Clary's POV :
I woke up and got ready to go to the company to check on the designs. I wore a green dress that reached my thighs and a black leather jacket with knee-length black boots and a black designer bag. I did my makeup, which was simple, and left my hair down, then went to my car and went to the company .
As soon as I walked into the building, my assistant Ashley came up to me and said,
"Hi Ms. Jones. " I looked at her and glared. " Oh, right Clary, "
"Hi Ashley, so where are the designs I need to approve of ?"
"They are in your office. "
"OK thank you Ashley " I said as I made my way to my office while she was following me. "Oh and Ashley, when my mom arrives send her into my office ", she nodded and made her way to her office, which is close to mine .
As soon as I entered my office, I found the designs and started examining them and approving the ones that I liked . Soon after, mom enters .
"Hi Clary ! How are the designs going so far ?"she said.
"They are going pretty fine mom ,you can take a look if you want !"I said and she started going at the designs until she stopped at one and asked me about them.
"This one is amazing ! Who designed this ?" She asked
"This was designed by the new girl. She is called Joy West. "
"OK, call her in. I want to meet her myself " she said. I picked up the phone and dialed Ashely. She picked up the second ring .
"Hey Ashley!"
"Hey, what can I do for you Clary? "
"I need you to tell Ms. Joy West that I want to see her please "
"OK, I will get her there as soon as possible " and with that she ended the call.
A few moments later, Joy entered. She was a beautiful young lady. She was shy and she kept playing with her fingers without looking at us .
"Hello Ms. West , how are you today ?"my mom said.
"I'm good thank you Mrs. Jones "she replied quietly.
"I assume you are the one who made these beautiful designs, am I right ?"mom said and Joy nodded after looking at them. "Well, I have to say you are very talented, honey . You know what ! You are a beautiful girl and you have a nice body too. Would you like to be the model for that design ?"
The girl was shocked as she looked at mom wide-eyed. Well, then he nodded eagerly at her ." Well, then it is settled. "
"Thank you Mrs. Jones "
"No need honey, after all, you deserve it "mom said, and she thanked her once more before leaving.
After a while, mom asked me .
"What about you, Clary ? Did you finish your designs ?"
"Not yet, but hopefully I will finish them today "I said, and she nodded.
After an hour, Ashley told me that Leon Black was outside and I told her to let him in . He walked in with a smirk until he saw mom and said,
"Hi Mrs. Jones ! How are you ?"
"I'm fine honey and you can call me Elizabeth or Ellie "she said with a smile." What about you, Leon, how are you ?"
"I'm good actually. I was here to pick up Clary to go show her my house and then we would go have lunch. "
"Oh OK dear, come on Clary, go with your fiancé " she said, while looking at me, while giving me a 'don't you dare say no to me ' look .
"But, mom, I have work to do " I said.
"You can do it later now. Go with your fiancé "she said in a demanding tone.
I sighed and said, "Fine."
I picked up my purse and my phone and went out with him in front of me. While walking, many girls stood ogling him while he smirked and winked at them .
Oh god he is such a manwhore and a player.
I entered the elevator angry and pressed the button harshly.
"Woah calm down. What's wrong ? Are you jealous ?" He said, smirking . I scoffed .
"Oh you wish . Listen to me clearly. I'm not jealous and this whole marriage thing is arranged, so it's better if you know and believe that I don't give a f**k about you or who you hook up with . But you don't get to practice your player ways in my company. This is a place of work, not some strip club where you go to pick up girls to hook up with . Ok ?" I said
He stood there shocked. I guess that no girl had ever talked to him in that way or rejected him . He put on a frown that was gone as soon as we stepped out of the elevator. We walked side by side to his car and he luckily stopped smirking and winking. When we reached the car, he opened the door for me and he got in and soon we started driving to our destination.
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After about 2 hours
So it has been 2 hours since he picked me up from the company and now we are sitting in a restaurant . He showed me his house, which was beautiful and it was not far from my company or Leon's company . And he introduced me to Ricky , his dog , who is very friendly and nice .
" May I get your order ? " The waiter said, looking at me with a smile.
" Yes, I will have one. Well-done steak ", Leon said.
" And what about the beautiful lady ? " He said, looking at me after he wrote down Leon's order.
" I will do the same" I said.
He nodded and walked away.
"OK, we have to talk about this marriage" I said, and he nodded.
"OK, first of all, I don't love you and obviously you don't love me either, so this would be just an act . And we will be living in the same house but different rooms . Don't expect anything from me as a wife and I don't expect anything from you as a husband. "
" Yes sure " he said,
"And I read the contract and it states that the deal is for one year. After that one year, we can decide whether to stay married or to get divorced and if we get divorced nothing will be compromised. You will get company from your father and my father will keep his company . So we will get a divorce after a year . "
"Good " he said as the food arrived. " But I have one condition. My mom , sisters and my brother know nothing about this arrangement, so in front of them we are engaged because we love each other ". I nodded.
We finished eating at the restaurant and then we went to Leon's company where he was working and I just sat there .
"Leon, I have to go "I said.
"Why ? Where are you going ?"
"I am going to go to the company to complete my work "I said.
" I have already sent someone to get your work so you can work here with me because I can't let my father know that you were here.
and I let you go alone "he said.
"OK fine " I said, defeated.
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After finishing work, it was already 10pm. I finished about 15 of my 30 designs .
Right now, I'm in Leon's car as he is going to drop me off at home . After a couple of minutes, we reached the huge gates and when the guard saw me he opened them, letting us enter. Leon stopped the car in front of the mansion.
"Thank you " I said before reaching for the door handle to get out.
"You're welcome " he said, "Oh and Clary, pack your things because you will be moving in tomorrow and I will send a driver to pick you up and help you get your bags to my house and be ready tomorrow by 6 pm. I will take you to pick up an engagement ring and then we will go to a restaurant for a date, OK ?"he said and I nodded, then went out of the car and entered the house to be greeted by Mrs. Taylor .
Mrs Taylor is our house maid but she is literally the woman who raised me, as my parents are always away and don't contact me or hardly have a conversation with me except when they need me for something like that of marriage. I really love Mrs Taylor. She is the mother I never had. I mean my own mother used to use me for her designs and she is letting me marry a stranger . Anyway, I hugged her back .
"Hey Clary, I heard what happened. I am so sorry to hear that, my dear. I don't know how they can do this to you.I mean you are their little girl." She said with tears in her eyes.
"It's OK, Mrs Taylor. This is who they are. They would do anything for the company, even if it is to sell their own daughter ", I said. "
Anyways, I need your help. I have to pack because I will be moving out into my fiancé's house tomorrow, so will you help me ?"
"Of course, dear, I will help you, but do you have to move out ? "
"Yes, because in the world we are a couple in love ,but don't worry, I will visit you often, OK ?"
She nodded and then we went up to my room. She got me bags where we packed all my things except for the clothes that I will be wearing tomorrow and the dress that I will be wearing for the date . We finished packing after an hour, then I went to bed. I blacked out as soon as I put my head on the pillow .