Training the Orphan

The plan

Kevin leaned in from across the dinner table and whispered, "Is he in shock?"

"I'm not sure," I replied with a frown.

Javian had been silent since the incident with his family this morning. On the jet back to Los Angeles, Kevin and I thought he needed space. We were now at one of his favorite restaurants and he was still quiet. It was starting to get me worried. Javian wasn't a talkative person, but he was never a quiet person either.

I got that it was wrong of me to lie to his family. What else could I have done? They were planning to marry the poor guy off before he got a breather. The worst part in all this was he would have let them because he loved them. It was wrong on so many levels. Both parties.

After what happened with Ameila, I had to come back to America. Javian needed me, and Kevin was of no use in getting him to listen to logic.

Seeing the way everything worked up close, I had to do something. It was either lie or watch him go down this path to destruction. Hence, the lying. It was the best choice. At the time.

Sure, Haley was no Ameila. She wasn't a complete psychotic b***h. In fact, Haley was one of my many friends in high school. She was kind of normal. If anyone could count the fact that she loved to have things done in a certain order. Some would use the word perfect to describe her and the way she did things. Then, yes, she was normal. But, she wasn't Javian's type.

Javian didn't need a nice, possessive girl, who he could bully. He bullied Haley all through high school, no doubt it would be the same once they were married. Javian needed someone who was going to challenge him. This was why in the past he dated mature women. Besides, Haley was the one friend I had who didn't laugh at Kevin's jokes. Kevin was always the life of the party. Yet, once he was around Haley, he looked bored to his bones.

It was often painful to watch. The only reason why we were friends all through high school was because she was good at that. In fact, she was good at anything she put her mind to. And, this was another reason she couldn't be Javian's wife. She would make sure she was the perfect wife for him. At the end of the day, he would only hurt her.

Therefore, Haley and Javian were on two different levels. He was a bulldozer and she was a cottage. They didn't fit together. Once the two collided only one man would remain standing. It would be Javian.

Shit like that was what caused adultery and marriages drowning in misery. If it was anyone else, I would have been okay with what I did. Even though my lying was for a good cause, this was Javian. Which meant it was bad.

Like other elite kids, he was an asshole. Still, there was also a tender side to him that no one knew well. He believed in charity, world peace, and saving the planet. I was sure if anyone asked him outright he would deny it.

Most of all, he was a family man. His grandfather was his hero, and his grandmother still thought of him as her little sunshine. His direct parents were no exception. Although the males were sterner than the females, love was not something he was short of. Therefore, honesty was something his family lived by. No matter what, he was taught to tell the truth. And, he was an honest man. People called him blunt, others preferred to use the term asshole. Either way, he was honest.

"I can't believe this," Javian finally said.

Kevin and I shared a glance. Relief washed over me. It all vanished at his next words.

"I should call them and end this now." Javian buried his hands in this pocket. Without a doubt, we knew he was fishing for his phone.

Kevin sprinted into action. He jumped to his feet and grabbed the cellphone before Javian could undo all our hard work.

Javian glared at his friend. "Give it back."

Kevin clasped the phone in his hand behind his back. Javian scoffed and glanced out the window. We thought it was over, that Javian was surrendering. We were wrong. Javian swiveled around and punched Kevin in the stomach. The injured man dropped to his knees and released the device.

This was the part where if this was any other couple, I could have had some sympathy for any of the males. However, it wasn't. These two were used to fighting to get their way. It was annoying. Being the female in the group, I was the one who often had to have a level head. Therefore, I took this moment to relax and come up with a strategic plan.

Javian stepped over Kevin to get to the phone which was on the floor. Kevin had other plans. He pushed through his pain and grabbed Javian's leg, pulling him face-down to the floor. Grateful, the table didn't get hurt by their stupidity, I poured myself some complimentary wine. Javian managed to save his face from the impact of the fall.

"What's good is you confessing to your family going to do?" Kevin gritted out.

Javian knocked his heel against Kevin's fingers which were still around his ankle. Kevin cried out in pain and let go of Javian. He held his fingers to his chest.

Javian pushed up to his knees with, "My family will know the truth."

Before Javian could get a chance to stand, Kevin jumped and hugged him from behind. They both once again fell to the floor. Being the strategist Javian was trained to be, he figured out an alternative move. He leaned forward.

I realized Javian's getaway plan and intervened. "Yes, they'll know the truth, but what will happen next? Do you think they'll give you a break from this mess? Do you think they'll pat you on the back? No, they'll force you to marry Haley as planned. Is that what you want? To marry Haley and have perfect barbie babies?"

Javian froze. I was grateful. If Javian had completed his attack in bucking Kevin, it would dismantle the guy's face. I did not come back here to dress Kevin's messed-up face. I came here to help, to prevent the unwanted.

Two lines pinched between Javian's brows. "I don't want to marry perfect barbie Haley, but I didn't want to lie either. You know my family. They're going to want to know who this girl is."

He was right. The Webster family knew everyone. If they didn't, they made it their priority to do so.

"What if we make the lie a reality?" I questioned. The wheels were churning in my head.

If we had a real girlfriend, the Websters would be satisfied. We would get the time to make a better plan to help Javian with his family.

"What do you mean?" Kevin asked, still holding onto Javian.

I rotated my wine glass, the red contents twirled with the movement. "We find Javian a real girlfriend."

Both males found the joke in my statement. A joke I could not see. Laughter erupted in the room.

"This is California, babe," Kevin got out between laughs. "Where are we going to find a true orphan?"

True orphan? Yes, we were living in L.A. What was the big deal? There were indeed a lot of actors here. Even those who weren't doing it as a profession. Once a guy like Javian flashed a couple of dollars around, girls would be anything they asked. Regardless of the distasteful factor, there were women out there, who were real hard workers. I refused to believe all financially inadequate women were rich boy's puppets. There had to be at least one woman, who strived to make an honest bread and didn't give a rat's ass about what a rich guy thought. One. I was going to find that woman, hoping she was single.

"Stop freaking laughing," I snapped. "There are good women out there."

These assholes were too sexist to see that.

Javian stopped laughing and arched a brow. "Oh, really? Tell me, Vanessa. Where exactly are we going to find an orphan girl, who doesn't have a track record, who's single, independent, and who's so unfortunate to have both parents dead? Does such a person exist?"

I gulped down my wine. There was no way I was going down without a fight. My plan was to give Javian time and that was what was going to happen. He was going to get all the time he freaking needed.

"We can find one," I persisted. "Not because you haven't met one, it doesn't mean they don't exist. There are a lot of games that went through the system. We—"

"Majority, if not all of those girls have gone to a juvenile detention or multiple foster homes," Javian intervened. "All those girls are emotionally damaged. I don't need that in my life right now. This entire situation has already given me psychological damage."

I rested my wine glass on the table. "No, you know what will cause you psychological damage? It's marrying a perfect wife. It's marrying Haley."

He sighed and tried to get up but Kevin wouldn't release him. He elbowed Kevin in the side. Twice.

Kevin grunted with, "f**k!"

His hand loosened and Javian pushed him and made an attempt to get up again. Kevin recovered fast and wrapped his arm around Javian from behind. Again. Both men fell back on the floor with grunts.

I crossed my feet at the ankles, trying to figure out a way to help with the marriage thing. "I can make a few calls. Daddy knows a lot of people. We can find the right girl if we look hard enough. Once we find her, the rest would be easy. We'll hire her. If she's in need of financial support, then the money plays a vital role in this plan. Your family will do a background check-up and find the truth in the lie. They won't suspect a thing. This will buy you enough time to either convince your family you are capable of running a business without a sidekick or you can find a girl you want to get married to. Either way, in the end, everyone wins."

Both males had stopped struggling to stare at me. There was a hint of sympathy in Kevin's eyes. Javian, on the other hand, stared at me with admiration. It was then I realized I was getting too obsessed over this stuff. The fact, Kevin noticed it churned my insides.

I sat back in my seat.

"Okay," Javian agreed. "I guess, it wouldn't hurt to try. Where would we start looking for an orphan woman who's been through the system unscathed?"

Silence filled the room.

Darn it!

"I know someone," came from a voice being me.