Oliver and his assistant, Clara, sat in the car on the way to Adley Corporations for the project meeting. He wasn't looking forward to Jeremiah's presence, he couldn't stand the man, but he had to get used to it.
"You're looking forward to seeing Miss Adley, aren't you?" Clara smirked, "I know I am." Oliver turned to her with a raised brow. "Oh, come on, if she's a lesbian let me know," she chuckled to herself.
"What about Elizabeth?"
"Threesome," she shrugged and smiled mischievously.
"Isn't she pregnant?"
"Pregnant women can have sex, you know." She rolled her eyes. "They get all crazy hormonal."
"I see." Oliver stated blankly, but inwardly he was grimacing at the thought of pregnancy. He would rather not deal with that any time soon or ever.
They pulled up to the building and Clara instantly moved on from her playful mood to her professional countenance. "Everyone is inside and waiting on you, Mr and Mrs Black will be meeting you here before your next meeting."
The two met up with the rest of their team and went straight to the top floor. Oliver led the group and was immediately met with Jeremiah who greeted them warmly, but he appeared tense. Once they turned the corner, they saw Avery being lifted and embraced by a man. Oliver schooled his features and, much to his surprise, let out an inaudible breath of relief when he recognized the man to be Russell Adley, son of Jeremiah and future CEO.
Jeremiah cleared his throat, prompting Russell to lower her to the ground and Avery to spin around after fixing her clothes.
Russell warmly greeted his father, although they were rarely ever caught in the same room alone together, and heartily shook his hand. "Sorry, I was just greeting Avery." He chuckled. Ever since they were children, he would always show off his height by standing and letting her legs dangle off the ground.
"Mr Black, it's good to see you again." Avery approached him and shook his hand. He blinked and noted the unusually pale complexion and dark circles.
"Likewise, Miss Adley."
"Please, just call me Avery." She smiled pleasantly, but as always it didn't reflect in her eyes. Oliver sent her a curt nod before greeting the rest with brief handshakes and nods.
They made it into the meeting room where Russell introduced himself and apologized for his absence. The meeting went along where proposals were made and told to be improved on both sides. Avery found herself struggling to stay awake and even stifled a yawn. It didn't go unnoticed by the two men who were glancing at her every so often. Oliver found it kind of cute, but he couldn't shake the surprising worry that she was becoming sick. Maybe he was too.
A brief thought floated through his head. He wondered if he should see a therapist for counselling on this new obsession he seemed to be growing. It was becoming disconcerting already.
Oliver was unimpressed with Jeremiah's instructions to his own team, they weren't a bad team, they just weren't given a proper brief by their boss and did the best they could. He hoped with Russell's return the work would improve.
After the meeting everyone said their goodbyes and went back to their respective offices, each having adjustments to make to their work. Oliver and his parents were due back for a brief meeting, regarding the marriage contract, Avery had to make the appropriate preparations.
Russell approached Oliver with a warm, welcoming smile. He was always a happy man. Standing side by side one couldn't help but notice the contrast between the two men's dispositions.
"It's so good to see you again, man." Russell shook his hand and pulled him in for a quick hug.
"It's been awhile," Oliver stated as they pulled back.
"We'll have to go out for drinks sometime and catch up." Russell smiled. "I may even bring Avery." His eyes were mischievous as he sent a wink Oliver's way.
Oliver nodded, ignoring his implications and said a quick goodbye without much more conversation. He sent Clara back to the office while he went to the café to wait for his parents' arrival.
Russell watched him leave before he walked to his beloved sister's office. He smiled as he watched her work diligently, but frowned at her pallor, remembering how tired she was throughout the meeting.
"How have you been Avery?" Russell asked, from the doorway of her office.
"I've been well, just a bit tired at the moment." She smiled weakly.
"No shit, Avery," he laughed, but it was strained, "you looked as though you were going to fall asleep any minute."
Avery chuckled along with him, feeling a small amount of embarrassment. "I'm fine, I was just up late trying to fix Leah's mess."
Russell frowned. "What did she do now?"
"Drunk, strange man, hotel and photographs." Avery summed it up.
Russell brushed his dark brown hair back and sighed as he slumped in the chair in front of her desk. His grey eyes studied her for a moment. "You've lost heaps of weight, Ave." His tone was serious and not at all complimentary.
She smiled up at him. "Thanks for noticing."
"Seriously, you're too thin and pale. What's going on?"
"I've just been busy and skipping meals as of late," she reassured. "Once everything's calmed down, I'll be able to pay more attention to my health."
"Do it soon or I'll do it for you," he threatened jokingly.
"Yes Sir!" she mocked. "Have you heard about the marriage between Leah and Oliver Black."
Russell roared with laughter. "Yeah," he wiped a tear from his eye, "I have. That man is the least patient man I know, aside from Dad," he rolled his eyes. "It's going to be a disaster."
Avery chuckled at his reaction. "Do you and Mr Black know each other?"
"Yeah, we actually went to the same college. He was a bit more carefree then, but essentially the same."
"Avery!" Jeremiah's voice called through the intercom, "my office now!"
"You should get back to work too, Russell." She smiled and made her way to Jeremiah's office after Russell pecked her cheek and returned to his office with a sigh. He hated how his Dad spoke to her.
"Sir?" Avery asked after she entered and closed the door.
"Your report needs to be redone. It was supposed to be completed by nine am!" his loud angry voice made her flinch. Files flew at her face and fell to the floor. "You stupid idiot can't even do that right!" Jeremiah's hands itched to lay into her. "Hurry up and clean this mess up. We have to meet with the Blacks."
Avery did as told and hurried to clean the mess. She felt tired and dizzy but took a breath and shook it off.
━━❖❖❖━━
Oliver met up with his mother and father. Vivienne was smiling at the thought of her son getting married. At first, she was wary and worried that they were sentencing their son to an unhappy life, but both Maxwell and Oliver eased her concerns.
Especially when Oliver made it clear that Leah was not going to marry him. If Avery didn't agree, unless they had another cousin, the contract would be off the table. They did their research into the girl that was well known on the party scene and had quite the reputation. Her family was skilled at removing the evidence of incidents, no doubt costing thousands and thousands of dollars. They knew all about the fights, the drugs, drinking and even the sex tape. Oliver didn't care if she could have been considered a 'loose woman', hell, he couldn't talk, having plenty experience with the opposite sex, in fact he preferred the experience in his partners. But Oliver hated drama and Leah was all drama and didn't think very clearly about the consequences of her actions.
He would much prefer Avery, even with the rumors of using her body to close deals surrounding her, he would rather put up with a seemingly well natured person who worked hard for her family rather than a selfish brat who wasted money like water.
"Ready to go?" Vivienne asked and heaved a dreamy sigh, "do you think she'll accept?"
"We won't know until we get up there." Maxwell smiled and ushered her out of the door.
They followed the familiar path to the top floor, but they could hear muffled shouts from deeper in the office.
"Is that Jeremiah?" Vivienne asked with wide eyes.
"Does this happen a lot?" Maxwell asked with a frown.
The secretary, Agnes, looked around before nodding. "On occasion. Dear Avery has to put up with the mood swings an awful lot. I don't know how she keeps up with his demands without uttering a complaint."
All three moved on with a frown and showed themselves to the meeting room despite Agnes's offer. Finally, after a decent amount of time of them waiting around, Jeremiah showed himself in with Avery in tow.
"Hello Vivienne, Maxwell." Jeremiah shook their hands with a smile.
Avery followed and did the same before seating herself beside Jeremiah and keeping her gaze low.
"Is Marie not joining us?" Vivienne asked curiously.
"No, she doesn't handle business," he replied.
"I see," Vivienne paused, "please keep in mind that this is not just a business deal, it's also a decision that will affect your daughter's future dramatically."
Jeremiah stiffened. Avery assessed him from the corner of her eye. He disliked women in business and telling him what's what.
"Of course it is," he regained his smile, "I only want the best for my children."
Vivienne nodded and relaxed ever so slightly at his response.
"I have had the contract drawn up and run past our lawyers," Maxwell explained. "It includes a prenuptial agreement, what is required within the marriage as well as the business. Infidelity will not be tolerated, nor will any questionable behavior that could put the family at risk. If any agreements are broken there will be major losses to the offending party. That is of course if it cannot be rectified between the married couple."
"You can read the contract and have your lawyers read through it. There aren't any loopholes, it's airtight." Oliver followed up.
Avery absentmindedly nodded along as she scribbled down notes.
"There will be an engagement period that will be assessed upon agreement," Vivienne spoke up. "Three weeks after the contract has been settled and signed, there will be an engagement party to announce the business partnership and marriage. In those three weeks it would be a good idea for the kids to date and move in together after the engagement period has commenced." She smiled. "I'm hoping this gives them an adjustment period before marriage, just so they can get to know one another and don't have to go from one to one hundred. There have been clauses added in case things don't work out and there can be a clean break without the fault of either parties. Even in the event of a marriage breakdown, given it's all amicable and not a breach in contract, we will still be benefiting."
"Okay, I will pass the information on to Leah and Marie," Adley said as he flicked through the contract. "Avery, make copies of the contract when we're done here."
"Yes, Sir." Avery's voice was meek, causing her to clear her throat with some embarrassment.
"Actually," Maxwell began, "Leah isn't the one we want marrying Oliver."
"I wish to marry Avery, if she'll agree, not Leah." Oliver laced his fingers together and sat back.
Avery stared in shock, her rosy lips parted, and her eyes were wide. The little color she had on her face drained, leaving behind a ghost like appearance.
Oliver's only thought was, am I really that ugly?