Alex exhaled deeply, leaning back in the chair. After some moments, he let out a small chuckle.
"Hold on. Let me get this straight. You...a rich, beautiful woman eh... want me, Alex...a garbage collector... to be your husband?"
Diana tried to explain, but Alex had already taken over, shaking his head.
"Why in the world would you do something like that? A beautiful and well-built lady like you. Why not just find a competent person, someone wealthy just like you, and get married for real? What kind of woman deceives her own parents like this?"
Diana winced at him.
"Lower your voice," she muttered, her gaze glancing at the door.
"Someone might hear you."
"Someone might hear me?"
Alex scoffed, shaking his head.
"Lady, see... what you need is nothing but to be honest with your parents. They deserve that, at least from you. Okay, what happens when they find out? You think this is some kind of joke, eh?"
Diana sighed, lowering her voice.
"Look, Alex. I don't need lectures now. All I'm in need of is just a temporary husband. That's all."
Alex hesitated, staring at her in disbelief.
"I still can't believe this. A woman as beautiful as you, with money and power, and you can't just be sincere to your parents?"
Diana spoke out loud angrily.
"It's complicated!"
"Oh... complicated?"
Alex stood up from the chair quietly.
"Lady, you're rich, and I believe you can find someone else. You rich people always make things complicated for no reason. If you don't want them to know you're single, just tell them you're out of town. But dragging stranger into this? That's just ridiculous!"
Diana sighed, facing downward without any word. She needed this man, because she wasn't sure anyone else would be found.
"I will pay you ten million dollars."
Alex halted. He needed to know if what he heard was right. He slowly turned back, facing Diana, his brows aligning in a curious way, as if he was trying to reason something out from this logic.
"What did you just say?"
"Did you say ten million dollars for acting as a fake husband?"
His voice carried double feelings, whether he should believe or just suspicion.
Diana sighed slowly, nodding her head in confirmation.
"Yes, Alex. Ten million dollars. For you to play the role of my husband for just three weeks. I can pay you five million dollars in advance. All you need to do is say yes and then give me your account details."
Alex smiled slowly as he quietly went back to his chair, and sat down slowly. Leaning his back on the chair, he shook his head as the thought of that amount of money in his account swirled all over him.
Ten thousand dollars. This is indeed a huge amount of money... life-changing money. Alex knows he's greatly in need of that money. With that amount of money in his account, he could start up himself, take good care of his bedridden mother in the hospital, build something that's more real, something he had always dreamed of.
But Alex couldn't place his head on why she was willing to pay such a huge amount of money just to deceive her parents. Or could it be that something could be wrong somewhere. Perhaps Diana had other motives from the ones she had just presented him.
He narrowed his eyes, trying to study Diana.
"But tell me, why pay so much?"
"Is there something you're hiding? Something more dangerous and life-threatening?"
Diana waved dismissively at him, feeling a little tensed.
"I told you already...my parents are coming. I needed someone to be there, acting as my husband, before they arrived this weekend."
Alex scoffed.
"Hmm... and you expect me to believe that's all there is? If it was just about convincing your parents, you could hire any guy off the street. Because with the amount of money you're willing to pay, anyone would easily accept. Hell! You could even get someone willing to do it for a few hundred dollars. But ten million? That's obviously beyond desperation, making it more suspicious."
Diana nodded her head continuously, and then she leaned forward, her voice dropping to a whisper.
"Alex, there's nothing suspicious about this. It's just urgent and very crucial to me! My parents have always had an expectation of me, and I can't afford to let them down. Not now. You don't just have to understand everything to your satisfaction. Just know I need your help in getting this done, and currently, you're the only person that can help me now, since it's something that no one can hear of."
Alex couldn't figure this out even to that moment. He scoffed once again, shaking his head continuously.
"You still haven't told me why it's worth that much to you, Diana. What is the true reason? Tell me."
But this time, Diana's frustration was just growing.
"Does it matter? Just know that I have my reasons and... my reasons are worth it."
Alex stared at her, hesitated before responding to her.
"Um... but, yeah, it does matter. Look here, you're literally asking me to be part of something I don't understand. Whether it's a threat to my life, I don't know. And here you are, throwing an insane amount of money at me like I'm supposed to just take it and not ask questions."
Diana exhaled sharply, and burst out.
"Fine. If you don't want the money, then just forget about it! I'm sorry I disturbed you in the first place. I thought, at least, you'd be kind of reasonable."
"Reasonable?"
Alex stood up abruptly.
"I am being reasonable. It's just you, who's acting unreasonably. You rich people think you can buy everything with money. You can't just buy people's cooperation like this. Right now, I don't care how much you're offering to pay... I just decided not to be part of whatever mess this whole thing is."
Diana got angry, but she had to compose herself. Besides, it was a fifty-fifty deal.
"You can still think about it, Alex. That's all I'm asking. Just think about it. Just tomorrow remains before they arrive."
But Alex didn't respond to her. He just turned and walked out of her office, leaving her standing there, frustrated and tired.
Just a few minutes later, Mirabelle strolled into the office, leaving the door to close by itself.
"Hey, boss lady. What's with the long face? You look like shit just now. What's up?"
Diana barely glanced at her, looking depressed and weak.
"Um...did you see a guy leaving as you were coming in?"
Mirabelle frowned, and was surprised.
"Nope. Should I be supposed to? Who was he, by the way?"
Diana let out a frustrating sigh.
"Just lost my last card. I found this guy last night and invited him over today. So, after telling him about the acting husband role stuff...he turned me down."
Mirabelle's eyes widened in shock.
"Wait, you mean someone turned that offer down? What happened? With that kind of amount you agreed to pay and... someone still turned it down?"
Diana nodded gently.
"Of course, yeah. He bluntly refused... like, he said no. Even with the ten million dollars, he still said no."
Mirabelle quietly sat down at the desk, her jaw dropped in surprise.
"Wait, not five million dollars again?"
"You offered a man ten million dollars to pretend to be your husband, and he said no?"
She paused.
"Like, wait...is he crazy? Or just mere stupidity?"
Diana shook her head.
"I can't tell. Maybe he's just both. He would rather keep asking too many questions. But well, I told him to think about it, but seriously, I doubt he will."
Mirabelle huffed, getting her ass quietly down in a chair.
"So what now? Do you have any other plans in mind?"
Diana sighed heavily, shaking her head.
"No. And I'm seriously running out of time. My parents will be here the day after tomorrow."
Mirabelle hesitated for some moments, then spoke up in a low tone.
"Well, who knows? Maybe he will have a change of mind. Because... the offer was...gosh!"
Diana gave her a quick glance.
"And if he doesn't? What happens then?"
Mirabelle leaned back in the chair, with a knowing look in her eyes.
"Then you... Omo, you are officially screwed then."
Diana stared at her for some moments, tears seemed to be swelling up in her eyes. She quietly buried her face in her hands, resting it on her desk.