Consequences

Chapter 1

"Congratulations." Jared's voice came over the phone loud and clear. "However, for the record, this is a surprise." Jared rolled his shirtsleeves up to his elbows, then folded his arms and waited, as he perched on his desk and wondered why Doug hadn't mentioned this before.

"What is?" Douglas flicked the device off, rotated his neck to ease out the kinks and then growled down the mobile phone with obvious displeasure, "What are you on about?" Doug wasn't happy about the interruption. He'd just got his train of thought into gear, and now he knew he was going to be on the slow train to information, given Jared's tone. Unfortunately he'd answered the mobile phone automatically. Big mistake. He should have let it go to voicemail and carried on with his dictation. "And why the hell are you congratulating me?" Exasperation laced every single word in that question as he flicked the phone onto speaker phone so that he could be hands free and multitask.

Jared simply ignored the exasperation and carried on in his usual way, "Caitlin's not happy. She thinks you should have told us rather than leave us to find out this way" Jared told Doug, ignoring all three of Doug's questions as he continued to bait Doug with practice developed as best friends over the years they had spent together making their way through periodic State care.

"Told you what?" Doug asked in irritation as he ran his fingers through his hair and then massaged the back of now tightly corded neck muscles. He was shattered. "Jared, what the fuck are you on about?"

It had been a long night getting the contract ready, and Jared's slow route to information was doing nothing but annoy him. Doug glared at the phone, knowing that in the last 25 years, even a glare in person had had no effect on the man, so it was hardly likely that glaring at a phone would help. The fact that they were friends, had been since they were seven years old, fighting the same demons associated with a childhood of deprivation, meant that he could pummel Jared until he was black and blue and he'd still get no reaction. Jared would tell him when he was ready and in his own good time.

"That you were engaged." Came the blunt response.

"Engaged?" Douglas narrowed his tired eyes and waited for the punch line. "I'm engaged." He repeated and waited expectantly for Jared to follow through with more information about his ridiculous statement.

"Yes." Jared frowned, as Doug's less than positive reaction, or lack of any real reaction other than annoyance finally penetrated. Jared straightened up and studied the phone with a scowl now replacing the smile. They'd spend years looking out for each other, before Jared caught a break and got fostered with the Mackenzie family and Doug's grandmother was given full custody of Doug and his brother. But those early years, as they'd dealt with the State care system, had ensured the boys developed a close friendship. One that had stood the test of time despite the fact they had chosen very different career paths. Though, both were in the process of carving themselves a little empire. Jared's was in the physical world of sport, while Doug's was in the ethereal world of e technology, which was rather interesting given Doug carried the scars of a physical environment. Despite these differences, their time together had ensured they had a strong bond. Together they'd been a force to be reckoned with on their neighbourhood turf, because they trusted each other to cover their backs. That brought added confidence.

Doug ignored the scowl he could hear in Jared's voice. Instead he quirked a brow, waiting for more of this ridiculous information and hoped that Jared would get a move on in sharing whatever was washing through his brain. When Jared said nothing more, Doug's patience ran out. "Jared I don't have time for this bullshit. What the hell are you on about?" He demanded in annoyance.

Jared was starting to realize that Doug's engagement was as much news to the man concerned as it had been to Jared earlier this morning. "You might want to read the morning papers. Caitlin noticed it. Announcement in the births, deaths and marriages section. You apparently are engaged." Jared suddenly began to wonder about the announcement validity, given Doug clearly knew nothing about his supposed engagement. "So you've finished with Tina and are...."

Douglas stopped listening to Jared, and instead hit a key on his computer keypad, called up an internet search engine and typed in his name and engagement announcement. He scrolled through links that appeared instantly, and his brows beetled as he read the relevant sections. With increasing ire, his eyes scanned a three line entry: Mr Douglas Hawke and Ms Isabelle Soujour-D'Sa wished to announce their engagement...

For a second he froze, as the words merged then crystallized in front of his eyes. Engagement? Fuck that! And who the hell was Isabelle Sojour-D'Sa?

"You've kept this quiet." Jared muttered as he heard Doug's fingers dance across the keyboard once again. He could hear his friend's muttering, and knew for sure that this engagement was news to Doug.

"I know nothing about this shit." Doug frowned at the on screen shot of the newspaper page, and then glanced at the entry again. He read it over and over, expecting it to suddenly go blank, for his name to be replaced by another. But no, there it was. In black and white. His engagement to some random woman called Isabelle Sojour-D'Sa.

"Figured that. Now. Though this morning, Caitlin and I were puzzled but, in some odd way, I guess, we were both pleased." Jared could hear no trace of amusement in his friend's face.

Doug could understand why Caitlin and Jared would be pleased, they were still basking in the fact they were a recently married couple. Of course everyone getting married would suit them!

"It's a fucking joke." Doug suggested as he ignored the screen and returned his attention to the phone call from Jared.

Jared realized that Doug's language had deteriorated which meant one thing. They were alike in that way. Clearly Doug was not as unperturbed as he would like people to imagine him to be. Which, all things considered was to be expected. It wasn't everyday that you learnt you were engaged.

"Mate, you need to think this through." Snorted Jared and then tacked on with calm logic. "The Soujour-D'Sa's don't announce engagements for fun. They happen to be old money. So...."

But Douglas had stopped listening once again, he reached for the internal phone, pressed three digits and waited for the phone to be answered before saying, "Ryan, can you..." He paused, scowled, then barked, "Fuck off!" He glared at the mobile phone when he heard Jared chuckle having heard that last statement, Jared had probably figured out that Ryan had also congratulated Doug. Doug was rapidly running out of patience. "You have half an hour to do a check on Ms Isabelle Soujour-D'Sa." Doug hung up the internal phone and reached for his mobile again.

"Bit late for that." Jared told his friend candidly. "I imagine she has already had you checked out. Doubt her family will be too pleased to have an ugly renegade such as you in the family!" He frowned as his words rang true. In fact, he was somewhat surprised to learn that the Sojour-D'Sa family even knew of Doug. "Where did you meet her?" An engagement suggested the Sojour-D'Sa family did know Doug, well enough to announce an engagement? That seemed odd. It didn't stop Jared from muttering, "Can't see it myself. Wrong history, wrong side of the tracks....."

Doug was thinking the exact same thing. Of course the name now rang a bell. But he seriously doubted whether his name would ring a bell with the Sojour D'Sa family. Jared was right, they moved in different circles.

"This is someone's fucking idea of a bloody stupid joke." Douglas glared at the screen that continued to report his engagement. "It isn't an April fool's prank and it had better not be you or Ryan messing me around." He advised with more than a hint of ire as he considered whether either Ryan or Jared would do something this dumb.

"Yeah, right." Completely unperturbed, Jared carried on, "As I said, Soujour-D'Sa's don't joke about this kind of stuff." Jared grinned without remorse as he considered Doug's predicament, "You are engaged according to the media! Given you didn't place the ad, I assume their family did. Nothing to do with me, I can assure you. But for the record, Caitlin's expecting details."

"You can tell her..."

On that Jared disconnected the call before Doug could really vent.