Business as Usual

by Hughes, E.

  “The one in Vegas?” he asked, sounding suspicious.

  I tried to sound cool.

  “Yeah. I’ll be working on the budget until we break ground. We have an investor here from China, a land developer who will be working on the blueprint. I’ve been tasked with keeping the project on budget. He’s here for a short time so my life pretty much revolves around his schedule. We’ll be joined at the hip for weeks. We’re spending so much time together we’re one step away from his and her towels,” I sputtered, an ill-attempt at humor and the truth.

  “If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was trying to steal my girl!” Danny answered, sounding justifiably worried. “Look, I have to go. Gotta make rounds,” he said.

  “Don’t let me keep you,” I replied, coiling my fingers in and out of the phone cord.

  “Call me tomorrow, I love you…”

  Danny’s words hung in the air.

  A short time after we hung up, I found solace in the mini-bar, drowning my woes away with little bottles of vodka as I kicked my shoes off and peeled out of my clothes, leaving a trail of undergarments in my wake. Then I saw it…a small black briefcase. It sat open on the nightstand next to the bed. Unable to resist, I peeked inside. There was a document on top written in Chinese, but the logo of my father’s company in the right hand corner was unmistakable. I heard a noise, snapped the briefcase closed, and disappeared into the bathroom, heart thumping wildly in my chest.

  I peeked through a crack in the door as Ethan bumbled around in the bedroom, retrieving the briefcase. He pressed a button to open it then checked the contents suspiciously before closing it again. He then returned to the living room where he worked on his laptop and talked nonstop on the phone in rapid-fire Chinese.

  I closed the door and ran a bath, thinking about the mysterious documents while trying to remember if I had eaten anything as a flush of heat raced through my body and my stomach churned. I wasn’t that worried. My days as a sorority girl had taught me I could consume almost a deadly amount of liquor, even on an empty stomach. But still, the mini-bottles of liquor were slowly taking its toll.

  I raked my hands through loosened strands of hair and took a deep breath as I recounted the events of the day like a post traumatic stress victim, ranting obscenities at my father and Ethan in my head over and over again, saying all the things I wish I’d said at the meeting until some of the anxiety boiling inside of me had been released. With my hair hastily pushed into a bun at the back of my head I wiped a bead of sweat from my brow. It was hot. I had shut the air conditioning down when we left our luggage at the hotel just before the meeting. So I turned the bathwater off, covered up in a silk black robe, and marched out of the bedroom to turn it back on.

  Sweltering desert heat filled the penthouse like helium filling a latex balloon. Ethan paced the living room and unfastened his tie while smoothing damp hair away where it clung to the side of his face. The underarms of his shirt were soaked and his chest glistened. There was something about the sight of a virile young man dripping with sweat that made my limbs weak. I turned the control on the air conditioner, setting the temperature to forty-five degrees.

  “It’s hot in here,” he complained, looking up at me for the first time. Ethan’s eyes climbed my legs up to the thigh length silk black robe.

  “The air conditioning’s on. Can I get you something to drink?”

  “sh-sure,” he stammered, walking toward me with his shirt half buttoned.

  I turned on my heels and walked to the bar with a grin on my face. I could feel the heat of his gaze on my back as he followed me across the room. I grabbed two glasses and a bucket of ice and poured us a glass of Patron. I passed the drink to Ethan. He placed the glass to his lips, taking a sip.

  “Ready for tonight?” he asked, gazing intently into my eyes. I wasn’t sure if he was talking about the wedding or whatever he was expecting to happen after it.

  “Oh, as ready as I can be, considering the circumstances.”

  I slid an ice cube across my neck, rubbing it up and down until water melted into my cleavage. He followed the drip with his eyes then took another sip of liquor as if to vanquish the image from his thoughts. “

  “What about you?”

  Ethan shrugged. “What about me?”

  “Aren’t you nervous?”

  “There’s nothing to feel nervous about.”

  “How can you say that? It’s not like you wanted to marry me or I wanted to marry you.”

  Ethan frowned. “Is the idea of being married to me that disgusting to you?”

  “It’s not you,” I stammered. “I have a boyfriend. What about you? Do you have a girlfriend back home in China?”

  Ethan sat his glass on the counter then took mine from out of my hand, his face contorted in anger. “You realize you have to give him up, right?”

  “I don’t have to do anything,” I said, lifting my chin to give him a defiant look.

  Even though I’d already made the decision to break things off with Danny, I wasn’t going to let Ethan think he could bully me or control my life. I did it to protect the man I loved. Our breakup had nothing to do with him.

  “The only reason I’m marrying you is because I don’t want to disappoint my father.”

  I backed into the bar as Ethan settled my drink on the countertop. He tried to look away before I noticed the jealous gleam in his eyes.

  “And part of keeping that promise is acting like a married woman. I don’t care about your love life, Elizabeth, but I won’t be humiliated. Understand?”

  “I already have a father, Ethan. I don’t need two!”

  Jealous? Really? The nerve!

  I left Ethan at the bar but could feel his swift angry strides at the heels of my feet as I stormed to the bedroom. He grabbed the doorknob before I could reach it, pulling the door closed.

  “I’m not your father, Elizabeth… but I will be your husband. Try not to forget it,” he huffed, parking his hands on his hips like an angry woman.

  “You won’t be anything if I change my mind,” I snapped, lifting my chin defiantly.

  Was he serious? We hadn’t even said our vows and he was already butting into my private affairs. The marriage was temporary and so was my separation from Daniel. In the past, I had been the selfless one in my family, always trying to make everyone happy whereas Ethan was just a spoiled billionaire brat used to getting his way. He pushed the door open and I marched inside without another word, slamming it closed. Then I laid on the king-sized bed and cried as I contemplated backing out of the contract over and over again. But as much as my father loved me, he wasn’t a forgiving man… especially when it came to people not keeping their word. I’d seen the way he treated my mother when she went against his wishes. I had a choice to make. I could tell my father to go to hell, and lose the only family I had, or endure the loveless three year marriage I committed to. Whatever I decided, I had to be strong. Besides…Ethan wasn’t all that bad. He was intelligent, easy on the eyes, and kind of sexy. I could do worse, I thought, optimistically.

  I cleaned up, washing my tear-stained face before climbing into the bath a short time later. There, I had time to put my situation in perspective soaking in jasmine and white tea scented water long enough for my skin to wrinkle like a prune. My father never made a secret of the fact that he had always wanted a son. As pathetic as it sounded, being my father’s only daughter had finally worked to my advantage. My partnership with Ethan not only helped my father but also gave me the opportunity to take a more important role in my father’s business. Through Ethan I would prove I was just as capable as a son. I can be as objective and unemotional as a man. This was business, not personal.

  I got out of the tub to begin my wedding toilette. After applying an ample amount of lotion and perfume to my body I styled my hair. I wore it down in layered waves with the beautiful red comb pushed into one side. I applied a light coat of blush to my cheeks, a touch of eye shadow, and added a thin coat of cherry gloss
to my lips. My satin organdie wedding dress was all elegance and satin in the softest of reds.

  I wondered what Ethan’s reaction would be when he saw me in the dress. But he went to the chapel early, leaving a note and a small gift box on the coffee table. I read his letter, hoping to find an apology, but it was just a note informing me that a car would be waiting outside when I was ready. I opened the small black gift box. It was a matching bracelet to the comb I wore in my hair...probably Adriana’s idea. I put the bracelet on and left the penthouse.

  A pearl red Maybach covered with fancy wedding decorations couriered me to the chapel. When we arrived, the driver discreetly shuffled me in through the back of the building. Apparently, the paparazzi waited out front for the next celebrity sighting or wedding party. I was hardly a celebrity, even if my father was a public figure. I smiled, slightly amused by the driver’s caution.

  When we entered the wedding chapel I was met with oohs and aahs by the other couples. We made it just in time for our ceremony, with only two couples before us. I was summoned from the bridal room after a half hour wait. I heard the wedding song and peeked around the corner. Ethan stood at the other end of the room with the minister designated to officiate our wedding. I took a deep breath and marched down the aisle. Ethan had his shoulder length hair trimmed and wore a tailored black suit. He was admittedly, strikingly handsome, especially with a clean shaven face.

  He watched with an air of cool as I marched toward him. I carried a small bouquet of red Hypericum berries, roses, and eucalyptus flowers that had been fashioned by the wedding coordinator with Ethan’s strict seal of approval. After a march that seemed to take forever, I made it to the other end of the aisle where he waited for me. The minister presiding over the wedding asked us to join hands which I did without hesitation. How many times had Ethan held my hand today? I was already used to the feel of his fingers encompassing mine. We faced each other and listened as the minister performed the ceremony. The man went on and on about love lasting an eternity and couples making marriage work, enduring sickness and health. The minister smiled like a doting grandfather…like he had been truly honored in uniting a young couple in “love”. I felt like a fraud. When it was time Ethan and I recited our vows on cue like all the other couples who had gone before us. I held his gaze without apprehension for the first time, staring into brown eyes with flecks of hazel in them. Ethan squeezed my fingers, interlocking them with his own as the minister neared the end of the ceremony and demanded he kiss the bride. I took a deep breath, expecting an awkward peck on the lips.

  Then with a feverish passion that took me by surprise, Ethan pressed his lips against mine. I surrendered to the passionate onslaught as one of his hands braced the back of my neck and the other pulled me by the waist into his arms. Heavens, what is this man like in bed? With my thoughts racing, I released a breathy sigh as his tongue entangled and played with mine. Ethan kissed like a man who liked to kiss and for a moment, we seemed to forget about the business arrangement and our farce of a wedding. With an irrational irritability I couldn’t explain, when we parted I blamed my heated response to Ethan’s kiss on the moody Romanesque chapel, the flowers adorning the pews, and the panoramic view of the city skyline. I’d simply been swept into the moment. I brushed a hand across my lips. They were still warm…

  Whistles erupted in the room and the bulb from a camera flashed. I looked up, like a deer in headlights as a crowd slowly filled the room.

  “You look beautiful,” Ethan whispered against my neck. “I love your dress.” Candlelight flickered in his eyes. He brushed the side of my hair with his fingertips.

  “Who are all these people?”

  Ethan sighed. “I was told by the wedding coordinator that paparazzi hang around the courthouse looking for celebrities.”

  “What does that have to do with us?”

  Ethan glared at me like I was overlooking the obvious.

  “When Donald Trump’s daughter got married, the press was all over it. The same goes for the daughter of Eugene Byron.”

  I shook my head in near panic. “What? They can’t do this. We’re private citizens!”

  “Not anymore. You’re married to the son of a multi-billion dollar land developer. The entire business world is watching,” he whispered in my ear.

  Flashing bulbs from the paparazzi nearly blinded us as we pushed our way through the crowd to the waiting Maybach outside of the chapel. Then I spied him...the man in the leather jacket, wire dangling from his ear, gawking at us trance-like from the crowd. I looked away as we scrambled into the car, just as an emboldened member of the paparazzi asked where we were going for our honeymoon. Ethan told him it was a surprise and kissed the back of my fingers like a doting husband. The man deserved an Oscar.

  I pulled the train of my dress inside and the driver closed the door. “Where are we going?” I asked, realizing Ethan was still holding my hand. I tried to pull it away but he lifted my hand to his lips, kissing the back of my fingers again. Then he dropped a bombshell.

  “Your father flew all of your friends to Vegas. They’re coming to our wedding reception.”

  “And you knew about this?” I gasped.

  Once again, Ethan and my father were trying to control my life, robbing me of the opportunity to tell my own friends about the wedding. No doubt my best friend Claudia would be hurt that I had not only gotten married without telling her, but that I’d broken our pact. The two of us vowed we would never marry a rich man… especially men who reminded us of our fathers. Claudia kept her end of the deal when she married Wayne, a city bus driver a few years ago. But Ethan was a carbon copy of my father, only younger, handsomer, and foreign. These billionaire playboys were all the same no matter where they hailed from.

  I bit my anger down, gazing out of the car window at the string of street lights swirling by. A strong sense of decorum prevented me from ripping his head off. I was a Byron, after all and Ethan was still a client and business partner.

  “I had nothing to do with it, if that’s what you’re asking. You’ll have to take this one up with your father.”

  “What did he tell them? Who did he invite?”

  “He told them it was a private affair…that we wanted to do it on our own.”

  On our own? What decision had I made, other than saying ‘I do’? Ethan and my father controlled the event from beginning to end, including our so called engagement, however short-lived that was.

  “What about the honeymoon?” I fumed.

  “I’m taking you to Aruba.”

  I tried to hide my disappointment.

  “We’re going to Aruba? For how long?”

  “Three weeks. Just you and me, Lau Po.”

  I slumped against the cool leather seats in the Maybach, completely overwhelmed. And he called me “Lau Poh”. I couldn’t complain this time because I was legally, Ethan’s “wife”.

  The driver took us directly to the Marcy’s, the club hosting our wedding reception. Dance music filtered through the club’s open doors, its pulsating beat vibrating through my body. We were still holding hands when we walked in, our hearts aflutter, not quite sure what to expect when we saw my friends. It was the first time I’d ever seen Ethan look nervous. The club was a two story loft in a large building designed to look like a warehouse. The environment was loud with flashing red lights and a deejay, who announced us as we walked in.

  “What do we do now?” I asked.

  “We’ll say hello to your father, and then I guess you can explain what happened to your friends.”

  “Dear heavens, what am I supposed to tell them?” I shrieked, in near panic.

  “Explain what we agreed to tell them earlier... we’ve been having a secret love affair for months and decided to get married. I guess from there you’ll need to make it up as you go along.”

  “This is so infuriating! You and my father thought of everything else, but can’t figure out how to explain this to our friends and family.”

  Ethan sh
rugged. “Let them think what they want.”

  “It’s not that easy,” I sighed. “These people are important to me. We could also get in trouble, or have you forgotten about that?”

  “Then let’s talk to your father and see what he says.”

  “No. I’m not speaking to him right now.” I was tired of the man. Tired of him controlling my life.

  At that exact moment someone tapped me on the shoulder, but as I turned to see who it was, I was swept into an embrace. I squirmed and pushed away until I realized I was in the arms of my best friend Claudia.

  “You’re here!” I exclaimed, grateful to see her friendly face.

  “You okay?” she asked, searching my eyes.

  “Congratulations,” she said, grimacing as she looked over at Ethan. “You’re a very lucky man.”

  “Thanks.” He gave her a dry look. “I’m sure the girls at the office will have plenty to gossip about at the water cooler on Monday.”

  “Don’t be rude,” I pleaded with Ethan, wondering what the exchange was all about.

  “I’ll go over and have a word with your father,” he said, leaning in to kiss me on the cheek.

  Claudia rolled her eyes as he turned away.

  “Your lips are smiling but your eyes are pleading for help. Don’t say a word, I already know.”

  Claudia hugged me again.

  “I knew they were up to something!” she exclaimed, gazing at me with wild eyes. Claudia stood about 5’1” and wore her hair in a short dark pixie cut. But she was massively intimidating in her way, because she was never one to mince words.

  “What are you talking about?” I asked.

  “The whole thing reeks of a farce! That’s what I mean. How could your father ask you to do something like this? Shame on him! I’m so pissed right now. But I had to come and see you for myself.”

  No longer forced to lie to my best friend, I felt like a giant weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

  “Can we talk?”