Chapter 2

STRANGER, STRANGER

He was tall with broad shoulders and a piercing gaze that would leave any woman in awe of his handsome figure. He wore an expressionless face with one of his hands in his pockets and eyes surveying the shop like it was beneath him. His perfume had a strong smell and his gold chain had a perfect shiny lustre that was blinding. His shoes were perfectly polished with his shirt buttoned up halfway leaving his bare chest visible. " Did you have something you wanted to say?" She had heard his voice many times on the news but this time it was different. His voice was deep and scary. More like he could make even a grown adult whimper out of fear at his command. She wanted to give him a reply but her throat was dry. So she stood there, motionless. She wasn't in awe of his handsome figure; rather , he represented dominance and fear which was something she had never experienced before. He ignored her failure to give him a reply and sat at one of the tables reserved for customers. " Please take a seat" He motioned with his hands to the seat in front of him. Fiona lazily dragged her feet to take a seat beside him. As she sat down,the door bells rang again and a man of average height wearing an expensive suit walked in with a brown file in his hands. He walked up to them and stood very close to their table. " I have a feeling you know who I am but I'd rather make a formal introduction since we haven't met. My name is Damien Cook" His eyes didn't even dart a bit as he made those statements, the more he spoke,the more she was convinced that he didn't have a heart.

He may have, of course, the one pumping blood through his veins but she wasn't sure he had the one that made people human. "I have a proposition for you and it's really simple. It's quite obvious that your business will utterly fail because you can't compete against me. You don't have what it takes and even if you found help to stay afloat, I'd still bury your business and take you along with it. So let me buy your business. I'll pay you handsomely for selling of course but that means you'll forfeit all rights to this business including its name and you'll lose all legal claims to this business. Once I buy it, it ceases to be yours of course." Fiona was appalled at his audacity. Who did he think he was to just barge into her shop and make outrageous demands? " You must think I'm a fool or some lady you could just trample on and own like you do many other women. Well, I don't need your help, Damien" Fiona's expression showed resolution and fierceness but more subtly anger. " Quite the opposite my dear, I don't think you are a fool. I'm doing you a favour here. You need the money and we both know you do." He stretched his left hand to the man standing beside him who handed him the brown documents which he tossed to her. "I'm interested in acquiring more business and I'm particularly interested in flowers as you can see from the exquisite building across from here". Damien was referring to his own floral shop across from hers. "All you have to do is sign and all your money problems would go away, just like that". He snapped his fingers to prove his point. Fiona opened the document and saw the amount he was offering. It was a whopping $300,000 dollars. Her mind raced to how she would change her apartment, how she would finally be able to pay for acting school, buy herself nice things and most importantly never be hungry again. As she dwelt upon her thoughts, she saw her father's face from across the room. It was as if he was shaking his head in disappointment. She snapped out of her imagination and realised that her family's legacy was worth more to her than any amount he was offering.

She remembered her mother's advice about forging her own path and choosing to not be trampled upon by anyone or anything. She could turn this in her favour, she could bargain for more, she didn't have to bow to his demands. Then it struck her, it was her shop, her family's name and her years of investment, she could bargain for a better deal. She tossed the file back to him and noticed the surprise on his face. " You're offering me a wonderful deal, in fact I think no one should refuse this but I want to propose something better" Damien's laughter filled the room. He laughed at her scorn, so much that she was threatened to back down and retreat back into her shell but she stood her ground. "Darling, you're in no position to make bargains. Look at this place, it's literally dead!" He continued to laugh hysterically but then got himself together, then he motioned with his hands to allow her to speak. She straightened herself on her seat and avoided his gaze as she spoke. "I propose partnership. I get to keep my father's name which is the name of the business and I'll let you keep the proceeds from the business. His legacy is important to me. You can't change the name and we will be partners. You will involve me in the decision making process and you will not make significant changes to this place without my input" Fiona was searching for an expression at this point on his face but she found none. Instead he was awkwardly quiet and stared at her so much that she felt her heart skip a beat. His hands were playing with the cork of the wine glass she had left on the table the previous night but his gaze was intently fixed on her. It was that and his awkward silence that sent cold shivers down her spine. What was going through his mind?

Why the awkward silence and why was he staring at her? His voice interrupted her thoughts and her heart suddenly began to beat faster. " Well, if you want a partnership then you'd have to marry me" Fiona's heart literally stopped at this point. She felt like someone and dropped a bombshell on her and the earth had stopped moving for a moment. Her palms suddenly became sweaty and suddenly began to feel cold shivers even though it was summer. " I'm sorry, what did you say?" She stuttered a bit as she spoke. Damien remained firm and didn't seem at all like he cared about her and what she felt regarding his proposal. It seemed more like a contract to him and nothing more. " If you want to keep your father's name on this place, then you'd have to marry me. I am a busy man so I don't have time to discuss this any further. You have two days to decide what you want. If you choose to say yes, then you have your wish granted alongside your partnership. If you choose to say no, you'd lose this place anyways because I'd find any way possible to buy this place from under your nose. Don't forget I have the right connections to do so. I won't have any unnecessary competition especially now that I have a business to run. The choice is yours dear and don't forget you have two days. I'll have my lawyers draw up another agreement for our new plan." Fiona's shock was the reason why she kept staring at his face which lacked empathy. He couldn't care less about what she felt or wanted. The man who accompanied him packed up the documents and followed Damien as he made his way through the door. He left her there confused and dumbfounded with nothing left of his presence than the echoing doorbells.