Of course, just as all seemed to be falling into place and Roselle almost kissed Armani, Warren Strobe just HAD to show up to the party. Well, that was just perfect.
She staggered back when she heard him introduce himself. "Wa--Warren?" She counted to five, then counted back from five, remembering the breathing exercises.
He turned to Michelle. "Would you mind giving us a minute?"
"Uh, y--yeah," she said, heading off back to the top of the hill.
"What do you want?" asked Roselle. "Are you here to threaten me?"
"It's not like that, honey," he said. Though he seemed stern and had a 'resting mad face,' his voice was mellow. Warm, even. "I just wanted to talk to you about something." He didn't seem at all as terrible as people made him out to be.
Then again, first impressions are unreliable.
"I'm guessing it's about Armani?"
"Yes, actually. I wanted to politely ask you to please respect the relationship between him and my little girl, face-to-face. I even had to miss my own New Years Eve party just to see you."
If he was going to play nice, so was she. "Look, sir, I don't want to get in your business too much, but I think it's wrong to use Armani as a pawn like this. You want him to marry your daughter since he'll be president, don't you? And then you'll have your hand in the pocket of the most powerful man in the United States."
He shook his head. "It's not like that. He's like a son to me."
She raised a brow in disbelief. Armani said Warren was like a father figure, but she was skeptical that this man felt the same way.
Warren went into detail even further. "When he was just a teenager, I found him on the street asking people for spare change. I usually ignore beggars, but there was just something about him that was . . . different. I can't explain it. I knew he was special, so I took him in. What I admired most about him was his determination and strength through all the hard times. He grew up to be a smart, charismatic young gentleman that challenged the status quo, and I was impressed."
"Get to the point," Roselle said, narrowing her eyes.
"Look," he rubbed his eyes with the tips of his fingers. "How do I say this in a way you'll understand? I don't want to get into too much detail, but please, for Armani's sake, listen to me. He needs to marry my daughter."
"He's not happy with her. He's happy with me, and I'm happy with him."
"I can see that. I was the one who sent Scott, Valette, and King James your way this New Years. I admit it. Why don't you be with one of them instead? Then you can be happy with someone else."
She crossed her arms. "I want to be with Armani."
"Well, you can't." Warren got serious all of a sudden. "Trust me. If Armani doesn't marry Lily, there will be consequences."
Roselle shivered from the chills his words gave her. "What . . . What kind of consequences?"
"If I told you what would happen, you'd get hurt, and the last thing I would want to do is hurt you, Roselle." He turned around and walked off to a black car that was there. He faced her to say one more line. "Don't take my words lightly." With that, he got in the car and drove off.
Did he just . . . threaten her?
* * *
Roselle took a walk of shame back to the top of the hill. The people were partying and rejoicing, celebrating the coming of the year 2033, but she didn't feel the new year's spirit in the slightest. There were too many problems going on with her.
Armani jogged over to her. "What happened?"
She forced a smile. "It was nothing," she said. She wasn't stupid enough to tell him what Warren said. Especially after that threat.
He reached his hand out to her, but she pulled away. "I feel sick. I think I'm going to go home early."
"I'll take you there."
"Actually, I think I need to be alone right now." She pursed her lips and gave him a nod, and walked off. That was the last time she saw him that holiday.
* * *
A few days later, Roselle was back in Washington D.C. She told Grandma Scott and Dylan the details about the 'almost kiss' with Armani, and her encounter with Warren. Dylan watched her closely as she shared, wide-eyed and frozen. Grandma Scott simply sipped her tea.
"Oh Warren," Grandma Scott said with a sigh. "He's out to foil me again, isn't he?"
"This is not good," mumbled Dylan.
Roselle got up, and paced around Dylan's hotel room, ranting. "I hate that guy!" she exclaimed. "And I hate Lily. Why should Armani have to spend the rest of his life with her? She's an awful person. This is all so . . . UGH!" She screamed into a pillow. "I was so close, but--"
"Calm down, Roselle," Grandma Scott said. "Have some tea. Losing your head won't help us solve this conundrum. What we need to do next is think of a viable plan. Any ideas?"
Dylan raised his hand. "I could . . . try seducing her again," he offered.
"Please, if that didn't work before, I doubt it'd work now." She put down her mug. "What I really need is dirt. Dirt that's so filthy, Armani will be completely appalled by the Strobe family. We need a scandal, but what?"
Roselle gasped. She remembered something--the thing that Armani told her in the elevator.
"What is it?" Grandma Scott asked, intrigued.
"I . . . I may or may not know something about Lily, but I don't know if I should tell you. It's a pretty big secret, and Armani trusted me with it."
"You need to tell me, Roselle." The old woman fixed her gaze on her. "If Armani ends up marrying Lily, he'll be a miserable puppet of the Strobe family for his entire presidency, and possibly put the country in danger. Trust me."
Roselle panicked. How did she end up like this? How did she get in between all this political family chaos? Both the Strobe family and the Scott family were messed up, but if the Strobes wanted to turn Armani into a miserable puppet, she needed to protect him at all costs, even if it meant teaming up with the Scotts.
She took a deep breath. "Lily is pregnant, and I don't know this for sure, but I think Dylan could be the father."
"WHAT?!" Dylan boomed, ejecting himself into the air. "I . . . I'm . . . going to be a dad?"
"How sure are you of this?" inquired Grandma Scott.
"Pretty sure." Roselle played with the wavy ends of her locks. "Armani told me she was pregnant, but he didn't know who the father was. Dylan told me the last time he slept with Lily was around the time the baby was conceived. I don't know if we could use it though. I'm the only one who knows. If word got out, I think I'd be in trouble with Warren." She gulped.
The old woman looked up in thought. "It'll take me some time, but with enough swaying and espionage, I believe I'll be able to get the Strobe family's doctor records. It would be hasty if we made a move with this without enough evidence, but if this is true, and Dylan is the father, it could give me something to work with."
Dylan was staring at the floor in disbelief, probably having an existential crisis.
Roselle touched his shoulder. "Are you okay?"
He shook his head. "If Warren is cheating me out of being the father of my own child just because he doesn't like me, that's low."
"Indeed it is." Grandma Scott narrowed her eyes. "That's why we can't let the Strobes win. In the meantime while I make some arrangements, there are two big events happening this Friday that will occur: the bachelor party, and the bachelorette party. I believe you're both invited, no?"
"I'm invited to Parker's party, but I need to go back to Canada." Dylan rubbed the back of his neck. "I have a meeting with--"
"Stop. Whatever it is, it's less important with this. I'm sure the Prime Minister of Canada can reschedule a meeting."
He sighed. "I guess so."
"I need you to attend that bachelor party at all costs. You need to plant the ideas of obscure marriage jokes into Eliot's head, and he'll pass them along to the future president. You need to do this all night. If Parker's already a tad doubtful about marriage, these jokes will make his feet even colder. You'll also be making a short appearance at Lily's party, just for ten minutes."
"What about me?" asked Roselle. "I don't have an invitation to Lily's party. She booked someone else to do her hair and makeup too."
Grandma Scott smirked. "You leave the booking to me. I have a special task for you."