Page 14 of The October Arrangement

“Keep reading,” I said.

“Rule number eight.” She stopped and looked up at me. “No.”

“What?” My eyes narrowed.

“I’m not agreeing to this.”

“Why? What does it say, Bella?”

“You wrote it, Simon!”

“I want to hear you say it.” I gripped the island’s edge.

“Quiet after ten p.m.”

“That’s right. Not a sound after ten o’clock.”

“I’m twenty-nine, not nine,” she said. The irritation in her voice was very clear.

“I get up early,” I said.

“So do I!”

“You were watching TV after midnight last night,” I said.

“How do you know? You were sleeping. Besides, my room isn’t by yours.”

“I was up getting a bottle of water, and I heard it,” I said.

“You are unbelievable.” She shook her head. “Rule number nine. Don’t eat my food. Really?” She cocked her head. “You don’t even have any food.”

“That’s because I was supposed to be gone for three months. But now that I’m back, my housekeeper will do the grocery shopping. You buy your own groceries and keep them in the cabinet down there.” I pointed.

“What is this? Kindergarten? I’m assigned my own cubby for my things?”

“Pretty much. And as for the refrigerator.” I walked over and opened the doors. “You can have this side of this shelf only.”

“You are literally insane,” she said. “Rule number ten. THIS ARRANGEMENT ENDS ON OCTOBER 31ST. NO EXCEPTIONS.”

She looked up at me.

“October 31, your contract ends, and you move out the morning of November 1st.”

“I know that, Simon!”

“I mean it, Bella.”

“And so do I. You think I want to stay here longer than necessary? In this prison.”

I removed the pen from my suit coat and handed it to her. “Sign.”

“Seriously?” She laughed.

“Very. Sign.”

She forcefully grabbed the pen from my hand and signed her name at the bottom.

“I want to make it very clear that this is only a temporary arrangement for the month of October,” I said.