“Charlotte, you wanted a big wedding” I began to mumble, my mouth going dry “We can’t just rush…”
“Yes we can” she snarled “For all we know Flair could already be pregnant. I’m not about to lose the company to that little bitch. I don’t play fair you know that Johnathon and while I’ve dreamed of a big fancy wedding since I was a little girl, I can always have one later. It’s not the be-all or end all” she snapped, putting her hands on her hips and towering over me.
Shit. She was being deadly serious. I felt the urge to laugh. My life was becoming more hectic and crazy by the minute. Charlotte was beaming at me. “Johnathon you know how important getting my hands on the company is to me. It’s worth so much money it’s sickening. You want half of that right” she pleaded as I began to waver “So what if we don’t have everybody present. Grayson didn’t” she pointed out.
“But” I began and she continued to interrupt.
“I’ve already organized it. We’re going to the courthouse tomorrow. Nobody else is going to be there. Just us and mother and Grandfather. That way he can’t dispute the marriage certificate or the wedding ceremony. It will be quick and painless” she said with a shrug “Then all we have to focus on is getting me pregnant.”
I stared at her. “Charlotte do you even hear yourself right now?” I asked quietly.
She was speaking fast, pacing back and forth, muttering to herself.
She whirled and faced me, “Yes” she shouted “I am hearing myself. I am sacrificing things that I want, things that matter to me, for the sake of getting my hands on this blasted company,” she said frostily “Do you not understand Johnathon?”
She looked half-crazed. What had gone on while I’d been gone? I wished I was back at the pub, slinging back more drinks. My hand twitched, as though trying to pick up a beer glass that wasn’t there.
“Charlotte, I don’t want you to regret doing something only to look back later and wish you’d done it differently” I tried to reason with her.
“I can always have another wedding where we renew our vows, just like Mother suggested,” she said shrugging.
Damnit Karen. What have you promised Charlotte in order for her to agree to a bloody courthouse wedding? “I um, don’t have a suit” I pointed out, lamely.
I had plenty of suits. God, I was an idiot. Charlotte was eyeing me as though I had lost my mind. As excuses went it was pathetic. She could see right through it. “Johnathon, just wear one of your damn work suits,” she said coldly “it’s going to be less than an hour before it’s all said and done.”
She reached over and grabbed my hand, squeezing it “Just think, after this, we could go somewhere for a honeymoon. You’ve always wanted to go to Greece or Rome” she said persuasively.
Yeah, I had but my workload was heavy the next few weeks. I swallowed hard. “I have to work Charlotte,” I said quietly.
She looked satisfied. “Actually, I phoned your work today when I couldn’t get ahold of you” she began.
She had? Shit. I should have picked my phone up. Damn, damn, damn. “Oh really?”
My voice was weak. Great. Now what. “Yeah, and your receptionist said that some of your clients have canceled their appointments with you, so it’s freed up a lot of your time. I bet you could rearrange your other appointments to take a few days off and we could go on a cruise or even a hotel for a few nights if you prefer.”
“Cancelled?” my voice was sharp “I didn’t ask my receptionist to cancel any appointments.”
What was going on?
“She didn’t,” Charlotte said impatiently “Weren’t you listening Johnathon? The receptionist said your clients canceled. Isn’t that lucky?” she asked with a smile “Anyway, I’m going to go and get ready for bed. Join me when you can. I want to get my beauty sleep for tomorrow” she added meaningfully.
“I’ll be right up,” I said in a strangled voice.
She nodded and headed towards the stairs.
As soon as she was out of sight and hearing, I dialed my firm and got ahold of my receptionist.
“What’s this about clients canceling?” I hissed.
A sigh “Sir, several have canceled but for different reasons. Now I don’t want to make assumptions but”
“What is your take,” I said interrupting her “Why do you think they canceled?”
A deep breath on the other line “Frankly Sir. I believe they canceled due to the negative publicity on the television in regard to Charlotte Deluca. Although you aren’t married to her as yet, your engagement does mean that her behavior reflects on you. While she’s been painted in a negative light” my receptionist paused and I could tell she was trying to pick her words carefully “Grayson and your ex-wife have been painted in a positive light which is also not helping matters. I believe your clients have now signed on with Grayson’s firm instead.”
“Shit” I cursed, hanging up and throwing my phone across the room in a temper.
I should have known that Charlotte’s tantrum would have repercussions, not just on my personal reputation but on my work as well. I rubbed my forehead, feeling drained. I couldn’t get those clients back, not if they had signed on with Grayson, who was a rival lawyer, but I could try and get new ones, that is if Charlotte could keep her behavior in public under control. I groaned. When I had agreed to marry her, I hadn’t anticipated there would be so many problems. Flair had always been a help to my personal and business life and my clients had thoroughly liked her, but Charlotte was having the opposite effect. I stormed back over to the cell phone and grabbed it, sliding it sulkily into my trouser pocket.
“Think of the money” I muttered to myself “With the amount of money you’re going to get from this marriage and the company when you get your hands on it, you can afford to build ten times the amount of law firms you have now.”
It was enough to appease me and I relaxed, beginning to head towards the stairs, staggering slightly. I would shower, and then climb into bed with Charlotte, my last night as a single man before I got married to the wealthy heiress tomorrow and took on the Deluca name, as requested by her and her Grandfather. It felt like a noose was tightening around my neck as I climbed closer towards the bedroom.
Flair POV
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.