Ella and Leon walked to a nearby restaurant, Leon holding her hand the entire way, despite the number of times she tried to pull away. They sat down at a table with their order of chicken soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.
"Did you really have to hold my hand as we walked through the lobby?" Ella asked as she dipped her sandwich in the soup.
"Of course; it's one of the easiest ways to spread news of our relationship." Leon followed her method, though he'd never dipped his sandwich in soup before.
"Announce it to the world, why don't you?"
"I'm planning to."
"I was being sarcastic!"
"I know, but I answered anyway. Besides, I really am going to announce our engagement soon, but I was hoping we'd be at least on amicable terms by then."
Makes sense. "I see..."
"May I ask, what is it you're so unsatisfied with? Do you dislike my looks?" Not that he'd ever had any complaints from anyone.
She glanced at him. "It's not that." He is quite handsome... but also young... Gosh, it's surprising how someone seven years younger than you can make you feel old...
"I'm glad you approve." He chuckled. "In case you were wondering, I think you're gorgeous."
A light blush crept up on her cheeks as she ate. "Thanks, I guess."
"The night at the bar, I found you to be mesmerizing in both looks and personality. Do you dislike my personality?"
"I don't know you well enough to give an answer to that."
"At least you're honest about it, and I admire honesty." Not many people were honest with him growing up; they were out to get on his good side, so he learned not to keep many people around him. Zeke was one of the exceptions; he'd been with him since his high school years as his friend, and when they were out of school, he offered him a job as his assistant.
"So... How do we proceed with this thing? With the way you talk, it sounds like we should've been married before we even had sex."
"That's why you had to sign first."
"But don't people renege on things all the time?"
"Yes, and you still could, but that would destroy a lot of lives; most people don't want to be the cause of others' misery."
"But what about those who get married and then divorced after a year or something? Would they take the company away even though you already went through the process they wanted?"
"Are you trying to suggest we have a temporary marriage?" He stopped eating and sat up straight to listen to her.
I actually hadn't thought of that. "Is... that something you'd be open to doing?"
"From what my father's told me, they won't accept a divorce unless it's for an extremely good reason and it's tried to be worked through – with professionals if need be – before there'd be any leeway."
"How can people be so controlling?"
Leon shrugged. "My father and his father have been that way for as long as I've known them."
"That sucks..."
"You're telling me..."
"I still don't see how you can be okay with me..." Considering the number of times I've run away from getting married to men I loved, this feels so surreal.
His brows furrowed. "Tell me this, why do you keep making it sound like you're not good enough for me? And please don't say money; I couldn't care less about that. I have enough for multiple lifetimes, as long as I don't squander it, and I keep this marriage..."
She opened her mouth to speak, but stopped.
"From what I've seen and what other people have told me about you, you're an amazing woman... outside of maybe a fear of commitment. You care about your friends and people in general. You're smart, pretty, and conscientious, so I can't understand why you act like I'm too good for you."
Biting her lip, she looked away. I don't know...
"I suppose we should work on your self-confidence a bit."
Ugh, all this does is make me want to run away more, but I can't. Literally stuck between a rock and a hard place. Do this for the people employed by him, Ella! This might be the only way I'd manage to get married, anyway...
Leon glanced at his watch. "Time to head back." He paid the check and held his hand out to her.
"Are you going to do this every time?"
"Yes, so you might as well walk with your head held high. Besides, you have no reason to be ashamed."
"Dating the boss?"
He shrugged. "People fall in love at work all the time. And so long as it's not an affair, I don't see why it's a bad thing."
"Preferential treatment... and all the questions." Although, if I'm up in the penthouse all the time, they won't have much of a chance to complain to me.
"Just say I'm private and said I don't want you to talk about it; that should be enough."
Wishful thinking... She sighed and took his hand. At least holding his hand doesn't give me that creepy 'I want to run away' feeling. She didn't have that with any of her long-term boyfriends, but she had a few dates where something about being close to them made her perturbed.
They walked hand-in-hand back to the hotel and even through the lobby to the elevator. A few people recognized her and automatically gossiped about her.
I knew this would happen.
"Quit worrying so much; your direct boss knows about us now – and was actually excited about it – so you don't have to worry about mistreatment." He leaned in close. "And if anyone does try anything, tell me right away, and they will be swiftly dealt with, okay?"
She leaned away a bit and nodded as a chill ran down her spine.
"Good, because I intend to protect my fiancée." Since they were the only two on the elevator, he tugged her closer and kissed her on the forehead. "You're safe with me."
The door to the elevator opened for people to enter, and she tried to pull away. Leon had another idea in mind; he switched so his hand was on her shoulder and pulled her closer as they pushed to the back of the elevator. He made sure no one else was close enough to touch her, using his own body as a blockade.
This place sure got busy fast. I guess even a hotel's grand opening has people curious.
A few people glanced their way, but no one said anything. They made it to the top floor with an empty elevator again.
"Maybe you should've made your own special elevator." Ella laughed as they entered the penthouse suite.
"I thought about doing it, but it seemed like a waste, since only a select few need to go up to this floor." He finally released her hand when they walked through his front door. "I have work to do this afternoon. You're welcome to familiarize yourself with... this whole place. Not much to clean yet, though."
So I have nothing to do today? This place can't be that big or filled, so it shouldn't be hard to memorize where everything is. "Okay..."
He glanced back at her. "You seem unsatisfied. You can go help the others downstairs for now if you wish... or you can come with me. Although I doubt a business meeting will be of any interest to you."
Definitely don't want to go, but I am curious about what kind of meetings he has. "Do you have a lot of meetings?"
"Sometimes I have way too many meetings, other times, I'm mostly working in my office over there." He aimed his thumb over his shoulder.
"By the way, I thought you had guards, but I didn't see any outside this time."
"Since my parents know about us and the engagement with the papers signed, they no longer have to be around me all day. I take them with me sometimes when I go out on business."
"You... Your parents know about us already?! But... I still can't even say I've come to terms with it, but you've already told them?!" She started to hyperventilate. "Oh my gosh... This is insane... ah..."
"Ella? Are you okay?"
She shook her head and fanned herself with her hand, hoping it'd help her breath better.
"Ah, crap..." Leon grumbled. "Come sit on the couch, and I'll find a paper bag for you to breathe into."
She bent down as he got near, avoiding his hand as her rapid breathing got worse. Crap, crap, crap, why won't it stop? She felt the tears building up and tried to fight them back.
He rested his hands on her shoulders. "Ella, look at me."
She shook her head.
Leon tilted her head up, his finger under her chin. "Everything's going to be okay. You're okay right now." His hand still on her chin, he leaned in close.
"W-what are you doing?" She pulled away and fell back onto her butt.
"I was going to kiss you as a distraction for your brain with multiple senses... but it seems you don't want me near you. You realize we did a lot more than kiss already, right?"
"Well... I know... but... I don't remember it."
"None?" He winced. He knew she was drunk that night, he was a bit too, but he figured even if she didn't remember right away, she would've remembered, eventually. It stung a bit that she didn't remember their first time together at all.
"Sorry..."
"No worries; it can't be helped. If you can't remember the first time, I'll make sure you remember the next time... whenever that might actually be." He sighed.
"Next time?"
"Naturally; though I'll try to win your heart first." He smiled.
"Oh..." Wow... This smile... is so gorgeous. He always lights up so much.
"And in case you haven't noticed, you've calmed down and are no longer having an attack."
"...You're right. Um, thank you for distracting me."
"Of course; anything for my future wife." He pushed a strand of hair out of her face and kissed her forehead.
He's acting so loving right now; you'd think we were together for a long time. "Let me out of the contract."
"Not going to happen, but nice try. Besides, you know the consequences of breaking up after we've done the deed."
"Why do I feel like I fell into the biggest trap in my life... ever?"
He sighed, his brows knit together. "Please, stop making it seem like I'm some big villain who conned you into getting married. We talked, you read the contract, you agreed, and we settled the deal. Stop making this out to be something bad; I'm actually looking forward to spending my life with you." He kissed the back of her hand.
"You're too suave to have not been with someone."
"I never said I didn't have a girlfriend before; we just never had sex, that's all."
"Right..." I'm not sure I trust that's true, but does that even matter to me? It definitely wasn't my first time that night... Suddenly, Leon picked her up, cradling her in his arms. "Hey! What're you doing?" She kicked, but it had no effect.
"Taking you over to your room to rest, since you can't even seem to stand right now. Besides, with an anxiety attack, I can't help but wonder if you need a mental health day or something."
"I just started working; I can't take the rest of the day off already."
"Did you forget who your fiancé is? And if you want, I can claim you're working and leave you here to rest with them none the wiser."
"Are you used to skipping out on work or something?"
"Are you such a goodie that you never bend the rules even a little bit?"
"Well, no..." She had skipped class a few times in high school, but generally tried to be good. "But this is work, which I take seriously..."
"You just had a panic attack... or anxiety attack; I'm not sure which, so I think you'd do well to take the day off." He looked at the time and walked into her bedroom, where he set her down on her new bed. "Look, I have to go to a meeting, but call me if you need me." He handed her a business card. On the back, his personal number was listed.
"Thanks..."
"And please, just give me a chance to win your heart." He winked at her and left.
This is all... insane.
Ella and Leon walked to a nearby restaurant, Leon holding her hand the entire way, despite the number of times she tried to pull away. They sat down at a table with their order of chicken soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.
"Did you really have to hold my hand as we walked through the lobby?" Ella asked as she dipped her sandwich in the soup.
"Of course; it's one of the easiest ways to spread news of our relationship." Leon followed her method, though he'd never dipped his sandwich in soup before.
"Announce it to the world, why don't you?"
"I'm planning to."
"I was being sarcastic!"
"I know, but I answered anyway. Besides, I really am going to announce our engagement soon, but I was hoping we'd be at least on amicable terms by then."
Makes sense. "I see..."
"May I ask, what is it you're so unsatisfied with? Do you dislike my looks?" Not that he'd ever had any complaints from anyone.
She glanced at him. "It's not that." He is quite handsome... but also young... Gosh, it's surprising how someone seven years younger than you can make you feel old...
"I'm glad you approve." He chuckled. "In case you were wondering, I think you're gorgeous."
A light blush crept up on her cheeks as she ate. "Thanks, I guess."
"The night at the bar, I found you to be mesmerizing in both looks and personality. Do you dislike my personality?"
"I don't know you well enough to give an answer to that."
"At least you're honest about it, and I admire honesty." Not many people were honest with him growing up; they were out to get on his good side, so he learned not to keep many people around him. Zeke was one of the exceptions; he'd been with him since his high school years as his friend, and when they were out of school, he offered him a job as his assistant.
"So... How do we proceed with this thing? With the way you talk, it sounds like we should've been married before we even had sex."
"That's why you had to sign first."
"But don't people renege on things all the time?"
"Yes, and you still could, but that would destroy a lot of lives; most people don't want to be the cause of others' misery."
"But what about those who get married and then divorced after a year or something? Would they take the company away even though you already went through the process they wanted?"
"Are you trying to suggest we have a temporary marriage?" He stopped eating and sat up straight to listen to her.
I actually hadn't thought of that. "Is... that something you'd be open to doing?"
"From what my father's told me, they won't accept a divorce unless it's for an extremely good reason and it's tried to be worked through – with professionals if need be – before there'd be any leeway."
"How can people be so controlling?"
Leon shrugged. "My father and his father have been that way for as long as I've known them."
"That sucks..."
"You're telling me..."
"I still don't see how you can be okay with me..." Considering the number of times I've run away from getting married to men I loved, this feels so surreal.
His brows furrowed. "Tell me this, why do you keep making it sound like you're not good enough for me? And please don't say money; I couldn't care less about that. I have enough for multiple lifetimes, as long as I don't squander it, and I keep this marriage..."
She opened her mouth to speak, but stopped.
"From what I've seen and what other people have told me about you, you're an amazing woman... outside of maybe a fear of commitment. You care about your friends and people in general. You're smart, pretty, and conscientious, so I can't understand why you act like I'm too good for you."
Biting her lip, she looked away. I don't know...
"I suppose we should work on your self-confidence a bit."
Ugh, all this does is make me want to run away more, but I can't. Literally stuck between a rock and a hard place. Do this for the people employed by him, Ella! This might be the only way I'd manage to get married, anyway...
Leon glanced at his watch. "Time to head back." He paid the check and held his hand out to her.
"Are you going to do this every time?"
"Yes, so you might as well walk with your head held high. Besides, you have no reason to be ashamed."
"Dating the boss?"
He shrugged. "People fall in love at work all the time. And so long as it's not an affair, I don't see why it's a bad thing."
"Preferential treatment... and all the questions." Although, if I'm up in the penthouse all the time, they won't have much of a chance to complain to me.
"Just say I'm private and said I don't want you to talk about it; that should be enough."
Wishful thinking... She sighed and took his hand. At least holding his hand doesn't give me that creepy 'I want to run away' feeling. She didn't have that with any of her long-term boyfriends, but she had a few dates where something about being close to them made her perturbed.
They walked hand-in-hand back to the hotel and even through the lobby to the elevator. A few people recognized her and automatically gossiped about her.
I knew this would happen.
"Quit worrying so much; your direct boss knows about us now – and was actually excited about it – so you don't have to worry about mistreatment." He leaned in close. "And if anyone does try anything, tell me right away, and they will be swiftly dealt with, okay?"
She leaned away a bit and nodded as a chill ran down her spine.
"Good, because I intend to protect my fiancée." Since they were the only two on the elevator, he tugged her closer and kissed her on the forehead. "You're safe with me."
The door to the elevator opened for people to enter, and she tried to pull away. Leon had another idea in mind; he switched so his hand was on her shoulder and pulled her closer as they pushed to the back of the elevator. He made sure no one else was close enough to touch her, using his own body as a blockade.
This place sure got busy fast. I guess even a hotel's grand opening has people curious.
A few people glanced their way, but no one said anything. They made it to the top floor with an empty elevator again.
"Maybe you should've made your own special elevator." Ella laughed as they entered the penthouse suite.
"I thought about doing it, but it seemed like a waste, since only a select few need to go up to this floor." He finally released her hand when they walked through his front door. "I have work to do this afternoon. You're welcome to familiarize yourself with... this whole place. Not much to clean yet, though."
So I have nothing to do today? This place can't be that big or filled, so it shouldn't be hard to memorize where everything is. "Okay..."
He glanced back at her. "You seem unsatisfied. You can go help the others downstairs for now if you wish... or you can come with me. Although I doubt a business meeting will be of any interest to you."
Definitely don't want to go, but I am curious about what kind of meetings he has. "Do you have a lot of meetings?"
"Sometimes I have way too many meetings, other times, I'm mostly working in my office over there." He aimed his thumb over his shoulder.
"By the way, I thought you had guards, but I didn't see any outside this time."
"Since my parents know about us and the engagement with the papers signed, they no longer have to be around me all day. I take them with me sometimes when I go out on business."
"You... Your parents know about us already?! But... I still can't even say I've come to terms with it, but you've already told them?!" She started to hyperventilate. "Oh my gosh... This is insane... ah..."
"Ella? Are you okay?"
She shook her head and fanned herself with her hand, hoping it'd help her breath better.
"Ah, crap..." Leon grumbled. "Come sit on the couch, and I'll find a paper bag for you to breathe into."
She bent down as he got near, avoiding his hand as her rapid breathing got worse. Crap, crap, crap, why won't it stop? She felt the tears building up and tried to fight them back.
He rested his hands on her shoulders. "Ella, look at me."
She shook her head.
Leon tilted her head up, his finger under her chin. "Everything's going to be okay. You're okay right now." His hand still on her chin, he leaned in close.
"W-what are you doing?" She pulled away and fell back onto her butt.
"I was going to kiss you as a distraction for your brain with multiple senses... but it seems you don't want me near you. You realize we did a lot more than kiss already, right?"
"Well... I know... but... I don't remember it."
"None?" He winced. He knew she was drunk that night, he was a bit too, but he figured even if she didn't remember right away, she would've remembered, eventually. It stung a bit that she didn't remember their first time together at all.
"Sorry..."
"No worries; it can't be helped. If you can't remember the first time, I'll make sure you remember the next time... whenever that might actually be." He sighed.
"Next time?"
"Naturally; though I'll try to win your heart first." He smiled.
"Oh..." Wow... This smile... is so gorgeous. He always lights up so much.
"And in case you haven't noticed, you've calmed down and are no longer having an attack."
"...You're right. Um, thank you for distracting me."
"Of course; anything for my future wife." He pushed a strand of hair out of her face and kissed her forehead.
He's acting so loving right now; you'd think we were together for a long time. "Let me out of the contract."
"Not going to happen, but nice try. Besides, you know the consequences of breaking up after we've done the deed."
"Why do I feel like I fell into the biggest trap in my life... ever?"
He sighed, his brows knit together. "Please, stop making it seem like I'm some big villain who conned you into getting married. We talked, you read the contract, you agreed, and we settled the deal. Stop making this out to be something bad; I'm actually looking forward to spending my life with you." He kissed the back of her hand.
"You're too suave to have not been with someone."
"I never said I didn't have a girlfriend before; we just never had sex, that's all."
"Right..." I'm not sure I trust that's true, but does that even matter to me? It definitely wasn't my first time that night... Suddenly, Leon picked her up, cradling her in his arms. "Hey! What're you doing?" She kicked, but it had no effect.
"Taking you over to your room to rest, since you can't even seem to stand right now. Besides, with an anxiety attack, I can't help but wonder if you need a mental health day or something."
"I just started working; I can't take the rest of the day off already."
"Did you forget who your fiancé is? And if you want, I can claim you're working and leave you here to rest with them none the wiser."
"Are you used to skipping out on work or something?"
"Are you such a goodie that you never bend the rules even a little bit?"
"Well, no..." She had skipped class a few times in high school, but generally tried to be good. "But this is work, which I take seriously..."
"You just had a panic attack... or anxiety attack; I'm not sure which, so I think you'd do well to take the day off." He looked at the time and walked into her bedroom, where he set her down on her new bed. "Look, I have to go to a meeting, but call me if you need me." He handed her a business card. On the back, his personal number was listed.
"Thanks..."
"And please, just give me a chance to win your heart." He winked at her and left.
This is all... insane.
