My One True Love

Chapter Thirteen: Awkward

WILLIAM...

At exactly 5pm I was knocking on Adrianna's door again. She opened the door almost instantly and smiled. "I am ready," she said confidently and I gave her a kiss on the cheek before leading her to the car. She smiled when I opened her door for her and then went to my side of the car.

"I see you decided to change your clothes," I commented as I inevitably saw she was now wearing a tight red dress.

"Yes, I accidently spilled some food on my blouse and I could not go to your parents' dinner with a stain," she said with a slight laugh and I smiled. The drive to my house took longer than expected and we arrived with 15 minutes to spare.

I opened Adrianna's door and she waited patiently for me to do so. "Welcome to the royal house," I said and Adrianna stared at the building with wide eyes. I had never taken her there because of obvious reasons, I didn't think it would be appropriate nor that she would feel comfortable in an environment where she was not welcomed.

"It is magnificent, William," she said as she studied the architecture before her. By profession, she was a designer, an interior designer to be more precise so things like decorations and patterns really caught her attention.

Someone opened the front door for us and Adrianna gasped when she saw the inside of the castle. "It is truly something, much different than what you see in pictures," she remarked as she looked through each room we passed. We reached the dining area of the castle where my mother was setting the table.

"Hello Mum," I said and she turned to look at us with a smile.

"Hello son," she said as she walked up to me and hugged me. Due to her short height she had to stand on her tippy toes to do so. When she pulled away she looked at Adrianna and masked her surprise, "it is nice to see you again, Miss Smith," said my mother more formally now. "I see that William did not tell you it was more of a casual dinner," she joked and I laughed nervously.

"Oh he did," responded Adrianna sounding confused as she looked at her clothes. The queen didn't say anything, instead she just turned to the kitchen and disappeared inside. I followed my mother while Adrianna decided to stay back and sit down at the table.

Besides my mother, the kitchen was otherwise empty, she had probably sent all of the workers home for the day. "I wanted to cook all by myself," said my mother as if reading my thoughts.

I chuckled and walked closer to her, whatever she was cooking smelled delicious. "I am sure it will be delicious. What did you make?" I asked and she turned to me.

"I made your favorite pasta along with some seasoned chicken to which I will add this sauce," she said as she showed me all of the things on the stove. I smiled and offered to help her but she brushed me off and told me to join Adrianna at the table.

I frowned and looked at the table, some things still needed to be set. So I took the utensils and the cloth napkins over to the table. Adrianna looked surprised when she saw me finish setting the table. "You have workers that do that do you not?" she asked and I perceived her comment to be offensive and arrogant.

"Yes but they are all at home enjoying dinner with their families," I responded and it sounded a bit harsh but I didn't care. Adrianna was about to respond when my father walked into the room. "Hello again, father," I said and he nodded at me as he walked towards us.

"Hello son, and who is this lovely lady?" he asked surprised. My father had never met Adrianna properly, not even at social events, it seemed like he avoided her. Adrianna stood up uncomfortably and stood beside me as I introduced her.

"This is Adrianna Smith, my girlfriend. Adrianna, this is my father, King Dan Johns," I said calmly and my father extended his hand.

"It is a pleasure to meet you," said Adrianna as she shook my father's hand with a smile.

"The pleasure is mine," responded my father before looking around the room for my mother.

"She is in the kitchen finishing up," I said and he nodded and thanked me before disappearing inside the kitchen.

"Your parents are not what I expected," said Adrianna uncomfortably.

I raised an eyebrow and turned to face her, "what does that mean?"

"Well I mean, they do not act like royalty. Why would your mother, the queen, be cooking dinner if she has workers that do that? And why does your father, a king, have his own business if he does not need the money to live? I find it odd if I do say so," she said and took a sip of champagne that was in her glass.

I only looked at her incuriously, how could she be so dismissive and inconsiderate? "My mother wanted to make this dinner special and you do not know what you are talking about when you talk about the family business," I said seriously and Adrianna stared at me in shock, she hadn't expected me to be so defensive.

"Dinner is ready," said my mother as she walked out of the kitchen carrying two plates filled with food and my father trailed after her carrying another two plates as well. My mother set our plates on the table before walking over to her place next to my father who was sitting across from us. I expected Adrianna to make a snotty remark about how my father should be sitting at the head of the table because he was king and all but thankfully she kept her comments to herself.

"So how is it?" asked my mother excitedly as she looked at each one of us. She hadn't cooked a meal in years, the last time she did was when I turned of age.

My father was the first to comment, "dinner is marvelous sweetheart." Then he placed a kiss on her cheek.

"It is just like I remembered," I said and my mother smiled at me endearingly. The only one who hadn't said anything had her head down as she looked at her plate and played with her food. She was unbelievable.

When Adrianna realized we were looking at her expectantly she cleared her throat and sat a little straighter. "Well I find that the chicken is a bit dry," she said dryly and I gently nudged her leg as I saw my father's shock and my mother's face fall. "But the pasta is good," said Adrianna quickly but it was too late, the damage had already been done.

An uncomfortable silence settled over us and then my mother spoke up, "I never did get to hear about your trip to New York, son. How was it? What was your first time out of the continent like?" she asked filled with curiosity and proudness in her voice.

I took another bite of my dinner before responding. I hadn't said much about my trip to any of them except Christopher. All they knew was that I had gone to New York and then to Chicago to talk to the advisor. I cleared my throat and cleaned my mouth with the napkin before speaking. "Well it was an interesting experience, I really enjoyed it and I am happy I got the opportunity to participate on some business decisions first-hand. I even met your old chauffer, Alfred."

My mother smiled and continued, "and what did you think of the city?"

I smiled, "it was crowded and noisy-," I began but was interrupted by my girlfriend.

"Ew, how awful, no wonder you returned acting so improper," she said and laughed but none of us joined her in her 'humorous' comment and her laugh quickly faded.

"As I was saying, it was noisy and different but I really enjoyed being a normal person for a few days. I even went to see the New York Orchestra perform in Chicago," I commented and now my father looked surprised.

"Really? And how was it?" asked my mother happily.

"It was wonderful, the orchestra is really composed of great players and they have a great director that has a lot of interesting stories to tell," I said and Adrianna studied me next to me.

"And how do you know that? Was that part of the repertoire?" she asked curiously. My parents looked confused too.

"I actually met one of the members of the orchestra on my way to New York and she invited me to the concert and I met some of the other musicians thanks to her," I said carefully and I could feel Adrianna glaring daggers at me. My parents on the other hand looked shocked.

"What instrument does she play?" asked my mother.

"The oboe, she is a very skillful player and it turns out she is also a book editor and reporter," I continued.

"Wow you really got to know her," remarked Adrianna coldly as she turned to her plate.

"She sounds like a wonderful woman maybe one day we could invite the orchestra to play in one of our galas," said my father as he finished eating and my mother nodded her head eagerly.

"Yes! That would be a wonderful idea," she said excitedly, "maybe in January in our New Year's ball that we host each year.

"I think it could be done," I said and in the inside I really hoped there was a possibility that could happen. Adrianna had stayed quiet and hadn't finished her food when all of us were done. I got up and helped my mother clear the table of dirty plates and came back from the kitchen carrying dessert that was a coconut cream pie. Adrianna had refused a slice, claiming she wasn't very hungry. I was going to have a very serious talk with her on our way to her house.

"And why did you decide to host this dinner?" I asked as I took a bite of my pie.

My parents looked at each other and smiled before turning back to us. "Well your father has an announcement to make."

My father nodded and stood up, "two, actually." I stopped eating to look at him and Adrianna turned her attention away from her phone for once. She hadn't looked away from the screen since my mother had mentioned dessert. "I have decided to step down from the company," my father said and I stared at him with wide eyes. "You, my son, will now be the official CEO of our company from now and on. I want to make that announcement on our next board meeting next week. Now my second announcement is the reason why I think it is time I step down." My father looked at me directly and smiled. "I have received word that the investors are looking forward and actually anxious to open a new industrial park in the American continent, more specifically, New York." My mother and I clapped excitedly and after Adrianna saw us she did the same with a forced smile.

"Congratulations son, you have earned it," said my father as he raised his glass in a toast and my mother followed along. I smiled at both of them and thanked them.

We finished dessert talking about other subjects like sports and then the night ended. I helped my mother place the dishes on the sink but she had insisted I didn't wash them. They walked us to the door where Adrianna said goodbye and walked over to my car. I stayed a bit longer as I thanked my father again and said goodbye to my mother since I was planning on staying at Christopher's place that night.

"Do not forget to tell your friend about the gala, son," said my mother with a smile.

"You were serious?" I asked with a smile and she nodded. "Well, I will be sure to tell her as soon as I can." My parents nodded and my father walked over to me.

"I know it might not be the best time to say this but due to the expansion in the American continent we are going to need you to fly there to oversee the preparations and construction right away. Now if you would like your mother and I could fly there the day after Christmas to spend it with you and also New Years because the project would take approximately until the New Year's Gala," explained my father and I nodded.

"I understand and I look forward to going," I said and he nodded. I walked over to the car where Adrianna was waiting for me inside. I got in and started to drive away.

"Why were you acting so rude tonight?" I asked in annoyance and Adrianna huffed and turned away from the window to look at me.

"I was not acting rude, I was giving my honest opinion on every subject. I am sorry if it is not what you wanted to hear but a princess and a queen should always speak her mind," she responded coldly and I couldn't help but think; But you're not princess yet. Instead I stayed quiet.

"What does that CEO position mean? More trips out of town?" asked Adrianna, she still sounded mad.

I sighed, I really didn't want to do this right now. "Yes, in fact I have to leave to go to New York and oversee a project there, right away," I said and she shook her head and murmured, unbelievable under her breath. "You could come with me, you know," I said trying to make it up to her.

She looked at me and shook her head, "No thank you, I am happy with my life here and I do not want to go to that crowded and noisy environment you spoke of. Besides, I have things to do," she said sharply and I flinched. I wasn't going to beg for her to come with me so I didn't push the subject and we spent the rest of the ride in silence.

When we reached her house I opened the door for her and she stepped out of the car without saying anything until we were at her front door. But the only thing she said was; "Good night, William," and then she stepped inside and slammed the door behind her. I sighed and waved it off, she would get over it and hopefully she grew out of her obnoxious behavior of supremacy. I got back into my car and sat there with my phone in hand. I knew she would see the text in the morning but I wanted to ask her before I forgot.

Hello Adalet, I told my parents about your wonderful concert in Chicago and they were wondering if the New York Orchestra would be available to play at my family's annual New Year Gala in January. I will send you all the details and please let me know as soon as possible so we can set everything up.

Then I put my phone away and started driving to Christopher's house, I planned on inviting him to my trip to New York, he was an employee at my company, after all. I also needed to tell him everything and I needed to hear his opinion on what was going on right now. I sighed, it was going to be a long night.