Chapter 1

2834 Words
I immediately know something is very wrong the moment I walk into Harry’s office. His face is buried in his hands. I put his coffee down in front of him, when he looks up his old blue eyes are sad and worried. I’ve known him long enough to know it’s big. “Thank you my dear.” He says taking a sip. I sit down opposite his desk, I’ve always liked the way it’s been decorated, it’s warm and inviting, his desk is in the middle of the room and two chairs are neatly placed in front of it with a view of our beautiful city to look out into, he has an enormous bookshelf to the right and a large sofa to the right. His book collection includes everything from mysteries to romance novels as well as encyclopaedia’s. I take a sip of own coffee before I ask, “What’s going on?” “Let’s wait for Michael so I can tell both of you together.” He says and I nod. Michael’s coming. He makes me nervous and I’m not generally nervous around men. Just him. Maybe it’s because we’ve known each other for so long then lost touch for years and now we barely talk or that he was the first guy I ever kissed. Our parents were good friends, after mine died Harry and his wife Sarah became my family, I was alone and scared and they gave me something else to focus on. I’ll always be grateful for that. Harry’s office door opens a few seconds later and Michael walks in, he is tall and broad with the kind of body a woman would do anything to touch. His eyes are deep blue and if you look at his hair in the sun his soft curls are almost golden. From the few times we’ve spoken after we’ve both grown up he seems to have grown to be a good man, despite the issues with his long term girlfriend. Now ex-girlfriend. “Hi dad.” He greets his father then turns to me, “So nice to see you again Jennifer, hope you are well?” He flashes me a smile. I just about melt. He’s always had an effect on me. It’s strange. “I am thank you.” I reply politely. I am only human and I’m not blind. Michael is a very gorgeous man. “Michael. Jennifer. Thank you both for coming in so early.” Harry says after Michael sits down in the chair next to mine. “Of course dad. You had me worried. What is so urgent?” Michael asks. I’m curious about that too, when Harry called me an hour ago my mind raced. What could be so bad we had to meet at 5am? “It’s about our company. John Warner is doing everything in his power to destroy what we’ve built.” I sneak a glance in Michael’s direction for a second and I see his expression change from worry to anger. John Warner is the man Michael’s ex left him for. Sarah is not a fan of Lilly’s, she says Lilly wasn’t good for him and that he wasn’t the same after they got together, and she was overjoyed when she found out that they’d broken up. She also mentioned that she’s been seeing a glimpse of her son returning to how he used to be. “How?” Michael asks and from what I can tell, he is trying to control his anger. “He’s been making offers to some of my best people, I only found out about what he’s doing because a few of them came and told me.” “But that’s good, isn’t it? It means they won’t leave you.” I say. I know how much Harry means to his employees. He is an incredible boss and treats everyone with respect, regardless of their job titles. “The shareholders want me out. They think I spend too much money on our employees and I’m afraid they’ll vote me out as soon as they can. I’ve been hearing whispers about a hostile takeover.” Harry confesses and I realize he’s asking us for advice. I don’t know what to say. I can’t imagine them doing this to him. Harry is good to everyone he meets. “Just fire them.” Michael says. I know his anger towards John is fueling this outburst because he also cares about the employees. “It’s not that simple son, he has already bought out some of our biggest suppliers, and we’re already losing money, not to mention the legal battles that will surely follow if I fire them. We’ll keep losing money and everyone will suffer.” “What other options are there?” Michael wants to know. “All I know is that we need money to buy out our shareholders and to keep us running until we can get John off our backs.” “Can’t we get a loan?” Michael suggests. “I’ve been trying for days, seems that John has managed to block all my attempts. I don’t know what else to do.” He says putting his hands on either side of his head. My heart is breaking. Why hasn’t he told me sooner? “This is my fault.” Michael whispers. I feel like slapping him. It’s not his fault she cheated on him with John. “No, son it’s not.” Harry reassures him. “I agree.” I know it’s not my place to get involved but from what Sarah has told me, Lilly is a real b***h and very well versed in the art of manipulation. She could have gotten John to do all of this out of spite or something. Michael’s looks at me surprised. I should have kept my big mouth shut. “Why else would he be going after you than to hurt me?” Michael says turning back to his father. “Whatever his reasons are it is not your fault.” Harry tells him. The pain in Michael’s eyes makes me so sad and angry; I need to get off of this topic before I say something that could get me into trouble. “How much do you need Harry?” I ask. “Twenty four million in the next four months.” “Okay, I’ll just give you the money.” I say. Michael turns to me shocked, his eyes wide. “That’s not why I called you.” Harry says softly. “I know that.” I reply. When Harry looks at me I know he doesn’t see a pay check. “I can’t Jenny.” Harry says shaking his head. “Come on Harry, let me help you please. I’ve got just over six million in the bank and you know about the trust.” Michael looks lost, he is frowning at me. Harry must not have told him anything about just how ridiculously rich I am. “Yes, I do. But I also know that the trust pays out just a little over a million a year and my dear we don’t have years, only months.” “No but if I get married I’ll get everything at once and that’s roughly about thirty five million. It’s more than enough.” I reply. I don’t need to work for a living but I like it here. I love helping Harry and he has taught me so much. “Would your boyfriend even agree to that?” Michael asks staring out the window. “Uhm… I don’t have a boyfriend.” I blush. Dammit! Harry smiles briefly at my uncomfortable shift but he recovers quickly then asks, “Who would you marry then?” “I don’t know, we could pay someone, we would be getting more than enough.” I shrug. “No!” This will not happen!” Harry shouts slamming his hands on the table, Michael and I jump, it’s very rare to see Harry angry. “I will not allow you to go into a marriage with a filthy gold digger, I will find another way.” He says more softly. “Harry, please let me do this. You are family and you do whatever it takes for family.” I plead. “So you are willing to do marry and pay some stranger, just to help us?” Michael asks astonished. Am I? “Yes.” I tell him. I would do just about anything, this is my home. “I’ll marry you. That way you’ll be safe and you’ll get to keep some of your money until we can pay you back.” Michael says. I don’t care about money. Oh wait, what did he just say? “No you can’t.” I say panic flooding through me. I can handle a stranger. Not him. “Why not? I’m single. I might not be the best looking guy in the world but you’ll be safe with me, I promise.” “It’s got nothing to do with the way you look, you’re fine.” I say without thinking, Michael grins and there I’ve just gone and put my foot in my mouth again. I try to talk him out of it by saying, “It has to be a legit marriage, meaning we have to live together and actually make Sonny, my trust lawyer believe we’re in love or we could end up in jail for fraud.” “That’s not a problem, I can move in today, besides I doubt anyone would question it if I tell them I’m in love with you.” He smirks. My heart beat increases and my jaw drops as I turn to Harry. “Harry, can you please say something?” I beg. Say no. Say we can find someone else. “If you really want to go through with this then I think it’s best you do it with Michael, this way at least you won’t be forced to do anything with anyone that you don’t want to.” Harry replies. He has made up his mind. No changing it. “Then it’s settled. Looks like we’re getting married.” Michael smiles. I’m speechless. Married to Michael Wellington? Harry gets up and instinctively I do too. He walks over to me and hugs me. He holds me at arm’s length and says, “Now, you’ve always been like a daughter to me, so now it just will be official.” “Great, I have to head to gym, but I’ll come by later to get your address.” Michael tells me, even in my shock I have no problem thinking about those muscles of his flexing as he works out. I blush. Get it together, Jennifer. “Thank you for coming son.” Harry smiles. “Anytime dad.” “Jennifer.” He nods. “Bye.” I reply still frozen in place. “Jenny?” Harry calls me back to the present, “Are you okay?” “Yes I’m fine.” “Maybe, you should take the rest of the day off.” He says frowning. “No, I have too much to do.” I say recovering myself, “I’ll go and see Sonny this afternoon.” “Thank you my dear. I mean it.” Harry says. He must feel so helpless. “You’ve done so much for me, taking care of me when I needed you. Now it’s my turn.” A lump forms in my throat and I’m going to lose it. I excuse myself and get busy. It’s still early, very early but I start on what I can before the people I want to speak to arrives at their offices. The rest of the morning goes by in a blur, around lunch time I hear the woman in the office start whispering excitedly. I know what that means. I look up just in time to see Michael strolling down the hall. He looks good in his suite. He always looks good. “Hey.” He smiles. “Hi. You’re dad’s not in at the moment he went down to the factory.” I tell him. “Actually I’m here to see you.” He replies frowning a little. “Oh right, sorry it’s been a day.” I shrug. I scribble my address down on a piece of paper and hand it to him, he takes the paper for me and as our fingers touch, and I feel an exhilarating shiver run through me. I look up at him, his eyes focused on only me. What was that? I can’t explain it but it feels familiar. “Thanks.” He whispers his eyes still not leaving me. He shakes his head slightly, and then says, “I’ll be there around seven, just have to pick up my things from my parents’ house.” “No problem.” I manage a polite smile. I haven’t been to the Wellington mansion since Michael started living there after his break up. I didn’t want to impose, mostly just met Sarah at her club or the nearest coffee shop. “See you later.” He says and turns, catching half the office gaping at him, “Ladies.” He nods. It is happening, no turning back now. How am I going to make Sonny believe that I’m in love when I’ve never been? I focus on my work, John’s interference has really caused some damaged, I’ve spend most of the day calling anyone I can to try and convince them not to pull their contracts with us. Most of them agreed to give us a few months because they like Harry and the way he conducts business. It’s a relief. I call my parents company directly from the cell phone. Since they died Josh has really stepped up he was my father’s right hand. “Jennifer. How are you?” “Good thank you Mr Peck. Do you have a moment?” “For you I have all the time in the world.” “I’m calling about John Warner.” I tell him. Not sure how this is going to go I haven’t spoken to him in a while. “Don’t worry about that man; nothing he says will ever make me cancel any contracts with Wellington’s.” I sigh. “Thank you Mr Peck. I appreciate it.” “You let me know if there is anything I can do to help you.” “I will. Thank you.” I reply. My dad left the right person in charge of his company. Harry returns to the office around 2pm. I give him a breakdown of the conversations I had, he relaxes a little. “I’ll leave around four, Sonny can see me then.” I tell him. “Are you sure about this?” Harry asks me again. “I am. Please don’t worry.” I assure him. “Did Michael see you?” “Yeah, he came by earlier.” I reply. “Call me if you need anything.” He says. I know he is very serious. “Will do. See you tomorrow.” I leave his office and some of my colleagues eye me suspicious, it’s not the first time Michael’s come by maybe they sense something’s changed. I’m relieved when I get outside. The staring and whispering is making me very uncomfortable. I don’t even know what I’ll say if someone asks me directly.
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