Chapter 5 The Marriage Deal

Lauren Gartner brushed her hair and gazed at her reflection in the mirror. A thunder rumbled from afar and Lauren walked over to her bedside window and pulled the window shut. "This still feels strange" She mumbled to herself as she prepared for work. If that voice she had heard was real, that means she had come back to life. Everything was so normal and it creeped her out. She couldn't understand anything that was happening at this moment. "Thinking about it now, why did Mrs Susan pick me out of all the nurses? How did she even know me out of a thousand workers?" Lauren mumbled on and frowned. Was this some kind of mysterious coincidence? Lauren felt uneasy but she knew that she had to listen to everything that voice revealed unless she would meet the same fate. She glanced at the time quickly, noting she had about 5 minutes more to leave. She packed the nutrition file that belonged to Richard Harrison, the client she would be meeting today…. His mother had sent some extra materials regarding his health to her email. She had printed them out to draw out a meal plan for him later. Lauren sighed and straightened her blouse. "Okay. First things first, Find a way to get access to Stefano's Boss. Second thing, find out the identity of the woman Stefano was cheating with. The same woman he is also currently cheating with…..the timeline was still the same. Lauren closed her eyes briefly, waiting for any feeling of heartbreak or pain at the thought of Stefano with another woman but she felt nothing. She just wanted to repay him, mess him up as much as he had messed her up. She grabbed her keys, wore her shoes and stepped out for today's agenda….. Meeting Richard Harrison, her new client. ___________~~~~~___________ "Good afternoon. How can I help you?" The secretary glanced at her holding a pen and stack of paper in her hand. Lauren cleared her throat. "I'm scheduled to meet Mr Richard Harrison. His new nutritionist." The secretary, Jennifer, raked her eyes over Lauren's appearance slowly. "You look familiar. Have we met before?" Lauren furrowed her brows. "I'm not sure about that." "Do you work here? At Regen?" "Yes. I'm a nurse and part-time nutritionist." "Name?" "Lauren Gartner" Jennifer tapped the monitor in front of her a few times and then called the telecom and listened to the person who was speaking before dropping the receiver down. "You can go in, Miss Lauren. Mr Harrison is waiting." "Oh okay. Thank you." Lauren replied and walked ahead till she got to the dark brown door with a sign that read 'Head Manager'. "Lauren, you can do this. You can do this!" She mumbled to herself. She took a deep breath, pulled open the door, walked in and shut it quietly. She saw him, sitting down in front of his monitor as he clicked the mouse nonstop. She walked forward and stopped in front of his desk. "Good afternoon sir. I am your new nutritionist, Lauren Gartner." "Okay. Sit" He replied without looking in her direction and continued clicking and typing away at whatever was on the screen. Lauren reached for a chair, sat down and placed her bag on another chair. She pulled out the brown envelope that contained his nutrition file and placed it on her lap. She waited patiently as Richard continued typing and clicking his mouse. He pointed at the desk still not looking at her. "Just place the meal plan there and let's call it a day" Lauren raised an eyebrow and looked at him. This was not the agreement she had with his mother. She was supposed to 'actively' follow up with him for three months until his digestion improved. Mrs Susan had still called her this morning, reminding her of what she expected. Lauren remembered that his mother had stated clearly that she spoke to Richard last night and early this morning. So, he had to be very aware of what was expected of him. Why was he acting this way? Was he trying to prevent her from the sweet '$300,000' deal she was about to get? No way! Lauren couldn't miss out on that money. She was willing to frustrate the son just to please the mother. Also, this was her way to get access to Stefano's Boss…..by getting into Richard's circle of acquaintances and friends. Her two month time frame was already counting. Two months was not a long time. She had to hurry up. "That's not how it works." She answered, keeping her face straight. The clicking stopped. Richard glanced at her and moved his chair closer. He placed his hands on the desk and continued looking at her. Lauren raised an eyebrow and stared back at him, watching him as he watched her. This was weird. Why wasn't he saying anything? Ugh! This is why she preferred Logan between the brothers. This one sitting in front of her was just….ugh! "I heard she is paying you $300,000 for this." "Yea. So?" Lauren almost smacked herself inwardly for giving that response. He was frustrating but she had to find a way to work around him, right? Ugh! Did she really sign up for this? Richard continued watching her and he chuckled. "Feisty, I see. My mom brought a hot-blooded one this time." Lauren sighed. "I know what you're doing. You cannot frustrate me out of this job. The pay is enticing. I am staying by your side for the next three months, Mr Richard. Say whatever you want." Richard laughed. A sound that annoyed Lauren and made her roll her eyes. He leaned closer on the desk and smiled at her. Lauren frowned at him. She could see he was thinking deeply about something as he looked at her. Did he know her from somewhere? Had they crossed paths before? Richard took a deep breath and even though his brain screamed 'no', he opened his mouth and blurted out without thinking. "Lauren Gartner, let's get married."