I absolutely loathed social gatherings. My bio dads and my father's insistence on dragging me to every party, gala or ball thrown by this cesspool of a city is never anything but a chore to me. I despise bowties and dress shoes and the fake smile I had to hold up. I felt like a toddler in a pageant. I will conform to neckwear only if such a dress code is mandatory. However, even when such rules are in effect, my father's wealth and status means I can flout them.
So I always wear my shirt open at the collar and sneakers of some loud colour. My father tolerates my lack of etiquette with his usual stoicism. Even when all other children, most of whom I didn't know, in attendance conform to the same rules as their parents, my father is never embarrassed to introduce me to other guests as his son or how proud he is of me. I used to find such behavior strange from him, particularly when contrasting his attitude towards me when it comes to business, but have also learned that with my age and background it often excuses me from social fallacies. I believe I am a novelty to them because I am the Belle's only son, but nothing more than an oddity. I don't care in any case. These people are dull and hollow behind their genial veneers.
This evening I have been trapped at a black tie gala for some bland charity or other, watching people ignore me and fawn over my father from a chair near the buffet table. I have not eaten any of the food, since it looks plebian at best. I have been nursing a glass of cola for most of the thirty minutes since I arrived, but now the glass is empty and I must venture back amongst the animal farm for a refill. I shoved my way through some bloated bodies and reach the refreshments. As I pour myself a new glass, my elbow jostles the person next to me. There is a splash and then an angry groan. When I turn to my left, I find myself confronted with a girl around my age or so glaring at me and indicating her soiled dress. I'd say she is four inches shorter than me.
"Well?" She says expectantly. I frown at her. Does she expect an apology from me for her mistake? She spilt her own drink, lemonade by the smell of it, whereas I did nothing.
"Well what, girl?" I ask setting down my pitcher on the table. She looks bemused, indicating the large stain on her bosom.
"Aren't you going to say something?" She says, apparently trying to prompt me. I consider.
"Yes. Unless you are soliciting men, I would advise you to cover that up so as not to draw unwanted attention." I say helpfully before walking off back to my seat.
Never before had I just wanted to just be a normal person more than now. It was my eighteenth birthday, and I couldn't even celebrate how I would like to do so, with my Lovebug after eating some food he cooked for me. Instead, I had to endure fake smiles and entertain business conversations that had nothing to do with me the entire time.
My bio dad came up to me and gave me a look of dissatisfaction. "Cheer up, Daniel will be here with his parents in a bit."
"I don't even want to be here." I whined.
"Too bad, this is a necessary right of passage. I had no choice and neither do you. You're lucky you've been annoying enough to be allowed to leave early."
"I don't know any of these people."
"Which is why you should start making connections now."
"They'll all want to talk even if I don't talk to them today. I hate this so much," I pulled out the business cards I had received from several many young business men and other successful people who claimed to work with uncle Chip. "I'm so bored at my own party."
"You should enjoy being the center of attention!"
My birthday wasn't even mine, how could I enjoy that? "No! I hate being the center of attention!" I crossed my arms and turned my head from him like a child. "I hate it here. I want to go home and see my Lovebug."
"You'd better not leave. If you want to earn the right to be promoted to run things and live the way you please, you have to stop acting like a spoiled child, Ashton. You already work hard but right now you have to work harder. A connection on just your name itself isn't feasible. Just because you're my son it doesn't mean you can be lazy and expect good things to rain on you."
"Business sucks."
"Business doesn't run on fun."
"You have a lot of free time!" I retorted.
"Which I spend making new connections and new opportunities to expand our global network."
I felt the anger curling in my stomach, making my fingers tingle as if they were trying to close and form fists. I should be used to this by now because I had started to take work seriously. Why did I still have to care what he had to say? My bio father made sure he told me every single time how much room for improvement there actually was. After so many months, one would think the effect would have worn off, but it was still there and it hurt today as badly as the first time.
With a sigh of frustration, I let my face fall into my hands. In moments like this, a bad, hateful filled me like a poison. And it wasn't even hatred for my father. It was annoyance due to being in proximity to such superficial people.
Why couldn't I just tell them to fuck off? Why did my dad have that annoying need to try pleasing greedy people he knew he'd never please? And why did I have to do that as well?
"Fine," I grumbled.
"I thought you were working on your people problem, Ashton. I apologize that it's happening on your birthday, but this is a normal and necessary process. Once Daniel gets here, we'll be announcing your official engagement, you starting the process to take everything over and the grand opening of the hotel with him as the manager," dad informed me. "Just fake it a bit longer. Remember today is about him as well."
I really hated parties, for the most part, hated people, hated making small talk, and hated attending a gathering where I didn't know anyone.....but my bio dad was right. This is supposed to be Danny's debut in high society and a lucrative business venture. I had to embrace my reality and do this to save face for everyone. "Ok, ok, I get it."
"I'll treat you to something nice if you get it together."
"I already said I get it," I groaned. "When is Danny coming?"
My dad forced himself not to smile. "He's just arrived, and I think an interested young man has him cornered." I lifted my head. "Over there." Dad nodded towards the window in front of us.
I saw a middle aged man talking to Danny, laughing and attempting to touch Danny's arm. The man was good looking. His brown hair trimmed and well groomed. He wore a red dress shirt and perfectly pressed gray slacks. His six hundred dollar Gucci shoes went along with the rest of his designer outfit. It was obvious the man was coming on to Danny and I don't think Danny knew how to get away from that.
"I'm sure he would appreciate you saving him." Dad smiled.
"I don't think he needs saving." I chuckled. "Danny can take care of himself. He's super capable."
"Maybe saving wasn't the right word." Dad paused. "Interrupting is better."
"Right, interrupting might be a better idea." I knew how I would react if i interrupted and it wouldn't be pretty.
"Why don't we both interrupt." Dad practically dragged me with him towards the pair. "Daniel!"
"Ashton, Mr. Belle." Danny nodded trying to sound as professional as possible even though he looked a bit desperate and uncomfortable.
"David, are you monopolizing my future son-in-law?" Dad said to the guy talking to my baby.
"I am." David smiled at dad, then turned back to Danny. "I was trying to find out the mystery behind the man, but he doesn't give up information easily."
"That's Daniel, man of mystery," I wanted to roll my eyes at my dad. Everyone thought Danny was some mystery or riddle that needed to be solved, when in reality, he was just as antisocial as I was.
Danny widened his eyes at me because he couldn't vocalized that he wanted to be saved, so I returned a reassuring look and nodded, which made him relax a bit. Catching the exchange, this David guy suddenly focused on me, appraising me with a quick look up and down. "And you are?"
"Danny's fiancé."
"Fiancé?" David questioned turning a bit pale. Getting the hint that dad and I weren't leaving, David smiled his brightest smile at Danny. "You have my number. Use it."
Smiling back, Danny nodded. Once David turned his back, Danny's fake smile dropped and he took my hand. "Finally decided I needed rescuing?"
I shrugged innocently. "Dad just pointed you out."
Danny chuckled. "And is your dad my protection or did you think I needed rescuing too?"
I shook my head. "I know you don't need anyone to rescue you. But I still did anyway."
"Happy Birthday, Ash," Danny smiled immediately handing over the business card he had received to my dad. I placed a kiss by Danny's ear, then kissed my way down the his jaw line, spurred on by the soft whimpers i heard and the shiver of the body against mine. "Ash, not here."
"Then let's leave now," I begged.
"We can't, we both have a job to do. After the party, we'll celebrate properly and make up for the birthday," Danny said moving my face from his. "Don't frown at me. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can be alone. By the way, Sam and Soyoung came as well, their off making their own connections as well."
I pushed a strand of wayward hair from across his face as I planted a kiss on his forehead. While we waited for my dad to start announcing things, I could see from the window an assembly of reporters and television crews amassed at the entrance, only being held inline by hotel security. I couldn't understand the big deal really as I didn't understand people's obsession with following rich people.
Not that I paid too much attention to news stories or magazine articles, as I had learned from Sam and Soyoung, many shoddy reporters would pay for information regardless of whether it's based on fact or fiction and print it without care for the consequences. The camera flashes drew my attention back to the window, they must have almost blinded the poor souls getting out of the awesome looking Audi A8 and by the sudden explosion of sound from all of the reporters below asking for a statement or comment.
It must be someone important as it had also caught Danny's attention. "Who do you think that is?"
"I don't know, but it'll start being a common occurrence once you take over the hotel," I told him. "It looks like we might have to beef up security."
"What a party," Danny said in awe. "There's actually celebrities here. I hope my parents don't freak out."
"It was your idea to have it," I reminded him remembering how he had talked strategy with my dad a while ago about the grand opening. "Everyone who's anyone is here right now and has a room booked. On top of that, the investors have doubled. Your idea was brilliant and thanks to you the chain is saved."
"Well, you and your dad was the one who actually put it into motion, I just suggested to do what Mickey does when he moves his business," Danny blushed from my praise. "A-anyway, today is about you!"
Before I could answer him I heard my name being called.
I had heard a lot about Jacques Eloise from my dad and even spotted a few pictures in French newspapers, but this was the first time in my life i'd actually seen the man in person. The first thought to cross my mind, amusingly enough, was that this was a man who could do a lot with just his eyes and his bushy eyebrows. He looked like Mr. Potato Head and that fact almost made me laugh.
"Mr. Eloise," i greeted, offering a polite nod. "It is good to see you. Thank you for coming to the opening."
"Likewise, Mr. Belle," he replied. His moustache – an impressively large and white thing – quivered, but it was almost impossible to see the man's mouth beneath it. Instead, it was all in the eyes. Looking at me, Jacques eyes were calm, and his eyebrows raised as his head leaned back as he looked down his nose at me. Not kind, nor scheming, but not antagonistic, either. Just caution. The second Jacques noticed Danny, the man's head tilted down. His brow pinched, one eyebrow raised, the other low. "And who is this?"
Danny looked nervous, understandably so. "This is the real savior of the chain. My fiancé, Daniel Cunningham."
The reaction was immediate. Jacques' features hardened. The adults beside him suddenly looked troubled, while the other teenager – who had hair an odd shade of brown – shifted awkwardly. Danny barely paid attention and instead placed one hand in front of him and bowed his head and shoulders towards the older man.
"Nice to meet you, sir. The elder Mr. Belle has told me so much about you." Danny continued to hold his hand out but it wasn't being grabbed.
"Interesting." Jacques did not return the greeting. "Odd that your father has not told me much about you, nor that your fiancé existed."
"I didn't think it was that important to go out of my way. You've never asked about my friends or relationship status in the past, just business."
Jacques looked like he wanted to say more, but a cough from the couple next to him delayed that. He scowled instead, offering one final glare – laced with threat – toward Danny. "We shall speak later on this," he said. "First, let me introduce you to my lovely family. This is Millennia and Martin Colette, current managers of the hotel in France. And this is my daughter, Amelie Eloise."
The young lady was well-built with tanned skin, blonde hair and blue eyes. Her teeth, which I quickly noticed were too white to be real, sparkled as she flirtatiously smiled and held a hand out towards me. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Eloise. I've been looking forward to it."
Just like Danny's handshake had been snubbed, I snubbed her handshake causing her to turn a bit pink. "Thank you..."
She couldn't refuse Danny's handshake, though, not without looking like a huge bitch. Amelie smiled and managed to make it look semi-honest. "Yourself as well. Daniel, was it?"
"That's right. Nice to meet you, Amelie. We'll make sure you have fun here."
"Thank you."
The older woman, Millennia, i think, held up a hand to her mouth and coughed. "Amelie, darling, why don't you show Ashton and his... friend," the emphasis on the word sounded petty, even to me, "your ideas in the hotel. We have more than enough room for an unexpected guest. I'm sure Ashton doesn't want to stand here and listen to Jacques and us talk business on his birthday."
"That's a good idea," Jacques agreed. No doubt he was looking to do some damage control. "It's already moving on toward midday. Be sure to join us for dinner tonight."
"Until then, take advantage of everything our branch has to offer. Amelie will make sure you want for nothing, won't you?"
"Of course, mother." She smiled handsomely before her parents and Jacques walked away from us. Amelie pulled out her phone to show us a video. "This is the main building and lobby," he explained. "If you're there and ever need anything and I'm not around, you can ask any member of staff, or you can call or visit the reception and they'll help. There are main lines here connected to the CCT, so you can call outbound if you need to. There's also a gift shop, a general store, a full gym facility and a pharmacy."
It was pretty swanky. The floor was some kind of tile coloured a deep cream with marble effect running through it, and it had been buffed to a shine. The walls were white and smooth, with wooden pillars that stuck up to support the straw roof. The back wall was completely absent, looking out onto a huge swimming pool with a couple of deck chairs around it. There were some people out of various ages, but not many. Thirty tops. The place was way too expensive to be too busy.
"This is the main pool and sunbathing area," Amelie continued with the next video, "There are three restaurants here, along with a buffet and a bar. The bar does food you can eat out here, while the restaurants are more formal. Mr. Belle wants us to meet at the one here tonight at seven," she pointed, and i nodded. Amelie laughed. "I figured I should let you know. Your father doesn't seem like the type to appreciate tardiness, even if it's justified."
If Amelie was expecting a response from me, she must have felt emasculated at my noncommittal grunt. Even Danny looked as though he was fighting off a smile.
"W-Well, there's also the beach of course. Any of the staircases there lead down to it, and the ocean is safe for everyone– protected by a net that lays out at the edges of the Cove. It's well marked with flashing buoys on the surface, and you would have to try to get past it. It's perfectly safe and we've never had a drowning incident here."
"That's interesting," I said. "I apologise if this sounds rude, but I'm somewhat tired and I'd just like to be with my baby."
"E-Excuse me?"
"Danny is my fiancé. We've been together for a few months now and we're fine with this situation. I'm also very gay. I'd like it if you left us alone," I frowned at her.
"I see. I didn't want to assume-" Amelie paused, took a deep breath, and let it go. "Well, that's fine, I suppose. I'll just..." she hesitated, unsure what to say as she went a bit pink. "I suppose I will see you tonight for dinner." She curtsied once, turned and hurried away. She didn't look back.
"You were kinda cold to her," Danny said disapprovingly. "You should be nice to women."
"Better she realises my lack of interest sooner rather than later," I rolled my eyes. "I'd say that's nicer than using her as a beard."
"Whatever. The France hotel look nice, we should go there soon," Danny smiled.
"You should," Jacques's voice filled my ears from behind me. He had changed little, and certainly didn't look like he'd found any 'Valentine's spirit' while they were gone. The Colette elders were a little better about it, at least greeting me and Danny as if we were one entity and not ignoring Danny entirely. It was still obvious they didn't know what to do about him.
Danny made sure to shake hands firmly with anyone who would– Jacques refused with an air indifference, as did Millennia, but her husband Martin, and Amelie, both did.
"Thank you for your presence, Ashton," Millennia said. She ignored Danny entirely much to my growing discontent. "It's almost nostalgic sitting here, eating, realising that soon this won't belong to us at all. I dare say it's enough to make me spill a tear."
"The Belle family will always be welcome in France," Jacques said gruffly. "Part of the negotiations is a promise of that. I've also promised to take young Amelie on as Manager of the resort."
"Oh, I know. You've been absolutely wonderful, Jacques." I said sarcastically.
"By the way Ashton, what are your plans for the future. What about raising a family?"
"I'll consider that when the time comes." I waited for Jacques to take a drink before i said, "My Darlin' and I have talked about having one boy and one girl. We already have someone willing to be a surrogate."
Jacques coughed and choked on his drink, with Millennia quick to pat his back – though with a disturbing lack of concern.
Turning, i smiled coyly at Danny. "Isn't that right?"
"Yeah." He smiled, amused at my antics, and leaned onto my arm, just enough so their shoulders touched. "We're still in school. It's not the right time to have them yet."
"That's completely-"
"I don't want your daughter, Jacques. Our families have a good thing going. You need me but I don't need you, there's plenty of other people willing to take your place who will keep their opinions to themselves and not try to push their daughters onto me so aggressively," I smiled. "Hopefully next time we meet, it'll be more pleasant."
Jacques turned red in the face and stormed off followed by the Colette's, leaving us with just Amelie who looked incredibly embarrassed by their behavior.
And speaking of behavior....
"I think I need to apologize, Daniel," she said.
"Wh-? What for?"
"For tonight," she explained. "For what happened with my father and the Colette family. They told me to flirt because they didn't believe you were really engaged to Ashton. I only tried because I can't lie to my father. I actually have a boyfriend in France already."
"Nah, it's fine." Danny put his hands up. "I know it's a different world."
"It really isn't okay..."
"Okay, it's not, your dad is an asshole," he admitted. "But I don't want you to apologise for it. Not when it was them being assholes."
"Father won't apologise..."
"Then that makes him an asshole and petty. It's still not your fault. I'm not going to lay blame where it doesn't belong, okay? I mean, this is weird, awkward and the like, but you've caused zero damage. If you say sorry, I'm not going to accept it."
"But I didn't intervene. I could have at least said something."
"And get wound up in their shitty opinions? It's not worth it. It's not your job to defend me, anyway. They didn't dislike me, Amelie. They disliked the thought of someone like me. They made their minds up before they even met me."
True. They had, and for multiple reasons. Some of it was because he wasn't in the same social class, but a lot of it was the fact that he was in the way of what they wanted, a union between the Belle and Eloise family. Either way, the result was the same. Amelie never stood a chance.
"I'm still sorry for how they acted."
"And I'm still not accepting it's your fault. A child isn't supposed to apologise for their parent being childish and stubborn. Let's just get along as managers of this chain since I guess we'll have to see each other a lot in the future."
Amelie snorted. She covered her mouth with both hands a second later, embarrassed. Snorting really wasn't very ladylike, but she couldn't help it. No one probably had ever referred to Jacques Eloise as a child in front of her. "You're so right. He just left me to deal with the situation he caused himself. I'm so sick of him trying to marry me off to random guys, and to try it on a gay guy."
"It's all water under the bridge," Danny smiled back at her. "Let's work together soon."
As the two spoke, I couldn't help but think about how much I did not want to be there. Yes, it was a party. Yes, it was for a good cause. Yes, it's for business purposes. Yes, there were expensive things everywhere. Yes, there were numerous celebrities in the crowd. Yes, booze was available. There were just a few, tiny things I didn't like.
One, I had to socialize and the people were leaches.
Two, people kept trying to push their kids to talk to or flirt with me.
And three, familiar annoying faces ware inching closer to me.
"And why is that so repulsive?" Danny gave the appearance of hanging on my arm as he practically dragged me around the room to make nice with potential business partners and look good for the camera. "David Levi is a well-respected business man whose company specializes in defensive military contracts, not guns or missiles. Then there's their medical division, their aerospace division, their computer sciences, their social welfare programs. He's all about helping people."
"How do you know that?" I asked.
"Your dad gave me the rundown of who's worth talking to and who isn't. He asked to make sure you make the right connections," Danny told me.
"David Levi's an entitled, know-it-all brat." I groaned as we passed through the crowd, "Has been since primary school. And he was only there for like two years! And the next time we met, he had every other girl's number! Little rat bas-"
"There are other people here Ash," Danny reminded me. "Important people who want to thank you help and assist you if you're able to bring them into your world."
Hm. Fun."
"Possible investors and potential business partners too."
"If they want business today, they can talk to you." I whined. "What can I say to make you want to go home with me now."
"We can make nice with people here and see where that goes later. If I have to rough it out, then you should too," Danny pointed out, smirking. "I don't like parties either Ashton, but it's for a good cause and future business."
I forgot, The money donated tonight would go to the families and businesses that were damaged overseas, or so they claim. The Levi Foundation was one of the few heading the event and i had only heard good things about that organization: all above board, no questionable ties, (at least, no plausible ones, though there were plenty of accusations) and they specialized in helping victims of crimes, particularly orphans. If it weren't for all the good that was going to happen by me being here, I wouldn't have come. If only they could have the charity happen without the party, but leave it to my dad to jump at an opportunity like this. "You used to be such a party boy."
"That was when I was with friends. Ooo! Tequila!" Without a second thought, i grabbed two shots off of a tray and took a swig. There was no way i was taking this sober on my birthday. As soon as the champagne and water crossed my path, I took two and handed one to Danny. "And a water for the lovely man."
"Why thank you." Danny smiled sweetly as he took it. "You still have to say hello to Mr. Levi."
"No I don't!"
"He's right over there." He pointed to one spotlighted area of the room. Two handsome young men, one of them clearly underage, followed a taller and more muscular man, each wearing tailored suits of similar style. All three had black hair of varying shades and different intensities of brown for eyes. They even had contrasting body types: big and buff, tall and lean, small and spry. It was only because they held themselves in a similar manner and dressed alike that anyone could tell they were together.
Well, Same difference. I still don't care about them.
"So he is." I cringed at the sight, knowing the whole arrangement had to be for show. That first adoption made a notorious playboy look like a saint, and so did the second. The third one, well, that was clearly a business arrangement, everyone knew it, Weinstein Industries had been neatly wrapped up and tucked away into Levi Enterprises within days of the paperwork going through. There were rumors of a fourth kid, apparently female, but i never saw her and didn't know of anyone who had. The real kicker had been when Levi acknowledged a bastard son to the public, about a year or two ago. Speaking of which, "Where's the kid?"
"I don't know about any kid or his many escapades. I don't listen to gossip. Either way, we really do need to introduce ourselves." Danny was a lot more cut out for this than I was.
"You can introduce yourself all you want," i declared. "I'm going to liberate some more tequila."
"No," Danny insisted, pinching my arm. "You're going to go over there, play nice for the press, guarantee a check, and then you can make a fool of yourself by getting drunk."
"How about we just skip to the last part and go home? Hmm? Everyone would be happier" i really did not want to talk to David Levi.
"Ash-"
"It's going to happen anyway."
"Why don't you like David Levi?" Danny asked.
Looking away from him and towards the surrounding crowd, i told him in the simplest way possible. "We went to the same school for a few years. We were not friends. And I don't like anyone I went to school with back then."
"If he's around our age, how could he have kids?" Danny asked. "Let alone three?"
"They're most likely adopted for business purposes. Figure heads and what not to take the heat off of him."
"Slaves?"
"Basically. Anyway, we don't need to make contact with certain types of people."
"What kind of person am I?" Danny and I jumped at the new person's voice, shocked and amazed that someone had caught us off guard at all, let alone the guy we were talking about. David Levi was giving us a thousand watt smile as he watched our faces.
"Untrustworthy. Disgusting. Vile-"
"Ashton!"
"It's quite alright! I expected it!" Levi laughed at my clear hostility.
"Oh I bet," I mumbled in a small voice. Danny gave me a sharp jab in the ribs along with a quick glare. He'd be paying for that later.
"And who is this lovely date you are neglecting, Mr. Belle?" It was a clear joke, but it still pissed me off that he was seeing how cute Danny was.
"Daniel Cunningham," Danny answered as he shook the scumbags hand. "Acting Manager of this hotel chain."
"Oh! The brilliant mind behind reviving the company's business ventures!" This time he wasn't flirting. Much.
"It was a suggestion," he noted, smirking slightly. "I'm just a manager."
"How about a dance Mr. Manager?" Levi smirked.
"Absolutely not," I interjected.
"Do you control your employees-"
"You misunderstood, Mr. Levi," Danny said calmly. "I've been engaged to Ashton for a while now, so I'll have to decline the invitation."
Levi clearly didn't try to hide the surprise on his face. "Fiancée, huh? I didn't even know you were capable of seeing anyone."
"Yes, well, we're very private people. But now that we're engaged I've been showing him off more often," i said, looking over at Danny with a bright grin.
"Well, lovely he is indeed!" Levi said, extending his hand to me. I shook it quickly but was grossed out by his clamminess. "I'm David Levi. I do business with Ashton from time to time. You've got yourself quite a catch with this one! I've never met such an accomplished businessman at such a young age!"
"He is quite amazing, isn't he?" Danny said, smiling widely and reaching around to lean into me more.
"Have you set a wedding date yet?" He asked.
"Not yet." I answered. "But we want a short engagement. We'll probably set a date for not far from now."
"Ah, I see. Well, I'll be waiting for my invitation!" He said with a sleazy wink.
"You do that." I said with a curt smile.
"Well, I'm going to go find myself a glass of champagne. Congratulations on your news, Belle."
"Thank you, Levi."
"It was a pleasure to meet you, Daniel." Levi said, nodding towards him.
"Likewise." Danny said, smiling back.
As soon as he walked away I wiped the hand that I had used to shake his on my pants, grossed out.
"Okay, I'm sorry I doubted you, but he seems like a total creep." Danny mumbled to me. "I'll take your warnings more seriously next time."
"No apology needed. He is a total creep."
"Why do you do business with him if he's such a creeper?"
"I don't. Well, I did suggest it to my dad...once. It was a mistake. As you can see because of that, he now likes to exaggerate our involvement with each other. But I wouldn't touch a contract with that man with a ten foot pole if he's anything like his sleezy father. He's one scandal away from ruin, but tries to retain a suave persona. It's all a guise, though. I'm not fond of him at all."
"Me neither."
"Can we find Sam and Soyoung? Sam's better at this than I am."
"You can't have a crutch forever, Ashton."
"My dad put you up to this, didn't he?" I already felt exhausted.
"Yup, we just need to meet and connect with three more people and we can leave, I promise. Your dad even gave me a list of the most important. The faster you get it done, the faster we can celebrate by ourselves."
"There's Sam-"
"You already know Sam, we need to go over there. He'll understand why we haven't spoken to him yet," Danny gave me a look that told me to shut up and just get it done as we were stopped by an older man with a bald head.
He kind of resembled Lex Luther from the Superman comics Danny liked.
"Mr. Sokolov," I put on my best smile, shaking his hand. "May I introduce my fiancé, Daniel Cunningham."
"It's an honor," said Danny, shaking his hand.
"Likewise. I have a daughter-"
"Let's not go there, Mr. Sokolov. It's strictly business here and I don't want your daughter," I warned him before he tried to give me the same spiel lots of other older business men tried to give me. Sokolov tried to regain his footing by talking at length about the biomedical advances recently made by his company. He had apparently deemed it necessary to begin name-dropping all the people and companies he had met throughout the years and all the charities he supported.
"I've done some charity work, although far less than you have," I said.
"Well, yes," countered Sokolov as I talked about the city's children's hospital, "But everything you do is on more of a local scale. Don't you think it's time to go...bigger?"
"Maybe after I graduate from college?" I told him mildly. "I rather like the plans for the new research lab."
"My daughter designed that entire building," Sokolov smiled stiffly. He already didn't seem to like us but kept going. "I've received a valuable gift. People who showed us that the universe is a rich and varied place, ripe for economic and technological conquest. There is an entire market out there ready to be brought to earth and for earth to give its own valuable products."
Like what? Also the "whole wonders of the galaxy" thing didn't 100% work since it would only be a matter of going to the moon and back. What galaxy could be explored from there? Danny was taking notes rapidly in a little black book, seemingly engrossed in Sokolov's words. I just folded my hands and looked politely interested.
Sokolov took out his phone and pulled a picture presentation up. "I present to you. "Sokolov and Belle Space Travel Consolidation." A dramatic effect appeared on the phone pulled to reveal a small model of several passenger space-ships, what seemed to be a cargo space ship, and a satellite.
"Alphabetical order?" I asked before I could help himself.
"The name could be negotiated, of course," said Sokolov.
This was a really bold move by this guy. "So you need my building materials and my engine technology and funding," I contemplated. "And you will provide...?"
"Personnel, design," Sokolov promptly said. "Some...contacts...out of country. Russian."
"Space Travel," said Danny, a bit incredulously. "You're seriously proposing we help you jumpstart a functioning space station?"
"And why not?" Asked Sokolov. "Just think of the opportunities...Perhaps a tour of my facilities will convince you of the validity of this business proposal. By the end of the year, we can expect Sokolov and Belle Consolidated Space Travel Consolidation to have arrangements with NASA and the International Space Station for the first space shuttle flights."
"Ok, let's talk about it more," we exchanged business cards and he made sure I knew that he'd be contacting me for an appointment very very soon. Finally, after a bit more bragging about himself, he left us alone.
To try and distract Danny from his task of making me talk to people, I slipped off my jacket and draped it over his shoulders. "It's soft, what make it this?" Danny asked.
"Not sure, I just thought it'd look nice on you," I smiled.
"As sweet as that is, Ash, you're not getting off the hook."
"That wasn't what I was trying to do," I pouted, feeling great but pissed that Danny knew me all too well.
"Really? Then what do you want?"
Don't say anything stupid, Ashton! "I want to see you in a leotard."
Danny's entire face turned red as he cleared his throat. "You're a leotard, Ash. Let's continue."
Just as I was about to try to get out of conversing again, Morgan tapped my shoulder. "Mr. Belle, I have Leila Lincoln for you, again," he announced exasperatedly.
"I'm busy" I replied.
"Yes sir, I've already told her that, seven times this hour."
"Shit..." I replied knowing that this day would never end if she continued to pester me. Unfortunately, her blond figure was already pushing past Morgan to stand in front of Danny and I. "Leila, I'm busy," I said.
"I know" she giggled, "You're such a busy man."
"Why are you bothering me then," I asked, needing this conversation to be over with now.
Why did my bio mom have to give her my office number? To help with a comfortable merging of our families, I was told at the time. It was either that or my cell and if she had that number, it would've been changed the second the 'merging' was over. I had hoped Leila had lost the number as I hadn't heard from her in the past year, that was until last week to my extreme displeasure.
"I wanted to speak to you about Susan's wedding, with you going and me also being there-"
"You're her sister, the maid of honour Leila, of course, you're going to be there" I stated, cutting her off.
"Yes but I thought we could sit together afterwards, you know, go as dates."
I knew this was where it was heading. I've told her in the past I wanted nothing to do with her like that. I told her multiple times that I was gay and the thought of touching her made me soft. Our families were friends and that was where it ended but she seemed to now think there was more to it. A desire to save her business after the fall of my bio mother's business and a desire to not attend the wedding alone no doubt were what was fuelling the calls that had been recently heading my way.
"I'm already bringing a date," I lied. Who wanted to even go to that stuffy venue?
"What, who" she moaned. "Your mother never said you were seeing someone."
"My mother doesn't know any detail of my life, Leila," I stated. "Now if you will excuse me, I have people to meet with my fiancé here."
"Then we still need to talk! We need more time-"
"You suggested lunch with my dad on the basis that business would be concluded and now you ask for more time," I stated, getting ready to finish this meeting now.
"We have a lot to think about" Leila replied.
"No, no you don't. You're the ones who hid everything with my mother, you should've realised with how thorough we've been with the details up until now that we wouldn't just ignore the papers you tried to slip through last night, as if your family were in the dark about those extra profits. Now if you will excuse me, I have a more important meeting to get to. You can contact my father from now on, call him when you make a decision. My time on this deal is done."
"You can't-"
"Olive Dubois is in prison for the rest of her life. I absolutely can pull out of this." Before she could moan or complain anymore, I ended the conversation and led Danny away from this horrible girl.
To my surprise Danny didn't question any of my actions, most likely because he knew how much I didn't want to be here. Also, he knew that any mention of my bio mom irked me to the core and today was the last day that I wanted to hear about her, let alone see anyone connected to her.
"I'll look for the next person, you puerile man-child."
I grinned cheekily. "Is that your romantic nickname for me? Am I your man-child?"
"We'll see how you handle this before I answer that, Ash."
"Ignore them, please," I begged.
"Then be nicer to the women," Danny suggested.
"Adopting strays now? What part of her being a problem do you not understand?"
"The part where she's the problem."
"She's trying to force my hand. Literally."
"Not saying that's great or anything, but as long as she knows you're off limits and you won't tolerate certain things, it's not a problem. Besides, she seems more intelligent than she gives off."
"Not a difficult thing. She and her entire family are calculated people."
"Are they?" Danny challenged. "I think she was pulling that because she thought it's what you wanted. After all, your mom may have given her the wrong impression."
"And now I feel even more insulted."
"Be nice." Danny poked my side but didn't push his luck by trying anything more. Wise of him. "You sure you don't want to run after her though? She looked really passionate about this wedding date."
"As she should be. Everyone should be passionate about their work or should seek alternative employment if they're not. There's nothing worse than someone who wilfully forces themselves to do something they dislike, when they have the capability to change that."
"Not everyone can do that, Ashton. Even Sam has an arranged marriage partner," Danny pointed out.
"Leila Lincoln is not everyone. She is born to a rich family. If she really wished to avoid earning my annoyance, she could choose not to play along with my mother's games. The fact that she goes with it is her issue, no matter her feelings on the matter."
"Even if it upsets her parents?"
"Even then," I said. "I did that. There's nothing holding the family back since that lady is out of the picture."
"Not everyone is as strong as you, Ashton. Maybe she just needs someone to believe in her."
"And that someone is going to be you?"
Danny laughed. "No, I'm just saying."
I scoffed and rolled my eyes, but I pouted didn't call him inexperienced. Danny was naïve and idealistic, but if there was one thing i'd learned about him, it was that if he said he was going to do something, he'd give it his best shot. Luckily he decided not to pry any deeper as I didn't doubt for a second he'd try and follow through. Whether he'd succeed or not was up in the air, but it wouldn't be for lack of effort.
"You're too soft-hearted." I hugged.
"You're too jaded."
I paused at the odd insult. "Most would say cynical."
"Cynical is someone who isn't willing to give others a chance to prove them wrong, someone who always sees the bad in things no matter what. I don't think you're that. Jaded is when you've been let down so many times you no longer have the energy to look for the best in people."
The words hit me in the gut. I hadn't always been so critical, nor so mistrusting. In fact, the only people I trusted were my family and Dan's family and Sam. Even so, I didn't much appreciate this conversation we were having. "Please don't tell me you're going to appoint yourself to that task."
"Sure," Danny said, echoing his earlier statement, except this time with a huge grin. "Why not? Don't you two have a date?"
"No! I'm bringing you!" I could feel my face heating up as Dan hunched over in a fit of laughter.
God, he was such an idiot.
Beautiful and kind hearted, but a complete idiot.