Jayden's POV
Tapping my feet impatiently on the polished hard floor, the elevator door dings open and I stroll out with my briefcase.
I take long eager strides towards my office, wanting to get in, call Isabella and force her to do my bidding. She is my employee and this is just like every normal job I can force her to do for me in the office.
I can't possibly make do with all these girls throwing themselves at me to eventually seduce me to their bed and ruin my vows.
I can't do that. Isabella is the woman I need. She is the one I need for one year. She is submissive and controllable.
Shaking my head at the thought of trying once more to get a girl, probably from a church or a dating site, I enter the office, ignoring the greetings of a staff member who walked past me.
I stride to the high-backed office chair and slouch in before tapping on the intercom. It rings for a while before she picks it up.
"Come to my office now!" I command with implacable authority.
After dropping the receiver without waiting for her reply, I realize taking this the hard way on her isn't the solution. I am not going to beg her either. First, I need to know her decision before telling her mine.
She is the best of all the girls I have gotten so far. When I got home last night, I searched through my contact list from high school, looking for a suitable candidate for the position of a wife in my home.
Nothing.
No one is good for the position. They are all the same.
What if Isabella rejects the offer again? Why is she even rejecting the offer?
I can't point to a particular reason why she is rejecting outrightly without giving it any thought and trying.
The knock on the door jerks me out of my reverie.
"Come in", I echo my permission for her to come in, adjusting in my seat and ready to face her.
She enters, dressed in a straight leather skirt that clung to her body tightly and an office blue shirt.
I am not the type to take note of my employee's outfits but I am doing that today for my Assistant because of what I want from her. I need to know almost everything about her personal life and her mode of dressing needs to be satisfactory.
I doubt if I have ever seen her dressed this way but I feel it is because I haven't been noticing her dressing before now.
She is also wearing leather boots and her hair is packed in a bun, making me wonder what it would be like to see her hair down.
"Good morning, Mr. Russell", she greets benignly with her hands clasped behind her and her head lowered.
"Good morning, Isabella", I reply. "Sit."
She nods, avoiding eye contact with me before settling down on the chair opposite my desk.
"About yesterday's offer, have you given it any thought?" I ask, watching her calmly and waiting for a reasonable and positive response from her.
She is good for the job. I have her at length's arm, so why can't I have her?
Silence falls.
Still examining her and waiting for an answer from her or even from her expression, she shakes her head. "I'm sorry, sir…"
"Why?" I cut her short, making an effort to stay calm instead of losing my cool and snapping at her. I already know what she is apologizing for and I want to know the genuine reason behind this rejection.
She is quiet again, not replying, not moving.
"Do you have a boyfriend?" I question, my voice a bit raised.
"What?" She looks up immediately. "Of course not."
I feel relieve at the reply but then a question pops into my head. How can a grown-up woman like this not have a boyfriend?
"Then why are you rejecting my offer? What is stopping you from doing this for me?" I mutter slowly as my heart sinks inside my stomach at the second rejection in two days, coming from no one but my own staff whom I can control the way I want it.
But there is a limit to everything, right?
I don't want to further push her away with my harsh behavior, so talking things out seems like the best solution and best way to win her over.
"Because this isn't what I envisioned for myself", she shakes her head and finally raises her eyes to meet mine. "It is far from what I have planned for my life. It is far from what I envisioned."
I nod, pretending to understand. "What do you envision or what have you envisioned for your life if I may ask?"
She seems surprised that I am asking her about her future plans. But honestly, I am not concerned about that, I am only concerned about how it is stopping her from doing what I am offering her.
It is a simple job, isn't it?
Silence creeps in and I take that as an answer.
I grab my briefcase which I had dumped on the floor earlier before she entered and open it to reveal the ready contract I drafted last night before sleeping.
I was so confident last night that my new plan will work which led me to draft the one-year marriage contract and have her sign it this morning but now that she is rejecting me again, without telling her of the new thing I have planned for her, my confidence has dissolved to the lowest level.
But I am going to ignore it and go ahead with the plan.
I pull out the contract and throw it in front of her. She puckers a brow at me in question.
I drop the briefcase, place my elbow on the desk and say to her. "I am going to add $50,000 more to the money I promised initially and that makes it $100,000 in total."
It takes a while for the statement to process in her head as her countenance changes into confusion and then realization and she gasps softly, clamping her hands over her mouth with wide eyes.
"I know you need this money, Isabella so I will advise you to take it now while it still last because I am afraid I will find someone else to do this job tonight if you don't accept it", I say with a threatening tone as if that will be enough to convince her to do my bidding.
I have no one available to talk to about my offer which is why I am left to do this; add more money to the initial agreement and have her sign it immediately.
To my greatest surprise, she shakes her head just like she did earlier and my heart begins to hammer painfully in my chest in disappointment.
Something clicks in my head and I question. "Are you also one of those girls who don't want to accept the offer because I told them there will be no sex?"
"What? No. I don't mind." Her face looks aghast and then it turns flushed.
"Are you sure?" I keep a straight face, making an effort not to laugh at her reaction.
"Yes, sir", she bows her head.
"Are you a virgin?" I demand sharply, expecting an outburst or a gasp of surprise but surprisingly she nods in response.
What? She is a virgin?
"You want the money, don't you?"
"Yes", she answers softly, squeezing her eyes shut, probably to chase away the mind urging her not to accept my offer
"Good. Sign the contract." I push the contract to her hastily, impatient for her to sign the contract and let's get everything done with.
She is hesitant.
Leaning back in my chair with a nonchalant attitude, I remark loudly. "Sign the contract and half of the payment will be yours now!"
Her eyes grow large instantly and she blows out a frustrated sigh, grabs the pen sitting comfortably on my desk, and takes the contract quickly as if it will vanish into thin air if she doesn't take it now.
"I will sign it, sir", she nods at me with pleading eyes. "I will sign it", she repeats.
"Then sign it!" I shout at her to do the needful and save me the stress of more search.
When she puts her pen down on the signature areas after glancing through each page without reading carefully, I smirk proudly within me at a job well done.