The Wedding Disaster

Prologue

Everything happened fast... One moment, she had a strong grip on the handlebars, and the next, she found

herself on the tarred floor of the highway.

She blinked twice and winced in pain. She started to get to her feet, but as she looked up and saw the parked cars and concerned faces staring down at her, she rolled her eyes underneath the helmet. "People" she spat with disgust.

"I mean why stand around and stare down at me if you're not going to lend a helping hand?" She mumbled under her breath as she stood.

She made a futile attempt to wipe at the stains on her ash overall, trying to remove her helmet at the same time.

She passed a fake smile around at the faces and mouths mumbling their concerns, as she tried to articulate her thoughts. What had happened?

She remembered taking a sharp turn from Maple Street onto the main highway, maintaining the speed limit.

She smirked at that thought, cause she was a sucker for breaking laws, but she just wasn't in the mood.

Then it hit her. "The stupid red car."

She had noticed it just as she turned onto the highway, cause why not? It screamed 'NOTICE ME'.

As it all slowly came to her, a hand tapped her shoulder. "Excuse me, ma'am." She whirled around, eyebrows raised.

She studied the young man in front of her, good-looking, prim, and impeccable. He had a boyish charm that betrayed all that impeccability though.

"Are you okay?"

She winced. Too formal. She glared at him. "And who would you be?" She asked, dipping her palms in the pockets of her overalls.

The young man stuttered a bit as he tried to explain. She smiled and caught on quickly.

"So you're the one that hit me," she said sharply, gesturing at the red car, "with that.." she paused, making a face, "that thing" she completed. Glaring at him even more.

She saw the confused expression cross the young man's face in a split second, but he quickly masked it, a small smile playing at the corner of his lips.

"I'm so sorry ma'am. Maybe we could compensate you for the damages. We're running quite late."

Her brows raised at that and she chuckled softly. "What do you mean we?" Without waiting for a response, she pushed past him and made her way to the red car.

She rapped on the windshield on the driver's side continuously without getting a response. The young man turned almost immediately and got into the passenger seat.

"Excuse me?" She sounded annoyed now. These people were arseholes. "What's all the ruckus about?" A voice from the backseat asked.

The young man glanced at the rearview mirror at the voice.

"Sir, it's the lady we hit. She's being a bit difficult."

"I told you, no sirs! And why don't we just pay her for the damages and get the hell out?"

The young man threw an annoyed glance at the voice. "I tried that already," "Sir," he said after a short pause.

"Well try something-" the voice at the back started to say but was interrupted by another round of continuous rap on the windshield. He turned towards the sound. Messy blonde hair. He sighed and looked away.

The black sedan pulled to a stop in front of Grayson Automobiles. The security guard at the entrance walked briskly towards the car and opened the back door.

"Welcome ma'am." The security guard curtsied slightly.

Ava Grayson sighed. British people and formalities. She gave a slight nod, adjusted her jacket, and walked into the building.

As she walked through the revolving doors, she glanced at her reflection in the glass and smiled, satisfied with her appearance.

White long-sleeved jacket spotted with small blue circles matched with navy blue pants and navy blue stilettos. Honey blonde hair packed up.

As she breezed through the hallway, heads turned. She could hear the whispers. "Damn, she's hot." "Nah man, she's beautiful,"

Ava smirked. Of course.

Just as she pressed the button for the eleventh floor on the elevator, an ebony-skinned redhead scurried towards the elevator, files in hand. She jumped in just as the doors were about to close, panting heavily.

"Beautiful morning, Miss Grayson." The redhead gasped in between breaths. Ava rolled her eyes. The elevator doors closed.

"Ava, Alex, there's nothing beautiful about the morning. Look at the time," she glanced at her watch, "you were supposed to come to pick me up, Lex".

"Ugh no, Miss Grayson. Let's maintain the formalities at work." Ava chuckled, "Lex you make me wanna roll my eyes a hundred times a day," she added.

The elevator dinged at the eleventh floor and they got out. Ava glanced at Alex to see that she had a straight face, and she smiled. Lex would always amaze her.

Alexis Scoffied is her best friend first, then her assistant. They've been together since their university days when Alexis sang and danced in the K-pop group, while she joined the relay team.

Even on the good days and the bad, they stayed together. Alex was the kind of girl who sleeps on the rooftop on a drunken night and catches a 6 am flight to Dublin for a conference meeting the next morning.

When her father placed her in charge of Grayson Automobiles, she had employed Alexis as her Personal Assistant, because she knew no one could handle being a psycho and a perfectionist so well.

Typical Alex.

Alexis stifled a chuckle, "well act professional, Miss Grayson" She said as she reached the door to Ava's office and opened it.

The whiff of jasmine that hit Ava's nose gave her a pleasant heady feeling. She breathed in deeply, savoring the scent, then she exhaled and picked up her nameplate.

"I have to say, Lex, I've missed this space," Ava admitted as she strolled to the leather couch in the middle of the office and sank in, observing the nameplate.

Alexis walked to the table and dropped the files, facing Ava. "Of course, Miss Grayson." "It just gives this.. homey feeling, you know what I mean?

I nodded as I muttered a small yeah.

"Miss Grayson, you need to sign these documents today. They're long overdue. So please," she gestured to the files on the desk" if you'd kindly get to work." She urged.

Ava groaned and stood up. "Alright, Boss. she joked.

By the way, I am not about to be the youngest Billionaire in Europe. you are. Your Dad just has to die sooner." Alex joked.

Ava laughed. "Lex, that's crazy." Alexis shrugged and arranged the files in front of Ava. "Get to work."

"Can I see the blueprint of the Red Lexus, model 3?" Ava asked Alexis as she turned to go.

"Sure, Miss Grayson." She stepped out the door and returned a minute later with the blueprint.

She handed it to Ava and after a quick scan at it, Ava got up and pushed her chair back. "Huh, I'm going to fix myself some coffee. Here, she said, handing the blueprint back to Alex.

"And since when do you do that yourself Miss Grayson? Oh, don't tell me this is about your phobia of red cars kicking in?

"Argh! Fine, "I'll test run the car myself." Ava groaned as she stood to step out of the office.

Alex let out a chuckle. "Here we go again."

"Screw you, Alex." She yelled.

Alexia sighed and looked up. "It's about to be a long day" Ava giggled and strolled out the door, shouting from the corridor "What do you mean?"

~~~

Luke Carter opened the door to room 302 and stepped out. He turned to look at the lady in the doorway.

"Forgive me. Maybe I was just under the influence of alcohol." He said, buttoning his shirt.

The lady at the door scoffed "You know you're a real arsehole," she said and banged the door in his face.

Luke sighed and hung his head. Of course, he was an arsehole. He had met the lady at the hotel bar, where he had sat alone, reminiscing the events of the day.

The lady had walked over to where he sat and offered to buy him a drink. "Two shots of blood Mary, please." She said to the bartender and sat on the stool beside him.

Luke had been so lost in his thoughts he didn't even notice when she sat there.

"Hey". No answer.

The lady tapped him then, knowing he was lost in thought because he looked like it. It was then he looked up and stared at her, a blank look on his face.

"What's got you thinking so hard?" The lady asked, passing him a shot. He had looked at the shot and smiled, rubbing his stubble.

He looked up at the lady again and studied her face. Pretty Wild. Maybe he could just entertain her to distract himself.

"I'm sorry, I didn't get your name," he said, lifting the shot glass to his lips. "Sam. Samantha." She answered.

He smiled, "Nice name, Sam." He raised the shot glass to her "Thanks for the shot" he said and poured the drink into his mouth.

They spent the next hour taking more shots and getting acquainted.

Somehow he had found himself kissing her, then she had suggested they go up to her room.

Their make-out session was pretty intense, but Luke had caught himself and pulled away from the lady. Then he got up and told her how he couldn't go on with it.

Disappointed, the lady tried to know why he had stopped, but he wasn't forthcoming with any reason.

He knew why he stopped though, but he didn't want to hurt the lady's feelings any further.

That was when he excused himself and left the room. He headed back to the bar, jacket in hand, another hand in his pocket.

He got to the bar and sat at a secluded spot. He knew he attracted too much attention, and he hated having to deal with people. It's been quite difficult keeping a low profile though, being the son of a Billionaire and an insanely good-looking man.

He brought out his phone and dialed a number. He got the same response he had been getting since earlier that evening.

"Sorry, the number you've dialed cannot be reached at the moment. You can leave a message after the beep."

He sighed and ended the call before it could even beep. He had left a series of messages. How many more did he have to leave?

Just as he signaled to the waiter, his phone rang. He picked up his phone and looked at the caller ID, he sighed and dropped the phone on the table, leaving it to ring.

The waiter had arrived to take his order when the phone started ringing again. Luke cursed under his breath and picked up the call.

"Look man, I told you I needed some ti-"

"There's a problem." The voice on the other end interrupted him.

There was a pause and Luke waited for him to continue, not knowing what to expect. The silence stretched long, which he found odd because he knew how precise his cousin, and secretary, could be.

"What's the problem, Darrell?" he finally asked.

"It's about your brother" Darell paused again.

"What about him?" Luke sounded a little irritated now. Darrell paused for another minute, contemplating the best way to deliver the news.

"Matt sexually abused his patient."

Luke let the bombshell sink in completely. He felt his knees go weak under him and in that moment, he felt a surge of anger he hadn't felt in a long time.

Darrell sensed how the news affected Luke, but he had to deliver it anyway. "It's all over the news, and his medical license as a gynecologist is at stake." He paused, and after a second he added, "he might lose his license."

"So what has that got to do with me?" Luke retorted sharply.

"Calm, Luke. I wanted to let you know, so you can stay hidden until I can come get you."

"You know how it is, news like this spreads like wildfire, and reporters are on the neck of every Carter and employee of the hospital."

Luke sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He noticed the waiter was still there and signaled him to come back.

His brother, Matthew Carter, was an embodiment of rascality. Rebellious and extremely perverse, he was in no way qualified to be in the medical profession, but with the influence of being the first heir, and being favored by his father, he had climbed the ladder to the second-highest-ranked position in Carter Pharmaceuticals.

Carter Pharmaceuticals started nosediving the day Matthew Carter was appointed the Managing Director.

He made the worst possible decisions, even without consulting the board of directors.

He had women's troubles every day, and he had to spend a lot to take care of these troubles, mismanaging the finances of the company in the process.

Carter Pharmaceuticals used to be known to be a very influential company, that was before Matt Carter came into the limelight.

Andrew Carter, not knowing how to reprimand the son he favored the most, took it upon himself to put the company back on the success track.

Carter Pharmaceuticals was slowly recovering and getting back on track before this incident occurred.

Luke sighed heavily and rested his left elbow on the table while he held the phone to his ear with his right.

"Okay." He said into the speaker.

"Alright, so where are you now? I'll come pick you up myself." Darrell responded.

Luke didn't quite hear him though, as he had let his mind trail off. This news wouldn't have bothered him, just like every other news about his brother, and he wasn't in any way interested in the family business.

But he cared too much about his sister, and he knew how much this would affect her, so he couldn't look the other way.

"Luke, where are you?" Darrell asked again, jolting Luke back to reality. "Meet me at Blues Lounge" Luke replied and the line went dead.

~~~

The loud music that blasted from inside the club reached Ava and Alexis in the parking lot and Ava wondered what it would sound like inside if it was this disturbing to the ears, outside.

She had had a long day at work and she hoped to just go home and spend the rest of her evening in a rose-scented bathtub, listening to Elton John and sipping from a glass of margarita.

But her psychotic friend had insisted they go clubbing, to 'loosen up'. But that was where the problem lay. Ava does not see clubbing as loosening up, rather she sees it as putting in more work. The dance and drinks and all.

Considering all these, Ava had adamantly refused to follow Alexis to the club. Alexis, not having it, had dragged her along.

A few hours later, they arrived at the club. The introvert in Ava hated it so much. She was dressed in a purple crop top, thigh-short leather skirt, and white leather boots.

Alexis on the other hand, was in the mood to party, and she dressed accordingly. All she had on was a skin-net jumpsuit over a set of black panties, a black bra, and bright red stilettos.

Alexis looked over at Ava, who looked painfully bored. She adjusted her dark shades and nudged her, "Let's move baby." Ava grudgingly followed her, dragging her feet behind.

The blast of music that hit her ears just as they got in still surprised her, even though she knew what to expect. She quickly scanned the club for a quiet spot and stealthily moved away from Alexis.

Meanwhile, Alexis didn't waste time mixing with the crowd, moving her hips to the rhythm of the music.

From where she sat, Ava studied a guy who sat on the couch across from her. He was focused on his phone so she had not seen what his face looked like, yet. But from his physique, she could tell his face would be a pleasant sight to behold.

She couldn't get her eyes off the veins on his arms. She sighed and pressed the space in between her forehead.

She needed to get laid, badly. She's been too preoccupied with work since she got back from the States, she hasn't had time to herself.

"Gosh, I can't believe this. I'm seriously drooling over a guy. She muttered as she took a glance at him again. Damn! he's hot, I mean who wouldn't?

She looked up to catch a glimpse again only to see the guy observing her. She immediately loved the feeling in her toes. You know, that feeling. She could feel the air heating up from the sexual tension. She knew he could feel it too.

The young man moved over to where she sat and extended his hand. "Darrell" Ava ignored the gesture and eyed him surreptitiously.

"Good day, Darrell," she responded.

Darrell smiled and observed her. He knew and saw how extremely beautiful she was, but he knew that wasn't what was pulling him. Had to be something else.

Her charm? well maybe...

He chuckled at that thought and cleared his throat.

"Well, maybe you can tell me your name?" He started "I'd like to...

"Can we just cut to the chase?" Ava interrupted him, not wanting all that boring talk.

Darrell looked extremely confused. "Excuse me?" he muttered sheepishly.

"I know you feel it too," Ava claimed, moving in closer and looking down at his lips with tipsy eyes.

Damn. He knew that the dry Martini she had been drinking wasn't any good for her. Hit her too soon.

Ava grabbed him by the collar. "Let's cut the crap and get to it."