Page 13 of Untamed Billionaire
“No!” she interrupted hastily, not wanting him to issue new threats to withhold her time with Emma. “You’ve given me your answer and I won’t even try to change your mind.” She moved deeper into the room, telling herself that she didn’t have any reason to be afraid. “I just wanted to let you know that I’m getting married.” She’d almost blurted out that she’d accepted Marco’s proposal. But that wasn’t true since she’d done the proposing and he’d accepted.
Her father stared at her for a long moment, then he snapped, “You’re doing what?”
“Married. I’m marrying…”
“NO!” he roared, standing up and tossing his pen down on the desk. “You’re not marrying that sniveling Daniel! I forbid it! He’s not worthy of becoming a member of this family!” He stomped around his desk, then moved back and pressed a button. “Get in here!” he roared.
Chloe knew that he’d just pressed the intercom button, summoning her mother.
She straightened her shoulders, trying hard not to glare right back at him. “Daniel has not proposed to me.”
“What is it now, Charles?” Jocelyn demanded, stepping into the library. “And this had better be good. I don’t appreciate being ordered about!”
Charles huffed a bit, then threw a hand in Chloe’s general direction. “Did you know about this?” he demanded.
Jocelyn’s perfectly tapered eyebrows lifted. “Know about what?” The question was almost a snarl. “That Chloe has gained weight? What of it? She’s always putting on weight! I’ll get it off of her soon. That hardly qualifies as a…”
“I don’t give a damn about her weight!” he interrupted. “You’re always going on about weight and calories and fat and whatever! Damn, it’s tedious!”
“It matters, Charles! People talk! They snicker behind her back and that reflects poorly on me! And since I’m part of your public image, they are snickering about you as well, even though I maintain a perfect size!” She then smoothed a hand down over her stomach, rolling her eyes in a way that warned Charles that she was angrier than she was letting on at the moment.
“Your daughter just announced that she’s marrying Daniel!”
Jocelyn’s whole body froze, then her lips curled into a sort of delight. “Well, that’s wonderful news! Finally! Chloe is adding to this family’s significance instead of taking away from it!”
Chloe crossed her arms over her chest, trying to keep the harsh words from hurting her. Unfortunately, they still stabbed at her like tiny lances, but she kept her head high, refusing to cower. Not anymore!
“I’m not marrying Daniel,” she restated.
“Well…then who in the world would marry you?” her mother demanded, ending the question on a chuckle of disbelief.
Chloe pulled her shoulders back. “Marco Hudson and I are getting married.” She turned to look at her father. “I’ve researched him for you, Father. He’s one of the wealthiest men in the world. He has connections that you can’t even imagine and he’s a good, kind man.” She then turned to look at her mother. “The wedding needs to take place in one month’s time. I know that all of your friends,” she used that word lightly, “will assume that I’m pregnant, but that is not the case. Marco simply has many urgent business issues to deal with and would like to get the wedding done quickly.” She then added on the final touch. “If you don’t think you can organize a wedding in one month’s time, then he says we can simply fly to Vegas to get the deed done.” There! Challenge tossed.
Chloe watched as her mother’s lips compressed. Jocelyn glanced over at her husband and Chloe’s eyes followed. The man was twirling the ice cubes in his glass of bourbon, his eyes considering.
“Good connections, you say?” Charles asked. “That thing about the Scottish lord? That’s true?”
Chloe shrugged. “I don’t know all of the details, Father. But I’ve researched his company. It’s enormous and international.” She paused, letting that news sink in. “That could mean clients from outside of the US. You’d have a new pool of potential investors.” Chloe made a mental note to warn Marco to keep his friends and acquaintances away from her father’s investment company.
Charles nodded, then looked over at Jocelyn. “I think Chloe has finally done something right, dear.” He chuckled. “Hudson is one of the big players in the world of business.” He turned away from Jocelyn, his eyes moving up and down Chloe’s figure. “How in the world did you hook him into marriage? I thought you’d only met him the other night at your mother’s dinner party.”
Chloe didn’t bother to answer. Let him assume whatever lascivious details that popped into his repugnant mind. Chloe turned to her mother. “What do you think, Mother? A wedding to help announce to the world the new family member? Or should I tell Marco that we should just run away to Vegas? I promise I won’t mention how Marco and I got married to any of our friends.” She paused and shrugged. “I can’t guarantee that his acquaintances won’t spill the crass details though.”
Jocelyn hissed in a breath. “Five months! I’ll need to organize an engagement party next month. You’ll need bridal showers and bridal lunches. We’ll need to carefully select your wedding party. It will be your cousins, of course. But Tammy has gained too much weight lately. She’ll need to lose at least ten pounds before she’ll fit in the right sized dress.”
Chloe shook her head. “One month, Mother. Marco is a tough businessman. He wants things done quickly.” She headed toward the door, ready to leave. “I’ll tell him that a wedding in one month can’t happen. We’ll do…”
“Of course I can do a wedding in one month!” she snapped, fury hissing from her lungs. She let her eyes move over Chloe’s body, then said, “You’ll need to lose the five pounds you’ve gained. Get rid of all the crap you’ve been consuming lately!”
And with that, Jocelyn walked out of the library, leaving behind a wounded Chloe and a husband who was no doubt considering all of the potential clients he can fleece.
Chloe walked into her bedroom and closed the door. She then pulled her cell phone out and typed in a text message. “It’s done. Wedding in one month.”
Marco stared at the text message, wondering what sort of hell Chloe’s parents had put her through over this latest confrontation.
“Bad news?” Judge Arnold Winthrop asked, puffing on his cigar. They were sitting in the dark paneled wine room of the Isador Hotel, an exclusive hotel that included an even more exclusive room where gentlemen came together to relax, have a cigar, and a glass of scotch or bourbon.
Marco shook his head and put the cell phone back into his pocket. “Excellent news, actually. I’m engaged.”
