Amari woke up in his own room, still sitting on the edge of the bed. The maids came in and started getting his bath ready, along with his bathrobe and new business suit. The maids had everything he needed, and he walked to the bathroom like he always did.
He was still thinking about his conversation with Joshua from the night before when he suddenly called him.
"J..Josh?"
Huh? Why? Are you waiting for someone to call you?
Amari faltered, and he could hear the sound of his own heart pounding in his chest. It was beating so rapidly and loudly. He was pretty nervous about the idea of receiving a call from Joshua.
"Uh, no? But, how did you know my number?"
Joshua was cracking up on the phone, and Amari felt his face go all red when he heard his laughter.
I asked someone to track it down for me. It's no big deal. You know how my family is, right? Then why didn't you contact me?
Amari could feel his heart pounding as he listened to Joshua go on and on on the phone. It wasn't his first time, but Amari could barely hide his excitement.
"I'm working my way into the work routine. I'm sorry. I'm having a hard time with this. I should've gotten in touch with you sooner, I didn't mean to not contact you right away."
Joshua didn't say a word, and there was a long pause before he finally spoke,
Okay, I got it.
Amari bit his lower lip, trying to think of something to say that would keep the call going. He felt a tingling sensation on the lips. His head felt full of thoughts and he couldn't think straight.
How have you been?
Just as he was about to lose track of what he was thinking, he heard Joshua say something, and it snapped him back to reality.
"It's much better, I'm fine."
Amari felt his throat tighten up, and he wasn't sure why his body was responding like that. It was honestly so embarrassing.
Are you available tomorrow?
Amari's eyes blinked.
"Tomorrow?"
Yeah, I have some business near your office. If you're not busy-
"I'm not busy! We can meet! Of course!" He let out a squeak half-response when Joshua invited him.
That's right, I intend to ask you to meet if you're not busy tomorrow.
"ARGGGHHHHH! I'm not sure why I'm so excited when I talk on the phone. He hasn't even asked to meet me?!" Amari was screaming in the shower as he soaked his body, totally frustrated with the convo he had with Joshua on the phone last night. He felt stupid for stuttering and being nervous.
They promised to meet at the café across from the office after seven today.
Amari drowned himself in the tub, feeling like a fool. It was just a phone call, but he was already feeling overwhelmed. He came out of the bathroom, threw on a robe and started getting his suit on.
One of the maids helped him with his hair, making it look all smooth, and then he went downstairs to the dining room for breakfast. His eyes widened when he saw the gray-black-haired guy sitting on one of the chairs. The round glasses perched nicely on his nose. Eyes that were slanted with a brownish tint, and lips that smiled widely when their gazes met.
"Jude?"
"Hi, I've been waiting for you." He got up from his seat and walked over to Amari, his hands wrapped around his waist, and kissed his cheek.
Amari flinched slightly when Jude did that.
"I told you not to pick me up..."
"Amari, is that how you talk to your fiancé?" Ashleen gave Amari a little scolding from her seat and invited Jude to sit back down and enjoy his breakfast.
Amari's mood changed right away, he wasn't looking forward to seeing Jude. His parents must've been thrilled to see Jude pick him up this morning.
"How was your business trip this time, Jude?" Jesse asked as he sipped a cup of hot coffee.
"Everything's going smoothly, and we're planning to build a new factory there." Jude smiled and told Jesse about FOTHER PHARMA's big plans to build a new factory and even a new company, and they're even thinking about expanding overseas.
They had a really marketable business for HEAT suppressant medications and RUT, so doctors and experts got involved in researching and manufacturing the medications, too. The complaint against Omega discrimination was the biggest in the country for years. Fother Pharm did some research with people who know a lot about this topic and found a super effective HEAT suppressant.
Also, Omega has shown a lot more interest in the athlete field. There are many countries with potential Omega athletes. So, Fother Pharma's medications help Omegas and decrease the discrimination against them.
Fother Pharma makes HEAT suppressants in pill form that you take every day or once a month, or as injections. They also make Fotherpod Heat Suppressant Pumps that you can use every day and that keep providing HEAT suppressants on the go. It basically works like insulin for people with diabetes.
For Amari's parents, getting married was the best option after the Fothergill family asked the White family. They didn't have a good reason to refuse. The Fothergill family has the biggest dominant gene, too.
"I'll be back here soon." Jude said goodbye to Amari's parents, smiled, and finally hopped into the car. Amari was sitting next to him, staring out the window.
Jude popped open one of the buttons on his suit and shot a glance over at Amari, who was still looking the other way.
"Are you still upset that I picked you up?" Jude asked while chuckling at Amari.
"I told you not to do this, didn't you see how happy my parents were that you came?"
"Isn't that good?"
Amari looked over at Jude, with his eyebrows all crunched up together, and he gave a little pout.
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I was just doing what a fiancée should do, nothing more."
"You don't have to waste your time." Amari said, he glanced at the window again, looking at the trees that his car had passed.
Jude's been trying to make Amari fall for him for a while now. They're already in their second year of being officially together. He wants this marriage to go the way his parents want it to, but Amari doesn't exactly have a good reaction to him. They're almost six years apart in age, but Amari treats him like a big brother.
"Take off your suit..." Jude said, he took a peek inside the big bag he had with him.
Amari turned to him, and he didn't say much, just did what Jude asked. Amari starts taking off his clothes, starting with his jacket, then a waistcoat, and finally his shirt.
Then he looked at Amari, who had the white pod in his left hand, and knew it had to be replaced every month. Amari hadn't ever changed it himself, it had all been done by Jude since he started getting his first HEAT.
He removed the pod from Amari's hand, and the man flinched a little in pain. Jude got a new pod ready, dabbing Amari's soft white skin with an alcohol swab, just a bit away from the spot where the last pod stuck.
"Is this new?" Amari asked as he watched Jude open the app on his phone.
"Yeah, you can connect this pod via phone. You can set up daily injections of HEAT suppressant from your phone for a month." Jude showed the app to Amari who nodded. "Do you want to give setting that up a go on your own?"
Amari gave Jude a look and shook his head, "I'm not interested."
Jude chuckled, "This is for yourself. You should know more about HEAT suppressors than I do."
Ever since he got HEAT, Amari never really understood how HEAT suppressants worked. He trusted Jude, who was his family doctor before they got together.
"I heard you got threatened again after the gunfire at the party?"
Amari didn't answer right away. He was babbling to himself because of what he did. Jude always got the latest news from whoever.
"Yeah, I got a threatening package."
"We should probably speed up the process for the engagement notice."
Amari looked over at Jude, and they shared a long look. Those bright blue eyes looked at Jude like they didn't approve.
"What does that have to do with it? I just got a death threat, which has nothing to do with the engagement-"
"Don't you get it? No one in this country wants to mess with people connected to the Fothergill family. If you want to get the threats to stop, you've got to do what I say." The brown eyes behind his round glasses looked pretty scary, just like the same gaze he had when he asked Amari to become his fiancée and said it was for the sake of their parents.
A look that made Amari's blood run cold.
"I'll be officially named as the next leader of my family's company next week. I'm trying to keep that as the main focus for now. If you announce about our engagement now, people might think I'm just messing around with my family's business." Amari did his best to keep his cool and not let Jude see that he was scared. He didn't want to look weak. "Shouldn't you be backing me up? I want to be clear that I'm not just here as your fiancé. After all, I'm still the head of my family's company." He finished his thought, looking at Jude, who hadn't said a word.
Jude had been dying to announce the engagement for months, but Amari kept putting it off, holding out for two whole years. Both Jude and Amari had their reasons. But Amari didn't want to hurt his family. He still doesn't trust Jude.