The words echoed in her head like an empty room severally.
Scarlett stood still and wondered how she wouldn't have seen a clause like that.
"I read the contract thoroughly", she said as she nodded once.
Jude just looked at her like she wasn't talking to him.
"Yes, you read it but you didn't question it or talk about it in any way. You only negotiated the one you cared more about", he said as he walked away
Scarlett just looked at him for a long time because she could remember reading the document, word for word , line by line. Every page, every clause, every tiny details. She convinced herself that she read everything she needed to read carefully.
She made sure she read everything because she didn't want to make the same mistake she made when one of her clients wrote the wrong figure on her receipt when she spent the night with him but she didn't read it carefully until she got home and called to clarify the payment and the client told her, she should have read it carefully next time. Since then, she had promised herself that she would be very careful when going through anything on paper.
And so she wondered how she would have missed this clause.
"Which clause didn't I talk about?", she asked him sternly
Jude didn't answer her immediately . He took the bottle of one of his most expensive wines and poured himself some.
He then walked towards a desk and picked up a file, opened it and took one copy of the contract and handed it to her.
"Turn over to page fifteen" he said as he had a faint smile on his face .
She stepped forward, took the document from him and flipped it to page fifteen immediately. Her eyes were going through the other pages in case she sees another clause she might have missed.
Then she stopped on page fifteen and she saw the clause. It was boldly written. It wasn't hidden nor was it written in small fonts.
But it was written in a way that it felt like it wasn't necessary in the contract, maybe that was why she ignored the clause .
She went through the clause again as the words were echoing in her head .
"The client reserves the right to ensure compliance, behavioural consistency and contractual integrity through any means necessary"
Scarlett didn't change her expression as she lifted her eyes slowly towards Jude.
"Did you know you left that clause open?", she asked him without hesitation. "I can as well add my own twist to that same clause", she continued with a smile
Jude looked at her with a smirk "I didn't leave it open by accident, I only made it very flexible", he said
Scarlett closed the file gently as she let out a slow breath. She thought the clause was going to cancel the negotiation she had made earlier. She was composed and controlled as she walked round the room.
She picked a glass and poured herself some wine .
"Oh! So, i see that you have planned this from the beginning"
Jude just looked straight towards her direction and he didn't deny it.
"You think I would enter an agreement like this with an independent escort unprepared?" he said as he looked away from her .
Scarlett wasn't upset because he didn't lie about the fact that she was an independent escort and she had been surviving that way for years now. But now, it's about to change in ten years.
Her mind went directly to the camera that is in her room.
"So, earlier when I asked about the camera that is in my room, you said you were ensuring something. What's that?", she asked as she took a sip from the glass
Jude was cold with his response "i am ensuring, so that you won't betray me before the tenth year"
The words hit her like a whirlwind. She could feel the level of control in his voice.
"You think I won't be loyal to you and that I'll betray you? She asked
"Trust and loyalty is something I extend and hold with proof and not just with words" Jude said with a lot of control
Scarlett looked at him for a long moment trying to study the almighty Jude Maguire and what he was thinking.
"Then you chose the wrong woman to get proof of loyalty from", she said
Jude didn't react as he continued to sip his wine.
"Then why are you here?", he asked
Scarlett was stunned by his question . "You chose me to be here, that's why I am here", she replied with disgust.
"And if observation is also part of this contract, I want you to understand this very well", she continued.
"i dont act. I just go with what I am paid to do. And i stay loyal to my client regardless. So it's either you believe it or not", she concluded as her voice was very sharp but calm.
Something in Jude changed a bit .
"We will see how long you can pull this off . But remember you signed a ten year contract"
Scarlett didn't answer. She dropped the wine glass she was holding and turned around about to leave the room.
"You aren't the only one that has the ability to read people, Mr Maguire", she said as she looked him straight in the eyes
She didn't wait for a response from Jude as she walked towards the door and left the room.
Scarlett walked through the hallway slowly. As she was walking, she thought about how she carelessly missed a huge clause in the contract. Was it the money she saw that affected her or the fact that she would be Mrs Maguire?
She thought hard and long and felt Jude doesn't just want control but he also wants leverage and he left it flexible at the same time.
Scarlett finally reached her room and opened the door.
The red light on the camera was still blinking as she lifted her eyes towards it and looked away.
She walked towards the bed and a copy of the contract was on the bed. It was open on page fifteen.
Scarlett was stunned to see the contract on her bed and the page was already opened.
She was very certain she didn't leave it there before she left with Betty earlier.
She just stared at the contract.
She could feel something had changed in the room. It was as if someone had just walked into her room a few minutes before she entered and left it there.
"But i didn't drop this there", she said