Restart

Chapter 9. The deal

"You 've got to be kidding me" is what she says in annoyance while passing by me into the lobby.
She must have seen behind my intentions, to be so angry at me. Damn it that girl is too smart after all.
"Wait please. I am afraid you 've misunderstood my intentions." I yell sounding quite desperate.
"You know what? Could you please stay away from me? Why would you follow me back here? I have already wasted enough of your time, so let me be on my way." She pleads.
"Look, you 've got this all wrong. And what's up with you running away in the middle of a conversation, like a little child would. I have an offer for you and you didn't let me finish it."
"It didn't sound like an offer. It sounded more like a request. And by using that word for describing the vibe I got from you, I am only being extremely polite."
"See? I told you, you had this all wrong, so please give me a chance to explain."
"No, I am very tired and I don't feel comfortable around you, not even the slightest bit. I am going up to my room and I want to make it clear, that although I am grateful for everything you did for me, I don't feel in any way obliged to you. I would even really appreciate it if I could pay you back for that suitcase you replaced."
"Would you just stop talking for a second and hear me out?" I shout in frustration.
I don't find this very entertaining anymore and it's taking up a lot of my time. I am not patient enough to keep playing this game complying to her rules. She stops, crossing her hands and putting one leg stretched in front of the other, looking rather indignant.
"What I meant was, I need your help IF you could spare it. You already said you had 2 more weeks before you could start working, so I thought that we could help each other. And please believe me when I tell you I meant nothing bad previously, it just came out all wrong, maybe because of how desperate I am.

Claire's p.o.v.
I can see the honesty in his eyes, that have been staring into mine during this whole time, that he is talking to me. I don't really understand why I am still standing here. Is it because maybe I feel guilty deep down and I don't want to admit it?
"Fine, tell me" I say, a bit too aggressively.
"Not here. Could we talk about this inside, somewhere more privately? We could have done it sitting down in that quiet restaurant we were in, but you had to ran away like that. Let's just go back into my car, so we can have some privacy."

Alexander's p.o.v.
From my 'interrogation' earlier I know she is a psychiatrist, but I cannot overlook the irony in that, as she surely has a lot of issues.
"I didn't get the chance to tell you the trouble I was into for being late that day."
I explain to her in much detail to my own surprise, what had really happened, as I now know she is not the kind of woman that would easily fall for my tricks. At the end, I propose to her to be my pretend girlfriend for two weeks, as it's the only way for me to get out of this mess she put me into. The fact that she was married was actually making this whole thing easier after all, as it meant that the status of our relationship would be crystal clear between the two of us.
"No, I will definitely not do such a thing" she says seeming offended.
"Please don't be offended. It's me who should be ashamed of what I am asking from you but I have no other choice. I thought maybe you could feel some sympathy for the mess I put myself in, while I was only trying to do the right thing."
"And when did you think of this? It was very unlikely for us to meet again."
"Exactly. That's what I thought. I am taking this as a sign from the universe. I mean, what were the odds of this happening? I made these thoughts back in the restaurant, while you were explaining your own difficult situation and it then clicked to my mind, that we could help each other out. You being married can only be a good thing, since it clarifies the actual status between us. Please! I need your help." I am satisfied by how convincing I sound and I am thinking I am back in the game.
"No!" she says while reaching for the door.
"Ok, ok... wait! Why are you so hasty? I know you don't have something urgent to attend to, so just fucking wait". I leave my hand reached out, holding hers and preventing her from opening the door. Her eyes are piercing through mine and I feel chills all over my spine. What the heck is this? I must be really desperate.
"Would you please suggest something yourself? Would you think of any other way?"
"Look, I am not obliged in any way to suggest anything to you, or help you. It's neither my problem, nor my business to do so." She calmly says.
She must have seen my frustration as I feel like she is growing softer on me. My hand is still holding onto hers but in the softest way possible, so that she could open that door and leave if she wanted to.
"I know. Could I at least introduce you as a new employee or something? My father demanded to talk to you and since I didn't have your phone, I didn't know how to reach you, so I kind of gave up on the idea. Seeing you again by chance, can only mean I was given another opportunity to rectify things. I thought presenting you as my girlfriend was a good idea, to get away from this horrible obligation to marry a woman I don't even know because it's good for business, but maybe you are right. I never actually said that to him anyway. That you are my girlfriend I mean. He just assumed it and accused me for being late because I got carried away and lost track of time while having sex, which you very well know that it couldn't be further from the truth." I say, feeling extremely frustrated.
I remove my hand from hers and pause for a second to evaluate her reaction to this new approach of mine. She doesn't make a move to leave, so I continue narrating my side of the story.
"I tried to explain everything to both of them, only lying about the part of you being my friend. They wouldn't take it so well, if they knew that I missed the most important business appointment of my life, simply to help out a stranger. Don't get me wrong. It's not that I agree with them obviously and my actions prove what I'm saying is true, but some things are a lost cause for people like them and not worth disagreeing, as I would never win the argument."
I take her not responding with a no already as a good sign and I keep going.
"You of course have no obligation to go through with any of these ideas for me, but I would appreciate it far too much and it would make a huge difference if you'd agree to it. You would also be helping that poor girl that her own father just trades like an item. I can't believe a person would do that to their own flesh and blood. Who puts money above their child's happiness?" I say, trying so hard to hit a sensitive chord, but nothing seems to work. She looks emotionless and completely unaffected by all these.
"Please say something" I challenge her.
"I don't know what to say. I don't think I can pull out a role. I am not an actress you know. Mostly I don't understand the effect I am going to have at this. Even if let's say I want to help, since I have nothing else to do, I wouldn't know how." Her words now sound like a yes to my ears.
"I already told my father that you were a friend who I was traveling with, to explain why it was my duty to help you. He questions everything and he calls for what he thinks is a made up story, so all I want is for you to show him I was telling the truth. He can see the injury on the back of your head and you would only confirm what really happened, only adding that we are friends and you came here with me, to help me... I don't know... decorate my new apartment or something."
"That's ridiculous" she laughs.
"No, it's not. All I need is for my father and his business partner to believe me, for what really happened. Is that really too much to ask of you?"
I am out of words by now and I am looking at her directly in the eyes, only this time I am not playing any games. I am being sincere and I am hoping she agrees, because honestly, I won't take my dad's bullshit about my professionalism and integrity anymore and I most certainly won't have him calling me an irresponsible boy no more. It's more important for me to prove I was actually doing the right thing, when I was unfairly being accused of otherwise.
"Alexander?" She brings me out of my thoughts.
"Yes, sorry. I was thinking about everything that's happened and how it reminds me of an old saying. Something about good deeds returning to you and how this is so far from the truth, as I was so unlucky after only trying to help a fellow human". After saying this, I give myself a mental pat on the shoulder as it sounded so good to my ears and by the expression she had so did to hers.
"What would I be doing after showing my wounded head to your father? You say you would like me to do this for two weeks, as you said I was a friend. You have to give me a real task for me to agree to this. It does actually sound fair and I do believe you, as I think you are right, but decorator? Really?"
I smile in relieve and tell her she can do whatever she wants. I am so happy and although I was so sure of myself in the beginning, this woman was so hard to convince.
"How about I offer you a real job then? I can't provide you a position as a shrink, although we could use one in the firm, but we do have some job openings. Of course, I would also pay for your accommodation and you can choose your work position and I would even match your other job's salary." I assure her.
"You really want this don't you? Let me sleep on it." She demands.
"Yes of course. Also, I understand you need to discuss this with your husband." I casually say.
She steps out of the car after we exchange phone numbers and I am left behind with a stupid smile. Although she is a very sad person, she is incredibly smart and intuitive and it would be good for our company to have her come overboard. Not to mention how attractive she looks. The single men would give her a warm welcome once they laid their eyes on her. Married or not, it doesn't really make a difference to them... or me. Thinking of this the upward curve on my lips grows bigger.