Exploited Arrangements

Chapter 5

"Isn't the music coming from the other way?" I ask my parents confused.

"Just follow us dear." It seems like something is bothering my mother. My father walks ahead without showing any emotion.

We go up 15 stories. I'm certain this story is for the upper class. The rooms for instance are much bigger. The room service trolleys we walk past also have luxurious meals and expensive wine on them.

We enter a room at the end of the hallway. The room is empty. Other than the fact that the items inside are worth no less than 1 million dollars. It has a balcony. A beautiful balcony in fact. It has an incredible view over the city. You can also see the workers who are setting the fireworks up from here.

I snap out of my reverie when the door opens. In steps a man and a woman - a married couple. Behind them follow a young man.

He has sapphire blue eyes and chocolate brown hair. The suit he is wearing hugs his built body perfectly. His shoulders are the new dictionary meaning of broad.

Cheekbones are sculpted into his cheeks. His jawline is so sharp it could right into flesh. All that is missing on his to-die-for face is a smile.

Gemma what are you doing. This is the second boy this week. Remember to stay loyal to Daniel. He loved you and paid with his life. Gemma maintain control.

I hear a throat clearing. It's my father. Oh shit, they caught me staring. A smirk appears on Mr. Handsomes face. I mentally facepalm myself.

"Gemma, we have some important issues to discuss."

Everyone's eyes are still on me. I am certain my face is blood red. I can feel my throat tightening. I swallow. My heart wants to barge out of my chest. It's pounding against my ribs like a thief who, with all it's force, wants to break out behind the metal bars of the prison cell. What do they want to discuss. I have never seen the young man or the older women, who I presume is his mother, before. I think I have seen the man's face somewhere.

Their faces are like desserts, including his now. That's a shame, that smile really kicked his attractiveness up a notch. They are void of all emotion. It must be really serious. I just nod.

"Gemma this might be hard for you, but you know I love you, right?" My father's voice is full of apprehension. Wow, that's a first. He is usually so confident and full of himself. Not even being denounced by the Queen of England would make him step from his thrown.

"Umm, yes??"

"You also know I will never make you do something that is not for a good cause?"

If I was worried before, now I am really starting to worry. I leave his question unanswered.

"Gemma, do you remember the hack that damaged all our hardware and wiped out all our information?"

"Yes?" I don't like where this is going. Is it getting hot in here? I can fell sweat drops form on my forehead.

"The thing is, the IT experts managed to fix and restore everything but the hacker somehow managed to steal all the money on the account. When word got out to the shareholders, most of them decided to sell their shares. The business almost went bankrupt." The room is so tense. It feels like my stomach is being pressed together with a clamp. My father is the person winding the long handle, squeezing my insides.

"Then Mr. Hawksley," he gestures in his direction," offered to rebuy all the share on one conditions. And that is..." He looks away to regain himself. I can see the sadness in his eyes. I know what he is going to say.

"And that is that you marry his son Tristan."

Who wouldn't want to marry him. I imagine him like a piece of candy walking down the street. Every girl wants to eat him.

But I don't know him. I can't tie myself down to someone that I'm not in love with. I want a marriage where the root is love, not a business deal.

I feel like bursting into tears right now, but I know I should at least try to fight.

"So you think I'm just going to let this slide and marry him. Do you really think you will convince me that this will all turn out like a romance novel. A girl gets married off by her father to a billionaire. They hate each other at first, but then they discover they are meant to be. Do you really see me as a desperate girl who is lost in her own fantasies?" I am fired up and ready to throw the punches.

"No, Gemma, we don't. But..."

"But what!" I feel like lava. I am ready to burn everything that comes in my way. Not even the ocean scares me off.

"The thing is there is now backing out now. It's final." I can see these words slice his tongue when saying them.

"What do you mean?"

The man I now know as Mr. Hawksley answers, "You see, this 'business gala' you dressed up so nicely to is actually your engagement party. You are the princess and he is the prince. This is your engagement ball. All the guests came to attend Gemma Colbrooke and Tristan Hawksley's engagement party."

When he mentions ball, I look at my mother. "So you all worked together on this. How could you?" Someone poured liquid nitrogen out on my lava. My eyes water up.

My mother steps forward.

"No, stay away!"

"Sorry dear, but we knew you wouldn't agree to do it, no matter how hard we would try to persuade you. We had to find a way to force into it."

"Gemma there is no point in crying, you will only ruin your makeup. You will have to go thank everyone for attending your 'engagement party'. You can't stand next to the son of the richest man on the planet and look like a smudged cake," my father says. All his sympathy has now evaporated into the air. He is back to his egocentric self now. You see what happens when he doesn't get his way.

Wait, so Mr. Hawksley is the most rich man. That must mean he owns Hawks Online Retailers - the largest online retailer company. I knew I have seen his face somewhere. His retailer company sells some of my father's stock.

So this must be his son. I didn't even know he had a son, yet alone that he was married.

Wow, Mr Handsome can't be that rich and handsome. It should be illegal.

Then it strikes me - that means I can't make a scene about this in front of the other businessmen and women. I will have to play along. If I do, it will be all over the paparazzi before morning. Mr. Hawksley's name will be trembled on and then my father's business will surely go bankrupt. I look at my hands. It's to late my makeup has already smudged.

My mother sees this and comes to the rescue, "Thank goodness I brought the makeup artist along. " She walks out of the room. I only stare at the floor. I can't bare to look at their faces.

I wonder what he thinks about this whole arrangement. He hasn't said a world and is looking out the window at the beautiful city lights.

My mother comes back in the room with Maggie. Just great. I feel so loved by my parents!

What do you think about the whole arrangement?

Poor Maggie, how does she feel being trapped between them?

Don't forget to vote and comment!