Quinn Greyworth's offer

Quinn's face was stern, to communicate the seriousness of her words. Allegra knew Quinn was not the prettiest of Nicholas' exes.

 "And what is this deal you speak of?" Allegra asked.

 "It's simple." Quinn slid a document over to Allegra. "This farce of a marriage is still young so it can be easily annulled. In return, you will receive twenty million dollars from me. I am a benevolent woman."

 Allegra read through the contract before her in silence for several minutes, then she scoffed. "And if I don't?"

 Quinn tilted her head to the side. "Why wouldn't you?"

 "Because I am a person of integrity, I cannot be bought." Allegra affirmed.

 "Oh I know about you, little girl. You come from poverty. This amount of money will change your life." Quinn stated.

 Allegra decided to reject the offer outrightly. "I refuse. I chose to get married and I choose to stay married."

 For the first time since the beginning of their conversation, Quinn Greyworth's lips cracked a smile. "You are a hilarious young woman. Do you truly believe you can stay married to Nicholas? He's been married three times and the dead model would have been his fourth. In a few years you'll be divorced and I'm sure a bird brain like you did not insist on a prenuptial agreement so you're likely to end up back where you started_broke with only a certificate to your name."

Quinn's words cut deep but Allegra smiled. "Still no."

 Quinn leaned towards her, her mocking smile gone. "I do not know what Nicholas saw in you to marry you a day after meeting you, but I assure you; Nicholas will be your greatest nightmare. And I will be beside him, like I have been all these years." Quinn threatened. "Leave now with full pockets, or be thrown out in a few years, the way you came."

 Allegra stood, deciding she had heard enough. "Do your worst." She left the older women's office without looking back once.

 "You'll regret this day, Allegra O'Connell." Quinn called after her.

 Allegra went home, annoyed by her conversation with Quinn. If the woman meant to scare her, she was delusional. As usual, Ivory was seated in the living room when Allegra came home.

 Allegra decided to confront Flora first, for lying to her and tricking her into meeting Quinn. "Flora!" She called as she marched into the kitchen. Sure enough, the older woman was seated in the kitchen, going through journals.

 "I'm right here, madame." Flora answered.

 "Why would you collaborate with Quinn to lure me to her office? You deceived me into thinking my husband needed my attention at Greyworth Consolidated, meanwhile you were working under Quinn's instructions!"

 Flora was silent for a several seconds. Allegra expected immediate denial, but was disappointed by a blank facial expression.

 "I apologize if you felt fooled, but I did what I had to do for the family's well being."

 Allegra's anger turned into confusion. "What does that even mean?"

 The woman only shrugged in response. Allegra decided that questioning Flora was a waste of time, so she walked away.

 "What's got your knickers in a twist?" Ivory asked as she saw her stepmother walking out of the kitchen angrily.

 Allegra joined Ivory in the living room. "Quinn Greyworth." She said as she sat.

 Ivory grinned. "You met her? Lovely woman, isn't she?" The teenager asked sarcastically.

 Allegra was not in the mood to entertain questions, she only wanted to ask them. "What's her connection with the housekeeper?"

 "Flora? None that I know of other than the usual employer-employee relationship. Flora's worked here since before I was born, she used to work here when Quinn and my father were married too, many years ago."

 Allegra decided to ask a bold question. "Do you believe Quinn is still...interested in Nicholas?"

 Ivory laughed. "Not at all. They've been divorced for more than twenty years, all they have in common now is the company, the surname and a son."

 Before Allegra could reply, they heard a very lousy applause.

 "Well done, Ivory." Samantha clapped as she walked into the living room. "What a fine job you've done, teaching your father's latest plaything about our family."

 "You're welcome." Ivory sassed.

 "Hello again, Samantha." Allegra greeted, wondering what the woman wanted.

 "Hello, ugly look alike. I came to collect somethings which were originally mine before you get your copycat paws on them." Samantha said. "Ivory dearest, don't forget to tell her the story of how Nicholas left Quinn because of me and cheated on your mother, with me." The blonde woman winked, then made her way upstairs.

 "That's the only one of my dad's exes who is still in love with him. Samantha Holland." Ivory said. Allegra sensed that Ivory really disliked Samantha.

 After a long day at work, Nicholas went straight home, bathed and sat for dinner, as was his routine. His young wife, Allegra, joined him for dinner five minutes later.

 From the far end of the table, he observed her as she ate. She would steal small glances at him every few seconds then pretend like she was focused on her plate.

 "How was your day?" She finally asked, breaking the silence Nicholas deeply enjoyed.

 "Uneventful." Nicholas responded, hoping she would not say another word.

 "Do you like your dinner?" She asked and Nicholas simply nodded. "I asked the cooks to incorporate more vegetables in our meals for your sake."

 Nicholas wanted to say 'good', but he knew it might encourage her to make another sentence so he chose not to reply. After a few moments of silence, the younger woman spoke again.

 "Tell me about Quinn Greyworth."

 Nicholas paused for a minute to watch Allegra, wondering where the audacity came from. "No." He refused then went back to eating his meal. "Is there a reason you came to Greyworth Consolidated today?"

 "I was meeting with Quinn." Nicholas looked at Allegra again, surprised. "She tricked me into meeting her." Allegra quickly added.

 "And you fell for it like a gullible child."

 "Do not insult me." Allegra warned.

 Nicholas found it a little bit amusing whenever Allegra warned him or stood up to him. "I did not mean it as an insult. What did she want?"

 "If you must know, you have to tell me about her first." Allegra insisted.

 Nicholas almost laughed. Allegra's headstrong personality was the main reason he married her, but he was not about to give in to her demands so easily. "Mmh." He simply said, then continued his meal.

 Allegra dropped her fork to watch him. "Are you so in love with her that speaking about her would hurt you?"

 Nicholas looked up and cracked a smile. "I recognize manipulation when I see it. Do you think you can simply manipulate me with words?" He asked. "I do not want to discuss Quinn with you because she is someone I hold in high regards and I do not discuss my previous marriages with...current partners."

 "Can I at least know how long you were together and why you got divorced?"

 Nicholas exhaled, then decided to let Allegra have her way. "I have loved Quinn for most of my life, but there is a clear line between loving a person and being in love with a person. We've been together since we were fourteen, but only survived three years of marriage."

 "That's a little bit sad." Allegra remarked.

 "Now tell me what you discussed." Nicholas demanded while cutting his steak.

 Allegra inhaled deeply before speaking. "She offered to pay me to annull the marriage."

 Nicholas smiled bitterly. "The devil works hard, but Quinn Greyworth works harder." He knew the lengths Quinn could go to achieve her goals. "How much?" He asked.

 "Twenty million for a start." Allegra answered, noticing the anger in Nicholas' eyes.

 "Ah, she's putting that embezzled money to good use." He said, then drank some water to try and suppress his anger. "I'll talk to Quinn. She will never speak to you about such nonsense again."

Allegra smiled. "Thank you."

 They ate the rest of their meal in comfortable silence. After dinner, Allegra offered to escort Nicholas to his room as a kind gesture. To her greatest surprise, he did not dismiss pr ignore her. Instead, he agreed.

It would be her first time in Nicholas Greyworth's room.