Convenience

By Susan Garod

A convenience marriage. A name on a bit of paper: Giving him access to vital and timely funds. Her name supplied finances. Nothing more. Nothing less. He knew he didn’t love her. He knew she didn’t love him. The marriage was temporary. David had read Beatrice's eyes and knew, that she like him had the divorce card available and had no qualms should the time come to use it. He remained in Auckland and she lived in Raglan. Five years had passed with neither formally applying for a divorce. But now David wanted that divorce. The only problem now, is the woman standing at the podium had his surname and wore his ring on her finger, but she was nothing like the woman he’d married. Having seen her, he had changed his mind about their divorce, just a shame that she wasn't on the same page.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Susan Garod
• Release date: May 5, 2018
• ISBN: 9781370986408

Susan Garod

reviewsI don't know about other readers but for me it's not just the happy ending. The journey has to be fraught with obstacles and difficulties to make the happy ending worth it. The thing I love best about any of your work is that no matter the obstacle you always find a way for the couple to overcome it and it's not some unrealistic magic fix. Love takes work and you show that. Your characters are also not perfect, they have their strengths and weaknesses clearly on display for readers to really get into the characters heads. At least thats how it is for me. (sweet_candy89, 21/1/2018)If you love reading about strong women and the real men that love them, then Susan Garod never disappoints! The characters are complex with intriguing, interconnected story arcs, which continue in each series with their multiple characters and side stories and makes them such a pleasure to read. Joshua's Grace is the perfect starting point if you haven't read any of Susan's books, and follow the Carvalho sisters into the Moonlight series, Spice Sisters and the Heartbeat series. You See Me elicited the same response as all the preceding books by Susan Garod - I loved it!(Karen, June, 10, 2017)I absolutely LOVE Susan Garod's books, think I have every one of them, so when I seen this was available for my kindle I was ecstatic. Now it is a little different than her other writings, but it is just as good if not better. Laura has found out she has a grandmother, goes to see her but runs into her neighbor who thinks that Laura is there just to get something from the grandmother. There are many trials and tribulations going back and forth between the 2. I really did enjoy this book and if you have read any of Susan's other books you will love this one as well (Lori Costa, July, 28, 2016)

Book preview

Convenience

Susan Garod

Published by Susan Garod

Distributed by Smashwords

Copyright 2018 Susan Garod

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 1

The woman standing at the podium had his surname and wore his ring on her finger, but she was nothing like the woman he’d married. The last time he’d seen his wife was five years ago. What a difference five years made.

Beatrice Cardoso stood gracefully in front of the gathered group, a picture of elegance, poise and breeding. Her simple silk black dress was a few inches scant of knee length, and was worn over black leggings and with flat black pumps. Simple understated elegance. On her wrist was a slender simple silver watch. At her throat was a long strand of silver beads that were matched by the string beads at her ears. Her only other piece of jewellery was a wedding ring. No engagement ring. Then he remembered he hadn’t given her an engagement ring. There hadn’t been any need, or any occasion.

As David Cardoso stood at the back of the hall and listened to her graciously thank the gathered throng for the award they had bestowed upon her, he wondered why it had taken him till today to notice the way in which she carried herself. The easy grace with which she moved and the simple sophistication of her outfit screamed class and poise. She looked elegant and sophisticated. So far removed from the young, nervous woman who had stood at a registry office, wearing a simple white silk shift dress, and said the words necessary to make them man and wife.

He could count the number of times they had met on the fingers of both hands, and even then he wouldn’t have had to use all his fingers. It was an arranged marriage that brought benefit to two families. Even if the adult parties who had agreed to the marriage organised on their behalf had barely had a chance to exchange platitudes let alone small talk. He found himself intrigued. It had never occurred to him that she would change. That she could change.

But the woman standing on that podium was definitely not the woman he married.

The girl he married was skinny, all arms and legs, and nervous energy. She wore her hair untamed, loose and long. It had been well past her shoulders. Long, lustrous, silky hair. That’s what he remembered. Her hair. Parted in the middle and a veritable satin curtain of ink black depth. Unadorned. Rare in this day and age to see such simplicity. Her pared down appearance was from what he could see, the norm. The day she got married she wore little make up. Not that he’d noticed, as he’d barely paid her face any attention.

Her wedding dress was white with not a trace of embellishment. No lace. No beadwork. No detail. A simple sheath. It made her look like a candle. He remembered that errant thought when she had walked toward him and stood calmly alongside. She’d worn no veil. Had clutched no bouquet of flowers. Was just about smiling. The top of her head had reached his chin, and at the time he’d wondered whether she wore heels or was naturally tall. But it never occurred to him to check or to ask. Instead he’d glanced at her, afforded her a nod and turned to face the registrar. With a grandparent on either side as their witness, the wedding service began.

They were both children who had grown up in their grandfather’s households. In his case, his grandfather was the sole person responsible for his upbringing, despite the fact that his parents lived. In Beatrice’s case her grandparents took responsibility for her when her parents died when she was five years old. Ten years later, her grandmother had passed away. When Beatrice reached the ripe old age of twenty-one, her grandfather suggested an arranged marriage with the son of one of his friends. Beatrice loved her grandfather. She trusted his judgement. So she did not demure. He’d looked after her for well over sixteen years and she’d been happy in his care. So, if it made him happy, then of course she saw no reason to discard his suggestion. After all, it wasn’t as if she was in love with anyone. She had developed pragmatic genes rather than romantic genes. In any case, she trusted her grandfather. Though she had prevaricated for weeks, nerves and anxiety getting the better of her, he had arranged for her to meet with David Cardoso and David’s his grandfather. At that first meeting David and Beatrice agreed to marry. A business merger is what her grandfather proposed. One he thought would ensure that she was looked after when he died. Given his wise old shoulders she assumed he knew what he was doing and he would do his best for her. Given his age and ill-health, she hoped what she was agreeing to gave him some peace of mind. For during her childhood he had afforded her the same. But in any case, marriages were no longer permanent, not in this day and age, so if things didn’t work out she would seek a divorce. That was the plan.

There was no proposal.

David hadn’t asked for permission to marry her. David hadn’t professed to love her. He hadn’t got down on bended knee. Instead a letter of intent was signed by all four present, which Beatrice took to mean that she was formally engaged. Though no one thought to give her a ring or bring out the champagne to celebrate or even record the engagement.

It was so very different to how, as a little girl, Beatrice imagined getting engaged. As a child her dreams centred on how she would meet a tall, dark, handsome man, fall in love, and be loved in return. But those were the dreams of a young girl conditioned by movies. In real life, she’d buried her romantic nature and forgotten the need for a proposal from a man she loved. Though life failed to life up to expectations where a proposal was concerned, she was sure given her grandfather’s thoroughness, that marrying David would be a good deal.

Beatrice knew what her grandfather wanted her to get out of this arrangement: security. Married into an old established family would bring security. Albeit marrying into a family with quirks and secrets and the need for financial help. Beatrice knew what David Cardoso and the Cardoso family got out of the arrangement. They got financial backing and a merger that was talked about in the financial papers for weeks. A firm that was heading for liquidation, due to David’s father’s mismanagement, was suddenly injected with some much-needed cash, and an opportunity for the twenty-five year old David to return to the family and take the helm.

The price he paid was marriage to a woman he did not know. Nor was he particularly fussed. In this day and age a marriage of convenience could work well. They could lead separate lives in private, as long as they ensured they were seen together in public.

Simple. He knew he didn’t love her. He knew she didn’t love him. The marriage was temporary. The grandparents might not know that, but David had read her eyes and knew, that she like him had the divorce card available and had no qualms should the time come to use it.

David’s grandfather insisted on marriage because he wanted to hand over the company to David. But he had no intention of doing so unless his grandson settled down. After all, as his grandfather had pointed out, he had already made that mistake once. The way David’s father had behaved having been given the reins to the business is what had brought about the current financial crisis. So having reached the ripe old age of 25, David’s grandfather decided that David had had plenty of time to sow his wild oats and needed to demonstrate commitment to the family firm. A commitment that David’s father had never shown. David’s father was perfectly content to drink away the profits. He knew how to spend money. And he seemed to believe that the money was generated by the business to keep him in the lavish style to which he had become accustomed but had no part in generating. David’s father lived a playboy existence, flitting from one woman to the next. Though he’d only married the once.

After the divorce, he’d been perfectly content to fritter away his time, and the company profits in tandem. David’s grandfather was going to see to it that David did not go down that route. David was not going to run wild. He’d done his time in military service, seven years in the army, because his grandfather believed it would help instil discipline and order. He was going to take the helm of the business, and learns to shoulder responsibility from his grandfather by walking in his footsteps over the next few years. So when his grandfather proposed a marriage to salvage his inheritance, David agreed without any concern. After all marriages was short term nowadays. Divorce accepted and anticipated.

Six weeks later, and three weeks before David turned twenty-six, David married Beatrice. The six weeks period was due to business commitments rather than the need to prepare and make wedding arrangements. There were no grand arrangements to make! There was a civil ceremony followed by a small reception, in the interests of maintaining the façade of a whirlwind romance.

There was a token one-week honeymoon thrown in, to further enhance the story of their whirlwind romance. But though the wedding was reported in some of the society pages of local and national newspapers it featured more prominently in the financial section.

Company shares rose. His inheritance was safe.

Two days after they married, David’s grandfather died suddenly in his sleep.

The planned honeymoon failed to eventuate. For the two days of their marriage were spent in transit. A flight to Singapore followed by, on hearing the news about his grandfather’s demise, a flight back to Auckland.

On the flight out David spent almost the entire duration reviewing company documents ignoring his new wife and forgetting the fact he was recently married. Hardly surprising and as to be expected given neither had paid that much attention to the other either before or during their short wedding service, neither seemed to worry about his lack of attention.

Beatrice was equally content with the state of affairs. After all, what did she really know about the man sitting beside her other than what she had learnt through other people? Her husband certainly hadn’t supplied any information personal or other about himself. What she knew was garnered from other sources.

Her grandfather thought David was a good man. She took her grandfather’s word but he had also suggested she find out a bit more about the man. So she had.

Quietly Beatrice flicked through the in-flight entertainment programme before finally succumbing to sleep during their ten-hour flight. They’d barely checked into their hotel when they got word about David’s grandfather’s death. In fact neither had even unpacked. So within minutes of arriving they were soon on their way back to the airport, to get the first available flight back to Auckland. On the flight back, David tried to keep his mind on the company documents, even as his heart mourned the loss of a man who had been, in essence, a father to him, rather than a grandfather.

Beatrice spent the flight trying to decide whether to offer him comfort. Given the first class seating arrangement on that particular flight, it had been difficult. She couldn’t simply lean over and hold his hand, or sit beside him to offer support. But she’d made an effort. After the plane had taken off, and the seat belt sign was switched off, she approached him, and softly offered her condolences once again and asked if there was anything she could do for him. She knew she sounded gauche. But she didn’t know what to do. How did one offer comfort to a man you barely knew? Did he like to be held? Comforted? Hugged. Did he want to talk about the good times he’d shared with his grandfather? Did he want to be left alone? Should she offer to hug him or listen?

In any event her approach went down like a lead balloon. His response was terse and dismissive as he rebuffed her overtures and suggested she return to her seat. With casual disinterest he rejected her tentative gestures offering comfort and wondered what he was expected to do with a clingy wife. Beatrice returned to her seat and wondered whether that compromise she’d envisioned when she’d agreed to marry him, was ever likely to occur. He seemed even more distant.

David finalised his grandfather’s funeral arrangements without any support or input from her. He advised her of the date and time, and she duly arrived with her grandfather to mourn the loss of his friend. It was pretty clear that her grandfather felt the loss quite strongly, so while her husband was busy accepting commiserations from a steady stream of well-wishers, Beatrice had stood alongside her husband and grandfather, knowing that the silent emotional support was only recognised by her grandfather.

Beatrice walked alongside him at the funeral, with his parents ahead of them, and her grandfather alongside. David barely acknowledged his divorced parents, as he stood beside Beatrice, but then he wasn’t taking that much notice of her either. He seemed even more distant, in his dark suit, and with his closed off expression. His face was etched with stoicism. But in the depths of his eyes she saw pain, and knew that beneath the cloak of autonomy that he wore, was a man who cared about people. He was taking the loss of his grandfather hard even if he kept that hurt well hidden. It was just a shame that he chose not to look at his wife and see that in her he had an anchor and support.

At the wake they had stood and greeted people who approached to offer condolences. Yet, at no time had they held hands or said anything other than to verify practicalities.

At the end of the wake she returned with her grandfather to their home, while David went back to his house alone despite her grandfather trying to persuade him to come and stay with them.

As a consequence of those events Beatrice never really left home. When she returned from the ‘honeymoon’ she moved straight back in with her grandfather. With the funeral over, she saw very little of her husband. For with clear determination David set about establishing his position within the company. People talked about the fact the newly married couple lived in different houses and they tried to balance that with the fact that she had walked alongside him and stood beside him at his grandfather’s funeral.

After the funeral, life became more complicated when it appeared that the Cardoso company board members were looking to oust David as CEO, because of his youth and perceived inexperience. So, instead of putting time and energy into his marriage, he put long hours and determination into his workplace. David suggested Beatrice stay with her grandfather to avoid being lonely. After all she was going to be home alone for most of the time given he intended to spend practically 20 hours a day at the office, shoring up his position as CEO. That discussion about moving back with her grandfather was probably the longest conversation they had before and during their marriage.

Over the next year David used the funds available through his connection to her family to rebuild the Cardoso firm. He came round to her grandfather’s house every once in a while, but it was usually to get advice from her grandfather about a particular decision. He trusted her grandfather. After all, his grandfather had trusted her grandfather. The two men would sit down to dinner on the odd occasion his visits coincided with meal times, but even then, the conversation was about business. The fact Beatrice was at the table seemed to be of no consequence. They exchanged platitudes. David was always civil and polite. But he might as well have been talking to a pebble. There were times when Beatrice wondered whether he remembered he had a wife. That she was his wife.

She could see that her grandfather was worried about the relationship. But Beatrice had appeased him, telling him that while David’s business was in strife, most of his energies had to be diverted to address that. Things would change once the turmoil at his company was over. Then they would have the energy and time to invest in each other and build on their relationship. They had time. She could wait. David was, she’d convinced her grandfather, a man with integrity. He was a man who would want to ensure his employees were safe, that they had jobs. And that meant, that just at this moment in time she was not David’s priority. Even as she had made excuses for her husband she knew she was fooling only herself.

David was never going to be her husband, not in reality. They would share his name, but that was all they would share, she knew that. But her grandfather did not need to worry about that. She could spare him that concern.

Three months later, her grandfather died peacefully in his sleep.

Once again she found herself walking alongside David in the funeral procession. Once again she found herself standing beside him as they greeted fellow mourners. Once again they spoke about nothing of consequence. Once again at the end of the wake they had gone their separate ways. It was the first time, since she was five, that she felt truly alone.

Over the following days David phoned to ensure he told her that she was coping. Very matter of fact. Neither spoke emotionally. Both maintained their positions of distance. They did not discuss any changes to her living arrangements. David assumed she would continue to live in her grandfather’s house in Auckland. He had no plans to leave his home. He had not plans to move her into his home. He had established a good routine at home, not that he was home that often, given the business was starting to turn around. The last thing he needed was to be saddled with a wife who did not appeal on any level. As far as he was concerned, she lacked the sophistication, appearance and intelligence to be his wife.

But the Cardoso business empire would have failed had he not married her. So, all things considered the pro outweighed the cons and he could tolerate being married to a woman for whom he felt no attraction.

It was several months later, when it became apparent that David was going to do nothing to change their living arrangements, and seemed content with the way things were that That was the time when Beatrice decided to take control of her life. She knew that David really had no intention of living as husband and wife. So Beatrice decided it was time to carve a life for her.

For her, the turning point came late in the six months she was married to David, when she had her twenty-second birthday. She received neither a telephone greeting, nor card nor any acknowledgement from David. It struck her then that she really was nothing more than a credit slip that provided a marriage of convenience. Even then it was only a convenience in financial terms. A name on a bit of paper: Giving him access to vital and timely funds. Her name supplied finances. Nothing more. Nothing less.

David wasn’t interested in anything more.

It wasn’t as if she did not know that from the outset. The fact she’d been kidding herself into believing they might learn to compromise and make a go of this marriage for a few years was due to the fact she thought him to be a man of integrity. Oh, and handsome. That helped. That glimmer of attraction had lulled her into believing that this arrangement might just work. They just needed time to get to know each other.

But it was like following another person. From a distance. Watching. Not her life. Just a stranger’s life was playing out in front of her, except that it was her life. But she kept wishing: One day. Just one day. It would happen. Hopefully.

Beatrice had followed his progress in business from a distance. She knew from what she read and what she heard that he was scrupulously fair and acted with integrity. That gave her hope. She thought that if he devoted the same amount of energy, integrity and fairness to their marriage, then there was hope for this marriage of convenience.

But that was before her birthday came to pass.

Her husband failed to send her a birthday card. A simple thing. Waiting for the postman. Waiting for a call. A text. No flowers. Any message. Why does a birthday means so much? Where was he today? Not on her doorstep. Actually no message at all. That is all that it took. And her life route changed again.

That was enough to finally convince Beatrice that she was hardly more than a name on his books. If a man couldn’t even remember to wish his wife a happy birthday, then it was hardly likely that she registered at all on his radar. He’d clearly seen her as just a means to a financial end. David’s company would be in dire straights had it not been for the cash injection from her grandfather. The fact the cash injection came with strings, in the form of marriage, was not a problem. For David had chosen not to be constrained by those strings.

After the funeral he had phoned and told her to contact him if she needed anything. But he had not offered a shoulder or a hug. Upon her grandfather’s death David stopped coming by the house. Over the months that passed after her grandfather’s funeral contact between David and Beatrice became less frequent. For a couple of weeks after the funeral, a member of his staff would arrive, in the evening ask a few questions about how Beatrice was holding up, did she need anything, was there anything they could do, and when they received her token responses, they departed. After a couple of weeks she suggested they did not need to visit as she had everything under control. So he replaced those visits with daily calls, but not from him personally. An assistant would call to ask if Beatrice needed anything. The scheduled phone calls dropped from once a day to once a week when Beatrice politely informed his PA that she was fine. Initially Beatrice felt humiliated. Knowing that your husband had delegated a stranger to contact you to see to your welfare was not the way she had imagined married life to be. At the end of the month Beatrice had politely suggested that there was no need for his PA to contact her unless there was an emergency. So then all calls stopped.

A few months after her grandfather’s funeral, Beatrice moved from her grandfather’s house, because she sold it. And she relocated to the family holiday home near Raglan. It was a size of home she could manage. More importantly with some of the funds from the sale of the main house she was able to invest in her future.

Beatrice doubted David even realised she was no longer in Auckland.

Contact between them was non-existent. If it hadn’t been for the fact she had sent him a letter with her forwarding address and telephone number and informing him she had sold the house, she doubted whether he would have even noticed she was no longer in Auckland.

David remained in Auckland, living just north of the North Harbour area and commuting into the city on a daily basis. Beatrice lived in Raglan. A few days after she’d sent him the letter to say she’d relocated to Raglan, she received a message on her answer phone. He suggested that they quietly seek a divorce.

Married and divorced in just over six months, she wondered whether that was a record. Beatrice also wondered whether she ought to suggest they go for an annulment, given they had not consummated the marriage. She hadn’t bothered to reply to his voicemail. Beatrice assumed he would divorce her. After all, he had more to loose. So Beatrice had simply moved to Raglan. She put her energy into developing a small business and left David to follow through on his suggestion and divorce her.

That was five years ago.

Chapter 2

Five years had passed with neither formally applying for a divorce.

But now David wanted that divorce.

He had recently celebrated another birthday. He had turned thirty-one. Turning thirty-one rather than thirty had reminded him that if he wanted to have children he needed to have a real wife, not one on paper only.

David had a wedding photograph in his office, mainly because it was the last photograph he had of his grandfather. The photograph showed four people: standing beside David and Beatrice were the two men who were instrumental in bringing David and Beatrice together.

On his thirty-first birthday David had studied Beatrice in the photograph. He had for some ridiculous reason contemplated whether he should propose that they make this marriage of convenience one of reality. Surely she’d want children too. She’d be what twenty-six now. Her biological clock would be ticking. She might be open to the idea of a real marriage. But no sooner had he had that thought then he’d reconsidered.

David wanted the mother of his children to be a woman he loved, respected and found attractive. David did not simply want a woman of convenience with child bearing potential. He wanted a woman who would take his hand, at times of crisis, and through that simple gesture show him love, compassion and understanding. He wanted a woman with a passionate nature. A woman of substance.

Looking at the photograph on his desk, he doubted his paper wife could manage that. She’d probably shriek nervously at the very thought of sexual intercourse. No chance of tender or passionate intimacy. She would probably close her eyes! He would have to restrain his actions. Sex would scare her.

He wanted a partner in every sense of the word. Someone with a real backbone. She was a mouse. Beatrice Cardoso was not up to the mark.

Having reached that conclusion he knew that meant that his paper wife needed, a paper based but ultimately real, divorce. Time to get on with his life: Find a woman to love, to cherish, to build a life with, to have children, a family, a home. He knew what he wanted. He wanted a woman who was his equal, or at least one who was able to hold her own, without being aggressive or demeaning.

David was fairly certain that the girl in the wedding photograph would find it difficult to stand up to him, keep up with him, love him. The girl who stared back at him from his wedding photograph looked anxious. Timid. Petrified. She hadn’t complained. About anything. Surely, a woman would be upset about her husband who pays no attention to her. She was married to a decent man, considered handsome, and from good stock! But clearly she doesn’t care, doesn’t have a backbone. He can’t respect a woman that like.

The Cardoso business had flourished. The funds he’d needed as a timely investment, funds provided by her grandfather, could now easily be repaid with significant interest. That appeased his conscience. He was now in a position to pay her back, should she demand it. Even if she didn’t demand it, he was going to offer it. At the same time as ask for a divorce.

That’s what he wanted to talk to her about. Buying his way out this sham of a marriage.

Doing so as quickly and quietly as possible. He could afford to pay her well. Make it worth her while to leave quietly. The financial settlement he planned to offer her was large but it would not leave even the trace of a dent in his personal expenditure.

Beatrice was unaware of her husband’s presence until she’d started down the steps. When she did see him, her heart sank. Of course she recognised him. He’d filled out a bit more, and carried it well. He looked every inch the successful businessman. Dressed for success was just the start. He carried that stamp of success. It was in his very posture. The way he held himself, the confidence that oozed from every pore and to the extent that Beatrice noticed she wasn’t the only one taking note of the man.

She nearly laughed. She had been like that. Awestruck.

The first time she saw this man. She had been awestruck. But that was five years ago. Now the strikingly good-looking man did not have to power to render her nervous. It just worried her that he was here. Now. After five years. Why?

What was he doing here?