Chapter 1 The Arranged marriage

Oh...here comes my daughter, Mr Maurice "..

Mrs Barbara expressed, excitement in her voice that Ellen came in at the right time. Mr Evan, her husband only smiled widely as soon as Ellen came into his office.

They had asked her to buy lunch for them and bring to the company and that was why she came.

" Ellen, this is Mr Maurice Harrison. My favourite business associate , boss and the only son of the Harrisons. I've told you about him already, so c'mon, go greet him " Mr Evans said, still smiling and at the same time blinking at Ellen who looked confused the moment she heard him say "I've told you about him before ".

She knew about the Harrisons, it's a big name in the whole of Los Angeles and beyond. She equally heard that the son manages all the businesses associated with the Harrison Brand and Empire all over the country. But, she never knew her father worked with the man , neither has he spoken about him before to her.

However, she moved over to where Maurice sat and greeted;

"Good afternoon, Mr Maurice. Nice to meet you"

"Same here, Ellen. I must say, you look way more beautiful than your pictures " he gave a one-sided smile, his eyes never leaving Ellen.

Now, Ellen was confused again. How did he get to see her pictures?

Well , she assumed the man was at least humble to even smile and compliment her.

"Thank you, sir " she replied, then faced her parents.

"Dad, Mom, here's the lunch. I bought smoked salmon and sauce from the restaurant around my workplace. I need to get going now, we have a meeting with my boss in the next one hour " she dropped the box on her father's table and turned to leave, when she heard her mom say ;

"Just like that? Won't you at least get acquainted with Mr Maurice?" Mrs Barbara glared at her, expecting her to really do that.

"I have to go, mom. It's a pleasure meeting you, Mr Harrison " and she quickly dashed off.

Ellen sensed what her parents were trying to do and their goal. She refused to accept the sign she was getting from her brain. How on earth would Mr Maurice Harrison even think of having anything to do with her? Although he complimented her nicely, it could just be a form of humility. She simply hurried back to her work place, hoping to get explanation from her parents later.

Maurice drove straight to his mother's place in company of his driver and aides. From the look of things, he had found his wife. He didn't have time to date and that was why he welcomed the "arranging of marriage idea" from Mr Evan . He saw the man as a father and had told him about his desire to get married. So , he recommended his own daughter. Having seen her today, she really is a beauty queen and the fact that she is not a lazy sit-at-home lady gave him joy too.

"Why would he recommend his own daughter? Listen, I don't trust this idea. If Mr Evan is as genuine and honest as you claim, why his own daughter? Now I feel he wants to eat deep from you through his child. " Madame Harrison spat, after her son told her everything and his decisions as well .

"Mom, Mr Evan is not such a man. Yeah, his wife seems like a woman who really wants her daughter to marry desperately into wealth, but the lady in question is a good looking and hard working lady. Not the gold digger you brought the last time I wanted you to arrange a wife for me" he almost laughed at his last sentence.

"Really, Maurice? Why don't you want to get a wife yourself?"

He sighed, knowing that he had explained this to his mom more than a hundred times.

" I don't have the time to go after a lady, do the talking stage thingy, date before even getting her to be my wife. Gosh! This idea is the best and trust me, you're gonna like her when she visits "

"There would be no need for that. I've seen her picture already. If you're happy with her, then fasten the process and get married to her in court. " she interrupted, faking a smile on her face.

Madame Harrison hated to get into an argument with her son. She would just allow him do his wish and then , do her thing later.

After work, Ellen headed home and the first statement she heard from her father in the living room was "That's your husband, Ellen ".

"Who? Dad, are you talking to me?"

"Of course. I said, Mr Maurice Harrison is your husband "

Ellen pretended she didn't hear or understand her father and simply headed towards the staircase to go up to her room, when she met her mom coming down the stairs as well.

"Didn't you hear your father? Come with me to the living room now " She ordered.

Are they really about to force her into marriage now, Ellen thought to herself while following her mother back to the living room.

"Ellen, Maurice is my boss since my company is ranked under his . He invested a lot of money in this company of mine as an associate in a particular business line . He is also like a son to me though. Now, he asked me to get him a wife, since it's really tough for him to get one himself and that I have done, by bringing you into this. " Mr Evan paused, looked at Ellen whose face remained blank.

Mrs Barbara continued;

"Now, your dad recommended you to him and fortunately, he likes you and requested to see you physically which was done earlier today at your dad's office. You see, Ellen, there's no much deal in this. Our aim is to be more than just associates with the Harrisons. Since he desires you as his wife, you should marry him ".

"And what if I don't desire him ? You want to be more than just associates with him and you people don't care about my feelings too ? What kind of parents are you?! I'm not gonna be his wife!" Ellen yelled . Actually, there was nothing wrong with getting married to Mr Maurice, but the problem was that she wasn't the one going about it.

"Hey, I hope this is not about that Italian ex of yours because I'll kill you here and now if he's the reason why you're acting all up " Mrs Barbara fired back, standing on her feet and glaring at Ellen.

However, her father calmed the issue down a bit.

"Ellen, I'm not forcing you to become his wife. If you like him as a man, accept him. There's nothing wrong with Maurice. He's good, rich and loving as well. I just want the best for you, Ellen ".

*****

Ellen snapped out of her train of recalls when her husband placed his hand on her breast while still sleeping.

She and Maurice had just finished making out the second time in an hour and he had fallen asleep.

Recalling how she became Maurice's wife, she realized that the love simply grew when they got married and that the "arranged marriage " idea wasn't so bad after all.