Blood Ties

Chapter 2

Ethan

The bustle of New York always gave me mixed feelings; I hated it whenever I was in town, but I missed it whenever I was away, and I’d been away for a long time. When Charles Carlisle approached me with his proposal, I was… amused, to say the least. The man had a reputation of running his family like a military camp, but an arranged marriage had no place in the twenty-first century. Then again, only a fool would turn their nose up at a catch as big as Carlisle Holdings, especially when it’s dropped on their lap. I fully expected his daughter to call his bluff or at least try to resist, so you can imagine my surprise when she reached out to me, requesting a meeting.

The car pulled up at the Caelum, my family’s restaurant, and I couldn’t help but swell with pride. It was moments like this that kept me up at night, finding ways to improve and expand my family’s empire. And now, I was about to add a star to my crown, possibly the biggest in my entire career.

“Good evening, Mr. Donovan.” The maitre’d met me at the door. “It’s good to have you back.” “Thank you, Giovanni.”

“Your guest arrived fifteen minutes ago.” He offered as he led me to my table.

I raised a brow. I mean, I didn’t expect her to come late, but fifteen minutes early? Was she trying to make an impression?

My eyes fell on the lone woman on the table at the back before we even got to her. She had her hair bundled in a bun on top of her head, revealing a smooth neck. The single candle on the table illuminated a pretty face, that could have been prettier if she didn't look as if she was about to meet her executioner. What I wouldn’t give to know what was going through her head as she stared at a spot on the table. She was more beautiful than in the pictures, like a living, breathing doll.

“She didn’t want anything.” Giovanni said before I could ask.

I fixed a smile on my face and added the perfect amount of charm. “Ms. Carlisle.”

She looked up at me with hard eyes and a bland smile.

I guess we’re off to a good start.

“I’ll have the usual, Giovanni.” I said as I sat. “What about you, Ms. Carlisle?”

“You can call me Eve. And I don’t want anything, thank you.”

“Nonsense, Gold Wood is renowned for her cuisine. You have to try something.”

“I have, but I’ll pass tonight.”

“Come on-”

“I've already said no once, Mr. Donovan, I’ll say it as many times as I have to. Then again, I shouldn’t have to.” Her face remained passive, her tone light, and it somehow made the statement more biting.

Giovanni was clearly uncomfortable with the exchange. “I’ll have a bottle of white wine.” I said to him, “Bring two glasses.”

“Right away, sir.”

He all but ran away.

“I’m sorry for your loss.” I said to her, “It can’t be easy losing a loved one.”

“Thank you. I’m here to talk about my inheritance.”

Up close, I could see that her eyes were actually a darker shade of brown and not black as I’d thought. “Yes, that. I was hoping-”

“I don’t want to get married.”

I’d heard a lot about Evelyn Carlisle, especially when I found out her father’s conditions forgiving me his company. Nothing prepared me for the woman who sat across from me now. I chose my words carefully. “I understand that this arrangement could pose challenges for you and your boyfriend. We could come to some sort of agreement-”

“You’re not listening, I don’t want to get married, Mr. Donovan. I have no intentions of doing so, and I hate that I even have to have this conversation in the first place. You should do the honorable thing and back out of this.”

I sat back in my chair and ran my tongue over my teeth. She’s a Carlisle, clearly used to having her way all the time, why else would she believe she could just ask me to back away from this and I would.

“Like, I was saying,” I tried again, “I’m sure we could come up with an arrangement that would be beneficial for the both of us. I see no reason why we have interrupt our lives-”

“Carlisle Holdings is mine.” She said with so much force that I forgot to be angry at being interrupted again. It was her first show of any real emotion since I got here. She struggled to compose herself, but I’d seen through the crack in her armor. “It’s mine,” she said again, seemingly calmer now. “This whole arrangement is unnecessary. Besides, you don’t need it; your family is doing pretty well. My father was terribly ill before he passed, he wasn’t in the best state of mind in his last days.”

I shrugged, “He seemed pretty fine to me in the months we spent working on this.”

Blood drained from her already pale face. “M- months?”

“Of course. Carlisle Holdings is a whole mountain, you didn’t think it’d be easy to transfer ownership, did you? We had to go over every detail with a fine comb. I couldn’t have anyone fighting me on this. Safe to say, this deal is airtight.” Normally, I was a reasonable man, but something about this woman made me enjoy putting her in her place. I would have gone further if she didn’t look like she was about to faint. I didn’t want the spectacle. “So,” I leaned forward, “about that arrangement I was talking about earlier.”

“I’m not going to marry you.” She said through clenched teeth, vibrating with barely controlled fury.

“Then you’ll lose everything altogether. Come on, you’re a reasonable woman; I know this is less than ideal but it seems like you only have one choice here.”

I watched as her back snapped straight, as her face went back to the blank slate it was, no one would have believed she was near tears just a few seconds ago. Quite remarkable.

“That’s where you’re wrong.” She said, before leaving the table, shoving Giovanni aside as he approached.

“Will she be coming back?” He asked when he got to me.

“I don’t think so. But I’m starved.” I said with a small smile.

“Of course, sir. I’ll be back shortly.”

I sat back and ran through the recent events in my head. Evelyn Carlisle was said to be an agreeable woman. I didn’t exactly approve of the way Charles ran his ship but I was assured his daughter wouldn’t be a problem. If Eve didn’t agree to marry me, I would lose Carlisle Holdings, and I simply couldn’t let that happen.

But why was she fighting this? Was there a man she was seeing? Was that it? Did she really believe he was worth everything she stood to lose?

Women.

It was amusing to think about.

By the time my food came, I’d decided on how to deal with her. Everyone had a price, all I needed to do was find out who this mystery man was and buy him out, then watch her dance.

At least no one would say I didn’t earn Carlisle Holdings in the end.