Chapter 2 A bad meeting Encounter

"Forgive me for keeping you waiting Mr and Miss Delgado but I had an urgent call to take and I needed to wrap that up first," Stephen stated. "It's lovely meeting you again Mr Delgado and you're both welcome to my humble house. I hope everything around is to your liking," he said, grabbing my father's hands for a handshake as I simply stood there, having a good look at his face. I had seen a few images of him previously on the internet and sure, he did appear quite nice looking in the pictures but nothing could have prepared me for how great looking he was in person.

Not only was he very tall and well built, he also had a finely chiseled face that made him appear like he had dropped right out of heaven. His presence alone made me feel incredibly little and it wasn't because of our height difference cause I'm not exactly short or anything but his aura and his frigid glance alone was enough to make me feel frightened and inferior. He also had a slight smile playing on his lips but, even an idiot would be able to tell that his smile was quite forced and he looked like he would rather be anywhere else but here. "Thank you for having us Mr Ericson. You have a really wonderful home by the way," my dad answered as I mentally rolled my eyes at him. Here he comes with the ass-kissing and the sucking up. I'm more astonished that he merely ended there without going further to commend the furnishings and even the lights. "It's a pleasure meeting you Mr Ericson," I piped out, after finally finding the guts to talk to him first because it didn't appear like he had any plans of speaking to me. I wasn't one to leap into conclusions but I was getting this odd sense that Stephen didn't want to talk to me and I know it sounds crazy and everything but it's honestly how I felt right now. It felt like he was purposefully avoiding establishing eye contact with me and I didn't really understand what may be his rationale for doing that. Wasn't this concept of us getting married something he was aware of? "Likewise Miss Delgado," he said, holding out his hands for a handshake and I grasped his hands in mine after a few long seconds. We shook hands very briefly before letting go of each other and I instantly felt a shudder go down my spine as soon as our hands parted. All the duration that we were in front of one other, he didn't for once make eye contact with me and that did not set well with me at all. "Please take a seat," he urged and both dad and I returned to where we were situated before he walked in while Stephen took a seat on the sofa that was just opposite where I sat. "Have you been offered anything? Is there possibly anything you'd like to eat or drink? Feel free to order anything and I'll have it delivered to you promptly," he said and honestly, I didn't like how anything felt at the time. I thought this meeting was supposed to be an introduction between Stephen and I since we're getting married but right now, it felt more like I had accompanied my dad to a meeting with a client of his and all I could do was just sit through the meeting while my dad and his client focused on their business and completely ignored the fact that I even existed. The fact that my soon-to-be husband wasn't looking at me, much less talking to me, made me very irritated and uncomfortable. "There's no need for that Stephen. What we ought to do now is go directly to why we're here. You've already met my lovely daughter Amara and I truly believe it's better that I excuse myself so that you two can get to converse quietly," my dad said unexpectedly and my heart immediately fell to my stomach. Did he really just suggest abandoning me here? All by myself? With this dude that appears like he wants absolutely nothing to do with me? Just how could he even conceive of doing that to me? What precisely is wrong with my dad? I turned to look at him and tried giving him a sign that I didn't like his suggestion at all and I was momentarily relieved that he had seen me but instead of staying back like I wanted him to, he simply ignored me and walked out of the living room, leaving me all by myself with this guy that looked like he was going to get up and leave any second from now. We both just kept silent after Dad left us and if there was another thing that I despised very much, it was these types of awkward and silent times. It was one of the most uncomfortable circumstances in the world and I despised how stifled I felt anytime I found myself in an unpleasant scenario. I cleared my throat anxiously before mustering up the confidence to speak out first instead of dealing with this. "So Mr Ericson, is there anything in particular that you'd like to know about me? Like, do you have any questions before we get married?" I said. "Well, is there anything you'd like to tell me about yourself?" he answered with his own inquiry and I didn't notice when I scoffed out loud. "Did I happen to say something wrong?" he asked innocently and even though I wanted nothing more than to be anywhere else but here, I opted against simply walking out and made up my mind to grab the reins and carry this awkward discussion. "Listen Mr Ericson, I came over here today because my father explained to me that you and I have to get married as some sort of business arrangement or something like that and although I still don't get what it has to do with me, I'm still willing to make an effort at the very least to talk to you but I don't think you're making any effort at all," I said to him, expressing my frustration. "I'm aware this isn't exactly typical but can you at least look me in the eye? You've been avoiding looking at me since you stepped in here and it has been really distressing just so you know," I said, trying not to seem too angry even though I was now seething. He didn't say anything for a long and merely glanced at me with an inquisitive look on his face. I felt quite uncomfortable under his attention so I glanced away from him and focused on anything else than him. "It seems to me like you're the one avoiding me now, miss Delgado," he finally spoke up and something about how calm and soft he sounded made him seem quite dangerous and when I say dangerous, I mean, dangerously hot. "Anyways, I apologise if I made you uncomfortable miss Delgado...," he's continuing but I stop him off. "Amara. The name's Amara, Stephen and I don't believe the formality is essential," I responded to him and he merely inclined his head slightly without giving off any expression. "I regret if I made you uncomfortable Amara. It wasn't my aim to," he clarified and something about the way my name slid off his mouth made my stomach churn, in a nice way. "I also want to apologies in advance because I know I'm meant to have a lengthy talk with you but something came up earlier and I really need to attend to it as soon as possible. I know you made time to come all the way here and I'm so sorry that we'll have to finish our chat so abruptly," he stated and when I told you I wasn't shocked, I truly wasn't. It's not like I expected him to actually depart but I wasn't shocked that he was. I'm even doubting his reason of having work to do since it just seemed very weak to me and I wouldn't be shocked to find out that he just wanted me out and was searching for a chance to send me back home just because he didn't like me. I probably didn't appear as he anticipated me to therefore he could genuinely be rethinking his thoughts of marrying me. Truthfully, I didn't know whether to be thankful for it or to be wounded by it but I had absolutely no plans of making whatever I felt clear to him. "It's not a problem Stephen, I completely understand," I lied with a forced grin pasted on my face. At least now, this ridiculous thought of me getting married will become a thing of the past so I honestly can't complain. "To make it up to you, I'd like to invite you for dinner tomorrow night but that's only if you're interested in having dinner with me," he asked unexpectedly and I'm taken aback. "You want to have dinner with me?" I inquired again to be sure I wasn't hearing things. "Yes, cause I think it'd be a good chance for us to talk more comfortably," he said. After a few minutes of pondering, I decided to offer him an answer. "I'll have to check my schedule and if I'm available, I'll let you know," I informed him and he merely nodded before getting up from where he was sat. "Leaving already?" I questioned. "Unfortunately, I have to miss Delgado. Please do get back to me on my offer and one again, I sorry for this," he answered and just like that, he walked away, leaving me all by myself.