The Billionaire’s Marriage Of Deception

Chapter 6

“I think I should start by saying that I completely believe in the sanctity of marriage. I do. But, you’re going to hear this and think I don’t. You’re going to hear this and think here is definitely a girl with daddy problems, who sees it as a contract but I REALLY don’t. Or that I’m some workaholic who can’t see the difference between her work and her life. But, I’m really not! I was that girl, the girl who had planned her wedding before she was thirteen. I loved nothing more than looking at dresses and imagining what kind of suit the groom would wear so this was not my plan. Completely 100% not my plan…I thought I should say that…”

Amanda bit her lip as she sat on the therapist chair. Dr. Dubrow stared back at her, her eyes soft and understanding and Amanda fought the urge to shake her. To make her realize how messed up it all was, how messed up her life had become. The therapist nodded for her to carry on and she paused for a moment. She was breaking every rule now, she was sure she could be sued if Michael knew. With a huff, she noted that if she kept it all inside she would explode and so she decided to begin.

“My marriage is a sham and…I have no idea how to get out of it.”

“My story, like most coming-of-age, adventure stories begins in a dusty office. I was working for my father, y’know, part time. After school. His business was just picking up steam and his staff numbers weren’t keeping up. So me and my mom, we used to pitch in. After school, weekends…my mother quit her job to become my dad’s full time accountant. It was the true definition of a family business. We gave our heart and soul to it. I still remember the day we made our first million. Papa was on the phone, negotiating with suppliers about one thing or another and I was packing weaves for transportation and gossiping with Gina Nunez about her boyfriend. That girl was a sl*t but she knew what she wanted out of life. Got married last year to her sugar daddy,” Amanda smiled ruefully at the therapist, lifting her fist in an ironic girl power salute.

“Go on,” Dr. Dubrow said.

“Well anyway, my mother started to scream or exclaim loudly or whatever black women do when they’re super excited. She was just taking the name of the lord in vain and Otis was screaming…we were panicked for a bit and all work on the floor stopped then she came running out of the office, waving her papers. Papa got off the phone and hurried to meet her halfway, wondering if he should be calling 911 or what.”

The therapist nodded as if to say, ‘continue.’

“Well anyway, she began yelling ‘We did it! We did it!’ and we didn’t know what she meant but she was jumping up and down in excitement and therefore so did we. And then she held out the papers she was waving reverently to Dad and said…’Our first million.’ So quietly you coulda heard a pin drop. Everyone just looked down at the papers like they didn’t know what it all meant; everyone frozen. Then I jumped down from the packing floor, screamed and threw myself into Dad’s arms. He spun me around and then we were dancing and celebrating. It was a huge fu*king deal that first million. My dad had been working and slaving for it since before I was born. The other millions just seemed to come so fast and easy after that. It was an amazing time for all of us.”

“And what has that got to do with your marriage…?”

Amanda sighed, “The industry isn’t what it was when we started out; first of all, my parents dying hit us hard. For a minute there, leadership was missing. I was too devastated and the other executives were just out for what they could get. It took a long time to pull everything back together and get it back to where it was. A lot of our reputation depends on good will which hinges on us not looking like we’re crazy.”

“When you say ‘us’ don’t you mean ‘you’?”

“Yes. Me. I can’t look crazy. Or indecisive. Or inept. Or stupid. Not now. And Calvin’s trying to make me look stupid. So I instituted a pre-emptive strike.”

“Tell me about Calvin.”

 “Why does he matter?” she scoffed. It was the most stupid decision of her life. You know how most people have a moment in which their life goes dramatically downhill. Choosing Calvin was that moment for her. She made the decision before she really thought about it. She thought maybe she was mostly lonely. But it was too late, the announcement had been made…or rather she had made it. The thing was, around two years later, and two weeks to the wedding she had found out her mistake; that Calvin was just using her for what he could get. The engagement of the century was off and a bitter Calvin was ready to come up with shady reasons why. So Amanda had to come up with her own reasons; valid, that made sense. She’d fallen head over heels for someone else; married him instead of Calvin. Whatever Calvin said after that would be put down to bitterness…sour grapes. And it was.

“Please take a second to think this over…” Calvin, had begged her. But the fact that Calvin, after everything he’d done was asking this pushed her to leave. It sucked knowing that her loneliness had prompted her to make the worst decision of her life and now she would pay for it – and not just in tears.

She had found out at his bachelor party, a throwaway remark by a drunken best man and over heard by Wyatt led to a search for clues in the right place. And unearthed Calvin’s communications with banks and venture capitalists; leveraging her name for money. It was during that night, just as she had been about to leave that a drunken Calvin gave her the threat.

“Go through with the marriage or I go to all your suppliers and let them know I’ve been running your businesses for the past two years. I’ll tell them you’re trying to steal from me and them. None of them will do business with you again. I’ll make you look like a fool!” he had shouted.

“What?” she asked with a smirk. She had thought he was maybe tipsy and didn’t know what he was saying. “What are you saying?”

“You heard me,” he said in a small voice before he blushed. Calvin was white; he was connected; he could do it.

“I can’t Calvin…”

“Well find a way to make it work Mandy coz I ain’t playin!” he whispered harshly in an impatient tone as she stared in horror.

He looked the opposite of Michael, straight light blond hair, big brown eyes and a smile as wide as anything. Calvin smelled of mints. He constantly had one in his mouth. So he always smelled of mints and that night he smelled of whiskey too and as he approached it was like…like a cold wave came over me. He kissed me that night. Just forced his mouth onto mine in a alcoholic minty waft of unwanted male.” Amanda paused as the sting of tears began to build in her eyes. She bit her lip as she began to fiddle with her hands and the therapist rubbed her lip.

“Did you love Calvin?” she asked and Amanda shrugged.

“I thought I might but…Michael smells of mint too. A hint of it, not as strong as Calvin but he does.” She pondered as she clenched her hands against the edge of the sofa she was sitting on. “He smells of mint but …when he asked I forgot completely about Calvin. If I loved him…I think I would’ve remembered.” She sighed and the therapist nodded. They both flinched as the timer went off. She had booked half an hour and spent the first 20 minutes figuring out what to say.

“We could…”

“No. It’s ok….” She sighed as she bit her lip. Dr Dubrow stared with wonder at the petite mocha complexioned woman in front of him. She was regarded as one of the most successful black women in America and beautiful to boot; with a handsome virile man on her arm. This was his first celebrity and he found himself slightly shocked at how unhappy she seemed.

“We can do another session…”

“No. It’s probably for the best” she said softly and he nodded. She didn’t move though and he found a question flitting across his mind. “Ask it.” She demanded and he sighed.

“Do you love Michael?”