"Get me another one."
Purple nails clinked on glass with a sharpness to them that summoned the waiter in a second.
He nodded and whisked the bottle away replacing it with another. As his fingers met the silky table cloth, her fingers brushed against his and he flinched back, a light tint stained on his cheeks.
Her eyes narrowed and she looked up at him pushing her chin back and batted her eyes before sending him a smile he would dream of later that night. With a wave of her hand, he disappeared.
She turned back towards her frowning partner.
"Oh don't be jealous." Her voice sultry, "We just hired him."
After sending the waiter one last glare, her partner looked back towards her, his eyes meeting hers. "The sooner he learns to keep his eyes to himself, the better."
She chuckled. Not a giggle. She wasn't the giggling type. "Darling, the only one I have eyes for tonight is you."
He poured himself a drink and held it up to his lips before responding. "And who do you have tomorrow?" He eyed her as he took a sip.
She smirked. "You know I'm not one for commitment."
He rolled his eyes and cleared his throat. "Well we both know that I on the other hand am."
She pulled her hand away from the cloth and brushed it against his shoulder. "Leo, baby, calm down. Maybe one day I'll change my mind. But for now, life is all about adventure!" With another chuckle, she stood up, his eyes tracing her every move. "Speaking of adventure, let's go to the next one. I'm getting bored of this place."
She held her hand out and he eyed it before huffing and taking it.
With a pull, he stood and followed as she walked out, her hips swaying as she walked in front of him.
She waited for him to open the door before stepping into the limo, her heels landing on cushioned flooring. He sat down next to her with a thump and indicated to the driver to move on to their next location.
His arm was over her shoulder as soon as she relaxed. "Tonight, you need to let me--"
The car screeched to a stop.
Leo's grip tightened as they lurched forward. "What the fuck is wrong with you Nepal!"
The driver opened his mouth to speak before a sharp knock was heard from the window.
She leaned towards the window before Leo pulled her back. "Stay in the car Aries." With that, he opened the door and pushed the person outside back before slamming it shut.
Aries leaned against the window watching the display. She watched as they bickered before he stopped and turned back towards it meeting her eye.
With a snarl, he ripped the door open and pulled her out. "Did you know about this?"
Her eyebrows furrowed. "Know about what?"
He eyed her before huffing and releasing his grip around her wrist. "You're going home."
Her eyes narrowed and she moved her gaze from him to the people behind him and her shoulders sank as she recognized the people behind him.
Her father's people.
Or as she liked to call them, Daddy's little troop.
She beckoned towards the one in front, Bubba. "Bubba, what's going on here?"
Bubba stepped forward. "Your father needs you home for..urgent business."
She huffed and retrieved her handbag from the car. Before she stepped into the car in front, Leo pulled her back and leaned in. "You tell Daddy dearest to stop interfering with our dates."
She pulled back and stepped into the car before turning back towards him. "Dates? Really Leo? More like make-outs." With that, she winked and the door slammed shut.
---
The door to the Manor flew open as she stepped inside, her heels echoing as Bubba followed her inside.
She stopped at the entrance of the office and frowned at her father. "What is this 'urgent business' that's had me coming back home so quickly? You promised me another two days of solitude."
He walked up to her, his shoes clicking. "No, hello? God, I miss when you were younger."
She rolled her eyes and smiled a sugary sweet smile. "Hello Daddy."
He smirked. "Better. First of all, that man Leo isn't good enough for you. Before we get down to business, you should have a seat, you're not going to be very happy."
Her eyes narrowed and she slowly made herself comfortable.
He sat opposite her in his chair. One day, she would be sitting on that chair drinking a bottle of Rosé and talking busin--"You're getting married."
Her daydream came to an abrupt stop as she took in what he said. "If this is another one of your attempts at getting me married off then let me tell you that--"
"It's too late. Everything's already been signed."
Her mouth shut tight and she sucked in a breath contemplating what to say next.
She tried to stay calm, she honestly did but calm was not in her dictionary. "What do you mean everything's been signed? I didn't sign anything!"
He took a folder from the table and opened it taking out the signed sheets inside. "According to these pieces of paper, you did."
She grabbed them with a huff and read through hem before ripping them in half and throwing them into the fire. With that, she met her father's gaze and with a sardonic sarcasm, responded, "What pieces of paper?"
He tutted. "Princess, we both know that I have more than one copy. Not only physical, but also digital."
She growled and shot up. "You can't force me to get married to some stranger when I have a life to lead and a business to build! How could you sell your own daughter off to some half-assed spoiled man who couldn't care less about me than he does about his own money!"
He watched her calmly as though she were a child having a tantrum. "He's not a stranger. In fact, you've met before."
Her mind raced trying to figure out who. But she'd seen her fair share of men.
"When you were younger, 5-years-old to be more precise. We hosted a party and not even an hour in, you came complaining about a mean boy who kept pulling your hair. Now, I laughed when I found the boy who was daring enough to pull my own daughter's hair and his parents apologized so much when they found out who exactly the annoying brat was that had stolen his cupcake. We forced you two together for the rest of the evening and by the end of it, you both came back to us saying that one day, you'd get married and he'd buy you a pony."
She listened to the story in a daze. "I WAS FIVE! At that age, I couldn't even tell the difference between a pillow and a sock!"
He rolled his eyes. "You're exaggerating. At that age, you could tell the difference between the colours beige and cream."
She ignored his snarky response and carried on. "No proposals at that age count!"
He stood up and smiled. "This boy's parents are benefactors. Very important ones. If they pull their money out, this business, my business suffers. At the age of 22, all you've managed to do is go out, play around and tarnish my name."
She leaned into him. "That doesn't give you the right to marry me off."
He shrugged his shoulders. "It's too late to go back now."
She slammed her hand on the table.
He smirked. "I'll give you this. He isn't too happy about the proposal either and so his parents are offering a gift. 2 months. That's how long you have until the wedding. We're giving the both of you 2 months to figure something out."
She narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "What's the catch?"
His eyes narrowed as his grin widened. "During that 2 months, you will stay with him at a house we've chosen. Don't you worry, there's more than one room."
She felt rage bubble up inside her. A fiery rage that put the pits of hell to shame. "There is no way I'm staying in a house with a man who I haven't met in 17 years! I don't know what kind of person he could be!"
"Which is why we're giving you two 2 months. Get to know each other. Play around like you always do. You're smart, you'll figure it out."
She shook her head, her blood level rising. "I can't believe you would do something so low."
He sat back down. "You know me, low is my high."
With that, she stormed out of the room and to her bedroom but not before hearing his last remark. "Wake up early tomorrow Princess! We have a meeting with them."
She ripped off her jewelry and jumped onto the bed kicking her heels off and laying back with a sigh. Her phone rang next to her as the screen lit up to show 'Leo'.
She stared at it before turning it over.