Marriage by Business (Darius POV)

Nine

"Speak." I told Jesse as I closed the study door behind me, "What's the latest."

Sometimes I considered firing Jesse, because he was always the bearer of bad news. I groaned as I sunk into the lounge chair as he told me new numbers of how much voting power we needed for the change. This was not good, this was not good at all. 

After I finished the phone conversation, I went outside to see Ivory sitting on the couch nibbling on something. 

She looked up mid chew, "What was the phone?" she asked, her face contorted like she had never heard of a phone before, as she slowly whispered the word, "Phone right?"

"Work." I said as she slouched in the couch, barely listening as she nodded. She flipped through more channels, her eyes narrowing at the TV and I wondered what the TV did to deserve a glare like that.

She signed, tilting her head and I looked at the time. Clearly she couldn't see anything she liked to watch, especially with the way her nose would wrinkle every time she landed on a channel only to change it again.

Her lips kept moving every few minutes, muttering something softly to herself but I could pick up the words horrible, stupid, dumb, as she kept flicking channels. 

Maybe she wanted to go watch a movie?

Just like she was reading my mine, she asked, "Do you want to go watch a movie?"

I looked a my watch again, Jesse was meant to send me an email in ten minutes, but I guess that could wait. "Sure," I said shrugging my shoulder.

Her face lighting up like I just promised her a million dollars and she yelled something incoherent at me as she rushed up stairs. I grabbed my phone looking at the local movie theatre, it was a small threat which meant the movies on there were very old.

I watched as she bounced down the stairs, an excitement on her face that was lacking the last hour so I didn't bother telling her that she wasn't going to like the movie.

She looked nice being happy like that. 

In fact she seemed to be in a good mood since she wanted to walk to the theatre, at least this time she wore a thick coat, wrapping it around her as she chatted away about something. About the weather apparently, I wasn't sure what was so beautiful about it but she seemed to be enjoying the fresh air.

At least she was in a much better mood than after the boat trip.

My phone vibrated in my pocket and I pulled it out, a message from Jesse but I had to reply later as we walked into the movie theatre. 

"We're that way," she said going down an aisle and I followed her as she held onto the tickets for dear life, bending to check the seat number before confirming.

I didn't think it mattered where we sat, the theatre was pretty much empty with heaps of seats available. I shrugged off my coat, placing it neatly on the arm rest before sitting down. 

Ivory slouched in her chair again, her brown eyes wide with anticipation of the film and I couldn't help but smile when her face contorted into a frown when someone sat down in front of her.

She sat up straighter, which was much better for her back. 

I was going to offer her my seat, but then someone even taller sat in front of me.  The move theatre chairs were always built on an incline, so she should still be able to see the movie.

When the lights got dimmer her face relaxed and I didn't think it bothered her anymore as she started looking at the movie. I had remembered watching this movie when I was younger, it was always on the TV and I had a good memory that I could probably recite it line for line from watching it once. 

"Is it over?" Ivory asked next to me yawning, and I realised that she had fallen asleep.

"No interval break," I said as she got up excusing herself.

Maybe she wasn't enjoying it. I grabbed my phone as the lights came on for the ten minute break, looking up if there were other things to do near by here. She looked just as bored as she was at home, her nose all crinkled up with distaste at the movie.

I grabbed my phone from my pocket, looking at the twenty missed calls and thirty five messaged from Jesse.

Couldn't that man do anything without needing my approval every time. I looked at the email he had drafted and sent to me for approval.

I replied back saying it was fine to send, when I heard something from next to me.

"Try it, I'm sure she won't notice she's too busy sleeping."

I didn't have to look up to notice a group of young kids sitting further down the aisle in my peripheral vision, all chatting about something. Were they talking about Ivory?

They went back to staring something on the phone screen, perhaps it wasn't about her. 

Ivory walked past them, plopping into the seat next to me shrugging her jacket off, "lines are the bane of my existence," she told me rolling her eyes as she settled into the seat, this time slouching.

"Do you want to go-," the loud announcement asked everyone to get back to their seats as the light dimmed, and I turned around facing the theatre, it was too late to get up and go elsewhere now.

I quickly texted Jesse to check his emails, placing my phone in my pocket when I realised Ivory was moving closer towards me.

First I thought maybe she was going to fall asleep again, but then I could see her casting a look at the teenage boys next to her. 

I looked at them through my peripheral vision, unsure of what was happening but form the way her face was scrunching up, I could tell it was something she didn't like. Their conversation came back to my mind, and I wondered perhaps did it have something to do with her after all.

I stretched my arm, casually draping it past her seat, as I turned my head meeting a brown pair of eyes glaring at me. I raised my eyebrows at the kids, did they have something to say?

They turned around facing the movie, I thought so.

All I needed was five minutes with their pictures for me to know who their parents were. I didn't need to make that threat as they didn't look towards her again.

I looked down at Ivory as she nestled into the crook of the arm, her eyes shut.

I guess she didn't like this movie after all.

Hope you enjoyed it! New chapter coming soon. Follow me on Instagram: imsooverpolice. I impulse adopted a puppy during this coronavirus outbreak HELP