Arranged Lies

I stood outside the cold, grey walls of the prison, my heart racing with anticipation, but mostly anger. I hadn't seen my father in weeks, after he was half dragged out of a business meeting, and our company closed down. Fraud. He had to stoop that low to be involved with fraud!

As I walked through the security checks and into the visiting room. My eyes scanned the area until they landed on my father. In a span of weeks, he looked older and worn down. He was a man who always dressed in tailored suits exuding confidence, but now he was a shadow of himself in a dull orange jumpsuit.

I felt a surge of anger as I approached him, my heels clinking loudly on the floors.

"Father." I said curtly and took a seat in front of him.

He looked up, a hint of sadness in his eyes. "Loretta, it's good to see you."

"I wish I could say the same to you." I replied.

He sighed, his shoulders slumping. "I know you're angry, Loretta. You have every right to be, but I want you to know that I am so sorry. I was desperate, and I made mistakes."

I raised an eyebrow, tapping my fingers light on the table. "Mistake? A mistake is forgetting your own daughter's birthday, or the anniversary of your own wife's death."

He flinched at the last statement, his eyes lowering. "I.. I."

"Those are mistakes dad." I continued, not wanting to hear his excuses. "You commited fraud, ruining not only our reputation, but our company too. Everything is in chaos, our accounts are frozen, we are under thorough investigation, and everything they keep finding is adding a whole lot more years to your sentence."

He looked up at me, his eyes pleading. "Loretta, please. Just listen to me. I have a plan."

"What plan? To fuck us up more? Because honestly, you have done a whole load of that these past few months."

"I know I fucked up. But this is different. It can actually save us, save the company."

I hesitated, curious despite myself. "What are you talking about?"

He took a deep breath. "Before everything blew up, I made a business deal with the Reinhart family."

I felt a flicker of surprise. The Reinhart family has the biggest law firm in the country. They weren't only influential, but very wealthy. They could actually get us out of this mess, but..

"What is the catch, and how the hell did you make a bargain with them?" I asked,not exactly trusting his words.

"Let's just say I know something very important, and Devon owes me a favour."

"You're blackmailing him, aren't you?"

His dug his fingers through his grey hair. "I did what I had to do. To save us."

"Dad, you do know how dangerous that it. Or have you forgotten the vulnerable position you are in right now?" I asked, trying my best to keep my tone controlled.

"This is the only way, Loretta."

I almost wanted to believe him, to believe that maybe he could undo what he did. But with these past few months, it felt like it was a stranger that was sitting in front of me.

I leaned closer to him, lowering my voice. "How exactly are the Reinhart family going to help us?"

He swallowed nervously. "This is going to come as a surprise,but I want you to know that I'm doing this to save our company. You're part of the company, and I really hope you understand my choice."

"Could you stop stalling and talk." I snapped.

"It's an arranged marriage with the first, and only grandson of Devon Reinhart. Damian."

The silence that fell between us after was heavy. I was quiet because I couldn't quiet believes the words that just came out of his mouth, while he was waiting for me to say something first.

"You want me to get into an arranged marriage with Damain Reinhart, that fucking creep?" I asked, staring at him dead in the eye.

"He's a good man Loretta." He said softly. "I made sure to do my research on him; top of his class right from when he was in diapers, he climbed up the ladder of his family's firm in the span of one year, he's intelligent and not once has he been caught in a scandal."

"Exactly what makes him a creep, he's perfect, that alone bothers me. If someone is that perfect, then there's definitely something he is hiding."

"Loretta." He whispered, reaching for my hand but I pulled away. "I know this is very inconvenient for you, but this is the only way. Are you really going to throw away this opportunity to save our family?"

"No." I snapped. "You don't get to do that. You don't get to gaslight me into fixing a problem that you caused. There isn't a need to go any lower than you already have, dad."

"Lorey.."

"Did you even think about me? About my happiness or how I'd feel about it. You're selling me off to someone you haven't even had a conversation with, are you really that selfish?"

My father's expression changed, gone was that pleading tired man, and staring at me with cold eyes and a nuetral expression was Diego Morales.

"This isn't up for debate, Loretta. You are getting married to Damian, and if things go according to plan, then I'd be out of here in a couple of months." He rose up his hands cutting me off. "I know you are angry and dissaponted at me, and I take full blame for everything. But you have always wanted me to give you enough responsibilities, and here it is right in front of you. Lorey, you need to do this."

"This is ridiculous." I said, shaking my head.

"You don't have to be married to him forever. Five years max, and if you still don't like him by then, then you can divorce him. It's that easy."

I scoffed, anger rippling in my veins as I stared at the man that was supposed to be my father. I hated how selfish he was, how his selfishness had pushed my mother away to the point where she told no one she was sick. I would never forgive him for that, and neither would I forgive him for this.

I stood up from where I stood, and adjusted my suit jacket. "I'll get married to Damian Reinhart, but I assure you dad, this will be the last favour I'd ever do for you."

Relief flooded his features and he sighed. "Thank you."

"Mum would be so dissapointed." I whispered, and turned to walk away.

Two years. That's how long I'm giving the Reinharts and my father. After that, I'm divorcing him and moving far away and starting a new life for myself, away from all of this. I could almost see myself, content and happy in a little town where no one knew my name.

Two years, Damian Reinhart. Two fucking years.

"Grandfather, no!"

"Don't you dare raise your voice at me." He snapped, leaning back in his leather chair. "I have made my decision, and you have no say in this matter."

"I have no say in who you want me to spend get rest of my life with?" I asked.

I couldn't believe he was doing to me what he did to my father, an arranged marriage with someone I barely knew. Memories of the nights I spent hudling in the corner while my parents fought each other till whoever drew the first blood flashed in my head. I made a promise to myself to never ever be in that situation, but here I was, and worse was that I had no say in this.

"Mr Morales has been a very important partner throughout the years, we at least owe him this. If you and Loretta get married then that would not only save their company, but would save ours from a damage that I am not sure we can easily recover from."

I arched my brows, staring intently at him. "Mr Morales has not only been arrested as a suspect of fraud, but his company is under serious investigation. Don't you think us getting involved would cause a bigger scandal?"

My grandfather glanced away, letting out a sigh. "Mr Morales has something on us that could put us in big trouble. Now before you ask me anything, that is beyond confidential, even for you."

He glanced at me, and it was only then I noticed the strain on his face, the tiredness in his eyes. My grandfather was a strong and proud man, and he'd be damned to let anyone see him weak. Devon Reinhart was a difficult man indeed.

"What is so difficult about an arranged marriage? You're both getting married for the betterness of your assets."

"Do you not hear how ridiculous that sounds? I don't want to live in a house with a someone I barely know, just so we can completely feel nothing for each other but spite."

He shook his head at me, faint dissapointment in his eyes. "I am going to be retiring soon Damian."

"What? Why?"

He chuckled. "I'm way pass the normal retiring age, and I don't want to spend whatever time I have left in this stuffy box."

But that was a lie,my grandfather loved and enjoyed his work. It was the only reason why he never gave my father the head of presidency all these years. He wanted to be here as long as he could, unless...

"Are you...are you sick?" I asked quietly.

His head fell back as he let out a loud laughter that echoed through the room.

"You really are letting your imaginations get the better of you."

He cleared his throat, the smile clearing from his face. "I'm retiring, and it's because I just really need a break. I've been doing this for over 50 years. Damian, even though your father has tried for this company, I have never seen anyone work as hard as you. You rose to the top on your own, and deserved everything you have today."

I felt my chest tighten at his words. This was the first time he had said this to me, the first time he has actually commended me for getting to where I was now. I had spent my life working, trying to be the best, for him and....for her.

He finally stood up from his chair and headed towards me. "When I retire, I want you to take my place as president."

"Wh..what?"

"But that can only happen if you marry Loretta Morales." He placed his hands on my shoulder and squeezed it tightly. "Your one last task, and this could all be yours. The moment you get married, by immediate effect, you will be the President of Reinhart Law Firm, son."

I felt conflicted, angry, tired. But I also didn't want to dissapoint him. I didn't come this far, just to turn back because of my feelings that I have done so much to bury.

I sighed. "Fine, I'll marry the Morales girl."

He grinned and patted my shoulder. "I knew you'd make the right call."

Moving away from me, he headed to the large windows that showed the entire city.

"This world is yours Damian, you just have to want it enough."

"If there isn't anything else, I'd like to leave. I have a meeting in 15 minutes." I said, and turned to leave.

"The wedding will be set in two weeks."

Now I had to turn back to face him, my mouth agape. "Two weeks? You just want me to get married to someone in two weeks? That's not possible I need longer time, I need to clear my schedule, maybe get a house..."

"You have more than a dozen apartments, I don't see how that's a problem."

I let out a controlled breath, forcing my tone to remain normal. "That's not the problem. I just need time."

He turned to look at me, his eyes now holding anger just like mine. "Well, we don't have the luxury of time. We're going to take on the Morales case and see what we can do to prevent him from spending his life beyond bars."

"You can't do this. Give me a month. A month, grandfather. There are so many things I need to get in order before throwing her into my life."

He sighed and shook his head. "One month, Damian, or you won't like my next course of action."

"Like hell I wouldn't." I muttered under my breath and turned to leave.

"Your mother will be at the wedding, Yes?"

I froze in my steps, anger swirling in my veins. "I don't think so."

"Where is she these days? Bali? Mexico? Italy?"

I turned to him, my tone clipped. "I don't know what she does these days. We haven't kept contact since she left."

He stared at me quietly for a second before nodding. "Twelve more minutes till your meeting."

As I walked out of his office, I still couldn't quite believe what was happening. A month from now, I would get both my dream and a nightmare.

He was thirty minutes late. I would have walked out of here if his secretary hadn't messaged me, and apologized for his lateness, saying he was caught up in a meeting. Like I didn't have other things to do with my time. I've lost my company, lost all my accounts, I was lucky that mum had a secret account that she created under her maiden name right before she died. It was her last gift to me, all she could give me after lying about her health all those years. Did she know what my father was doing? Is that why she did it?

I stared up at my watch again and let out a frustrated sigh. Was this the man I was going to get married to? Someone who couldn't even keep up with being on time.

"Fuck this." I muttered under my breath, and moved to stand up, when I felt someone's hands on my shoulder gently pushing me back to my seat.

"Miss Morales." A deep yet soft voice said behind me. "Tell me you weren't planning on leaving when I just got here."

I opened my mouth to give him a snarky response, but lost all form of speech when he took the seat opposite me. Damian Reinhart was...beautiful. I mean, I had done my research on him right before this date, and I must say the pictures do him no justice at all. His jet black hair was jelled to the back which made him look like some mafia boss in his all black tailored suit. He was neatly shaved, had a smile that immediately sent my thighs clenching together, and I didn't even want to talk about his eyes; they were remarkable shade of grey which added even more depth to his entire appearance.

I cleared my throat, putting my cold mask right back in place. "You're thirty minutes late. You know Mr Reinhart, if you want someone to take you seriously, then you should really avoid making them sit idly in some restaurant for so long. It just only leaves room for second thoughts."

He leaned in, a smirk on his lips. "What exactly were your thoughts while you were waiting for me, Miss Morales."

I chuckled, leaning back on my chair. "What is this? Your little hook? Are you trying to act all seductive to throw me off? Because I've done my research Mr Reinhart, and you being a man whore isn't on that list. Infact, maybe I would have preferred that, so I'd get to know your real attitude. Right now, as much as I hate to admit defeat, you're a mysterious man."

He let out a little laugh, and picked up the glass of water, taking a gulp. When he was done, his entire demeanor changed immediately. His once relaxed playful face was now serious and calculative. In this world, we all have masks.

"Do you want to get married to me, Miss Morales?" He asked, his voice low yet high enough for me to hear it.

"Funny question." I scoffed. "Do you want to get married to me?"

He arched his brow. "I guess it's a mutual thing then. But we both don't have a choice in this, so let me just as least try to make it bearable."

I crossed my hands on my chest. "How exactly do you plan to do that?"

"We'll make a set of rules. These rules will avoid certain things that could mess up this arranged marriage as well as stress us personally. Look Miss Morales, I'm not a man who enjoys bickering, or fighting. Infact, I detest it, and this isn't going to be some kind of movie where we are enemies of some kind. It's going to be a mutual agreement where we stay out of each other's way." He pulled out an envelope from the inside of his suit jacket. "Once two years passes, then we can get a divorce."

I took the envelope and smiled. "You know, I was actually thinking the same thing. I guess we really are on the same page."

He nudged his head at the envelope. "Open it."

I opened it and pulled out a paper. The content inside sent me glancing up at him once more. It was a list of do's and don'ts within the marriage, and right below was a place where we'd both sign.

"Is this some kind of contract?" I asked as I scanned through the contents again.

He shrugged. "I see it as a way we can we can make each other accountable. I guess you can call it a contract."

I scoffed, and shook my head. "You really are thorough, Mr Reinhart. No scandal,No external relationships, hmm, No sex between us, No sabotage, and the last one that catches my attention, I'm not allowed to fall in love with you." I glanced up at him again, my brow arched. "You really are a cocky piece of work. Why does this only apply to me?"

"Because Miss Morales, I know how to keep my feelings in check. Besides," his eyes scanned my face. "You're not exactly my type."

"So what is? Kidnapped girls?" I scoffed

He looked startled. "What?"

I cursed under my breath, realizing that he wouldn't get the Mafia reference, and I just made him look like some kind of predator.

"I apologize for that, I don't know why that slipped out." I placed the paper on the table and sighed. "You're not the only one that gets a say in this relationship, I do too. You can't just swarm up a bunch of rules and expect me to follow it like a little kid."

My phone buzzed, and one look at it told me I needed to leave right now.

"What do you suggest, Miss Morales?" He said, and I couldn't help but think about l the way my name rolled off his tongue. I wonder how my actual name would sound like from his lips, or how his lips could....

Oh my God! I can't believe I'm fantasizing about doing this with a man I just met, and lest I forget I deemed him a quiet weirdo. This is what happens when I haven't gotten laid in a long time, and my entire life is spiraling in front of me.

My phone buzzed again, and I knew I had to leave now, or I could get into big trouble.

"We will both review these bunch of rules and turn it into something that would be convinient for the both of us. Since we're both busy people, we can just handle it through texts or something." I stood up from the chair and smoothened my silk dress. "I want to say it's a pleasure meeting you, but we both know that's not true. I have a couple of very important errands to run, so I have to go right now."

"You're leaving?"

"You made me wait for 30 minutes." I said as I shrugged. "We could have used that time to discuss this and the wedding plans. Right now, I have really important things to do."

I gave him a quick smile, and turned around to leave.

"You do know we're getting married in a month." He called out.

"I heard." I said, and turned back to look at him. "This isn't peaches and roses for me either, Mr Reinhart, and guessing from the type of person that you are, you are definitely getting something out of this too."

I scoffed when I noticed his silence. "Exactly what I thought. Now if there's nothing left to discuss, I'll see you on our wedding day."