1 - DEVIL'S BARGAIN
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?