by Lucy Lambert
Gwen blinked. She opened her mouth, then shut it. She realized she'd been so hell bent on getting to them that she'd put no thought into what to actually say.
Trying to buy herself some time, she walked deeper into the room. It wasn't a suite, like she and Aiden had. This one was more a traditional hotel room, if a well-appointed one. It had a king-sized bed (already made; her mother always made the bed first thing after getting up) near the window, a nice big mahogany desk and accompanying dresser, a big-screen TV set into the wall. A pair of wingback chairs in the corner for reading.
The view wasn't as good, either, with the adjacent building blocking out some of the majestic mountains.
Gwen sat on the foot of the bed, the covers wrinkling beneath her weight.
"Is something wrong?" David said.
"What? What is it?" Barb added, a truce forming between them for the benefit of their daughter.
For a second, Gwen considered telling them the whole truth. That Judith was going to use her leverage over Aiden to block their relationship. That Judith thought they were awful people who'd raised a gold digging daughter. That if they could only be civil, or even nice, to each other around Judith it would go a long way to smoothing things over.
However, that idea died quickly. She could see the result of it all too easily: both her parents becoming enraged, telling her how ridiculous it all was. One or both of them just up and leaving, one or both of them going to confront Judith to defend the family honor.
Gwen wanted to avoid all that soap opera stuff if possible.
"You guys know that I got engaged last night, right?"
Her mother immediately scurried over to the bed, grabbed her left hand, and began fawning over the engagement ring. "So beautiful! Look at the size of the diamonds!" Barb shot a look back at David, "See this? This is an engagement ring."
David rolled his eyes. Gwen jumped in before they could start fighting again.
"See? This is exactly what I mean! I got engaged last night, and the only thing you two want to do is find more things to yell at each other about. Aren't you happy for me?"
"Oh, of course, sweetie!" Barb said, sitting down beside Gwen. "We're both so happy for you. Aiden is a good boy."
"Right," David said, coming and sitting down on Gwen's other side, sandwiching her between them. "I'm sorry. We shouldn't behave this way. This should be all about your future, not our past."
"Thank you," Gwen said. She wished then that she'd been able to pluck up the courage to confront her parents earlier. And without having Judith's threat hanging over her head. "It's just that I love you guys. And I know what good people you are, and I feel bad when everyone else here doesn't get to see that side of you. Can you understand that?"
"Yes," David and Barb said together. Their agreeing on a point came as a shock to both of them, and they shared a stunned look.
"I mean, it's not like I'm asking you two to get back together or anything. Just to be civil, or maybe even nice to each other out in public. People notice that sort of thing, you know. Can you do that? For me?"
David and Barb looked at each other again, the question hanging between them.
"Of course we can, Gwenny, we love you," Barb said.
"We'll try," David said.
Gwen left her mother's room shortly thereafter. At first, optimism and triumph filled her. She knew her parents would come through for her.
Except then Aiden's voice spoke up in her mind, telling her that this wouldn't be enough. That Judith set the rules here and that if Gwen managed to score any points, Judith would just change them once more to suit her.
She became so lost in thought that when she stepped out of the elevator onto her floor, she ran into the man waiting on the other side.
"Oh!" she said, bouncing off a solid body back towards the closing elevator doors.
He reached out and caught her before she could stumble any farther. "Are you all right?"
"I think so, yes, I..." her words caught in her throat when she looked up into the face of her savior.
He was blond. The kind of blond Gwen associated with rolling fields of hay under the summer sun, matched with a pair of blue eyes that rivaled the color of that lake at the foot of the mountains. A hint of black stubble dotted his face and emphasized the strong line of his jaw.
He smiled down at her, and she couldn't breathe. Until she realized that she was staring.
"Are you sure? You look a little dazed," he said. She noticed his accent, then. English. And it was one of those posh accents, too. The kind of accent that made everything he said sound super smart and interesting.
"Fine. I'm fine," Gwen said, her throat unclenching.
"Brilliant," he said. Then he took another look at her and his eyes widened. "You're Gwen Browning."
He knows my name! Gwen thought. Her inner schoolgirl giggled. Then she felt guilty. Aiden waited for her back in their room. Handsome, intelligent, kind Aiden. Confusion followed the guilt. He knows my name, she thought again.
"Uh, who are you, and how do you know who I am?" Gwen said.
"Oh, right. How rude of me. I'm Ben Somersby. I'm a journalist with the Reuters affiliate in London."
"London, England?" Gwen said, again falling under the spell of that accent, images of Big Ben dancing through her head.
He quirked his eyebrow at her. "No. London, Ontario."
"Sorry?" Gwen said. She knew how stupid she must sound at the moment, but she couldn't wrestle her mind away from the gushing schoolgirl part of herself.
"Ontario. It's in Canada. That big place north of the place you're from," Ben said, still smiling politely.
"I know where Canada is!" Gwen said, her indignation helping her recover from her swoon. English people always thought they were so posh and smart and better than you. "I'm surprised you're not calling it part of the colonies."
His smile faltered. "Can we start over? I feel as though we've gotten off on the wrong foot. Ben Somersby, journalist. My office sent me to cover your engagement."
"Why?" Gwen said.
"I should think because Aiden Manning and his company are worth an incredible sum of money. Also because Carbide Solutions owns a considerable stake in my newspaper."
Another journalist. Just what Gwen wanted at that moment. Flashbacks of running from the paparazzi in New York filled her head. Except she didn't think Ben Somersby was like that. He had that disarming smile, that charming accent. And there was no hint of that skeeze that hung like a miasma around those tabloid reporters and photographers.
"So you're only allowed to say nice things then, I take it?" Gwen said.
Ben ran his fingers through his stubble. "Not the hard hitting investigatory journalism I'm used to, I admit. Why? Is there something going on here I'm not allowed to report?"
He meant it as a joke, but it still cut right into Gwen. It made her recall Judith's threat, her parents' dysfunctional relationship, and her current efforts to smooth everything over. And she definitely didn't need some journalist digging into all that right then. Not even a handsome English one.
"No, no, of course not," Gwen said.
Ben's eyes twinkled and she knew he didn't believe her. Still, he had the tact not to mention it. "Very well, then. I was actually on my way to find you in any case, so this is a happy meeting. I'd like to arrange, at your earliest convenience of course, an interview with you and your husband-to-be."
Aiden. I need to talk to Aiden, Gwen realized. "Not right now. We're in the middle of celebrating our engagement."
"Oh, right. No hurry, I suppose. Soon, then?"
"Yes, soon," Gwen said, trying to sidle away from the conversation, hoping he took the hint.
"Lovely meeting you, by the way," Ben said, offering his hand.
"What? Oh, right. You too," sticking out her hand for the perfunctory shake.
He gave her three solid pumps, his fingers totally enfolding hers, before letting go.
Chapter 7
Aiden sat on the
plush couch situated on the lower level of their suite. The room was laid out so that there was a sunken sitting area for said couch and a pair of chairs, all surrounding a glass top coffee table with a tidy spread of magazines and newspapers from Vogue to Forbes on it.
He liked to stay abreast of goings on in the world. Particularly the business world, but he felt far too distracted to read.
His attention spread itself between glancing at the door and wondering where Gwen was, and the quartz clock on the wall marking off the seconds at a glacial pace.
I shouldn't have let her go alone, he thought.
He didn't know whether to feel irritated by her or even more in love with her than before. She was going through all this for him, after all. She didn't want him to quit Carbide Solutions. Wouldn't let him quit was more like it.
She knew how much the company meant to him, and she didn’t want to make him choose.
Judith did, though. His grandmother had seized upon Gwen's desire to help Aiden out and took it as a sign of greed, he knew.
The easiest way to end all this would be to go back to Judith and reaffirm his self-fired status.
But you promised Gwen you wouldn't, he thought.
The choice tore at his insides. He loved Gwen and wanted to be with her. For the rest of his life, if he could help it. But he'd helped shape Carbide Solutions. It was the family business. And now he had the real opportunity to turn it into the sort of ethical corporation he knew it could be. He had the right people, the right contacts, the positioning in the market. All he need do was reach out and seize the opportunity.
But it would cost him Gwen. And that was a price he wasn't willing to pay, no matter how clearly Judith thought he would.
He decided to quit. To go tell Judith right away. Gwen would be hurt at first, he knew. But only at first. It was better to ask forgiveness than permission, right?
He glanced at the door again. Still no sign of Gwen. I have time, he thought.
He went to the mirror to straighten out his shirt and tie, and to tuck a few hairs back into place.
The electric lock in the door clicked, and then Gwen came in. Aiden's heart lurched. "Gwen! You're back!"
She went and flopped down on the couch he'd just vacated, squeezing her eyes shut and chafing at them with the heels of her hands. Aiden looked at the door, his stomach tightening as he saw his window of opportunity slide shut.
"How did it go?" he asked, his guilt roiling inside him. He went and sank down into one of the chairs opposite the couch.
"Okay," Gwen said, "I don't think mom and dad are going to have any more public screaming matches, at least. You should have seen them when I first got there. Dad actually called mom a vampire and a monster! And mom! She tried to make such a big deal out of the engagement ring..."
"Sounds like fun," Aiden said.
"You know, if this wasn't my life, it would actually be pretty funny. But it is my life. And that isn't going to be enough, is it? For Judith, I mean."
"No," he said, "It won't be." That brought him back to his thoughts of going and telling Judith he quit. The words were on his lips. He wanted to tell Gwen that he should go do it. That they would be all right. Except he couldn't make himself say them. They refused to come out.
Because if he did say them, he knew that Gwen would win him back over to the finding-another-way side.
"I need you over here." Gwen said, sitting up straight and then patting the cushion beside her.
Aiden sank down at her side and she leaned her head on his chest. It was times like these he treasured most with her. These quiet moments where they could just be together, in each other's company. It felt right.
He wished the rest of the world could simply drop away around them and leave them in that one eternal instant, but it couldn't. They couldn't resist, no matter how hard they tried.
"This is nice," Aiden said, brushing a few stray hairs off Gwen's forehead. Her eyes drifted shut, and she looked almost peaceful there, for a few heartbeats.
"Hmm," Gwen replied. Then she lifted her head up off him, leaving a cold spot behind. "This really has me remembering all that stuff with Henry."
"I've thought about it a few times, too." He didn't want to, but he did. He often tried to not think too much about his father. He wanted that chapter of his life firmly ended. Henry had been a poor father to him, and a ruthless businessman at Carbide Solutions. Both still messes that Aiden tried to work through every day.
Judith was a constant reminder of all that.
"Things almost felt simpler then, somehow," Gwen continued, "We had our contract. Henry had all his creepy spy stuff. We knew where we stood. Although I guess Judith wins points for not accusing me of being an expensive hooker."
"And we don't know where we stand now?"
Gwen didn't hear him. Her eyes brightened, and a small smile started on her lips. "What? What is it?" Aiden said, sensing her excitement.
"The contract!" Gwen said.
"There isn't a contract anymore."
"I know, I know. But what about a new one?" She pushed herself off the couch and began pacing, pausing now and again and looking out at the mountains.
"A contract for what?" Aiden said.
"Between Judith and me and my parents. It will show her that we can be polite and civilized and nice and all that. And, if we have it down in writing, it will mean that she can't keep changing the rules on us. Not without losing, that is."
Aiden also stood up. He went and stopped her pacing, making sure that he held her attention. She quivered in his grip, the excitement of her harebrained plan coursing through her.
She grinned at him, but when he didn't return the expression she stopped. "What? You don't like it?"
"It's not that I don't like it. It's that I don't think it will work. You're looking at all this from the wrong angle. Judith doesn't like you because she doesn't think you're a good match for me. Your parents play into that, yes, but they're pretty much a scapegoat. I still think the best way through this is for me to quit..."
"No! You're not quitting. We've had this talk already," Gwen said, pulling away from him.
Aiden sighed. He could see now the way through this. Let her exhaust herself. Let her see for herself there was but the one way out. "Okay, we can speak with her about it."
"Great!" Gwen said, heading for the door when Aiden stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.
"But you have to promise me that when this falls through, and it will, you'll stop all this and let me do what we both know I have to. Okay?" He leaned down and caught her eyes with his.
"Okay, yeah, right. Let's just go get it done!" Gwen said.
***
This time, Aiden and Gwen met with Judith in the arboretum attached to the hotel. Paths of packed dirt wound their way around the enclosure. The scents of sap and flowers hung heavy in the air, and dozens of different birds chirped up a cacophonous racket.
At least, they did to Judith's ears. She never knew how some people could become so engrossed in the annoying noises made by birds.
Still, the doctors always told her that some air and sunlight were good for both body and soul, and she tried to spend a little of each day outside the confines of the indoors.
Today she held court at a small bistro set up at the center of the arboretum. The furniture was all black wrought-iron chairs and circular tables. She wore a broad-brimmed hat to keep some of the sun off her skin. And she had to admit the light breeze coming down with all that fresh mountain air wasn't unpleasant.
Aiden pulled two of these tables together to give them enough room to sit.
"My parents won't be a problem anymore," Gwen said. The girl looked excited about something, and mischief glinted in her eyes.
However, it was Aiden that Judith found more interesting. He looked subdued somehow. Resigned might have been a better word. But resigned to what?
"I'm glad to hear it," Judith said, "However, I also have a difficult time believing it to be true."<
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"Actually, that's kind of what we wanted to talk to you about," Gwen said.
"Go on, then."
Gwen and Aiden exchanged a glance. Yes, there was definitely some sort of tension between them. A disagreement? An argument, maybe? Judith couldn't tell for certain. She did take some pleasure from it, though.
Gwen wasted no time. "So earlier you said you know all about the contract between Aiden and me?"
It sounded like both a question and a statement. Why did young people have such a difficult time expressing themselves?
"Yes," Judith supplied.
"Well, what if we had a contract? Between us. I'll get my parents to sign it, too."
Aiden gave the slightest shake of his head. He probably didn't even realize that he'd done it. But Judith noticed. Noticed and noted.
"To what end?" Judith said.
"Well, I was thinking that if they agreed to be civil and all that, you would see that they're actually pretty nice people. And that since they are nice people, maybe, by extension, I'm a nice person, too?"
The girl really was desperate, Judith knew. She so badly wanted Aiden to hold onto Carbide Solutions. And it was pretty clear she'd do just about anything to make that happen. But just how far would she go?
Judith intended to find out.
Again, Aiden shook his head a little. His lips tightened momentarily when he glanced at his fiancé.
He's frustrated with the girl. He knows that I would never allow something as silly as this contract.
"That is acceptable to me," Judith said. Aiden jerked in shock, and a huge grin spread across Gwen's face. First you divide, Judith thought, and then you conquer. "However, I do not find the terms of your contract acceptable, and I offer this one and only alternative. In addition to this vow of civility, your parents will also agree to not finalize their divorce until after you and my grandson have been married for at least a year."
Gwen made a choking sound. "What?"
Aiden stood up from the table, shaking his head in earnest now. "See? I told you this is all a game to her. I think we've endured enough. Are you coming?"