An Arrangement of Love (15 page)

“Why did Dawn cut her off in the first place?”

“I don’t know or care. Yancy was so nasty and mean to everyone. Even though we were close, she was always bullying me.” Lucy lifted her sunglasses and wiped a tear from her right eye. “Even Chase was tired of Yancy. He had planned on holding a secret meeting with Dawn, Wendy, and me to get our approval to end the relationship with her, but that evening someone attacked her.”

Too much of a coincidence.

A sliver of fear crept up my spine. My mind began to do all the things I’d been training it in the past years not to do—creating scenarios of my oncoming violent death and wondering about strangers lurking around me with knives ready to attack.

Breathe. Relax. Stay in the moment.

“Due to Evelyn and Yancy, you had to take the drug tests and credit check.” She looked at me. “Are you okay?”

“Yes. I’m just a little freaked out by this news.”

“Well, don’t be. Due to the attack we all have bodyguards. You’ve had two guards since the week after Chase spotted you at Equinox’s Garden Party. I hired them.” She pointed to a large white guy in a red shirt across the street. He resembled a massive bodybuilder among all of the people walking by. I had no idea how I never noticed him before.

“I’ve never seen that guy.”

“They’re easier to spot in foreign countries.” She scanned the area. “I don’t see your other one, but he’s a big black guy. Really hot. Chase was actually worried about assigning him to you, so the guard is ordered to keep a good amount of distance away from you. But, most importantly, these deaths were all two years ago. Are you sure you’re okay?”

I inhaled and exhaled. “Yes. Let’s stop talking about this for a while and eat.”

“Sounds good to me.” She gave me a quick hug and walked off to where the green stew was.

What am I getting myself involved with?

Chapter 14

I
nstead of the
glamorous dress Chase picked out for me, I wore a gold pantsuit I’d brought with me. The pants’ satin material clung to my hips and thighs. The top was similar to a corset, except instead of wrapping around my back it had straps that tied around my neck. I still looked sexy but on my own terms, not Chase’s idea of beauty. And he needed to know that any further relationship with me would involve him respecting my desires and need for independence.

Four index cards rested in my hands. On them were well thought-out rules and limits that I would need respected before I even considered his arrangement.
And I can’t believe I’m even considering it.

A cool breeze blew through the curls that hung down from my updo. Chase has assigned a hairstylist for Lucy and I, as well as a makeup artist. He’d left letters in both of our rooms, requesting that we wait in front of his door so he could escort us to the party. In another symbol of asserting my independence, I went to the party without him, greeted the birthday boy, and now stood by the lavishly catered hor d’oeuvres table, sampling succulent treats.

He wants me outside his door panting happily like a little puppy waiting for her master to give her a walk. He can come to me when he wants to talk.

My thoughts remained confident, but my fingers shook. Uneasiness fluttered in my stomach.
Am I really going to try this? Is my logic even designed for this?
I’d assumed a woman who agreed to sharing her man was either a doormat, diva, or so confident in her awesomeness she never experienced insecurity or trust issues. And then it was just the ickiness of realizing your man kissed and had sex with other women, females I would see each day in some freaking skank dormitory.

Stop thinking about this. I don’t even know what he’s going to say about my limits. Focus on the party.

The family hosted their son’s birthday party in a garden full of blooming flowers. Strings of tiny white lights dangled from trees and arched over the entire space like a glowing ceiling. The aroma of food mingled with exotic perfumes. People dressed in glimmering fabric. They danced, chatted with others, and overall enjoyed the party around me. Music soared in the air, presenting an upbeat sound I’d never heard before. Earlier, a group of dancers had performed a whole Bollywood scene on the stage in front of us. Neither Chase nor Lucy had appeared yet. I’d forgotten to leave a note. Hopefully, they would leave without me.

I scanned the crowd and spotted Chase standing more than ten feet in front of me. He watched me with hungry eyes. I gulped in much needed air. Our eyes met. His face contained no expression, no clue of whether he was annoyed or intrigued by me disregarding his orders. People walked right in front of him, destroying my view. Once they strolled by, he’d disappeared.

Of course. Now he knows where I am and I feel like some defenseless, hunted animal while he’s somewhere out there stalking me.

Sighing, I lifted my wine glass to my lips and feigned a bored look, but my eyes frantically searched everywhere—the crowded dance floor, the stage where the birthday boy’s party lounged, and even the exiting area of the garden.

Chase placed his hand on my lower back. “On nights when I’m alone in my bed with just my thoughts, I’ll be thinking of how you look tonight.”

I was glad I didn’t jump, but my hands began to shake.

“You look divine. I’m glad you didn’t wear the dress I picked.”

“Thank you.” The little confidence I had within me evaporated like smoke and I couldn’t figure out why it left or how I was going to get it back.

“Lucy told me you talked, and you wanted to come to some sort of compromise on the arrangement,” he whispered in my ear. His breath tickled and delivered a tiny shiver across my skin.

I stifled a moan. “Yes. I’m willing to try this situation if we can come to an agreement with my own rules and limits.”

“So a negotiation?” His lips curled at the edges. “Now we’re talking. This is something I can understand. Let’s go somewhere we can hear each other better.”

With his hand still on my back, he guided me past several rose bushes. The music’s volume decreased with each step until only the sounds of our footsteps on the stone walkway lingered. A gray wall with carved writing appeared next to a bench. A sparkling stream lay in front. The sky and its glittering stars reflected on the watery surface. The roses’ perfume wrapped around me as I lowered onto the bench.

“Okay. Let’s start.” Chase sat down beside me. He attempted to glance at my index cards.

“Stop that.” I pressed the cards to my breasts. “Okay. The first thing is that if I’m joining this arrangement, I will date other men.”

“No.” He narrowed his eyes. “Next!”

I rose. “I won’t budge on that, Chase. It’s the worst and dumbest part of your harem.”

“It’s not a harem.” He touched my arm. “Please sit down.”

I returned to my position on the bench. “I
will
date other men.”

“No sex with them,” he said through clenched teeth.

“No.” I smiled. “Next?”

We stared each other down for several seconds. Neither of us seemed like we were willing to budge. Heels clicked on the stone path behind me.

“How is everything going?” Lucy’s cheerful voice sounded.

“He’s being an asshole.” I glared at Chase.

“She’s trying to get innocent men killed,” Chase countered.

“So it sounds like you both are being stubborn.” Lucy patted Chase’s shoulder. He scooted over and allowed her to sit between us.

“What’s the problem?” she asked.

“I want to date other men!” I crossed my arms over my chest. “And I won’t even consider this orgy fest without that.”

“You heard her.” Lucy turned to Chase. “If she’s going to try this then you can try her dating men for a few weeks.”

“And at the end of these weeks if I still don’t like it?” Chase leaned forward so I could see him.

“Then I walk away,” I replied.

He directed his gaze to the stream in front of us. “Can I approve of the men before you date them?”

“No. I doubt you’ll ever approve of anyone else.” I tapped my feet.

He groaned. I sucked my teeth. Lucy laughed.

“How about this?” Lucy clapped her hands together. “Chase approves the guys you have sex with. You have to realize that Stone Industries has many enemies. It’s protocol that anyone close to Chase’s friends or family gets investigated.”

“Will the guys know they’re being investigated?” I asked.

“They don’t have to.” Lucy shook her head.

“Guys? How many are we talking?” Chase’s voice held a dangerous edge.

“I’ve only slept with two men in my life.” I raised two fingers. “It’s not like I have a line of men waiting to spread my legs to.”

“You do. You just don’t realize it,” he muttered.

“Let’s stay focused.” Lucy clapped again. “So far the compromise is that Jasmine dates other men.”

“I have to be a part of any investigation of the men and approval,” I added. “Plus, Chase doesn’t get the final say on who I do or don’t have sex with.”

“They’ll need to be checked before any physical stuff happens,” Lucy said.

“Including kissing,” Chase added.

“Just sex, Chase.” Lucy grinned. “Dawn will want the guys to be tested for STD’s and—”

“That’s fine, but I’m using a condom regardless,” I interrupted. “Which brings me to my other rule. If Chase and I have sex it’s always going to be with a condom.”

“I don’t like them.” He stood up and started to pace.

“I told you I had to get an abortion once. It’s something I feel horrible about and I vowed to always wear a condom until I was having sex with my husband.”

Chase dove his hands into his pockets. “Can we revisit the condom discussion later? Perhaps find other alternatives.”

“Maybe. But it will have to be before we have sex. And I doubt I’ll use any other contraceptive.”

“Fine,” he mumbled. “Anything else?”

“I won’t be living at Willow Park and I’ll only try this for two weeks.”

“How are you meeting me halfway? You’ve only spouted out demands.” He tilted his head to the side. “What is up for negotiation?”

“Nothing.” I bit my bottom lip.

“Jasmine, that’s not fair,” Lucy said. “What can you renegotiate?”

I considered the question. All of the limits were pretty concrete for me.

Chase walked over and knelt in front of me. “I want a three month trial period where you won’t run off like a crazy person.”

I sighed. “I can do three months.”

“You have a problem, you do everything to let me fix it.” He targeted me with his eyes.

“Okay.”

“You date a guy for two months at least before having sex with him.” Chase’s hands formed into a fist.

“Okay.” Two months wasn’t a big deal. I tended to wait that long to do anything intimate anyway. At least, that was before Chase and his fingers.

“Stay in Willow Park.” He held up his hands before I could say anything. “My estate is a huge mansion converted into five two-bedroom apartments. You’ll have your own living room, kitchen, bathroom, master bedroom, and guest suite. There’s a burglary alarm on your apartment with a locked entrance where only you will have the key and the security code.”

“We all live in our own apartments,” Lucy added. “They’re gorgeous, too.”

“Even I have my own apartment,” Chase said.

“I don’t know. I have my own place.” My teeth caught my bottom lip.

“Give me one month. I’ll pay your rent at the place you’re at now,” Chase said.

“A month is too much. One week.”

“Three weeks,” Chase countered.

“Only if it’s just one week of each of the three months. I’ll need a break. And seriously, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to live with everybody.”

Chase knitted his fingers together. “Okay. A week of each month and then we revisit this at the end of three months.”

“How far is Willow Park from the office?” I tucked curls behind my ear.

“It doesn’t matter. You’ll ride in my limo with Lucy and me.”

“No. That’s too much.” I shook my head. “I’ll already be living with you all. I’ll need a break some of the time, so I will drive myself.”

I raised one finger. “And no more dressing me. The hair weave goes, by the way. I’ll have that evil Fantino do something else.”

“Fine. I’ll take you anyway I can. I don’t care. The hair styling is just something I like to do for my women.”

I cringed at
my women
. In that moment, Chase snatched my cards from my hand, browsed through them, and laughed.

“I don’t have cameras and microphones in your apartment’s ceiling. So there’s no need to discuss any of these.”

“Then how did you know Troy was in my apartment the night you sent a tuxedo for him?”

“I have security monitoring your house. They scanned his face and checked it within their records system. His uniform size is logged in the system, by the way.”

“Then end the monitoring.”

“No.” He pierced me with his eyes. “You mean too much to me. And since you insist on being out in Knightson, thirty long minutes away, I’ll be adding more security.”

He switched to another card. His lips widened to a huge smile. “Why can’t I give you an allowance?”

“I’d rather not be financially dependent on you. I’ll also be sending out my resume for other companies. I don’t like that you’re signing my checks.”

“Will you work for me until you find another job?”

I nodded.

“I agree to all of your rules on here. They’re minor limits to what I desire.” He flipped through the rest of the cards and then handed them back to me. “Okay. You’ll give me three months, part of it with you under my roof. No sex with anybody else until they’re investigated and no running off through back doors because you’re freaked out about something.”

I nodded. He’d agreed with more than I figured he would, but still my hands shook and my heartbeat increased.

“So are you officially my girlfriend?” He hit me with a look that drowned in fear and intensity. No confidence stirred in his eyes as he kneeled in front of me, waiting for my response.

“Yes,” I whispered.

“You’ll tell me if anything is wrong, right?” He stood up as I nodded. “Then let’s celebrate.”