~04-The Meeting~

It's 9:56am when I finally find the Trevalyan Enterprise .

At this point, I can't be more grateful for the existence of G****e Map.

I hand my car keys to the parking valet, a fine young man with a pretty attractive smile.

Walking in to the building, I'm met with rude blonde at the receptionist who calls up Andrea.

Andrea is a red-haired super-professional, polite young lady. She leads me up to the very last floor.

My nerves suddenly kick in.

"Mr. Trevalyan. Ms. Hart has arrived" Andrea says professionally as she pokes her head through a stylish wooden brown door with a tag 'J. Trevalyan' 

Few seconds later, she's ushering me through the door

"Ms. Hart" Mr. Trevalyan beams at me with a subtle smile from behind his work desk.

His office is very well decorated. There are only a few details but that's what makes it so nice. The walls are painted white with a few paintings I recognize to be Picasso's.

"Hello, Mr. Trevalyan. It's good to see you again" I greet quietly, feeling my nerves relax a little with each word.

"You too. And looking so good too. Please, have a sit"

I just smile and nod at that and move to sit in one of the chairs in front of his desk.

"So, Mr. Trevalyan. What did you want to talk about?" I mutter, squaring my shoulders to look a little more confident.

"You" he says simply

"Uh..me?" I shriek

"What do you do, Ms. Hart?" he asks, moving on

"Well, as of now, I'm a student of WSU" I mutter, getting nervous again

"Oh? Then why are you in Seattle?" he asks, eyes gleaming with curiosity, tone one of utmost wonder

He almost looks young and care free. That somehow makes me relax a bit.

"That's... uh..personal" I shrug apologetically

"I totally understand" he sounds almost hurt.

I nod, holding back from laughing at his expression.

"How would you feel if I told you you're getting married next week?" He asks quietly, wide eyes and all smiles

What sort of a question is that?

I answer it anyway

"Well, I'd probably burst out in laughter but ask who the lucky groom is out of sheer curiosity" I shrug, a smile playing on my lips

"Curiosity killed the cat, Ms. Hart" his mouth turns up in an amused smile.

"Good thing I'm not a cat then" I smirk in equal amusement

"Let's satisfy your curiosity then" he chuckles a little then stops abruptly "But before then...what kind of groom would you prefer if you were to get married?"

"Um..." I draw and rub my chin with my right hand, feigning thoughtful "Let's say if the groom were to be an Audi R8 for instance I'll be ecstatic"

He laughs and I follow suit.

"You don't ever want to get married?" He asks, recovering from his laughter.

"Oh, I do. Just not anytime soon. I do want to get married and have beautiful little me's run around my small, happy home" I say dreamily but turn serious in a second"Just not now"

"Most girls dream of a wealthy husband..to live in a mansion..all of that. You don't want those?"

"I'll be stupid if I said I didn't want any of those but. I'd pick a loving, average class husband over a wealthy, a*****e any day" I murmur and frown a little, as I think of his son and flush for swearing in his presence.

"That's the perfect answer" he cheers then his voice drops to a whisper  "You know, I hate it when girls say they'd prefer poor men as long as they love them. No one wants a man who can't provide for his family"

I laugh at his expression

"A poor man with a potential to make it big someday though" I reason, still laughing at his look

"Ms. Hart" he turns gloomy all of a sudden and I miss playful him "I'm really sorry"

"For what?" I mutter, my tone laced with the confusion I feel

"For having to tell you this" he sighs, a sad sigh "You have to get married next week"

"Ar..Are you joking?" I choke out

This isn't how I said I'd react but I honestly don't care.

Is this some sick joke?

"Sadly, no" his shoulders slump

I burst out in laughter

He's going to tell me this is a joke..we'll laugh about it.

He stares quizzically at me.

"And who is my lucky husband-to-be?" I ask between laughs

"I need you to quit laughing, Ms. Hart" he admonishes seriously

"What would you have me do?" I say quietly with the same measure of seriousness

"Get serious. This is happening and it's no joke" he says with a stern look

"What are you saying?" my voice has now dropped to a dead whisper

I'm only just starting to believe this s**t

"Next week. You're getting married to Tony" he says empathetically

"Me? Getting Married to your a*****e son" I snort "You're joking right?"

This is getting more serious than I thought. How did he get this sick idea into his head?

"You have to" he shrugs apologetically "It's a family thing. No Trevalyan can be born outside the family. You have to be married to him until 2 months after the birth of my grandchild"

"What the f**k are you saying?" I push the chair back a bit to make space and jump out of the chair

"I'm sorry but if you don't, I'll have no choice but to make your life a living hell, take my grandson from you as soon as he's born" his green eyes turn a darker "If you haven't realized, I'm powerful enough to make sure you never have a moment of relief again"

All traces of the kind gentleman I laughed with, gone replaced with a man with a cold, almost heartless stare.

"You can't do that" I shriek and take a step back

Instinctively, I place my hand over my belly protectively.

"Oh, I can" he shakes his head proudly "And I will. You'll be surprised what I'd do to get what I want"

"No" I mutter, because that's the only thing I can manage.

I take another step back.

"Think hard and make the right decision, will you darling? It's just gonna be about 10 months" his eyes soften a bit.

"Oh and darl." he pauses as his eyes turn dark again "Don't mention this to anybody. I can't tell you what will happen if you do"

I shake my head, take one more step back before turning around and bolting to the door.

This can't be right.