Bryan smiles as he looks at charlotte. "How did you feel about the video call?' He asks softly. "You didn't feel anxious did you?"
"No surprisingly, Kitty was very nice." Charlotte says, smiling up at Bryan, her eyes watching him stand up. "I think her and I will get along nicely."
Bryan caresses her face softly with his hand, looking down at her. "I hope that you do. You two will see a lot of one another while she is working on your room."
"And until then where will I stay?" Charlotte asks nervously.
"Well you can stay in my bed, or you can stay in another guest room." He says, gently patting her head.
Charlotte nods, looking down. "Thank you." She says shyly.
"You don't have to thank me honey, I'm just going to take care of you the best I can." Bryan whispers as he kisses the crown of her head. "Would you like me to stay up here with you?" He asks softly.
"No I'm ok." Charlotte says as she skims over the webpage with chandelier type lamps on the screen.
Bryan chuckles as he starts to walk away. "I see that I'm not needed." He says softly to himself. He sits back in his seat, kicking his feet up. His phone buzzes a text message from his assistant.
Rebecca: Cell
Hey Bryan, I'm about to go to the grocery store.
Would you like me to grab anything that wasn't
on the list?
Hey Becca, I actually need a few things
added to the list please.
A dozen white roses
Shower items for a woman
Feminine hygiene products
Thanks in advance.
No problem. I'll put the roses
in the vase on the table for when
you arrive home. Also the files
you requested are on your desk.
Bryan smiles as he looks over the emails from while he was away.
"Nothing too important that can't wait until we're home." He thinks to himself as a notification comes in from Charlotte.
"Here is my inspo for the closet. I don't have Kittys email." She writes.
There were multiple links included. Light fixtures, tiles, a tufted bench with large diamond-like gems indenting the fabric, shelving ideas. He smiled to himself. She knew what she wanted, and Bryan liked that. He forwarded the links to Kitty, Carbon Copying Charlotte in on the thread.
"Thank you!" Charlotte calls out from her seat.
Bryan chuckles to himself. "You're welcome!" He calls out.
A ping comes from both the phone and the laptop. A response from kitty.
To:
From:
CC: CMartin@email.com
I LOVE everything that you've picked out Charlotte! I'll see what my supplier has in stock to show you tomorrow! I'll be sure to bring all of my swatches for you. Fabric, paint, tile, wood and wallpaper. Any more ideas feel free to send them.
XOXO Kitty
"Charlotte, how would you like to have sushi during our meeting tomorrow?" Bryan calls out.
"I would LOVE to have sushi tomorrow!" She says, her head popping up over the top of her seat, looking at him.
Bryan smiled to himself as he started to reply.
To:
From:
CC:
How about I arrange for lunch to be catered? Charlotte is feeling sushi. We can eat and discuss and then go shopping for anything we decide on. Tomorrow around One PM sounds alright?
A ping can be heard again.
To:
From:
CC:
That would be lovely. Just get a smorgasbord of things, and I'll eat whatever. You know I'm not picky about my food. One P.M it is, see you both then!
XX Kitty
Bryan smiles to himself as he reads the final email on their thread. "Charlotte, please come tell me what type of sushi that you'd like me to order for you." He calls pulling up the website of the sushi restaurant that he goes to often.
Charlotte climbs up from her seat, nervously walking down the aisle to get to where Bryan was sitting. "Well, I love a california roll, as well as anything spicy." She says as she stops next to Bryan. "Do they have dumplings? Pan seared dumplings are my favorite!" Charlotte exclaimed.
Bryan chuckles to himself. "When you ate sushi before, how much did you eat? Do you like it alot? A Little?"
"In my sophomore year of highschool, an all you can eat sushi place came to town. My girlfriends and I loved to go there, and I think the most I ever ate there was 30 pieces of sushi, like 20 dumplings and a handful of crab rangoons. I paid the price, but it was so worth it." Charlotte says looking down at her feet. "I probably ran for 3 hours the next morning.."
"Come here.." Bryan says, extending his hand to her, his face riddled with concern.
Charlotte takes a seat in his lap, her eyes glued to the lights that lined the aisle way. Bryan gently takes her face in his hands, making her look up at him, "You will NEVER be punished for eating what you like. As long as you are not binge eating and getting sick, you can eat anything that we have." he says gently. "You'll never be forced to work out, unless you want." His thumb strokes her cheek as he speaks.
Charlotte's eyes start to well with tears. "But girls aren't supposed to eat like that. Mother would have killed me if she saw the amount of food that I ate today at lunch." She says as a tear rolls down her cheek, meeting Bryans thumb.
"You're getting healthy Charlotte. You tell me what you want, and we will get that for lunch." Bryan states. "Any leftovers we have, we'll put in the fridge for later."
Charlotte nods, wiping her face. "C-Can I have a California roll, a spicy crab roll, the biggest order of dumplings they have and a small order of the crab rangoons?" She asks shyly, peeking up at him.
"You can have whatever you wish." Bryan says as he kisses her forehead. He places the order online, having it set for a delivery at 12:45.
Rebecca: Cell
Hey Becca, I have a sushi catering
order coming tomorrow at 12:45.
We land at 12:30, and should be
getting there at around 1. Could
you please put things on the cold
platters as well as the warming dishes?
I'll need the table set for three.
Yes, I'm just getting back from the store.
Could you please send me a list of everything
you'd like to have on the table? Any
type of table décor?
No special décor is needed. Just a runner
on the table, as well as the roses you got today.
The table list:
Three sets of chopsticks
Three water glasses
Three ramekins
Bottle of sriracha and soy sauce
Three dinner size plates
Three cloth napkins with the silver rings
Of course! I'll make sure everything is ready.
I will see you in ten hours.
Bryan smiles up at Charlotte, gently kissing her shoulder. "I have some questions I'd like to ask you, and they're some serious questions..." He says as he rubs her arm gently.
"O-Okay... W-what kind of questions do you have?" Charlotte asks nervously.
"Well... I would like to know what happened the day that you were kidnapped..." He said hesitantly.
Charlotte's face drops as she hears the question come from his lips. "W-why?"
"I want to know what happened that day.. I want you to not have to go through this alone. You will never have to struggle through this alone again." He says as he gently takes his hand in hers.
"O-okay... Well it was a couple days after our arrival into the country, and our chaperones would allow us each day to go off for a little on our own. Like we'd set a place to meet then have a time to meet back there. That day we were at the street market after being told we had an hour to be on our own before meeting at the restaurant for dinner. I was at a stall that was selling jewelry, I remember because I was specifically looking at this beautiful amethyst and gold bracelet. I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings... and the next thing I know I was grabbed on both shoulders. I just thought it was a friend but it wasn't. I was pulled away from the stall with an arm around my waist and a hand over my mouth, going between the stalls before being put in the back of a van. The people at the shop completely ignored everything that was happening. I made eye contact with a woman and she just looked away. " Charlotte takes a deep breath as she finishes. Tears pouring down her face as she tries to calm down.
Bryan holds her close, stroking her arm as he listens. Her story is painted like a photo as she tells it. "Keep going honey, everything is ok." He assures her.
"Once I was in the van, I was begging and crying to be let go. I offered them the money that I had on me. They didn't want that. Eventually they hit me in the face because I wouldn't stop begging to be released. I don't remember what happened after that, or even arriving at the facility. Where my memory comes back, I was in an all white room naked. A nurse came in and started to look over my body, and ask me questions about my age and things along those lines." Charlotte peeks over at him through her hair. "She noticed the bruise on my face from where I was hit, and she shook her head. Then she asked me to get on the table and put my feet in the stirrups. I did, and she did an exam on me. Then she took blood from me. That nurse was the nicest person I had met at the facility. I wanted to fight against her, and not comply but after being hit in the van, I was afraid of what they might do to me for not listening." Charlotte admits.
Bryans heart stops as he hears what happened that day at the market to her. He didn't want to even think about what she had endured. "You never have to worry about being touched like that again. You will never be hurt again." He says stroking her cheek. "What happened next?" Bryan asks, still stroking her cheek.
"The nurse after the exam took me to my room that I had to stay in until they found out I Didn't have any diseases that could be given to anyone else in the facility. It was about a week long until they brought me to the main room where all the girls were. It was like prison. We were not allowed out of our cells unless there was a breeder that came to view us. You were the third breeder that came to look at us, and you chose me. Two other girls were chosen before and only one of them ended up being pregnant. The other girl was gone for a few days but didn't conceive. I assume he didn't pay to come back because she never left again." Charlotte says looking over at Bryan nervously.
"I want to tell you how sorry I am that you had to endure that. No one deserves the hand that you've been dealt in life." Bryan says as he gives her a squeeze. "I promise to give you the life that you deserve. Tell me what you want,anything and you can have it Charlotte." He says gently kissing her shoulder.
Charlotte blushes, never having had a man make her feel the way she was feeling with bryan. She wasn't afraid to be her true self when she was with him.
"What're you thinking about? He whispers in her ear.
A shiver runs down her spine. "I'm thinking of how blessed I am to have met you. Every day before bed, I'd kneel beside my bed and pray to god that id be able to return to the states, but i was so scared to return to my mom that i didnt care if i was shipped back in a pine box." Charlotte admits, "As much as the thought of suicide scares me or death scares me, TRhe thought of returning home to my mother scares me even more."
Bryan gives her a slight smile. "Im blessed to have met you too, you know>" His smile widens. "I have finally met a woman who wasn't just trying to be with me for my money. You didnt invalidate my feelings. You make me care about someone besides myself..." He admits, knowing that he's been selfish often in the past.
He had limited contact with his family, only really talking to them on birthdays or holidays. It's not that he didn't want to see them, it's that he knew that he would never be looked at by his family as they looked at his brother. His brother Ryan hadn't had the accomplishments that Bryan had, but Ryan could do no wrong. He was the golden child in their narcissistic family tree, and Bryan was the scapegoat. So Bryan distanced himself, only calling on birthdays to say that a card was in the mail for them, or attending certain events like thanksgiving or christmas. His family didn't seem to care as they were too involved in what Ryan was doing, how his career was going, or how his marriage was doing.
Deep inside, Bryan had always wanted to be a father, only to prove to himself that he could be a better father than Richard ever was to him. Bryan wanted to attend baseball games and science fairs. He had just never met a woman that made him feel the way that Charlotte made him feel.
Charlotte watches him smiling almost hearing the gears turning in his head as he scans over her face. "Deep in thought?" She teases as his eyes focus on hers.
"Maybe, sometimes i think this thing is empty." He jokes gently tapping his head.
Charlotte lets out a belly laugh as she looks at him lovingly. "You have a multi-billion dollar company, you have a brain. The question is do you use it or not?" She teases.
"I used it when i chose you, didn't I?" He asks, smirking as he watches her face turn maroon.