by H. Q. Frost
"Please get the cat out of here." She trembles under the blanket.
"Ms. Reif, you must change your hair immediately!" I implore.
"Yeah, okay, just get the cat out!" She's deathly afraid of this animal.
My eyes drift down to my gift and a small smile pulls at my lips. "You don't like my apology present?"
"Apology present? You bought me a killer cat as a present?"
"Nonsense." I chuckle and move closer to the bed to which she shrieks and shuffles back against the headboard.
"Okay. Perhaps we remove the cat from the room." Lol grabs the leash and quickly escorts the animal out while I keep my predatory gaze on her. This girl will be the death of me and my family name.
"I don't want that gift. I'm sorry." Wild eyes keep flashing from me to the door and I can't pull my sight from her blue fucking hair. "You don't have to give me anything."
"Very well." I bow my head and finally look away from the scared creature. "Do you realize what you are representing when becoming my wife, Ms. Reif?"
"I…don't understand."
"You're representing me. The Carbon name. Do you think blue hair is a good representation of that name?" When I look at her again, she's pulling a strand of her hair forward to look at it.
"It's just hair. There's more to a name than appearance."
My fists ball at my sides and I storm to the door. "You will change this hair and be dressed appropriately for the coordinator that will be arriving at six." Stepping into the hall, I slam the door behind me and take a few minutes for my seething breaths to ease before I storm away from her quarters.
Once we make it through all the preparations for the wedding, I can keep her locked in this wing of the house. I will have her artificially inseminated until she bears a boy, and then I will divorce her and ship her home.
When Lol walks through the door of the dining room, I stand, ready to put on a front for our guests. There are six people here who will coordinate this wedding to Ms. Reif's liking. I couldn't give a damn what happens, but knowing that crazy girl, she'll make it a circus so I thought it best if I attended to make sure our union won't be a laughing stock.
Blue hair is the first and only thing I notice on her when she walks into the room and heat begins to rise from my feet. I told her to change it and she defied me. She wants to ruin me! Opening my mouth to scream at the ignorant girl, I look at Lol who's giving me a look. I can't reprimand the dense girl with my guests here anyway.
"Oh my, my," Susan Waterford says as she stands.
Turning to her to apologize for my classless fiancée, I stop when I realize she's staring at Ms. Reif as if she's an angel floating into the room. That girl is far from an angel. She's a regurgitated Warhol.
"You are a dream come true," Susan croons, drifting toward Ms. Reif. "I cannot wait to plan this wedding."
Confused, I look at Lol who's got a proud smile on his face while he stays at Ms. Reif's side and Susan kisses her cheeks. At least the girl is dressed more appropriately. Not much more. She's flaunting assets she shouldn't be, but it's better than the cut off shirt and jeans. Somehow she looks less sickly, as if she had been hiding the curves to her body. Yet, she's not appropriately dressed to represent me or my name.
"Callum," Susan moans as she turns to me. "I just got so much more excited for this wedding. Where did you find this beauty? I want to eat her!"
I snort but before I criticize Ms. Reif, Lol narrows his eyes at me.
"Family secret." I smile. What's not a family secret is that a week ago I was dating a supermodel. And now I'm engaged to a Sesame Street character. What will people think? "Please, sit." I put my hand out, but before Ms. Reif takes it, I lower it and sit, hoping she puts distance between us.
There are a few inches between our bodies until Lol sits to my right and leaves me no choice but to move closer to her. I will dismember him for this. He knows better than to meddle in my affairs. All eyes are on Ms. Reif and they're staring like she's an exquisite piece of art.
"Really, Callum, you must tell me. Where did you two meet?"
"Susan, please." I smile at her. "We're here to discuss my fiancée's wishes for our wedding, not the hows and wheres."
"I'll get it out of Mag." She grins at Ms. Reif and I look over at the smiling girl.
Her name's Mag. I should probably remember that.
"Loose lips sink ships. Shall we eat first?" I stand and gesture to the dining room table.
"No, no. Please wait." Susan's eyes roam Ms. Reif head to toe several times. "To get a feel of this wedding, I must know." Leaning forward, she takes Mag's hand and I slowly sit, wondering what the crazy woman is going on about. "If Callum were a stone, what stone would he be?" Intense eyes stare at Ms. Reif and I furrow my brows in confusion.
"A stone?" the girl questions and glances at me, but I'm afraid I can offer no help because I don't understand.
"Yes. What jewel would you wear to represent Callum?" Susan's eyes are shimmering like this answer will set the pace for her creativity when it comes to our wedding.
I'm beginning to regret hiring her. My father had used her for every event he ever put on so it was common for me to call upon her. Come to think of it, I never paid any attention to his parties so the woman might be absolute shit at her job.
Ms. Reif shifts and her leg gently leans against mine while she stares at me. Not only are her eyes on me, but everyone else is staring, and to say I'm uncomfortable is an understatement.
"Please, Susan," I request, clearing my gravelly tone caused by discomfort.
"Graphite," Ms. Reif says before I put an end to this game.
"Graphite?" I repeat. How did she come up with graphite?
With a nod and smile, she hums and looks at Susan again, turning her body away from me once more.
"I love that," Susan croons. "And Callum? What stone is Mag."
"She's a diamond," I blurt the least creative idea I could come up with, wanting to end this foolishness. "Shall we eat?" I stand again.
"Amazing," Susan whispers as if she's just watched a renowned magic trick. "They are the carbon couple." She stands and gestures to us, loudly announcing, "The Carbon Couple."
Her staff claps as if the magic show is over and they are in awe.
"Come again?" I look at Lol for help but he offers none. Just a smile.
"The chemical element carbon. We could call you atomic number six, but Carbon Couple has a better ring to it, wouldn't you agree?"
"No," I state in confusion.
"Callum." She drapes her hand over my shoulder while her other gestures in front of us as if she's presenting something. "Carbon's two main forms are diamond and graphite."
"Yes well, its impure form is coal. I don't see this being a perfect fit. Could we stop the games and eat, please?" I pull away from her.
"And what does coal do?" Her tone has taken on an eerie bass to it like the woman is a witch playing with elements. "It burns," she hisses. "I see the fire between you two."
This is completely absurd. Taking Ms. Reif's arm, I pull her to stand. "Let's eat," I firmly insist and guide her to the table.
Thankfully, the sorcery has ended and talk of the wedding ensues. I keep one ear in the conversation just to make sure I don't hear mention of circus clowns or dyed poodles, but my attention stays on my phone most of the time. Susan and her team are in love with Ms. Reif, but that doesn't surprise me. She's a bat-shit crazy artist type and well, Ms. Reif is bat-shit crazy.
"Then it's settled?" Susan asks, concluding our discussion.
"If Ms. Reif's happy, it's settled." I gesture and glance at her, not really giving a damn, but I must play a doting fiancé.
"You sure you don't care about my dress?" Ms. Reif speaks up and I furrow my brows, not sure why she's asking. I feel as if I may have missed some extravagant monstrosity her and Susan collaborated on. "I mean, you hate my hair, so…" She chuckles and I feel the color draining from my face. I can't portray I hate anything about my fi
ancée.
"Honey." I chuckle, having forgotten her name.
"Earlier you said—"
I peck her mouth to shut her up then grin at Susan. "The blue hair was a pleasant surprise. She's got a mind of her own which is what drew me to her. So it's settled." I stand and head for the door, needing them out of here before Ms. Reif blabs this is an arrangement and not a union out of love. I'm not willing to be humiliated when people find out I'm being forced to do something I despise. "Please send over all billing to my assistant. You know there will be no issues."
"Oh, I know. You lucky man." Susan smooths her hand down my shirt. "Keep a close eye on that diamond. You're going to have competition."
My brows furrow and lip curls as I look back at Ms. Reif. She's not looking like the gaunt cat tonight, but I think competition is an exaggeration. Even though Lol seems taken with her. Although, that's no surprise. His own girlfriend doesn't pay him attention. I'm sure him and Ms. Reif bonded on the flight. My eyes linger on her tits then ass before I realize what I'm doing. I don't recall seeing she had breasts before, but this cream outfit seems to have been painted onto her body, accenting all of her bodily curves. The more I stare, the more I realize how inappropriate it was for her to wear this to a dinner. She is truly classless. She looks like she's an entertainer that involves much less clothing. How am I marrying a woman people can confuse for a stripper?
"Rupier," I bark Lol's last name when our guests are out of earshot. "Perhaps you have something to tend to?" Keeping my glare on him, I feel Ms. Reif's eyes on me. My sight darts to her hand as she pats his chest, then I reel back when she kisses his cheek. "Ms. Reif, please allow me to show you the premises," I demand.
She will not make a mockery out of me by flirting with my staff.
"Lol already showed me around. I've been here over a week, Callum," she says while heading toward me. The fact she used my name makes me grit my teeth. Though, I suppose my wife calling me Your Grace or Mr. Carbon would be strange.
"But I haven't shown you." I put my arm out, needing to keep her on a leash like that cat. Which reminds me. "What do you suppose I do with the cat?"
"I'm sorry. I don't like cats." Her fingers wrap around my arm and I notice her fingernails match her hair. She's like a child.
"I gathered that. Is that how you treat gifts? You're going to have to get used to receiving plenty of gifts you don't like. As my wife, you'll be gifted useless items from strangers. People spend money hoping to get some of my money."
"Can I request perhaps instead of gifts, money be donated to charity or something? Seems kind of stupid when there are tons of charities out there needing money." That accent is a lot to handle and I regret this walk but I have to actually sell my life to people, including my staff.
There's someone within these walls that's constantly updating the outside world about my life. Up until this arranged marriage, though, it's been rather typical. Now I have to pretend this wasn't arranged because it won't go over well otherwise.
I pull my phone from my pocket and answer a few texts while I walk her around the premises. She goes on talking and I grunt in response every now and again, but I really have no idea what she's been saying. When I get another explicit text from Evelyn, I smirk.
"Callum." Ms. Reif shakes my arm and I quickly lower my phone. When I look over she smiles but my attention is fighting to get back to Evelyn's picture; I continue my text reply. "I'm tired. Can I return to my room?"
"Absolutely," I respond with relief and tug her down the hall before shaking my arm free to finish texting Evelyn.
We come to a stop in front of her bedroom and she's staring at me but my focus is on a spot down the hall. The rug looks torn.
"When will we share a room?" Her question breaks my trance of the mysterious spot on the rug and my eyes dart to her.
"Come again?"
"We're going to share a room, right? We're getting married."
My gaze drifts from her lips as if I've suddenly gone deaf. "After marriage, of course." I never really put thought into that aspect. I want my own space and I especially don't want this girl in it.
"Night." Her arms wrap around me and her breasts push into my chest.
The sensation is opposite of what I expected myself to feel when in this situation with her. My dick seems to have taken over, but keeping a rational head that still dislikes this woman, I give her a swift pat on the back before pulling away.
"Goodnight." Dodging around her, I head toward the rug, and as I get closer I'm relieved to find it was just a shadow. Even a rug interests me more than her.
I'm going to have to come up with a plan of sharing a bedroom. I can ignore the woman, but I think if she finds out I have no intentions of staying married to her, she'll inform her family and that could cause a hiccup or two.
"Lol." I stare out the window at the vast yard of greenery. It's really pretty but there's nothing but green. Those gardens need flowers.
"Madam?"
"I need a favor." I glance back at him. He's sitting on the couch on his laptop while I lounge on the window bench.
"Name it." He closes the laptop.
I've been here over two weeks and I've seen Callum twice. I'm not stupid. I don't think he likes this idea. But I won't let him make a fool of me. What's suddenly irking me is something I didn't really care about until I had a conversation with my sister. She was the one to make me realize he didn't want me here. I just thought maybe it was nerves, but he's not a nervous man. Well, I hate to say the realization hurt my feelings. Not that I have feelings toward him. He's incredibly attractive, as well as incredibly stuck up. But either way, I'm marrying him. I can't back out now and I won't let him mock me. I'm not going to play clueless fiancée and wife while he cheats with some whore that doesn't mind texting men full-on, spread eagle nudes. I saw his phone when we walked together the one day he paid me thirty minutes worth of attention. Actually, his attention was on his phone and I was just at his side. A woman named Evelyn was sending him nudes and he had the balls to open them in front of me. Stupid man.
"Who's Evelyn?"
Lol stiffly shifts on the couch to look back at me. "Madam?"
"Cut the shit." I giggle when a pink flush brightens his forehead. That's how I know Lol is uncomfortable.
"Evelyn Schneider is Mr. Carbon's ex-girlfriend."
That makes sense.
"They broke up?"
"Yes." His nod is clipped and he turns his back to me like that's the end of this conversation.
I strut to the couch and plop down. Raising my legs, I drape them over his lap, under his computer. "Lol," I drawl.
Quickly moving the computer, he sets it to the side. "Madam." His focus is on my bare feet and his hands are raised like he's not sure what to do with them.
"Ugh," I groan. "No madam. Come on, we talked about this." I wiggle my feet. "How's your foot massage game?"
With his brows high, he looks at me. "Come again?"
I huff and rub my feet together. "Will you give me a foot massage?"
"I can call a masseuse," he suggests and I roll my eyes.
"My feet gross?" I lift one leg and look at the bottom of my foot. They're clean.
"Of course not." Tentative hands are placed on my flesh and he rubs gently. It's better than nothing.
"Back to Evelyn." I lay my head back and close my eyes.
"Mada—dude." His throat clears and his hands take on more strength, making me groan as I relax. "Perhaps you should ask Mr. Carbon about Evelyn?"
"Ew, no." My eyes pop open and I scowl at him. "Why would I tell my fiancé I saw him looking at her nudes when she texted them over?"
"Oh lord." Quickly standing, he almost flips me off the couch.
"Lol!" I bark. "What's your deal, man? Sit down." I move my legs again.
"Ms. Reif, no offense, I'm not sure what to do in this situation. Mr. Carbon being unfaithful." He fans his face and I chuckle.
"Is not going to happen." Pointing, I s
ay, "Sit," and he does. I like it. "That massage was good. Please don't stop." I shift my feet in his lap until he gasps and grabs them steady. Looking at him, I wince, thinking I turned him on. His eyes are closed and he's holding my feet away from his crotch. Poor Lol. He needs to get laid. "Um, so, this Evelyn bitch." When he exhales a shaky breath of worry I smirk. "I just need you to get me access to his phone."
"Madam Dude?" He cocks his eyebrow and looks at me.
"Come on, Lol. I'm going to marry him, shouldn't I have access to his phone? He has access to my entire life." And doesn't even want it.
"I agree fully, but you should ask him."
"I can't," I mock in a voice like he's dense. "He'll never be like, yes, Ms. Reif, please invade my privacy." I try to mimic his accent, but the bad rendition only makes us laugh. "So I only need it for like five minutes. He won't even know."
"Mag—"
"Lol!" The growl that came from the doorway makes me rip my feet from Lol's lap as if we were doing something we weren't supposed to.
We weren't. Even if I did accidentally rub my foot on his dick and turn him on. Callum is outraged and looks like a damn fool, but Lol is already standing in front of him. When he dismisses Lol, his nasty glare lands on me. Right back at you, cheater.
"Ms. Reif, are you in need of a masseuse?" The accusation in his tone makes me snicker.
"No. Lol was doing fine."
"Lol is not employed to service you in such ways." His red cheeks make him look younger. I wonder how old he is. Each time I ask Lol he tells me to read the paperwork, but I don't care enough.
"Listen, Lol's my friend. If he wants to rub my feet, he's more than welcome."
"Like hell he is." He storms toward me and I wait for this asshole to put his hands on me. I will claw him up like that lion he tried to give me. "Up!" he demands and I shift my legs off the couch. When he sits, I narrow my eyes. "Give me your feet, Ms. Reif." The disgust on his face is what makes me do it. He's dreading this and I love it.