A DEAL WITH THE BILLIONAIRE (A Contract Marriage) EPISODE SEVENTEEN Theme: Tons of Rejection CONNECTICUT, UNITED STATE OF AMERICA Raven’s hand shook underneath the table as she clasped them together and stared anxiously at the bank manager. She had applied for an urgent loan, hoping that she wouldn’t have to do anything silly to grant her request. She gazed at the wall clock above the seat where the man sat, the time was past three in the afternoon and she still had no positive news. This was the third bank Raven was visiting in the span of four hours since she left Tiana at the coffeehouse. With her mind filled with hope, Raven had read through her business plans hurriedly, assured that it would get her the intended loan. The first two banks had declined saying they couldn’t invest in such patched up business idea and also not with such amount of money. Not letting that deter her, Raven had forged on to this bank that she was currently in now. Her glint of hope was alread
A DEAL WITH THE BILLIONAIRE(A Contract Marriage)EPISODE EIGHTEENTheme: Her old friend CONNECTICUT, UNITED STATE OF AMERICA THE GOLDEN RESTAURANTBenjamin Williams walked briskly towards the Golden Restaurant as he tapped away on his phone and also chewing on a gum lightly. He was getting himself distracted from the grumbling of Christopher Crawford on the line.Thank goodness for the invention of AirPods, Benjamin would have hated having to make a call with his phone pressed to his ear when he needed to send out important messages.‘Darn it, Benjamin! Are you even listening to me?’ Christopher’s voice came out as a roar causing Benjamin to pull out his left AirPod in a bid to ram his finger into his left ear hurriedly.The connection went off and came back on when he put the AirPod back in his left ear.‘Oh my goodness! Christopher, you are so annoying! Obviously I was listening to you. And it is not like I have any choice.’ Benjamin replied with a scoff.‘All I am saying
A DEAL WITH THE BILLIONAIRE (A Contract Marriage) EPISODE NINETEEN Theme: Hundred thousand dollars CONNECTICUT, UNITED STATE OF AMERICA THE GOLDEN RESTAURANT “What’s wrong, Raven? Is Rowan okay?” Benjamin questioned as he reached out to hold her hands. “He is...fine.” Raven sniffed lightly as she tried to feign a smile that obviously looked like she was in pains. Holding up a hand. “You can’t lie to me, Raven. I can easily tell that something is quite not right. We need to talk. So let us get a cup of coffee and talk about anything what is bothering you. Okay?” Raven shook her head in agreement. “Okay.” She sighed. Entering the restaurant, they settled at a table not far to the entrance. Benjamin beckoned to a waiter to order for both of them. “Coffee please.” He mouthed. “So let us start with...where do you work now? I remember you were attending Valeria Rosa culinary school.” “Wow! You still remember the name.” Raven chuckled lightly. “Of course! How can I forg
A DEAL WITH THE BILLIONAIRE(A Contract Marriage)EPISODE TWENTYTheme: Meeting the billionaire CONNECTICUT, UNITED STATE OF AMERICA CRAWFORD CORPORATIONThey got to their destination in no time and Benjamin parked his car in front of an enormous building. From the looks of it and with the people going in and out, they were obviously rich people who act like they had something stuck up their ass.Raven spotted the Crawford sign at the top of the building and she knew things were about to get real for her. A dreadful feeling swept over Raven as she hoped that whoever she was going to deal with wouldn’t give her a hard time.“Let us go in, Raven.” Benjamin called out to her when he noticed that she was getting lost in thought once again.He had intentionally not said a word to her in the car as he tried to give her enough time to process her thoughts. And for a moment, Benjamin had prayed she wouldn’t tell him to stop the car and drive her back to the restaurant. If not for
A DEAL WITH THE BILLIONAIRE (A Contract Marriage) EPISODE TWENTY ONE Theme: A deal with the billionaire CONNECTICUT, UNITED STATE OF AMERICA CRAWFORD CORPORATION Raven tapped her feet anxiously on the marbled floor. If her nails ever come alive they would have her teeth ripped off. She had chewed on her nails unconsciously and out of nervousness and her breath hitched each time she heard a door open. The thoughts of leaving that spot and heading to the banks nagged at her. But the idea of her getting more than the amount she needed made her curious to know more about this deal. Her mind drifted to the man whom she was sure would be the intended fake husband. He looked cold, his presence had made the room standstill and he walked with grace and triumph that came from having this corporation for himself. He had a charismatic aura that would make any woman attracted to him. Raven shook her head to get rid of such thoughts of finding her fake husband to be attracted. S
A DEAL WITH THE BILLIONAIRE(A Contract Marriage)EPISODE TWENTY TWOTheme: Engaged to the billionaire CONNECTICUT, UNITED STATE OF AMERICA CRAWFORD CORPORATIONRaven stood dumbfounded at the man standing in all of his glory in front of her with his eyes as cold as steel. She took two steps backward to create a bit of a distance between them.Still, she couldn’t decipher his emotions and she waited a few second to check if he might burst into laughter at his expensive joke. But judging by the unrelenting glare on his face, Raven knew he was in no way trying to be funny.“You...you...you mean...now?” Raven stuttered. She was even more surprised at how dumb she sounded.“I don’t think you understand how critical this situation is for me. I have to get married to you probably in the next two weeks. So don’t you think you at least deserve to wear a ring?” Christopher stated. It was a matter of fact.“What? Two weeks?” Raven blurted out again. She stepped aside to look at Ben
A DEAL WITH THE BILLIONAIRE (A Contract Marriage) EPISODE TWENTY THREE Theme: Lies from the depth of hell CONNECTICUT, UNITED STATE OF AMERICA LIBERTY UNION BANK On getting to the bank, Raven made a call to the hospital line to demand for the account details she would pay the money into. After getting it, she cashed the cheque and paid all the money into the hospital’s account for her son’s medical bills. Raven was beyond elated as she drove in excitement and relief to the hospital. It wasn’t until she got to the premises did her panic set in and she realized that she had to think of something to tell her mother. And Raven was about to lie about where she got the money from. Even at that, she had to think of something concrete to convince her mother. Eva McKenna was not a dumb woman and she could see through a lie by a thin thread. *************************** HARTFORD MEMORIAL HOSPITAL Stepping out of the car, her cellphone vibrated. Tiana’s
A DEAL WITH THE BILLIONAIRE(A Contract Marriage)EPISODE TWENTY FOURTheme: A caring and loving mother CONNECTICUT, UNITED STATE OF AMERICA HARTFORD MEMORIAL HOSPITALThey stayed silent for a while until a vibration from Raven’s phone broke off the silence.‘Hi Raven, I am standing outside the intensive care unit but you are not here and mom too. Where exactly are you?” Tiana asked on the other line.‘Oh! Tiana, we are at the cafeteria.’ Raven whispered unintentionally.‘Alright. I will be right there with you.’ Tiana responded.Raven ended the call. “Is that Tiana?” Eva asked.“Yes mom.” Raven nodded.It didn’t take long for Tiana to find her way to the cafeteria. She spotted both mother and daughter sitting at the far end of the room.“Evening Eva.” Tiana embraced Eva tightly.Eva patted Tiana’s back gently. “I know you love me so much but smothering me to death shouldn’t be part of your intention. I believe.” She teased, smiling up at Tiana who let her go almost imm