A Question of Marriage (3 page)

“As a matter of fact I have,”

“What did you decide?”

“I’ll help you.”

Jordan smiled “Thank you. Make yourself comfortable I’ll be right back.” He told her, then disappeared into another room only to return moments later carrying a briefcase.

He sat down bes
ide her on the sofa. Opening it, he reached in and pulled out some papers, placing them on the table in front of her. His clean fresh scent overwhelmed her, as she tried to concentrate on the papers realizing it was a prenuptial agreement.

“Why do you want me to sign
these, if this is going to be a business arrangement?”

“Because despite that fact
, I have to protect myself as well as my assets, besides this is standard.”

Payton looked over at him. “You say that like we’re pickin
g out wall paper or something. This is a prenuptial agreement.”

“I know what it
is. Sign where the red arrows indicate.”

Picking up the papers Payton read a few lines then tossed the papers back on the table. “I’m not signing these.” Standing she picked up her purse and pushed the straps up her shoulders.

Jordan frowned in confusion “Is something wrong?”

“Yes. Jordan when you asked me to help you, you never mentioned anything about me having to sign a prenuptial agreement. And not only that, I bet there’s nothing in it that protects me, it’s all about you isn’t it
?”

When he
hadn’t denied her words, Payton turned and started walking towards the door, Jordan not far behind her.

“
You can’t just leave, we need to talk about this.”

“What is there to discuss?
As usual this is all about you,” Payton replied continuing to walk when she reached the door she turned the handle pulling it open.

Jordan strode up and pushed it shut, s
tanding in front of her close enough to touch, his cologne stirred her senses. Payton swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat, as she gazed into his deep, blue eyes, trying to steady her erratic heartbeat. Briefly closing her eyes, opening them again, taking a deep breath she spoke.

“
I don’t think I can do this.”

Jo
rdan lowered his arm, stepping away putting some distance between them shoving his hands in his pockets.

“
Why? Tell me what the problem is.”

“
Why would you even think I would sign those papers? Do you honestly believe because we’re friends I would simply sign on the dotted line without even questioning it? Jordan we’ve been friends for ten years, do you think I’m that gullible?”

It was the combination of hurt and anger in her voice that made him realize he had been wrong
about his assumptions thinking that marriage between them could only amount to a simple business agreement. It was then he realized that maybe she wanted more, but did he want more as well?

He didn’t know what he wanted, b
ut one thing’s for sure he didn’t want things between them to be strained. Payton wasn’t just his friend. she was the woman he’d grown to depend on for advice and comfort when things in his life were at their most chaotic. Though they hadn’t been together sexually, he still felt closer to her then he’d felt with any other woman in his life, with the exception of his mother.

“Fine,
I tell you what, let’s sit down and talk about it, maybe we can reach a compromise.”

Payton eyed him for a moment. “Do you honestly think it’s that simple, the two of us sit down talk then bam I sign on the dotted line? I don’t think
so; I think we need to forget the whole thing, you need to come up with another plan.”

“That’s not an option
, there are no other alternatives.”

“
This thing has really got you spooked doesn’t it? Personally if it were me, I’d call your father’s bluff and go from there. I’m sure you’ll land on your feet, once the smoke clears."

Jordan shoved his hands throug
h his hair. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I should just forget the whole thing this is way more trouble then what it’s worth.”

“That’s entirely up to you, i
n the meantime I’m going home,” Payton said opening the door walking out.

“Well that we
nt well,” Jordan muttered then walked over to his bar and poured himself a drink.

******************

Sitting at her desk doing paperwork, Payton’s thoughts went to Jordan. She hadn’t heard from him in over a week she wondered if he’d come up with another plan. She’d stopped herself several times from picking up her phone and calling him, after all, he’d created this problem he should be the one to solve it.

“Hey, you busy?”

“No, just doing paper work what’s up?” Payton said looking up to see her friend and photographer Mavis walking into her office.

“I thought I’d stop by on my way to the photo lab
, to develop the photos from Trudy Stark’s party. Are we still hanging out tonight?”

“Yeah
, how was the party?”

“It was okay.” Ma
vis told her as she sat down on the leather sofa, her camera on her lap. “You know Trudy, she’s always trying to play the matchmaker. She thinks people are supposed to be as happy as she and Mort,”

Truselle Stark was considered the matchmaking maven of Manhattan soc
iety. Every year around the close of fall, she would invite all her single friends out to her East Hampton estate in hopes they would meet the men or woman of their dreams. Something anybody who had any pride, would avoid at all cost.

Six years earlier, Trudy met and married real estate mogul Mortim
er Stark after the first date and according to Trudy it was love at first sight. The rumor mill said, she took one look at the size of his bank account and immediately fell in love with his money. The two of them seemed very happy as mismatched as everyone thought they were.

“Anyone we know show up?”

“Nope, just the usual losers,”

“I hope you got some good pictures, I need a fill-in for next month’s issue.”

“Don’t worry.” Mavis assured her. “I got it covered. Too bad you weren’t there you would have kept me from dying of boredom.”

Payton glanced up. “It was that bad huh?”

“God yes, at one point this guy with the worst looking toupee tried to make a pass at me. I was so busy staring at his rug, waiting for it to get up and walk away, I didn’t hear a word he’d said.”

Payton cackled. “Better you than me.”

“The next time Trudy has one of these, you should come with me.”

Payton raised her hand in protest.
“No thanks. I think I’ll pass, besides, shouldn’t you be inviting Andrea instead, she’s the one who wants to find a husband?”

“I don’t think
so she has desperation stamped on her forehead.” Mavis said standing. “That girl would scare the hopeless and horny men away.”

“That’s not true,” Payton said in defense of their friend. “She just doesn’t want to be alone.”

“Yeah right, whatever you say.” Mavis replied unconvinced.

Their conversation was interrupted when the phone rang, Payton answered.

“New York Beat, Payton Hollister.”

“Payton, its Elaine Cain
I’m calling about Jordan.”

P
anic gripped Payton as she glanced up at Mavis, who waved goodbye as she was leaving. “Something happen?”

“He
suffered a heart attack can you come to the hospital?”

“Is he alright?

“We’re not sure. He just got out of surgery, we’re waiting on the doctor to tell us something.”

“What hospital is he in
? Grabbing a pen and paper Payton jotted down the name and address, then grabbed her coat and purse and headed to the hospital.

Whe
n Payton arrived she was greeted with a hug from Jordan’s mother Elaine and a scowl from his father J.D Senior. His grandparents were present as well. She’d met them when she’d attended several Cain family functions, while working on the article about him.

“What is she doing here?”
J.D Senior asked, scowling at her.

“I called her
, besides she’s Jordan’s friend. She has a right to be here,” Elaine told him.

J.D Senior mumbled something about her being an “Interloper.”

“How is he?”

“Not good, but at least he’s stable.”

“How did this happen?”

“Well,” Elaine began. “He w
as in the courtroom, from what we understand, when he grabbed his chest and just collapsed. The doctor’s discovered a blockage in one of the valves leading to his heart, they performed an angioplasty. Now it’s pretty much a wait and see situation.”

“Can I see him?”

“Yes, he’s in ICU.”

Making her way down the hall and into Jordan’s room, she was greeted with the smell of dis
infectant and antiseptic. He lay motionless on the bed, hooked up to a heart machine that beeped and an IV tube attached to his arm.

She walked slowly over to his b
ed and gazed down, seeing her best friend, one of the strongest men she knew, laying in a hospital bed. Her chest tighten, she realized she’d be lost if he died, she really loved this man. Reaching down she took his hand, his eyes fluttered open.

“Hey,” Jordan said, his voice coming out hor
se.

Payton reached for the bed remote and carefully adjusted the head of the bed, then
picked up a plastic cup filled with water and bought the straw to his lips so he could take a sip then sat it back down on the sliding table beside the bed.

“If you wanted to get me to agree to marry you, this was a little drastic don’t you think?” she said half joking doing her best not to cry.

Jordan tried to laugh but it came out more as a wince. “I had to convince you somehow.”

Try as she might to hold back her emotions
, Payton wept. “I’m sorry, I just…. I just never expected to see you like this.”

“I’m going to be fine, they repaired the blockage and I’ll be good as new
, you’ll see,” Jordan reassured her.

“I know,
” She said grabbing a tissue from the box on the table drying her eyes.

The door opened and a
nurse dressed in colorful scrubs, walked in the room. She adjusted the IV attached to his arm, checked the heart monitor, took his blood pressure then noted something on his chart.

“The do
ctor will be in to see you soon,” she said, then she left the room.

“So about that thing you said about us getting married.”

Payton frowned. “We don’t have to discuss that now wait until you’re out of here and fully recovered, then we can revisit the issue.”

S
ilence passed between them for what seemed like an eternity but only lasted a few moments before Jordan spoke.

“So does this mean you’ve changed your mind about helping me?”

Payton shrugged. “I don’t know, I mean this whole thing’s got me spooked I don’t want to lose you Jordan, you’re one of my best friends, even if you are one of the biggest whore’s I know.”

Jordan chuckled. “You’re not going to lose me, they do a million of the
se procedures, I’ll be fine trust me.”

A smile played on Payton’s
lips as she let his reassurance sink in. “I know, but it doesn’t make this whole situation any less daunting.” She waved her arms gesturing to their surroundings.

“Relax, I’m not going anywhere. So about us gettin
g married…”

Before he could finish his sentence the door opened and his doctor
, a short balding man, walked in the room.

Payton sat out in the waiting room
with Jordan’s parent’s until the doctor came out and spoke with them about their son’s condition.

Returning to work
, she spent the remainder of the day at the magazine trying to take her mind off of Jordan. She knew deep down he was going to make a full recovery, but seeing him lying in that hospital bed, hooked up to that heart monitor, was definitely a shock to her system. It also made her realize that life was too short and she needed to take a chance on what could possibly be, a future with the man she loved.

****
*************

A few weeks after Jordan’s release from the hospital Payton stopped by to see him, his nurse, a middle aged dark-skinned Caribbean woman, fussed that he had gotten out of bed much too soon and insisted on working.

Making her way down the hallway towards his home
office, Payton stopped and stood in the open doorway and watched him. Dressed in black silk pajamas, Jordan sat at his desk concentrating on papers spread out on the surface his glasses perched on his nose. The soft glow from the lamp, illuminated his normally healthy tanned features, which was now pale from his illness.