The Crush

The Crush (Part 17) - Crown Royal

Our date was over. We lingered outside of my apartment. My head was still reeling from the bomb he had dropped on me after dinner. He explained to me that his parents and her parents were looking to merge their companies, but the only way her parents were willing to go along with the buyout is if their son married their daughter. That way she would still have a fifty percent claim on the company and it would be guaranteed to stay in the family. I mean, it was smart for them. But for me, it was all a bit overwhelming. In what world did he think he was going to be able to get out of this marriage? It softened me a bit toward him for considering risking all of it for me, but I felt weighed down by the idea of all of this. I could only imagine how he felt.

"Well," I started, "good night, Michael."

He leaned down and placed his lips on mine. He placed both hands on my face and pulled me in closer and deeper into his space. It felt like he was clinging on to me for dear life. The weight that had been on his shoulders, seemed to now be on mine. I needed time to think. This was a lot to process. I really didn't know what he was thinking or how he really felt about all of this. About his family. About Piper. About us. About me.

I pulled away from him and met his eyes.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow?" he asked.

"Of course," I said. He leaned in and kissed my cheek. I blushed at his sweetness.

I went into my apartment and closed the door behind me. I leaned against it and slid to the floor. What was I going to do about this man? And what was he going to do about me? It was all so jumbled up and life changing. I wondered if he wished he had never bumped into me at the coffee shop. His life would be going along just as planned. But it wasn't a life he was planning. Was I his escape route? I wondered if he really needed me for that. Of course, he could always just tell his parents to shove their money and the arranged marriage without me. Maybe I was just his excuse to do so. Maybe I just reminded him of the boy he was in high school and all the dreams of his own that he had. I know he reminded me of a simpler time. He reminded me of innocence and crushes. Reminded me of those "what if" days. Reminded me of a time when the world was waiting for me with all it's vast possibilities. I just had to make a decision and start living it. And I had. But those options were taken away from him.

I wondered how Piper felt about all of this. I had my interview with her tomorrow at her parent's estate. Of course, I doubted that she would admit to a magazine reporter that her marriage was arranged, but I should be able to gage some of her feelings toward the marriage and Michael. I was nervous about meeting up with her. I had been soliciting time with her fiancée behind her back. I was sure Michael hadn't told her about me. It seemed like her family and his family had him bowing to their will and their wants. I wanted to cry for the unfairness of it all. I didn't pity him or feel completely sorry for him, but I felt for him. He was still rich. He was still marrying one of the most sought after women in the city. He was making a good life for himself. But it didn't seem to be the life that he wanted.

I gather myself up from the floor and headed to my room. I needed to prepare for tomorrow.

As I tossed and turned in bed, my thoughts turned to Edward. I just kept going over this situation with Michael in my mind. And the only thing I kept coming back to was Edward. How much I missed him? How much I wanted to call him. I missed how in sync we were in our relationship. I missed the ease of my relationship with Edward. It was as easy as breathing. Everything had just gotten so convoluted and complicated with Michael. Edward got me in ways that no one else did. I smiled thinking about him. I fell asleep with him on my mind and in my heart.

Piper had her father's driver pick me up at promptly 11 am, so that I could join her for lunch poolside. I vaguely wondered what she did all day. Did she work for her father? Or did she just stand to gain all of his inheritance based on her familial ties? I wanted to hate her but I couldn't. What would I do if I was in her shoes?

On the drive, my thoughts went back to Edward. Before I had left home that morning, I had called his phone just wanting to hear his voice. I don't know if he was asleep or just screening my calls. Either way I was disappointed he didn't answer. Something was shifting inside of me. I just wanted to talk to him.

The driver pulled up to the gate of their home and I was overwhelmed to say the least. I had been all over to interview sources for the magazine, but this was by far the most extravagant place I had ever been to. The drive to the estate once we'd entered the gate was beautiful. The driveway was lined with Poplar Trees on both sides – it was a stunning effect. I bet it was beautiful at night. I pulled myself out of my daydream and stepped out when the driver opened my door for me.

"Miss Piper is waiting for you in the pool house," he said. As I made my way up the marbled steps, I took in the massive columns on the wrap around porch. It reminded me of those massive plantation style homes you see in Southern Living Magazine. A maid waited for me at the entrance. She led me back to the pool house and I scoped out Piper's living arrangements. I kept my hands to myself for fear of breaking anything or leaving my handprints behind. Everything was so stark and clean. It felt so unlived in.

"Nia!" Piper exclaimed when I entered the pool house. She pulled me into another hug. I stiffened at her touch. I had just been on a date with her fiancé the night before. It felt inappropriate to be so friendly with her. I wasn't good at masking my emotions. I was definitely sizing her up.

"Hi, Piper," I said, once she had released me.

"You just have no idea how excited I am about this article," she said. "You know, Michael told me he knew you after you and your boyfriend left the gala the other night."

I was surprised by this. Because at the gala we had both pretended it was the first time we had met.

"Did he?" I asked.

"Yes, he told me that you two went to high school together." She went on. I didn't know how I was supposed to play this. I couldn't very well admit to knowing him now. He could have warned me that he had told her all of this. I would have been better prepared. She was so damn bubbly.

"High school was so long ago," I laughed. "I'm sure he doesn't look the same."

"You don't have to pretend with me, Nia," she said. "It's just us girls."

I gave her a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"Michael has told me about the two of you."

I looked around cautiously. I felt like I was being set up. Was she about to try to take me out here? We were all alone as far as I could tell. But she had money and I had seen one too many mafia movies. Had she called me out here to get rid of the problem? The problem being me.

She laughed again. "Relax, Nia," she said. "Michael has you and I have someone on the side as well."

I wanted to choke. She was fucking me all the way up. Wait...what?

"Now, of course, you know this is all off of the record. Michael and I have an appearance to maintain. We will be getting married, so if he has told you otherwise you may as well get that out of your pretty little head. The contract his parents signed to buy out my company explicitly states that he has to marry me. Mind you, it is just a marriage of convenience, but there will be a marriage." She took a sip of her tea she had set in between us on the wicker table. "Do we have an understanding?"