Contract of Fate

2. Ivy

It was late when I got home from work, but Chloe was up and waiting for me. She printed the application from the Blackthorn website, and it was 127 pages long with hundreds of questions about me specifically. I stayed up later than I should have filling every single question out. The plan was to spend the night filling everything out thoroughly and then take it to the office in person when I woke up.

And that's exactly how I got to where I am. Standing outside the Blackthorn Contract Services building shaking like a leaf in the August heat. I close my eyes, inhale through my nose, and exhale through my mouth before walking toward the door. I pull it open, making my way to the front desk. A pretty woman with short black hair meets my eyes with a bright smile on her face.

"Good morning, sweetheart. What can I do for you today?" she asks cheerfully, making this feel a lot less uncomfortable.

"I... Well... I filled out this application and I just wanted to turn it in," I reply hesitantly. "Do I do that here?"

"Oh! Yes, let me take that and you wait right here. Madam Blackthorn might be free for the initial interview now."

"Oh...Okay. I'll just sit over here," I say nervously, pointing at a black leather couch against the wall behind me. She nods, smiling as she walks away and into an office behind her. Five minutes... Ten minutes... Fifteen minutes pass before she walks back out.

"Madam Blackthorn will see you now," she says, gesturing for me to walk in. Her heels click against the floor to the front door. She locks it and hangs a sign before grabbing a notepad and pen from her desk and shooing me inside the room further.

"Ivy Hayes, is it?" a woman's voice says from behind me.

"Y-Yes ma'am," I stutter. "I mean Madam. I'm not sure what to call you."

"You're fine, honey. Either one is acceptable. Are you nervous?"

"Very. I... Um... I've never done this before," I reply, looking down at my shuffling feet.

"No need. We're just going to talk and I'm going to look you over, okay?" I nod in response, words refusing to form. She walks over to a small platform and turns to face me. "Come stand up here for me, dear." I walk towards the platform, stepping up onto the small circle and the Madam begins to walk around me. She plucks the scrunchie from my hair, causing my hair to fall down my back. "Vera, let's begin." The secretary nods, clicking her pen and grabbing her notepad from the table.

"Begin what?" I ask curiously, rubbing my hands on my thighs as the anxiety sets in.

"Client name is Ivy Hayes. 25 years old. 5 feet 9 inches tall and 170 pounds. Soft and curvy figure. Brown eyes, long eyelashes. Sun-kissed skin tone. Hair is long and brown with bright red highlights," she starts without answering me, Vera noting everything she says on the notepad. "Her hair is thick and healthy. Her skin appears to be clear and healthy as well." She flips my hair over my shoulder and uses her fingers to locate my spine. She pokes up my back to my neck, making me giggle involuntarily. "Her spine is straight from her lower back to her neck." She suddenly grabs my hips tightly, twisting and squeezing on me and I laugh again. "Her hips are good and strong. Make a note that she is very ticklish. Someone will like that."

"Oh my... I hope not," I squeak, the Blackthorn Madam chuckling to herself before continuing her examination of me. She analyzes every physical aspect of my body before dismissing meet from the platform to the couch. "So what's next?"

"Now I am going to ask you a series of questions that were not on the application to get a real-time idea of your mental health," she replies and I nod my head in understanding as I straighten my posture. She asks me 27 questions, each one more personal and open than the next. By the end of the interview I am ready to cry and go to bed. "You've done phenomenal, Ivy. The last step is for you to go to my physician next door for a full work-up. Once you are done with her, you are free to go, and I will call you when I have a match for you." She hands me a card and points me to the door leading to her physician.

"Blackthorn client?" the woman behind the desk asks and I nod. "Card, please." I had her the card the Blackthorn Madam gave me and she reads it. "Alright. Full work-up. You're going to be here a while. Is this a good time?"

"Yeah, I took the day off for this because I wasn't sure how long it would take," I admit.

"Good thinking. We'll buy you lunch today. What would you like? Anything at all."

"Steak and potatoes," I reply jokingly, but she writes it down anyways. Before I can tell her that I'm joking she starts talking.

"6 ounces, 8 ounces, or do you have a preference? Also would you prefer a thin steak or a thick one?"

"Oh no, I was just kidding. I'm fine with a PB&J." She looks me up and down before looking me in my eyes and shaking her head.

"Nope. Steak and potatoes. Answer the questions."

"Um... I guess an 8 ounce medium thickness cooked to medium rare," I tell her and she writes it all down.

"How would you like your potatoes?"

"Roasted garlic Parmesan, please. Could I have a side of broccoli with cheese as well?"

"Yes ma'am. I'll have this ordered and delivered. Let's get you to the exam room to start the exams," she says, turning on her heel and walking away. I speed walk to catch up to her.

"More exams? What is going to happen?"

"You'll have a pap smear, a mammogram, ultrasound, stress test, CT scan, MRI, and bloodwork. This is just to ensure that you are healthy before entering into any marriage contract that may include producing children," she explains and I nod my head.

"The situation is less than ideal, but I hope I get to be a mother," I say and she looks at me with a soft smile.

"Most of the wealthy men that use Blackthorn require an "heir" so you will most likely get to be a mother," she tells me softly, reaching out and squeezing my hand. "What do you say we get this bloodworm done first?" I nod in agreement, prompting her to gather all of her supplies. She takes several vials of blood before leaving the room with instructions for me to strip and put a gown on. "Alright. We are going to do the lady parts of this exam now."

"Joy," I grumble, making the physician laugh at me. "Sorry, I hate these."

"You would be the first if you didn't."

3 hours later the physician is walking me out the front door and wishing me well. I call Chloe as I walk to my car and she answers on the first ring.

"Tell me everything," she says with so much enthusiasm that I almost forget what I did all of that for. I rehash the entire morning, including the catered steak and potato lunch, making sure not to miss a single detail. "Now what happens?"

"Now I wait. She said she would call when she has a match for me," I tell her with a shrug. I have done everything I can do at this point. It is just a waiting game now. I just hope that whomever she matches me with is kind and not a monster.