Damaged Goods

Chapter 6

TJ was very nervous, understandably. Lyla was nervous too, but hoping she wasn't showing it as much as he was. After they sat down at the café, she waited for him to start the conversation. She didn't really even know how to start.

"Well, so what are you thinking?" TJ started. Lyla was about to respond, when he kept talking. "I mean, I just want you to know, I really appreciate you even considering this. And I know you should probably say no. Well, if it's no, maybe I should just go? Or, maybe..."

"Yes" Lyla interrupted him, and he kind of froze. She thought maybe she had broken him.

"What, really? I mean, I'm really grateful, you don't know what this means to me," he rambled as a wave of relief seemed to wash over him. The tense lines of concern and tension that had been on his face since she had met him yesterday, seemed to melt from his expression and were replaced with a look of hope and relief.

"There's definitely a lot we need to figure out, and a million details we need to talk through, but assuming we can come to an agreement, I'm willing to enter into this as basically a contractual agreement. A two-year mutually beneficial agreement that we can both walk away from, each getting out of it what we want." It came out far more eloquent that Lyla had thought it would, but she was glad that she had been able to emphasize the transactional nature of what they were considering. Lyla needed to make sure that he knew she wasn't looking for, or wanting a relationship.

"You don't have any idea how much I appreciate this," TJ reiterated. "So, let's hammer out some of the details. Um, would you want to stay here? I mean, I don't expect you to uproot your life or anything, I don't expect you to move in with me. But, it's an option for you. If you wanted a change of scenery or whatever, or I mean, you could. But at least to get married, I'd appreciate if we did that in California. I can apply for the license, and handle all that. You would just have to show up, say 'I do' and you could be on your way."

"He talks a lot" Lyla thought to herself, as she waited for an opportunity to speak.

"I think I'll stay here. I appreciate your offer and the hospitality, but my job is here, my life is here. So it makes sense to just stay. But of course, I'll come to you as needed, for whatever contractual needs arise. I assume something simple, justice of the peace and a couple of witnesses for the ceremony?"

"Yes, absolutely. Simple and to the point," he said.

"I feel like I want to reiterate," she continued "that I'm not looking for or expecting any kind of a relationship, beyond the contractual nature of what we're doing. I'm not obligated to you, and you're not obligated to me, in a personal sense."

TJ paused, reflecting on that before responding, "I completely agree. I'm not wanting a wife, wife right now at all. I'm definitely focused on my company, and that will be my priority."

While he appreciated Lyla's candor and frankness about not wanting a relationship, TJ was struck with the thought of her having a relationship while they were married. Something about that didn't sit right with him, and he hadn't really even considered his own plans of a relationship with someone else during this timeframe, but he knew he didn't want to have any relational stake in this joint venture. But, it did remind him that he had thought he had heard at some point that she had been married, so he wanted to make sure that wouldn't be an issue with them moving forward with their plans.

"I feel weird asking this," he started, "um, but were you married? I thought I had heard something like that at some point."

"I was," she responded. "But we divorced almost five years ago. He's actually in prison right now, but there won't be any legal issues, the divorce was finalized, no loose ends or anything."

"Oh, wow... I'm sorry, I mean" he stammered, "I'm not sorry, it's better for me, obviously, but um, I'm still sorry."

Lyla smiled at him. She didn't plan to delve into any more details than she needed to about her past relationship failures, but felt there were something things it only made sense to share. Like having been married, and her ex-husband being in prison.

The two talked for almost two hours, going over the finer details of the marriage plan. They discussed a prenuptial contract, that would provide a substantial cash settlement for Lyla after the two-year timeframe of the marriage, to be distributed once TJ's father's Trust formalities were concluded, and they set a date for when they would actually get married.

Lyla would fly to California, bringing her best friend Katie to be a witness, and TJ's friend Travis would also attend, for the purposes of a second witness. There would be no financial obligations either way during the marriage, and no expectations of any type of personal involvement beyond what was necessary for the purpose of fulfilling the marriage contractually.

Once they felt they had discussed all the priority points necessary to move forward with their arrangement, they parted ways. Neither one wanted to suggest getting dinner together, as they both wanted to perpetuate the non-personal nature of their arrangement. They both got up, shook hands, went their separate ways, and TJ flew home the next morning.