Chapter 9: The Get-to-Know

Azalea Johnson's POV

Alright, here's the thing. I don't do small talks, okay? Whenever I talked to someone about my life or something will expose me to them, I will immediately avoid the questions and I asked about them instead. But when I was with Alex, it felt almost like…normal.

I gulped before I took another sip of my coffee. It was good enough but I think that iced coffee in the morning would make me a cold person, well at least Alex might think me that.

"Umm, I don't really know what to say but my father was an oceanographer, he mostly worked in Sydney, Australia as he was from there and my mother works in New York City but now she had retired as well as my father," I said as I looked at him. He was listening attentively to me. I blushed at his undivided attention.

"Please, go on. I want to know more," he said as he was smiling at me before sipping on his coffee. I cleared my throat before I continued.

"well, I have a sister as you might know and she was engaged to your colleague and I was trying to find some funding for my research but someone beats me to it," I said as I chuckled nervously. I held my coffee. Even if it was cold in the morning, the iced coffee calmed my heart.

"well, I suppose I have to do something else but remain in that territory of my field study," I said as I laughed before I met his eyes. His deep, blue eyes were focusing on me before he smiled.

"well, I think I have a proposition for you to consider doing for your research," he said as he put down the journal that he had been reading before I came in. I looked at the title.

"Journey to the center of Ocean, the secret within," I read it. I looked at him as he was crossing his arms at me.

"what do you propose from it?" I asked him. He smiled before he leaned forward putting his elbows on the table and put his hands under his chin. He looked like a model from this angle.

"well, I think it might be great if we could research the chemistry of the water and how the aquatic lives were revolving around it. I read that there must be something that changed their physiology that allowed them to evolve into something and extinct. Would that be something extraordinary for someone like you and I heard that no one was ever has done this before," he said as he sipped his coffee. His eyes were holding mischief as he knew that I would take the bait. And I was. I drew a breath.

"so you want us to work together?" I asked him. I mean, I have no experience in the composition of the water, let alone the chemistry of it. I just know about aquatic life.

"if you want but if you don't want to—"

"I accept," I answered quickly.

"Sorry?" He asked again. I looked at him and answered him again.

"I'll do it, I step into that shoes with you," I said as he arched his eyebrows.

"really?"

"I have been dying to get the research funded and if I was working with you," I pointed at him, he smirked at me.

"you think that you will get the funding because of my reputation. What about me then? What would I get from you?" He asked me as he pointed at me. He smirked at me. I did not think this man would be give-and-take kind of guy.

"I heard that you told my father that you wanted to get married to me. We are merely strangers. Why are you lying to my father?" I asked him as I came here was to hear the answer to that question. He smiled before he looked at me.

"well, I have a proposition on that as well," he said. I arched my eyebrow when he took out something from his bag. It was papers and it was thick as a thesis proposal.

"What is that?" I asked him. He looked at me before he shoved it toward me.

"have a look then," he said as he was smiling at me. I looked warily at him before I turned it around and read the title.

The Proposal for Mr. Alexander MacWatters and Ms. Azalea Johnson: a marriage prenup.

I arched my eyebrow at him before I opened the pages. It stated that if I agreed to research with him, it has to come with something else as well. He wanted to marry me but only for 5 years.

"Are you proposing to me for a marriage of convenience?" I asked him. He shrugged before he sipped his coffee again.

"as well as passage for your funding," he said as he looked at me. I looked at him before I went to read it more.

Terms and Conditions

Mr. MacWatters will provide passage for the funding of the research for Ms. Johnson as they will be working together on the same project.

Ms. Johnson will need to attend charity events and conferences with Mr. MacWatters.

Ms. Johnson will agree to live together with Mr. MacWatters for the time of being married to avoid suspicion of a fraud marriage.

Ms. Johnson will need to share the same bed as Mr. MacWatters.

"I can't do number 4, change it," I said as I would imagine if I have to share it with him, I might as well make it play by my own rule. He scowled at me.

"why not? If we were married, people need to think I will be sharing the same bed with my wife," he whispered to me as he did not want people to know about it as well.

"well, if we were going to, you need to add that there will be no sex involved," I whispered to him. He looked into my eyes and squirmed in my seat. I mean, who would not want to share the same bed with this drop-dead gorgeous specimen. Me.

"very well, I will inform my lawyer then," he said as he took a notepad and write it down before he turned to me.

"anything else, Ms. Johnson?" He said in a professional voice. His playful voice has long gone now that we were reading the contract that he had set up.

"well, after 5 years, what will happen then?" I asked him before he urged me to flip the pages. I scowled at him but I did it anyway.

The procedure after the marriage annulation

Ms. Johnson will be paid handsomely for the service that she had given over the 5 years. The payment was 1 Million Dollars deposit to her bank account.

Ms. Johnson will make sure to have a letter of recommendation from Mr. MacWatters and it will kick start her career.

Ms. Johnson was not allowed to speak of the event outside of the marriage.

Any relationship after the marriage will be terminated and Mr. MacWatters will not be contacting Ms. Johnson anymore.

I nodded as I read the procedure. I think I can live with that. I plan to go to the Great Barrier reef anyway in Australia to continue my research there. I think I can go through this without a heartbreak if I was ever known how it felt.

"Alright, I guess I don't have anything that I can change for the annulation. It was a perfect foolproof plan," I said as I smiled at him. He was not smiling nor speaking. He just stared at me. I keep my face stoic as he did not have any emotion on his face. It was hard to get a read.

"very well, Ms. Johnson. Shall I take you out to dinner then, tomorrow night?" He asked me as he took the contract from me as he needed his lawyer to reconstruct it. I arched my eyebrow.

"I thought we are on a date right now? Why do I have to go for another date with again tomorrow?" I asked him as I was skeptical of his request. He gave me his perfectly line white teeth. I think I drooled at the sight.

"well, this was a private date, tomorrow, I will be showing you around my family as we might as well get married early so that you can get approval for your funding quickly," he said as he took a sip of his coffee. I gulped at his answer.

"is that necessary, to meet your parents?" I asked him as I crossed my arms. He arched his eyebrow.

"very and I expect you to do the same, darling," the way he said that endearment did something to my stomach.

well, I guess there will be no escaping this marriage of convenience as it was set to the motion now.