“I don’t know, I’ve never been engaged before.”
“Neither have I, as it happens. So… a hug?”
“Possibly.”
“Come here, then.” I bend, slide my arms around her, and lift her up. She squeals and laughs, then wraps her arms around my neck and hugs me.
I bury my nose in her neck and inhale. She smells of the outdoors, of fresh air and flowers and mown grass. Her breasts are soft against my chest. I like how she’s so small in my arms.
“Kingi,” she says, “you can put me down now.”
I lower her so her feet touch the floor, then see she’s looking to her left and follow her gaze. The women at reception are smiling at us.
“Sorry,” I say to them. “I got carried away.”
“Nah,” the lawyer says, “it’ssweet as. Nice to see.” She chuckles.
I look at Chessie. She’s blushing.
“Kingi!” It’s Tane, and he walks toward us with a smile. “Tena koe, e Kingi, kei te pehea koe?” It means ‘Greetings to you, Kingi, how are you?’ We shake hands, and then we lean forward and solemnly press noses and foreheads together in ahongior traditional greeting. “Sorry to keep you waiting,” he says. “I wascaught on a phone call.” He turns to the woman waiting at my side. “You must be Francesca.” He holds his hand out to her.
“Everyone calls me Chessie,” she says shyly, and shakes it.
“It’s very nice to meet you, Chessie. Come down to the meeting room, you two. Would you like a coffee?”
“I’m okay, thanks,” Chessie says, “I’ve just had one.”
“I’m fine, too,” I tell him, and he nods and leads the way.
We enter the meeting room, which is just a small square room with a circular table surrounded by four chairs. A closed manila folder rests on the table, along with a jug of water and three glasses.
He closes the door, and we all sit. He’s in his fifties, with gray curly hair. He’s an old friend of my father’s, and I’ve known him since I was a kid, so even though Orson and I use another firm for our company’s legal business, I’m more than happy to ask him to help out. He’s more like an uncle, and he’s often outspoken and doesn’t usually hold back from speaking his mind. I half expected him to tell me this was a dumb idea, but so far he’s kept his thoughts to himself.
“So,” Tane says, “Kingi has informed me of your agreement, and has suggested that it makes sense to draw up a contract to clarify some issues and make sure you’re both on the same page.”
Chessie nods. “I understand.”
“This is our first draft.” Tane extracts the document from the manila folder and slides it across to Chessie.
I sit back and wait for her to read it. It’s a cross between a prenuptial contract and a services contract. The first half includes a list of clauses: a clear finish line of December 31st; the financial settlement of a hundred thousand dollars, and a stipulation that she has no further claim to my assets, shares, or company holdings after the agreement ends, and I have no claim to hers; a confidentiality clause that neither of us candisclose the true nature of our agreement—if she were to breach it, it might incur repayment of the financial settlement, whereas if I were to breach it, she would be able to keep the money; a conduct clause stating we both agree to behave respectably to support the image of stability—basically making it clear that neither of us can date anyone else; and that she waives any rights a legal spouse/fiancée might have.
“What rights would they be?” she asks, pointing to the clause.
“You would have no claim to alimony, inheritance, or property,” Tane says.
“Of course,” she says. She glances at me, her expression puzzled. “I’d never do anything like that.”
“Kingi asked me to include what I thought was necessary,” Tane says smoothly.
He’s lying—I asked him to make sure she would have no claim to any of my finances. I don’t think she’d ever try to fleece me, but some women would, and I thought it was better to be safe than sorry. He’s covering for me. That’s nice of him.
“Um… about the confidentiality clause,” she says. “I’m so sorry, I’ve already told the two women I live with. But I won’t tell anyone else, I promise.”
“It’s okay, I’ve told Orson and Scarlett,” I point out.
“I’ll add those exceptions to the contract,” Tane says, opening his laptop and then typing in. “What about your families? Are you going to tell them?”
“I won’t,” Chessie says. “I don’t want them to know. As far as they’re concerned, this is genuine.”