$10,000,000 Marriage Proposal Read Online Free PDF Page A

in one of her visitor chairs, tapping her fingers impatiently.
    “Download please. Tell me everything.”
    “It’s nothing, really. I just—”
    Before Suze could continue, Kevin, Emily, and Jeff filed into the office, as if appearing for a scheduled meeting.
    “Go back to the beginning,” Emily said.
    “You guys! I have nothing to report! Will you get off my case?” Suze protested.
    Meredith looked at her watch. “Five hours of nothing? Please. We know you. You’ve never let five hours go by with nothing to show for it,” Meredith said. “What was he like? How old? Handsome? Are you sure he’s for real?”
    “Fine. I met him. He is about my age, around thirty. Very handsome—like a young George Clooney.…” If they were going to be nosy, she’d give them exactly what they wanted. Suze dropped her voice down to a whisper, so that her friends leaned closer to her. “He told me that he had three questions, and that if I answered them to his satisfaction, he would ask me to marry him and hand me a check for ten million dollars.”
    “So much pressure!” Meredith exclaimed.
    Suze was getting into her tale. “I’ll admit, I was nervous. But I told myself that all I could do was answer the questions honestly and to the best of my ability, and if that wasn’t sufficient, so be it. Calmly and politely he asked the first question. It was a simple one. Just ‘Where are you from?’ That was easy, of course.”
    “You’re from Boston, right?” Kevin asked.
    “Right. And then he asked what my favorite hobbies and interests are outside work. I told him about running the marathon, how I love to play the piano but don’t own one, and how when I was a kid, I was kind of a golf prodigy. And I told him I’ve always wanted to learn to fly-fish.”
    “Fly-fishing, that’s brilliant!” said Emily.
    “Genius,” said Kevin.
    “It happens to be true,” said Suze.
    “What was the third question?” Jeff asked. “It’s always the third question that matters.”
    “You’re right, Jeff,” Suze said. “The third question was…” She paused for dramatic effect. “The third question was, ‘Why are your office mates so up in your business?’” There was a moment of silence as they all realized she’d made up the whole thing.
    “You didn’t even meet him, did you?” said Jeff.
    “Nope,” Suze said. “Now will you let me get back to work?”
    “So that’s it? You’re out?” Meredith said. “I can’t believe it. Did you get to see who he picked?”
    Suze’s pride prickled at the assumption that she hadn’t been chosen. “Actually, I think I’m still in the running. The finals, or whatever. I was invited to go to his home this Sunday.”
    “Holy moly!” said Meredith. “That’s huge. You could win this! Ten million dollars! Oh, my God.” Then, looking at Suze urgently, she said, “You have to go. You’re going, aren’t you?”

Chapter 12
    Caroline felt wired when she left the interview. It had been unexpectedly fun—like a date that had gone particularly well. There was a sense of hope and anticipation. What would come next? Her enthusiasm was only slightly dampened by her mother. She had barely put the car in Park when Isabelle and Brooke surged from the house into the driveway, demanding to know what had happened.
    “You were gone all day!” Brooke said. “Did you win?”
    “No, sweetie,” Caroline said.
    “What? That’s ridiculous,” Brooke said.
    Her mother scowled in disappointment. “Who did they pick? Did you even have a chance to sing?” Isabelle pursed her lips. “It’s not that you’re lacking, Caroline. It’s that you don’t sell yourself. Did they give you a contact number? I would like to call—don’t worry, sweetie, I won’t embarrass you, but they do owe you an explanation.”
    “Mom, there were, like, two thousand other women there. They don’t owe me anything.”
    “You always did give up too easily. You have to fight for what you want. Haven’t I