observing. I kind of wanted to know what he was thinking.

After we were done eating, I went upstairs to check on Mia. She was asleep but I knew she was going to wake up any moment and was going to be hungry when she woke up. I decided to prepare her milk, so that she could drink it as soon as she woke up.

I warmed up a glass of water in the kitchen and was going to put in three scoops of the baby milk formula when someone bumped into me, causing me to drop it. I let out a shriek causing the warm glass of water to slip out of my hand. The glass was going to break on my foot but before it could an arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me backwards. The sudden movement made my shirt rise and by the sparks I could tell it was Archer.

I heard footsteps coming towards the kitchen and quickly freed myself from Archers' grasp. I stepped away, putting a safe amount of distance between us.

"What was that?" My mom asked, worried.

"Nothing, I dropped the baby formula and a glass. We're both fine." I reassured them.

"Are you sure?" Archer's mom asked.

"Yeah, absolutely. I should probably go to the supermarket and get a new pack of baby formula."

"Take Archer with you!" My mom said, beaming.

Before I could refuse Archer grabbed the car keys on the kitchen counter and made his way out of the kitchen and to the front door.

I grabbed my purse and quickly made my way outside. I got in the car and for the first few minutes we drove in silence. Thank god. I was not prepared to tell him that I had decided to reject his offer. I knew my parents would never force me to marry someone. I could easily tell them I didn't want to marry anyone and they would understand. I hadn't because first of all, I didn't want to have that conversation and secondly, I knew they would be dissapointed.

"So what have you decided?" Archer asked.

"About?" I tried to play dumb, hoping he'd get the message.

"About the proposal. Are you going through with it or not?" Guess he didn't get the message.

"I did and I have decided that I'm ending it. Sorry."

"What are you going to say to your parents?"

"I can tell my parents I don't want to get married and they'll leave me alone."

This must have been Archer's first time in this neighborhood because he had made at least three wrong turns in the past minute. I didn't want to be the one to break the silence but I was scared we would get lost.

"You made a wrong turn."

"No...it's a shortcut."

I just nodded along, if he said so. I redirected my attention to the radio and tried to find a decent station. When Archer stopped the car I assumed we'd made it to the grocery store, but when I looked up we were on a broken, secluded road.

I looked towards him to make sure he hadn't had a stroke and died because even a blind person could tell there was no grocery store here. He was already looking at me.

"Why'd you stop the car, we're not at the grocery store?" I questioned. Trying to understand.

"I have to talk to you." He simply said.

"Uhhhh.....okay? We could have done it at a less creepy location, but go on."

Acher rolled his eyes, "My grandfather said that the only way I could inherit the business was if i got married to someone of my parents or his liking. My Uncle Dan married someone my grandfather didn't approve of and she turned out to be a bitch. Since then he thinks we are incapable of making our own decisions. "

"Okay...."

"Three months ago Uncle Dan's son came out of nowhere and began to charm our grandfather. He wants a share of the business. I would have been fine with it if it wasn't for the fact that he's a liar and a cheat. He's going to run the business to the ground. He even married the first girl my grandfather chose for him."

"Okay? I don't understand what this has to do with me."

"Well.....you were my grandfather's first choice for me. He saw what you did for the orphanage and instantly wanted me to marry you."

I was still a little confused as to where this is going, but I let him continue.

"If you marry me, my grandfather would definitely give me the business. So I need your...help. You have to say yes."

"We met today! I don't even know you."

"Yes, but I know you."

I must have looked creeped out, rightfully so, because Archer quickly said, "When I found out that my grandfather wanted me to marry you I did some research. Just a quick search on what you do and stuff."

"Doesn't make it less creepy."

"It wasn't, I swear. Just stuff like where you work and where you study and....." Archer stopped talking, he must have realized he was making the situation worse.

"And why would I help you?"

"Because I have a preposition for you. When I was doing my ...research I found out about your orphanage. I realized that in the last three year you have admitted more than 30 kids into your orphanage. Which is great, however, considering you haven't moved means there is overcrowding. My friend that works at CPS told me that last week CPS were notified about this, they are yet to take action, but my friend says that they might do something about this in the coming months. If you agree, I could help you relocate."

"I also have a friend at CPS and so I already know about that, and we've already found another place and we're going to be relocating soon enough." I shot him a cheeky smile.

"I know that you know that. I saw the new location and it's great and all but it's a lot bigger and you will need a lot of funds to run that place. You alone can't pay the rent, buy the food, pay for the kids' education. I know you get a lot of donations but in order to run the orphanage properly in your new house you need at least twice as many donations."

"Yes, I know. I already did the math." I said, upset that he knew this stuff.

"Have you come up with a solution yet?"

"No, but I will." I had tried to, but there was no solution. Maybe if I gave every penny I earned to the orphanage I might be able to afford it.

"Well, I already have."

"Okay and what is it?"

"Well, if you agree, one percent of all the profit my company makes, will be donated to your orphanage."

My eyes widened at that, even though I had tried to act superior I had also stalked him before my shower. His family owned a chain of five star hotels around the globe, and they were basically billionaires. One percent of the entire profit was a huge amount of money. I could probably pay a part of every kid's college tuition. I pretended to think about it for a moment so that I wouldn't seem desperate.

"Okay." I said calmly, even though on the inside I was relieved that I finally had a solution to the problem.

"No fucking way are you serious? You have made me the happiest man on this planet." His smile was contagious.