"I do not have a mom, she is dead, and how do you call a dead person?" her father did not respond to her question, he knew what she meant, he knew she was still hurting from what her mother did to them.
"I promise you that I will find a way, Anna will not die, not if I can help it" she had said before she ended the call. She intended to keep the promise.
Her toil the entire day was fruitless, she could not find a company that was hiring with good pay, and the ones with an okay pay, did not want anyone that was running a bar at night.
She returned home to prepare for work at the bar. Chloe was her roommate, she had arrived the night before.
That morning as she prepared for work Alisha had reminded her that Leonardo said she could take all the time she needed off.
Chloe has said she wanted work to be her escape from grieve. After she had spoken to her father, Chloe had encouraged her that she was going to get a job and that she was going to be on the lookout in case she found any vacancy.
As Alisha returned home from her search, she met Chloe at home.
"Did you find any?" Chloe asked as she walked into the house
"Nothing, no one wanted a bar girl working in their office, and I need both pay, I cannot quite the bar"
"I understand" Chloe did not want to tell Alisha about the vacancy at her place because she knew what Leonardo really wanted, and she could not tell her the details because it was confidential.
"Did you find any vacancy for me?" Alisha asked Chloe as she took off her clothes so she could take a quick shower.
"Nope"
"Chloe?"
"Yeah?"
When you say Nope to a question, it means you are lying"
"It is unfair, how can you just read me like that"
"It is unfair for you to keep a job vacancy from me, when you know that I am very desperate at this point"
"It is not something that suits you"
"Anything suits me, as long as it can bring money for Anna's brain surgery"
"Fine, my boss needs a personal maid; I don't know the full details to the job but you can come by for an interview tomorrow"
"No way, there is no way I want to work for Legend"
"Legend?"
"He is annoying and full of himself"
"I thought you were desperate and needed a job at no cost"
"Fine, I will be there"
The next morning a lot of women had turned up for the interview, Leonardo was exhausted halfway into speaking to each of them.
The first woman was uptight; she had a straight face and looked like someone that was going to beat him in the house.
The second was practically drooling over him and was not even listening to what he was saying.
The third was a real bitch; she had so many colours on her hair, random piercings, and was chewing a gum noisily.
The fourth was looking too haggard and below his standard.
The fifth was allergic to his cologne and sneezed although the interview.
The sixth woman sat looking at him and smiled as he spoke.
"Whatever discussion that goes in this office right now stays confidential, do you understand?" she simply nodded
"I need a wife, legally married but nothing else, no love no intimacy, and I can go on with my life as though I am single"
"Do we get to have sex?" she asked drooling over him. She was short and round, she was not his type, but he was desperate, how would he even think of kissing her, how much more having sex with her.
"Except I am drunk and not thinking"
"Do I get to have kids for you? Oh yes I would love to carry your baby"
Fuck was she kidding him; this woman would fall in love with him and be a pain in his neck if he considered marrying her
"I think we are done here, interview is over, please leave"
"Can I kiss you?" she had stared at him dreamingly.
"Hell no, out!" he ordered
He massaged his temple, thinking of how unproductive and a waste of time the day had been.
"Can I send the next person in?" Chloe asked coming into his office
"No, I am done, I give up, tell everyone left to go, interview is cancelled.
"Yes sir" she responded and left
"Grandpa knew this was impossible, he was going to take my inheritance anyways, he was just using this marriage shamble as an excuse, he can take the inheritance for all I care, I cannot marry a woman who would make my life miserable" he was talking to himself when he heard noises from the door.
The door flew open and he saw Chloe trying to stop a woman from coming into his office.
"I'm sorry sir, I tried to stop her"
"Its fine Chloe let her in, leave us alone"
"Alisha, what are you doing here?" he asked her as soon as Chloe shut the door behind her.
"I came for the interview dumbass"
"Interview is over, and don't call me that"
"I cannot sit out there all day and when it gets to my turn you tell me interview is over"
"Are there any more women out there?"
"Nope, just me"
"You have a job, and you hate my guts, I hate yours too, why do you want to work for me?"
"I need the money"
"What if I told you the job is not for a maid but a wife"
"You are really serious about this wife thing?"
"I told you I have got no time for jokes"
"Fine, what does this wife job entails?"
"I need a wife for three years, after that we could divorce, you will sign a prenup, you will have no share in my properties when we get divorced. You will be placed on a monthly salary, and other benefits and allowances"
"Do we need to be intimate?"
"No"
"Good, how much is the pay?"
"30 dollars monthly"
"Can I file for divorce before the three years elapses?"
"No"
"Since we would not be having sex, are you still going to sleep around like you do?"
"You make it sound like I am a male prostitute"
"Well you are" she muttered under her breathe.
"I can sleep with whoever I want to"
"Great, I guess I can do the same too"
"No way"
"Why not?"
"That would be cheating"
"But its not cheating when it is you that do it?"
"Well I am paying you"
"Fair enough, so can I get a two years salary advance?"
"You've not even signed the contract and marriage papers and you are already asking for an advance?"
"When can I sign the papers?"
"In a week"
"Too long"
"You are more desperate than I am"
"I need the money urgently"
"How much do you need?"
"One million dollars"
"I can't give you that"
"Look, I do not want to marry you, but my sister needs money for surgery urgently, so its either you give me the money as soon as possible or you can forget this contract deal"
"You do not need to be aggressive about it, besides no one will give you such amount just like that, but then write out your details and you will receive the money tomorrow"
"Great, call me when it's time to sign the papers" she said and got up to take her leave.
The rest of the day, Leonardo carefully worked on the clauses for the contract, he also spoke to his lawyers to prepare a prenup as well as papers for marriage, he did not need a wedding, all he needed was for he and Alisha to sign the necessary documents that would proof that he was married and he would have it in Grandpa Alexandra's face in no time.
He also sent Alisha the money she had asked for.
He sent a copy of the contract so she could read through, the next day she called him up requesting they meet up for lunch as she had some issues with some clauses in the contract.
"Thanks for coming" she said as he joined her by the table
"Make it quick"
"You don't need to be rude about it, I printed out a copy and highlighted areas I am not comfortable with"
"I'm listening"
"Firstly, you said if there is a need, I would move in with you"
"It's only logical that as my wife, you live with me, although we would not need to share a room"
"That is better, do I need to cook for you and perform any wifely duties?"
"No"
"Would you still visit the bar to pick up women?"
"Yes, maybe, I don't know I am free to do as I please"
"But I'm not?"
"You are my employee, so it will be what I tell you to do"
"So I'm supposed to be a robot you control?"
"No, you can have your choices in most things"
"Can I still continue work at the bar?"
"If that is what you want"
"In clause 7, you said if we have a child, you will take over custody after divorce"
"Yes, I included that"
"I thought we agreed we were not going to have to hmmm" she did not want to say the word
"Have sex?"
"Hmm yeah"
"We won't"
"Then why add it?"
"Why stress it, we won't, I just wanted to have all grounds covered"
"That's fine then"
"What else?"
"Nothing, I think everything is good"
He barely touched his food, and excused himself shortly after their discussion.
Two days later, Alisha signed the wedding papers and travelled to San Francisco to see her dad and sister.
Leonardo stormed Grandpa Alexandra's house with great pride. It was exactly a week after he had been given the ultimatum, and it did not take him a month, he was proud of himself, now more than ever, he was sure that his inheritance was secure.
He had not told Alisha the reason why he had wanted a wife on paper so badly, he was fortunate she was in urgent need of money at a time when he was feeling generous.
She was his investment, an investment to secure a larger deal.
"Grandpa, Nana, I've got great news" he said heartily as he entered into the mansion.
He met them at the table having dinner.
"Leonardo, you are home, come sit, I"d set a plate for you"
"Why are you so happy son?" Alexandra asked looking at him suspiciously
Leonardo filled his mouth with a chunk of chicken and chewed before he spoke
"Well, something wonderful just happened"
"Good for you, I was going to come by to the office and speak to you about that ultimatum. I would like to announce the CEO of the company by next week, because your Nana and I will love to relocate"
"There is no need of the ultimatum anymore grandpa, that's part of the good news I will like to share"
"Tell us legend" Nana urged him
"Grandpa, Nana, I am a married man" he announced proudly
"That is impossible"
"No grandpa, here are the papers" he said and handed it over to him, Alexandra adjusted his glasses and looked at the papers, they were legal.
"This is unacceptable, I do not recognize this marriage" Grandpa shook his head, handing him back the papers.
"What do you mean grandpa?"
"I must meet her and give my blessings, then you two must be wedded in a church, I and your Nana must hear you say your vow, you then must go on a honeymoon, and then you two will move in and live in this mansion, and that is final."