Xander
I stare at her retreating back, still grinning to myself at her blush. I notice gran smiling at me and I hug her to my side “ready to go" I say.
Gran keeps the grin in her face as we get into the range rover. She’s quiet, till we enter the massive gates enclosing our property. Then she turns in her seat and faces me.
“ In all seriousness Xander, I have something to ask of you and before you say anything, know I've thought long and hard about this and I need you to hear me out with an open mind"
“Gran?” I ask, more than a little confused. Just a few minutes ago she was smiling at me and now she’s all serious. What could be going on.
Gran holds her hand up to me to stop me from speaking, “ Just listen, my boy. I have always wanted and will always want what’s best for you. You believe that, don’t you?”
“Ofcos I do gran"
“Good. I think it’s time you settled down and got married.” She says
I almost choke on my own saliva “What? ” I splutter as I stare at gran. Has she lost her marbles.
“Just hear me out. I’m not getting any younger and this cancer scare has made me realise that I need to see you settled and happy with a family of your own. Its been eating at me for awhile now and it’s the kind of stress the doctor says I don’t need” she says. Talk about a low blow gran.
“Gran, you do realise I am only 27 right? I have plenty of time to settle down and get married and you will definitely be there when it happens. You’re not going anywhere “, I say, more than a little baffled by my grandmother’s sudden interest in my love life.
“ I want you to marry Hayley. There I said it.”
“You want me to marry Hayley? The same Hayley I met like 30 minutes ago that could barely make eye contact with me?", I almost shout at gran. What has gotten into her?
“Has she put you up to this gran? Was this her idea?” I ask a rather stern looking gran. Of all the scenarios I could have come up with, I never in a million years could have foreseen this conversation. There’s no way my gran came up with this on her own. I guess Hayley’s not as innocent as she looks. She sure had me fooled.
“Xander, Hayley had nothing to do with this. In fact she didn’t even know you existed until today. You are my grandson and I want what’s best for you. Hayley is what’s best for you. Trust me on this please", gran pleads.
What is going on here. Gran is actually taking this conversation seriously?
“So, I just want to get this straight…this Hayley who apparently didn’t even know I existed has agreed to marrying me?”, I ask
“No, Xander! Why do you have to be so suspicious? Why can’t you just trust me? I haven’t spoken to Hayley. I have my reasons for asking this of you.”
“I’m curious gran. Help me understand your reasoning. If you think Hayley is so perfect for me, why not ask me to take her on a date….why jump straight into this marriage crap?” I ask, trying to understand.
“Because I am hopeful that I will beat this cancer but there is a chance I won’t and if that happens, I need to know that you and Hayley have both made a commitment to each other that you can’t just shrug off. If my time runs out, and even if it doesn’t I will know that I gave the both of you the best shot of a family together!” she says quietly. Tears streaming down her weathered face.
“Oh gran, you’re not going anywhere” I whisper as I pull her in for a hug.”
“Please Xander, do this for me. Just agree and I will take care of the rest”, says my grandmother who has sacrificed so much for me and never asked for a thing in return…until now…how do I say no? I can see she’s serious. Am I dreaming? If this is what gran wants I can give her that to make her feel better, but it doesn’t have to be a real marriage and soon enough gran will see on her own that this was a mistake. Why would Hayley say yes anyway? Unless she had something to gain. I could turn this around. I just have to come up with a plan. If I make it worth Hayley’s while grandma doesn’t have to be any the wiser and she can get on with her recovery in peace.
I can see gran isn’t going to let this go and until I know she is out of the woods health wise I am not taking any chances with her health.
“Ok gran, but no more crying" I say feeling lost.
“There’s just one condition”, I add, “let me handle Hayley. You are far too worked up about this as it is. I will do as you ask but if this doesn’t work out after we give it a try you will have to accept it gran".
HayleyMy alarm goes of at 4am and I press snooze. I do this two more times until I can’t put of getting out of bed any longer and finally pry my eyes open at around 5am, give or take a minute…or five. To say I love sleep is an understatement but unfortunately with my shifts at work, its really hard for my body to adapt to any sort of regular sleep pattern. I don’t have time to grab breakfast as I rush out the door at 6am but this isn’t anything new.I get to work and two people have called in sick with the flu. We are so short staffed. My day goes by in a blur as I handle queries and try to process as many urgent patient samples as possible.By the end of my shift , I’m mentally and physically exhausted and all I want is a hot shower, food and my bed. In that order. The last thing I’m prepared for is to see grandma Helen waiting for me outside my office building. How did she even know where I work, let
HayleyI have been living my life in the shadows for awhile now. It’s still a struggle to forget all the hurt I’ve felt from past betrayals. It feels like everything bad that could happen, happens when you let down your guard and choose to be happy, or at least that’s been my experience. So why am I agreeing to gran?Why am I feeling a little excited about this? Like life is giving me a second chance.I'm still lost in my thoughts when my phone begins to vibrate and Ava Max “On me" starts playing. I stare at the screen a little blankly not recognising the number. I'm about to put the phone back down when gran exclaims "What are you doing, answer it. It’s probably Xander! I gave him your number this morning”.“What??? No. No way!”, I say throwing the phone on the table. This is all happening way too fast.Grandma Helen promptly presses answer and puts the call on loudspeaker befo
Hayley You make a spur of the moment decision and then the next morning it hits you…like what have I done? I've already met with gran Helen again. We’ve gone over a plan of sorts. I'm to meet Xander later. Play it by ear and basically agree to whatever his proposal might be. Gran and I spoke about my family this morning and what I would say to them and we both agreed it would be best they think this marriage is real. How I'm supposed to convince them of that, I have no idea, especially after my anti social life-style these last few years. All of this is assuming Xander is even going to propose marriage! What if gran has it wrong and he has something completely different that he wants to talk to me about? That would be the biggest joke of all I think as I chuckle to myself like a lunatic. I’ve been standing in front of my white built in cupboard for the past hour and getting more depressed by the minute. Nothing looks good on me!
XanderI'm early. I always am. In business it has proven to give me the edge. It’s one of the reasons I hold multiple investments and businesses and the reason I’m a billionaire at twenty-seven. I'm never flustered because I am always prepared. I wasn’t born into money. Everything I have, I've worked damn hard for, that’s why now, I play as hard as I work. I've earned it.So for Gran to want me to settle down at 27 has had me in knots. I can’t just do as she says but I can’t jeopardize her health as well. I’d never forgive myself if I refuse the women who has never asked a thing of me and then something happens to her. That’s why I decided to go with the flow but on my own terms. If gran wants me to marry, the girl of her choice, I will, but it will only be until I’m sure gran is out of the woods health wise and long enough to convince her I’ve tried to make this marriage w
Xander “I'm all ears", she says as she leans forward to give me her full attention and inadvertently pushes her breasts together giving me a glimpse of them over the top of her dress. Well fuck me. Does this girl know what she’s doing to me? I try to bring my attention back to her eyes but damn is it hard with those plump twin peaks begging for my attention. “Erm yeah…” I say as I try to get a grip. This is not going how I planned. I knew we had chemistry from the day at the doctor’s room, but this is ridiculous. I feel like a horny teenager. “…I have a business proposition for you", I say as I force myself to snap out of it. I can’t go down this road with Hayley, not if I want this plan to work. “A business proposition?” “Yes…like I said, my gran thinks highly of you and I think highly of her so I'm hoping we can reach an agreement that will be mutually benef
XanderI am laying on my king size bed thinking about my night out, more accurately I’m thinking about my future wife to be. Eyes open or closed all I see are Hayley and those “fuck me” heels she had on. I imagine my hands peeling of every layer of clothing until all she has left are those heels wrapped around my waist.The effect she has on me is not what I expected and I have a feeling the next few months are going to be interesting. I stare at my phone and decide to message her, I can’t seem to help myself. I need to know where her heads at. She responds and we decide to meet tomorrow to go through the terms of the contract. I find myself looking forward to seeing her and that worries me. Besides barely knowing her, I know I can’t afford to mix business with pleasure.I wake to sunlight streaming in through the French windows overlooking the property’s vast gardens. I haven
Hayley After lunch with Xander, which was awesome by the way because I love being around him, I know I have to deal with my family. I get home, greet my fur babies and try to mentally prepare myself for the talk I know I need to have with my family. A clap of thunder resounds and I look out the window just as the heaven’s open up and rain begins to pelt down furiously. My already fearful heart stresses even more “Dear God please don’t let this be a sign" I murmur to myself. Mum and aunt come home around the same time, both drenched to the bone and I order pizza as I wait for them to bath and warm up. When we are all in our pyjama’s in front of the television with the heater blazing its warmth over us, I decide to start my well rehearsed speech. “So I need to tell you something.” I say as they both look at me expectantly. “Well, I’ve been seeing someone for a while no
Hayley As we make our way up the front steps, the front door opens to reveal a smiling Grandma Helen. She steps forward and crushes me in a warm embrace “Look at how beautiful you are!” She beams “Hi Gran” I smile a little overwhelmed. Xander places his hand on my lower back as he ushers me into his mansion. My mouth drops open as I enter a foyer the size of my entire house. There is an oval table with an exquisite bouquet of pink and white flowers with bright green foliage that sits at the foot of twin staircases on either side. Above the entryway hangs a large crystal chandelier catching the light at different angles creating an array of mini rainbows. An elderly man in his fifties approaches us “ Good afternoon Sir, Mam…can I offer you some refreshments?” “Hayley, this is Charles he oversees the day to day running of the house.” “Nice to meet you Charles, I’m fine for now thanks.”