The Marriage Contract

Chapter 4: The Meeting

Lucas was never frazzled, ever since he took over the company. Not with all the competitors who will use anything to crush him. But not today, since the moment that his secretary, Ms. Sophie told him about his visitor - a certain Ms. Claire Sullivan - he felt anxious, almost to the point of biting his nails. That is why he told her that he will receive the woman in about five minutes. The exhaustion he felt at the meeting was replaced by anxiety and apprehension of meeting his wife in paper only.

It took him several seconds to remember why the name Claire Sullivan rings a bell, only when Sophie probed him of an answer that he remembered - it is the name of his bride in the marriage contract that he formulated several months ago.

He quickly took his phone out to send a message to Drake but decided against it at the last minute. He will contact his friend only after meeting the woman, maybe she's a fraud and is only pretending in order to get to him.

He pressed the intercom after a much needed time to calm his nerves and instructed Ms. Sophie to let the woman in.

All the preparation he took during the last several minutes was for naught, because his jaw slacked and he nearly fell out of his chair at the sight before him.

The woman is beautiful - no, beautiful is not the right word to describe her, ethereal is a more apt description. A flawless skin that seem to glow with the light streaming from the large windows in his office, a pert nose, a full and pink sensual lips, her eyes - the greenest he had ever seen - were framed by long lashes, and her auburn tresses with a tinge of blonde cascades her back. She's wearing a light blue dress that went below her knees making her shapely legs in full view. Her feet is clad in a strappy heeled sandal, but even with the heels she is still on the small side, maybe 5'6" at most, she will be considered small with his 6'2" frame. He studied her unabashedly while she took in his office. Only when the woman's eyes were directed to him that he stopped taking in her features and masking his expression with a scowl.

He saw her walking slowly towards him after plastering a small smile on her luscious lips. What she said as a greeting made him scowl more.

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Claire didn't know what came over her. She just blurted all those words without thinking, which is not really her. She tends to overthink things, she will run the whole idea in her head million times over before making a decision and putting it to work or words - which she clearly missed just now. The scowl that was already etched in the face of the man in front of her became more frightening after what she said.

Locking inside the remaining courage she got and clearing her throat, she made another attempt.

"Sorry about what I blurted out, but if you are Lucas Gregory Harrison V then you must be the husband - as what this document says - that I've never had the opportunity to meet this past five years." She finished, still with a small smile on her face.

She took a step back when the man rounded his table and stopped in front of her, not because she was intimidated but because of the sudden awareness that she felt when she inhaled his scent, a mix of sandalwood and mint; and the fact that his eyes are boring into her making her inside melt. She thought she is immune to the looks of this man what's with growing up with her brothers, but clearly, he is affecting her unlike any other men she met before.

She cleared her throat again. "Are you parched?" The baritone voice made her jerk her head towards the man. "I'm sorry?" "I thought maybe you're thirsty because you've been clearing your throat several times already." Lucas calmly explained, although he knows that he is making her uncomfortable, he can do that to anyone especially during the initial meeting. He will bore his eyes to whomever he met, not saying anything for the first few minutes making them squirm until such time that he can practically see them sweat with fear and anxiety.