Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 60864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Derek’s eyes slid back and forth like he was looking around the room, then came back to me and he nodded.
“Yeah. Come on in.”
I stepped the rest of the way into the room and walked toward the bed. I was trying hard not to notice that he had no shirt on and the cute way his tousled hair was falling across his forehead, still damp from his shower.
Gandalf lay on the biggest dog bed I had ever seen up against the wall and didn’t even lift his head when I walked into the room. Either I had already won over the giant dog and he didn’t think I was any sort of threat, or he really was the worst guard dog ever.
Derek closed his book as I got closer. I couldn’t see what the title was, but there was something about him sitting there reading an actual book, with pages and creases and a bookmark tucked in the back, that I really liked.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Can’t sleep.”
He gestured at the foot of his bed. “Have a seat.”
I plopped down at the foot of his bed and let out a long breath. He didn’t say anything else, but the look on his face was inviting. He was giving me space to talk if I wanted to, and the open expression had the words bubbling up in my throat.
“I told you I’m trying to get away from my family,” I started. “Well, that’s what I’ve been doing for a while now. I didn’t grow up anywhere around here. In fact, I’m really far from home. If I can even really think of it as home anymore. I was born in Rhode Island to a really wealthy family and grew up with pretty much anything and everything.
“I have a twin, a brother named Jack. He has always fit in a lot better with the family and the rest of high society than I have. Not that I was the major black sheep or anything. I just didn’t quite subscribe to it the same way. A big part of that is how my parents like to throw their power around. They know their wealth gives them a certain amount of sway, and they are always looking for ways to get more.
“To them, having as much control, money, and influence as possible is the most important thing in life. They will do anything to get it. Including a lot of things I didn’t want any part of. To them, anything is fair game if it gives them the ability to climb a little higher on the social ladder.
“I’ll admit, I just kind of let it happen around me for a long time. Some of what they did made me uncomfortable, but it was never illegal or totally morally repulsive. So, I turned a blind eye and just kept going about my life. In my mind, it wasn’t like there was anything I could really do about it. It wasn’t like I could stop them. Even when I did say something to them, it wasn’t like they listened or cared what I had to say.”
“But I’m guessing something changed,” Derek said.
I nodded. “It did. About a year ago, my parents were working on an important business deal. It would tremendously grow their business, essentially instantly increase their wealth, and give them major leverage. It was something they really wanted, but they were having trouble securing it. There were issues that needed to be worked out, and my parents realized they were going to need to make their offer more appealing.
“So, they found what the other people wanted and offered what they thought was a commodity they could easily control. Me.”
Derek stared at me, looking both shocked and confused. “Wait… what do you mean?”
“The people on the other half of the business deal were a family mine had known for years. In fact, their son, Lincoln, was one of my good friends. We’d grown up together and knew each other really well. Which they thought meant neither one of us would mind when they arranged for us to get married,” I said.
“Get married?” Derek asked. “They were trying to arrange a marriage for you?”
I nodded. “Yep. That is the basic idea. Lincoln is the only child in his family, and his parents were looking ahead to the future of the company. They didn’t like the idea of him taking over without the stability of being married and a future generation ahead. But Lincoln didn’t have any prospects for marriage, and they were starting to get uncomfortable with the whole situation.
“So, they decided that I was the perfect solution. If Lincoln and I got married, we would merge the companies, which would offer both sides even more benefits. And both families could feel confident in the future of the business. Considering my brother was already poised to take over the company, they saw this as me doing my part to further secure the financial and influential strength of the family and the business.”