Jesus. I was losing my mind. I think between losing my parents, The Twilight Zone board meeting, and now running into Tucker in his bar had finally caught up with me. I was honestly feeling as though I was going crazy.
Dropping into Tucker’s chair, I turned the degree over and stared at it.
Could I do this? Could I honestly do this?
The idea of being married to a man for a year made my stomach sick. But being married to Tucker? That might work. As much as I couldn’t stand being near him, I longed to be near him. He was the reason no other guy was worth the effort. Tucker was and always would be the only guy I’ve ever felt this way about.
Wait. That totally sounds insane.
“Holy shit. I have no choice,” I mumbled as I buried my face in my hands.
“Okay, I’m really starting to get worried about you, Charlie. I think you’re stressed. Really stressed, sweetie. Maybe we should go home. Have you thought about talking to someone? It’s a lot to handle, with your folks and all.”
I dropped my hands onto Tucker’s desk and looked at her. My entire body sagged as I let out a moan that would make even Mr. Pootie proud. “I don’t want to talk to anybody about my folks.” Maybe that wasn’t such a bad idea though.
Closing my eyes, I dragged in a deep breath. One thing at a time. “I have to get married, and I only have three months to do it. Correction. Three months and some change.”
Note to self: Put a countdown clock on my phone for Doom’s Day.
She sat in the chair opposite the desk. “Okay, I’ll bite. Why do you have to get married, and why in three months? Holy fuck, you’re pregnant, aren’t you? And the baby is due in three months and you need a baby daddy?”
“Terri, be serious, this is heavy-duty shit I’m talking about here. I found out today that my dear old granddaddy had a bylaw written into the articles of incorporation that said in the event something would happen to my father before I turned forty, in order for me to take over the company, I had to be married. And not just married to any random guy, but to someone who held a business degree. I have to stay married for at least a year, it can’t be arranged, and I have to be able to prove to the board that the marriage is real.”
She stared at me. Then her mouth fell open.
“No. No. No.” She stood and started to pace.
“I know! It’s fucked up in a huge way.”
Shaking her head, she faced me. “No, what I’m saying no to is I know what that mind of yours is thinking. You’re thinking Tucker is the guy.”
“Yes! It’s perfect. We’ve known each other for years so it would make sense. We start dating, we fall in love, and bam. I can sell it to the board as two lovers who rekindled an old college flame. We get married. It’s perfect. I just need to figure out how to seduce Tucker and make him fall in love with me enough to marry me. In three months and three weeks.”
My best friend stared at me, her mouth gaped open.
“Please tell me you’re not being serious.”
“I am! I don’t know what else to do!”
“So you’re going to lie to Tucker and pretend you’re falling in love with him?”
I gave a small shrug. I had to force myself not to say I really was in love with him, as that made me sound even more pathetic than I really was.
Good Lord, who was I kidding? I was the queen of pathetic.
“Yes. I mean, we all know I like Tucker.”
“How can they even do that? Force you to marry? Charlie, you went to law school, is that even legal?”
I chewed on my lip. “I can have the board vote on it, but there are a few old codgers on there who I’m pretty sure want me gone. I’m the twenty-eight-year-old daughter of the former CEO who is only in this position because she’s the heir apparent. The lawyer said if I fight it, it could be months. I don’t have months. I just need to get married, then work on getting this stupid thing to go away.”
“This just all seems so far-fetched. I mean, you’re being forced to get married.”
“I know. I sat with the stupid lawyer nearly all day trying to find a loophole. I’ve got nothing. But if I can get Tucker to marry me, I can buy myself more time.”
She turned away from me. “Charlie, this is the most insane thing I think you’ve ever done. Maybe you need to go and talk to someone. Maybe you misunderstood things, with your parents’ deaths it might be—”
I held up my hand, forcing her to stop talking. My eyes teared up, and I could feel the breakdown coming. You know, the one I had been putting off for t