Deacon Roth was not a good person, but he also knew for a fact that he was not a bad one either.
But it seemed that the universe itself believed that he was a horrible human being, deserving nothing but punishment.
Because out of nowhere Deacon Roth was suddenly experiencing bad luck like never before.
Not only had he woken up in bed with Haley Slater of all people, something that had left him panicked for quite some time as he had worried that maybe he'd slept with her.
Now there was something even worse to contend with.
He and Haley Slater were wearing matching wedding bands.
"No, no, no, no, there's just no way that this is happening. I cannot be married to Roth of all people. I am too pure-hearted for such a thing,"
Clearly, Slater did not realise that she was speaking out loud.
"No worries, Slater. Not even I would want to be saddled with the likes of you."
"A Slater ? Can you imagine me a Roth sullying myself in such a way?"
The woman glared at him like she was contemplating throwing another pillow at him, but she had already wasted the one on her side.
So all that she could manage was to fold her arms and huff.
Typical Slater, how could she be offended that he did not want to be married to her when she also did not wish to be married to him.
He was almost side-tracked by that, but then the ring on her finger caught the light, and abruptly reminded him of the very serious situation that they were in.
Pacing a bit on his side of the bed, Deacon ran a hand through his hair and blew out a long breath before stopping, and turning back to her.
"Slater what exactly do you remember about the previous night? Do you actually recall the two of us going out and exchanging vows?"
The woman stopped biting her bottom lip and looked over at him.The desperation in her eyes clear.
"The last thing that I remember is going into the private booth that you were in and challenging you to a drinking contest. After that it's all a blur,"
Deacon sighed, running his hand through his hair once again, and then scratching at his five o'clock shadow.
That was not good, that also happened to be where Deacon's memory of the night ended too.
It had just been him and Slater downing drinks. How on earth had that turned into them walking down the aisle?
Could it be, could they really have done something so idiotic? There was just no way. He was a CEO.
And before she had quit, Slater had also been a CEO.
The two of them were the greatest minds of their generation. It pained him to acknowledge that fact about Haley Slater.
But it was true. They were very intelligent. There was absolutely no way that they would be so dumb.
And Deacon himself had no interest in marriage. He had been dodging his father trying to get him hitched to somebody for a long time now.
There was no way that he would just go out get drunk and throw away his freedom like that.
He enjoyed the freedom of being single far too much to willingly tie himself to a ball and chain. Knowing Slater, she was far too stubborn to just settle down with anyone, let alone him. So there was just no way that the two of them had gotten married.
Looking over at Slater who was now nibbling so hard on her lower lip that Deacon worried she would actually draw blood.
He decided to share his thoughts with her.
"Stop panicking Slater"
She instantly stopped trying to make her lip into her snack. Her green eyes narrowing as they landed on him.
"How can I not panic, Roth? Do you see this?!" She held up her hand for good measure.
"The two of us somehow got married. That is bad. How on earth am I going to explain this to my family? How am I going to explain it to 'your' family?"
"The whole world will implode thanks to this,"
Roth watched her panic a bit more her chest heaving before he finally decided to share the realization that it come to.
"I doubt that we are married Slater"
She blinked at him like he'd somehow suffered a head injury and was talking gibberish.
"Think about it. All we have are these wedding bands. There is no actual proof that the two of us are a married couple. Unless of course you happen to have the marriage certificate on your person,"
At his words, Slater actually patted down her pockets. Then she looked over at her side of the bed and as he watched she actually crouched down and looked under the bed.
Her eyes scanning the room when she got back on her feet.
When she turned back to him there was a spark of hope in her eyes.
"You know Roth, normally I would disagree with you on principle. But here I think you might actually have a point,"
"Maybe the two of us just bought rings, put them on, came to the hotel and went to bed. Nothing happened,"
Finally, she was playing ball. Roth released a shaky breath.
Glad that the situation was being wrapped up so neatly.
He and Slater were not married. They had just gotten drunk enough to play an epic prank on themselves.
They would walk out of the hotel room and once again forget that the other existed.
Life would go on, nothing would change, and after a few years they would look back at the situation and laugh.
That was all that there was to it.
Feeling the need to somehow formalize the entire thing.
Deacon went over, to Slater's side of the bed and held out his hand.
"I am glad to not be your husband, Haley Slater" He told her.
She slipped her hand into his and nodded back at him.
"And I am glad to not be your wife," Deacon Roth.
The words were music to Deacon's ears, and for the first time in his life he smiled at a Slater and meant it.
From the matching grin on her face she also felt relieved that the two of them were on the same page.
They were not married. Great news indeed.