His Virgin Wife

Lola stared at the piece of paper in front of her but couldn't read anything. There were words, she could see them but she couldn't comprehend them.

Shawn always said she had a habit of spacing out when she was confused and hurt.

So he had always been there to pay attention to the finer details like the words to the recipe in her favorite cookbook the number she was trying to dial off the help card when she got like this.

It was funny, he knew just how devastated she could get when she was hurt, how messed up it made her. Yet, he'd chosen the worst way to break her.

He was the past, a past she refused to move on from.

Lola sat in an office, not on the expensive leather chair behind the large mahogany desk only the high class and the rich used, but on the other side. She sat on the chair everyone who came to see the owner of the office sat on.

It was comfortable and soft, yet she was feeling the furthest thing from comfortable in this moment.

The office itself was large, larger than most studio apartments she knew in Ottawa. It had black flooring that reflected almost anything whenever the cleaners were done with it, leaving it looking polished to a shine.

But here she was, waiting, an annoying and dreadful stack of paper resting on the table in front of her.

She’d gone through the details already, and while there were a few things she did not agree with, one thing she could say was that the contents were drafted with simple words.

At least he was nice enough to make it understandable.

She’d never signed a contract like this before. What was important was the fact that she wasn't second-guessing her decision.

Lola ran a shaky hand through her auburn hair. She’d done her best to brush it after work but unruly was unruly. In the end, she’d simply tied it up in the best version of a ponytail she could.

She was still going through her panic when the door to the office opened, then came a voice.

“Miss, Lola.” It was a soft baritone. The voice of someone who knew how to command and how to reward. It was also the voice of someone who knew how to punish.

“Do you by any chance enjoy sitting in the dark or is this a type of power move?” it asked.

Lola let out a tired sigh.

For all the power and authority, the voice was capable of, there was always that touch of emptiness it possessed anytime it addressed her.

He had such a hot and cold personality, sometimes nice and most times indifferent.

The lights came on and Lola winced at the brightness, It took a moment for her eyes to grow accustomed to it. When they did, she blinked a few times and the owner of the voice was right in front of her. Instead of taking the chair on the other side of the table, he rested against the edge of it and leaned against it so that he looked down to meet her eyes.

“Not a power move, Mr. Grey,” she answered, hoping her nervousness and worry didn’t affect the tone of her voice.

Mr. Grey was a tall man. And that was the only thing about him that could be defined as simple.

The rest of him was like something out of the wrong fairytale. His hair was always kept neat, squared jaws were always hard as if he was a misunderstood villain thinking of his next kill and how much it was going to weigh down on his conscience.

Lola had never seen the man in anything more than a suit. And, God, did suits fit him well.

Even now, when he was here to grant her the devil’s bargain, guide her to a decision that would be her undoing.

Well, if you’re going for revenge, dig a grave for yourself, too, she thought.

Piercing green eyes settled on Lola as Mr. Grey watched her. They were strong and assessing.

“Lola.”

Lola startled at the sound of her name before realizing that she’d been staring.

Mr. Grey nodded at the contract on his table. “I take it that you’re done with it. Am I correct?”

“I’ve looked through it,” Lola agreed.

“Then that’s fine by me. I’ll have a copy made for you so that you can have that and I’ll have a Softcopy sent to your email.” Mr. Grey paused. “If you don’t mind, can you give it to me one more—never mind, I’ll just get it from your file. You may go.”

Lola frowned as Mr. Grey moved to collect the document from the table, she slammed her palm down on it.

Mr. Grey said nothing, ever calm and collected. Instead, he turned his piercing eyes on her and cocked a questioning brow.

Working for him for so long, Lola knew what it meant. Sometimes she wished she could just do something to wipe that casual cockiness from his face.

He was a sweet man but it took a lot to get that side of him to show “I haven’t signed it yet,” she explained.

Mr Grey removed his hand from the document and sighed as if he was being forced to put up with a petulant child.

“Why have you not signed it?” he asked. “You were supposed to submit it when you signed it.”

Lola nodded. At least that was what he’d told her, but she’d never agreed to that.

The Lola that simply agreed and obeyed was the old Lola, She was a different Lola. This Lola asked questions, and fought back, and scratched and bit and…

Okay, maybe not the last parts. But this Lola had a lot of questions to ask concerning the clauses and requirements in the contract.

She met Mr. Grey’s eyes with a touch of defiance in hers.

“I have questions,” she said.

Mr. Grey’s lips pressed into a thin line, the simple action was somehow accentuated by his groomed beard.

“Questions.” He repeated the word slowly.

“Yes.”

“You never have questions, Miss Lola, why the sudden change?” he said gently. “You always figure things out and bring them when they are ready.”

“Well…” She shrugged. “I have questions.”

Mr. Grey sucked in a deep breath and let it out in a slow exhale, his broad shoulders moved with the action.

“Alright then.” He unbuttoned his suit and loosened his tie and Lola gulped visibly, “What questions do you have?”

Lola let out a soft breath and prepared herself to negotiate, this was who she was now and this was going to be the beginning of the rest of her life.

This whole thing was stupid, and not for the first time, a simple thought crossed her mind:

How the hell did I get here?

Three months ago in a meeting at Mr. Grey’s office, Mr Lucas, a modeling consultant, couldn’t take his eyes off Lola and it made her uncomfortable. She tried so hard to avoid locking eyes with him but she could feel his gaze on her.

“Pardon me, my darling, but your face, eyes and body are screaming to me,” he said, stroking his beard. “Ever been on a runway before?”

“No,” Lola said, shifting uncomfortably.

“You should come model for me.” He slipped his hand into his pocket and brought out a business card. “Here’s my card.”

Lola looked to Mr Grey for any sign of approval but only got a cold face.

Unsure, and not willing to be the reason Mr Grey loses the business with Mr. Lucas–whatever the business was–she took the card, and after getting his order, she proceeded to her office to input them.

Mr Lucas stopped by her office on his way out to say goodbye, and it was one of the creepiest goodbyes Lola had ever had the displeasure of experiencing.

“Girl, this man was very creepy,” Lola complained on the phone to Kamari.

“Hold on, don’t spill yet, I’m on my way to your apartment.”

The excitement could be heard in Kamari’s voice.

“Alright,” Lola chuckled, “Are you spending the night?"

“Yeah."

“Tacos for dinner?”

“Sure,”

Taco nights were always exciting but Lola didn’t pay attention to the pack of Pepsi and had forgotten to restock on soda so Kamari was going to have to bring the drinks as well.

“So how was work? Tell me about this creepy sugar daddy,” Kamari guffawed.

Lola laughed with her. “Don’t be disgusting. Besides, he wasn’t quite a sugar daddy but he wasn’t young.”

“He fits just perfectly.”

“Ok,” Lola rolled her eyes with disgust and moved on. “Well, your sugar daddy is a creep.”

“I’m listening,” Kamari said with way too much excitement than usual.

“Chill.” Lola waved her down. “So when I entered my boss’s office, I met this creepy guy and he almost ate me up with his eyes. He kept on staring at me while talking to Mr. Grey.”

Kamari paused, then grinned slyly “That’s kinda hot.”

“He reached out for a shake and when I took his hand, he kissed it and held on for a moment.”

“I mean that’s normal,” Kamari said. “Guys do it all the time.”

“On his way out he did the same but this time he licked my fingers. I don’t think that’s normal.”

“That’s nothing compared to what some guys do at the agency.”

“That’s right,” Lola replied with a mouth full of tacos. “He also gave me his contact card.”

She passed the card to Kamari.

“He’s Mr. Lucas!!” Kamari exclaimed. “He’s one of the top modeling consultants in Ottawa. He’s a really big deal.”

“Yeah.” Lola rolled her eyes, then added in her best mimicry of Mr Lucas’ voice..”He made mention about my face screaming at him and asked if I wanted to be on his runway.”

“What?” Kamari stuttered. “He asked you to come over just like that?”

She shook her head in disbelief, stared at the card, and then back at Lola.

“Wait,” she said. “Did you tell him you’re not a model? I’ve been trying to get him to book me for a while now.”

“Well,” Lola gestured at the card dramatically. “Here he is.”

“Could you drop some good words for me?”

“I mean, I could try? Not promising anything, though. He gives me the creeps,” Lola said.

***

At the office the next day, Mr. Lucas stopped by on his way to work just to see Lola.

His blue eyes showed hints of lust “Lola, darling,” he said in a sultry voice. “I hope your day is as beautiful as you look.”

Then he extended his hand to receive hers.

She took his hand, placing hers in it. He kissed and caressed her hand, his tongue lingering on her fingers too long to be anything but uncomfortable.

Lola cleared her throat and mustered a fake smile “I’m having a wonderful day and you?”

“Seeing you today has brightened up my day.” on hearing this Lola internally rolled her eyes “Care to sit?” She asked, pointing to the chair beside her table.

“No, darling,” he said in disappointment. “I’m heading to work now and I can’t be late. I just stopped by to see you. So do you accept my offer?”

“About that sir-”

“I’m not taking ‘No’ for an answer. I’m having a small get-together on Thursday next week, you should come.”

Lola sees an opening “Do I get to bring a plus one?”

“Sure, I don’t see why not."

With that, he left the office as quickly as he’d come, Lola finally breathed a sigh of relief hoping not to experience that again.

Lola called Kamari to break the news to her, “Hello, would you be free next Thursday?”

“Not sure, why do you ask?” she said with a little hint of suspicion in her voice “Well not to toot my own horn, but I just got us an invite to Mr. Lucas’s office party. He said they’re having a small get-together.”

“Are you sure your nasty fiance would like that?”

“Urgh kamari, why do you always have to bring up Shawn in every conversation?”

“The real question here is do you think it's a good idea to marry that piece of shit human being?"

“Do you think it's a bright idea to have your mom drive down from Toronto to Ottawa to witness her sweet baby join in "Holy Matrimony" with a douchebag?” she added casually. “Poor woman, she doesn’t know how Shawn treats you”

Lola bit her lip a bit and thought hard for an answer. Knowing Kamari, her reply had to come out witty to avoid unnecessary arguments. She sighed, defeated, and said, "Kamari, I know you care about me and this is how you show it."

Kamari's voice was laced with disgust "What's wrong with you?”

“Nothing.”

“That man has hurt you so many times both physically and emotionally, Why do you still want to get married to him?" “Are you that dumb or are you just desperate for a dick?”

“Come on now, don't be like that, Shawn will change I promise. I know he loves me and I love him too, he just gets carried away sometimes when he gets angry, plus it's not easy being with someone for years, loving them and not being able to know how sex feels like with them. You know what I mean?”

Lola paused, thinking of how best to explain it without sounding… naive. "I'm not saying his actions are justified, I'm just saying I understand, and if he's promised to change I'm sure he will, I love Shawn and he's done a lot for me, he's the only reason my mom is alive, and with him, I would live a comfortable life”

“Bitch, you think and talk like a 6-year-old.”

“Is that all you got from what I just said?”

“Nope, because you're talking trash.”

“Anyway, I'm free.” Kamari was doing something, panicking in the background. “I’m free next Thursday.”