บท 2: What's The Catch?
Maya blinked at the man as she tried to make sure she heard him right. Because she was fairly certain he had just asked her to marry him.
"What?" she asked stupidly.
"Marry me," Vincent repeated.
She had a hard time believing those words just came out of his mouth. They never spoke beyond carrying out his daily transaction! He wasn't one of those regulars that made small talk either; he literally came, said good morning, nodded when she asked if he wanted his usual, then thanked her at the end. That was it.
Maya had always thought he was a man of few words. He was handsome but in a forgettable sort of way. Even his voice was low to the point of practically being nonexistent.
He had white blonde hair with a neat side part, wore light colored polo shirts with light gray slacks every time she saw him, and had round, clear-framed glasses. He was so pale and generally colorless that he didn't make much of an impression.
So where had this uncharacteristic boldness come from? This guy was basically the Invisible Man!
"Why?" Maya asked before she could stop herself.
The proper response to being proposed to by a virtual stranger at work was probably to call for her manager, ignore it and take his order anyway, or lie and say she was already taken. But she was completely baffled so the question slipped out.
"I need a partner and you need money," Vincent said as if it should have been obvious. "I have plenty of that. Marry me and I'll pay off all your debts. You wouldn't have to work here anymore either. I could see how annoyed you were getting with the rabble earlier."
Maya gaped at him uncomprehendingly. Forget the fact that he was staring at her earlier without her noticing; how on earth did he know about her debt?
"Where did you hear about that?" she demanded once she came to her senses.
"From you, of course. You were talking about it with your coworker three days ago," he replied calmly.
Scrunching up her face, Maya thought back. She had been talking with her coworker Chris—the barista who was currently on vacation—about how she might need to become a stripper soon with their wages.
He moonlighted as a bartender at a strip club because this place didn't pay the bills and offered to hook her up when he got back. She was seriously considering taking him up on it even though she didn't want to deal with being ogled at by creeps for money.
First of all, she had been fairly certain the shop was empty when she had that conversation. She never would have talked about something like that where a customer or, even worse, her manager could overhear.
Second of all, how did Vincent jump from the conclusion of 'Maya needs money' to 'I should marry Maya'?! That was a pretty big leap to make. How desperate was he to get married, anyway?
Maya's face burned with the intensity of several suns. Her morning had already been terrible and now she found out someone that she saw every day knew that she had plans to become a stripper.
It was a last resort. She only needed enough money to move to another city and try again with her architect credentials. She could block everything around her out as she danced; she was good at that.
"Oh. You heard that. Great," she said in a higher-pitched voice than usual before clearing her throat. "But why me? We've never even had a proper conversation."
"Why not you?" Vincent countered.
Maya could think of a whole lot of reasons why not her, okay? Dozens of them! Possibly hundreds! She decided to stick with the most basic one. "Because you don't even know me? Didn't you get the order of things a bit wrong? Asking me out first is where you're supposed to start."
Not that she would have said yes. She was done trusting people after everything she had been through. She didn't have a single drop of it left.
"Why would I waste my time on something like that?" Vincent asked lightly. "I have more important things to do than woo a woman."
Maya was even more baffled than before. "Then why do you want to get married? Isn't wooing the most basic part of that?"
"I have a rather unique set of circumstances that I can explain later. Are you willing to take me up on my offer or not? I do have other things to do today. It doesn't have to be you, though you are my preferred candidate."
Hold up. Preferred candidate? Had he tried this bizarre trick on other people before? And 'a rather unique set of circumstances' sounded super sketchy to her. That was a definite red flag, especially since he put off explaining it.
What sort of scam was this? Was he trying to kidnap someone and sell them? Participate in some sort of perverted fetish of his? What exactly did he want a wife for?
"Why do you want to get married?" Maya asked with narrowed eyes.
Vincent shrugged. "I told you, I need a partner. My observations tell me you would do nicely."
"You're really creepy, you know that?"
He was completely unbothered by the insult. "So I've been told. But I have no ill intentions. In exchange for your cooperation, your debts would be paid and you would get to live a life of luxury."
'A life of luxury' sounded a lot like being a sugar baby to her. She wasn't interested in that at all. Not after what she had been through.
"That's even creepier. Find someone else to be your sugar baby, Vincent. Are you going to order anything or not?" Maya demanded. "Because if you don't, I'll have to kick you out."
It was a total bluff; she wasn't physically strong enough to toss someone his size out. He might be a beanpole but he had to be more than a foot taller than her. She couldn't tell exactly how tall he was but she came up to his chest and had to crane her neck to look at him from up close.
Vincent shook his head. "You misunderstand; I have no interest in a physical relationship. I told you already that I need a partner. Someone that shares my general worldview and is able to help me accomplish my goals. I believe you are most capable of that."
Now her curiosity was piqued. She already knew he was more observant than he let on and was good at hiding in plain sight. What else had he noticed about her? Whatever it was definitely hadn't come from their actual interactions.
"Oh? Explain," Maya said somewhat cautiously. She didn't want him to know she was curious.
Vincent's blank expression broke slightly when his lips twitched. Was that his version of a smile? She had never seen him smile before when they interacted.
"You are an architect that has been blacklisted for holding your bosses accountable for their actions cutting corners. After I found that out, I looked up some of your previous work and found it quite promising. You should be designing buildings, not serving coffee. I can help with that."
How on earth had he figured that out? She tried thinking back to a time when she talked about that to any of her coworkers. She might have mentioned it to Chris shortly after she started working here. But that was months ago!
"You can help me get off the blacklist," Maya said doubtfully. "You."
"I don't have that kind of power. But I can allow you to utilize your talents in other ways. If you marry me, your debts will be paid, you'll be able to design again, and you can have any sort of lifestyle you want. All I need is your cooperation," Vincent replied, unbothered by her tone.
This sounded way too good to be true. No physical relationship but only benefits for her? "What's the catch?"
He shrugged. "There is no catch. Unless you consider a no-divorce condition a catch."
No divorce? That would mean she would be stuck with him for the rest of her life! She had no plans to ever get into any sort of romantic relationship again but wouldn't that be limiting her personal freedom? She was only twenty-eight; she had her whole life ahead of her.
Maya's eyes narrowed. "Why wouldn't divorce be allowed?"
"To save me the hassle of having to find another partner later. Simple as that. Are you willing or not? As I said, I do have other candidates in mind," Vincent said showing the slightest hint of impatience.
She scowled. He was expecting her to make a decision based on so little information right now? She weighed her options. It would get her out of the women's shelter and this crappy job. She wouldn't have to worry about her debt either, only her ruined credit.
How much money did this guy have though? She had more than a hundred thousand dollars' worth of credit card debt because of how many cards her idiot ex had opened in her name after getting a hold of her social security number.
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