Gabriel Marshall flipped through the pages of the document in front of him and let out a frustrated sigh. Ever since his little "dinner" with his mom, Gabriel had found it hard to focus at work. Her words kept resounding in his head, playing like a broken record, over and over again.
It made him mad, infuriated that his mother was the one who was deciding his marriage for him. Gabriel had never been close to his mother, even his father, and the feeling was mutual for each of them. They were a family, who were only together for the sake of the company, no love and no bond attached them together.
Gabriel didn't have a choice but to accept the marriage his mother had arranged for him, without consulting him first. If it was for the company, Gabriel would do anything and marrying someone he barely knew and had no feelings for was a small sacrifice.
Gabriel sighed and placed his pen down on the table. No matter how much he tried to read the words written on the document, it all came out jumbled to him. This wasn't going to do. He had a ton of documents to go through and approve, so he didn't have time to be distracted. He picked up his pen again and tried as much as possible to focus.
A knock came from his tall and wide office door minutes after, breaking the focus he managed to summon.
"It's secretary Hart sir." A smooth voice called out from beyond the door.
"Come in."
The big door opened slowly and a tall man walked into Gabriel's office. He wore a grey suit with a black and white striped tie. His brown hair was short and curly. His eyes were adorned with oval lensed glasses that seemed to compliment his deep blue eyes. He walked over to Gabriel's large smooth surface desk and adjusted his tie.
"I'm here to give you a detailed rundown of your schedule sir."
Gabriel nodded, without looking up from his work. Hart took that as a signal to proceed and looked down at the tablet in his hands, scrolling through it.
"You have a board meeting with the staff of the sales company to compile the revenue for this month by 12:30pm, and by 1pm, you're supposed to have lunch with Mr Davidson, the director of O&H constructions."
Gabriel looked up at him and sighed. "I've been putting off meeting that old geezer for a while now. Can you move the lunch to a later date?"
"I'm afraid I can't do that sir. You were supposed to meet up with him a month ago. If you keep postponing it, he'll think you don't want to meet with him."
Gabriel shrugged. "It is the truth."
"But he doesn't need to know that."
Gabriel rubbed his eyes and signalled for him to continue.
"You're free from 1pm to 3pm, and by 4pm you're having dinner with Mr Reed's daughter, Selina Reed."
Gabriel looked up at Hart again, his face showing how irritated he was.
"Cancel that appointment, it's unnecessary." Gabriel said.
"I'm sorry sir, I can't do that."
"And why not, Mr Hart?" He snapped.
"Your mother specifically told me to include this into your schedule. She said you needed to take some time to know Mr Reed's daughter."
Gabriel clenched his fists tightly and snapped the pen he held into two. Hart flinched and pushed his glasses, settling it on the bridge of his nose nervously.
"S-Should I cancel it sir?"
"No, since my mother specifically told me to, I have to do it. If I don't, I'll have hell to pay for it later."
Gabriel was frustrated and boiling with rage. The choke hold his mother had him in was strong and it made him mad. She could make a request and use the company as a way to threaten him, and he would do it. His mother was an alpha, in terms of personality. She ruled their home, and his father was very submissive to her.
"That's all on your schedule sir."
Gabriel nodded. "You can leave now Mr Hart. Oh, and get me a new pen, this one isn't usable anymore."
Hart swallowed and nodded as he glanced at the broken pen on his desk.
"Yes sir." He said and scurried out of Gabriel's office.
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"The view is rather nice here." Selina said as she admired the view beyond the glass windows.
"Indeed." Gabriel said dryly as he held a glass of wine in his hand. Sitting in a fancy restaurant, opposite Selina was giving him a sense of deja vu. He didn't know what it was, but to him, it felt like he had been here before, with Selina. Gabriel brushed it off, it was all in his head. More importantly, he needed to end this date as quickly as possible. He looked up from his wine and took a long look at Selina, who was still busy admiring the scenery.
She was attractive indeed, very attractive. Her slender face had light make up on it, and it looked good on her. Her body was also very appealing and her curves were prominent through the tight fitted, sea blue gown she had on. Even though it was just a contract marriage, Gabriel could see that they would look good together.
Walking hand in hand would make good eye candy for the paparazzi. He had to admit that his mother had a good eye for women. A waitress came by and took their orders after a few minutes. Selina was finally done gazing at the scenery and looked at Gabriel.
"I'm guessing we're both on the same page about the wedding?" she quizzed.
"Yes, we most definitely are. This is an arranged marriage and we're only doing this for the sake of both companies."
Selina nodded. "It's nice to know that we're on the same page. I don't want to be here, having dinner with you and I'm sure you feel the same way."
"You read me like an open book."
Selina smiled. "Well, that's good. So why don't we just enjoy our dinner quietly?"