Page 6 of Making Their Vows
"Maybe so, but that's going to be more than a couple of years."
"Don't do this," I whisper.
"You have given me no choice." I swallow. "But I'm not completely irrational." I bite the inside of my cheek. "And as you said, you're no whore, but you will still act as my wife. You will live in my home and act accordingly for the next year."
"And then what?” A year isn't too bad. I can do a year.
"Your debt to me will be cleared, and we can revisit the marriage." I chew on my bottom lip. "Tick tock, Truly. I'm a busy man running the company that has paid for your life. This deal will leave the table as quickly as I put it there."
"Okay!" I shout. I won't have Mable getting dragged into this because of me. Giving me her passport was hard enough for her. She adheres strictly to the rules. I tease she's a Goody Two-shoes, but I adore her for it. She is sweet and pushed against her own ways in trying to help me because she loves me.
"I'm glad you are now seeing reason." I grit my teeth so I don't dig a bigger hole.
A year. I can do that… or so I thought.
Chapter Four
BLAKE
My head pounds. I drop it back, closing my eyes as I rub my temples, trying to get my anger in check. I’ve been mad before, sure. I can snap out orders and be cold. It’s the best way to deal with a lot of people. But I need to get my anger in check before I head home. It’s not going to do me any favors with Truly.
After she agreed to my deal, I had my driver come and take her home. It was that or toss her over my desk and spank her ass until she understood she was going to remain my wife. That was another reason I had to get her out of here. I don't know where those thoughts came from. Is that what people mean when they speak of intrusive thoughts? Not sure it fits because intrusive thoughts are ones you don't want to act on, and I very much do.
Home. That one word does help me manage my anger. Things might not be going as planned, but my wife is back and now inside of our home. I initially thought the place we have now would be temporary, but I don’t foresee my wife wanting to shop for a new one anytime soon.
My hope was that when Truly finished school and moved home that she would be eager to start building our life together. That she would want to find a home that fit us. She loves history,and I knew the home she’d want to live in long-term would be rich with it. It’s not one I can simply build and be done with. In time she’ll be on the same page as me.
That’s really the only option. My wife may think she is just going to grin and bear our marriage for a year to appease me, but she should’ve paid better attention to the details. I told her in a year we’d discuss our marriage. I didn’t say I would agree to end it. This, however, does give me room to breathe and figure shit out. It goes without saying that there are more than enough things that I need to begin to work on.
“Sir?” Emily’s voice is more cutting than usual.
How much longer until Rachel comes back from maternity leave? She hadn’t been a fan of Emily either. Emily had worked under one of my executives, who retired about the same time Rachel was headed out for maternity leave. It was an easy fill. While she might annoy me, and I can’t even put my finger on why, she is efficient.
"What?" I ask.
"I wanted to inform you that Mr. Ford is online and checked into the meeting."
"Thank you." I should reschedule it, but this will keep my mind off Truly and temper me.
"Would you like me to order us dinner?"
"No."
"Are you leaving early then?" By "early" she means early for me. I live and breathe this place. It is sadly all I have right now. It passes the time, and I don't hate it all the time. I've brought this business back from the brink of destruction, both Truly's father and my own having made one terrible business decision after another in their endeavors.
That's how I got roped into this. When they first asked me, I said no. It wasn't only me working here they wanted; they wanted my capital. My father wasn't a self-made man. Hell,I can't call myself one either, but I did take the money my grandfather left in a trust to save this place and grew it far more than where it started.
My grandfather knew his son, my father, was shit at business. He'd even told me to stay away from my father's dealings, and that had been the plan. Until they dangled something priceless in front of me. The one thing they both knew I wanted more than anything else and couldn’t resist taking.
Truly. My Truly.
I guess as I grew older, and so did Truly, I didn't do well at hiding my feelings or intentions with her. I did try to keep space. Especially when the platonic feelings I once had started to morph. A couple of years when you're young is a whole lot bigger than when you're an adult.
"I'll leave when I choose. You can do the same." I dismiss her, pulling up the meeting. Mr. Ford appears on the screen, and we discuss the possibility of expanding a complex and whether it would require significant effort to rezone the adjacent building for that purpose.
"That will do it for me today," Ford says. "I promised the wife I wouldn't miss dinner this evening." He smiles at the mention of his wife. I glance at the time and see it's almost seven now.
"I understand," I tell him before getting off the call. I bet my wife would love me to be home for dinner too. Then she could stab me with a kitchen knife. I wouldn't blame her. I was a dick and made threats, but there is no going back.
