Amari was looking at some paperwork that had been sitting on his desk all morning. When his secretary, Tucker, who had just visited a factory near downtown, knocked on the doors of his office. Tucker walked in, and they locked eyes. He had an ice-cold coffee in his hand and was grinning like a Cheshire cat.
"What's up with your face?" Tucker asked while putting the big cup on the table and sitting down on the sofa. Amari got up and went to the sofa and grabbed a fresh cup of iced coffee.
"I've been in a bad mood since this morning."
"Huh? I think I saw your fiancé drop you off at the office this morning."
"That's why I was in such a bad mood."
Tucker's eyebrows went up when he heard Amari's answer. He knew Amari hadn't been fond of Jude, but he didn't know that hadn't changed in the two years since.
"If you're really not into him, then why wait around as his fiancée?"
Amari looked at him as if to ask 'Are you really asking about that?'
"Oops, sorry," Tucker held up both hands with a chuckle.
Amari sighed, "You know, we were in a tight spot because of what happened with PACKAGE. The finance team really did a number on the company, pretty much pushing them to the brink of bankruptcy."
"Yeah, and the Fothergill family helped you." Tucker cut Amari off while he was explaining his point. Amari nodded.
Eight years ago, the company almost went bankrupt because of what happened. But FOTHER PHARMA stepped in to help, and eventually, his parents' business recovered. That's why his mom thought Fothergill's offer to become White's in-laws was the best deal.
"There are way more perks to being an in-law than there are to being just a business friend."
"You conglomerates were the worst. I've often heard stories of loveless marriages like yours and Jude's. The most famous example is probably Cross Dhurudatta and Sarah Campbell's romance. They didn't even have children until 10 years into the marriage." Tucker said, taking a sip of coffee in his own cup.
It was a real journey for them to hit that point of falling in love, which was a tough nut to crack.
Amari had heard about it because both families were major news. The Campbells were a Mafia family, not a corporation. They only manufactured weaponry until the Dhurudatta family took over almost 80% of the company.
"Ah right, I'm meeting with Joshua tonight."
Tucker's eyes widened as he looked at Amari.
"Hey, did you tell Jude about this?"
Amari shook his head, "You have to do me a favor, please don't tell Jude's secretary about this."
Tucker let out a sigh this time and set his coffee down on the table. Since he was assigned to be Amari's personal secretary, there were a lot of things he had to do according to the contract he signed. One of those things was letting them know where Amari was and what he was doing. Those reports were for Ashleen and Jude.
"Isn't this just a typical meet-up? You don't need to keep that secret, you just need to let Jude know.."
Amari lowered his gaze, "I don't want Josh to get in trouble."
Tucker didn't say anything further. He'd been with Ashleen Aston White for 17 years, and to this day he felt Ashleen was a lot for her only child to deal with. Amari was in her custody all the time, even when he was in Australia.
Amari can run and hide for a while, but no matter where he goes, his parents will always find him.
The boy felt like he had his freedom when he was in Australia, but actually, his parents were always keeping an eye on him, even from far away.
Amari had never really had much to do with the Alphas. His relationships were all about the Omegas and Betas. When he got out of college, he was dating a Beta. Unfortunately, things fell apart.
Amari was pretty sure his boyfriend had left him without a word. But actually, Amari's parents paid the guy to stay away because they weren't too thrilled with a Beta.
When his parents got really sick, they used it as an excuse to bring Amari back to their place. They're basically putting the boy in an metaphorical prison, making him feel trapped and helpless. Amari is tied to the company by his responsibilities, and now he's tied to Jude by his promise to his parents.
"I'm not going to let Jude's secretary know, but it's not like he won't find out from someone else. I hope your meeting with the younger son of the Dhurudatta family went well and that you were able to ask about Campbell-made weapons." Tucker said again, looking at Amari who was now lying on the sofa.
He was already 29, but Amari sometimes acted childishly. In fact, he acted that way in his early 20s too.
Tucker gave a lot of updates on Amari's official announcement party, which was almost ready. Invitations have been sent out, and some families have already let the host know who's coming to the party.
Amari saw that Cross' name appeared there. He'd guessed right, Joshua wasn't going to the formal event. The day he ran into Joshua at the party was just a coincidence.
Amari went back to his work and got to it quickly because he was super excited to meet Joshua. He wasn't sure why Joshua had invited him over, but he was eager to learn more. Specifically, regarding the buyers of the Campbell-made weapons from his business.
Amari and Josh studied different majors in college, but they ended up in the same class a few times and had to do group project together. Joshua was still the same to Amari when they met for the first time again. He was quick to acknowledge him or not act like he didn't know him.
Amari's friends thought Joshua was cold, but actually he was just clumsy. Amari knew Joshua wasn't a small talk kind of guy. He'd always been like that since he was a kid.
"Are you meeting Dhurudatta's youngest son now?" Tucker just popped up from behind the door as Amari was putting the finishing touches on his work for the day. It was already 6:30 PM.
"Yes, I'll be waiting at the cafe across the office."
Tucker held the door open for Amari.
"Jude and his secretary aren't here today. They're in the next town. I'm pretty sure no one will know about your meeting," Tucker paused for a second, then finished his sentence as the elevator doors opened and they went inside together, "just so long as you're honest if either he asks about it or someone gives him a picture of you. You met the youngest son of the Dhurudatta family, and that's all there is to it."
Amari looked over at Tucker, who was staring at the elevator doors.
"I know, I know, I won't lie. I really only met him to talk anyway, nothing more."
Tucker shrugged his shoulders, "Yeah, yeah, I was just reminding you. You don't want what happened in the past to happen again."
Amari clenched his fists. The thing that happened a year ago made him avoid all his friends because of what Jude did.
"Amari, did you change your pod?" Tucker asked, he turned to Amari.
Amari raised his left hand, "Yes, Jude changed it this morning," Amari took out his phone, tapped on one of the apps and showed it to Tucker, "this app is a new technological development from FOTHER PHARMA, it's all good, something wrong?"
Tucker frowned, he sniffed around Amari, "I smell pheromones."
Amari sniffed his own body, "It's not my HEAT schedule, after all, the HEAT suppressant is just replaced. You probably just smelled it wrong."
Tucker just nodded and let out a quiet sigh. He didn't say anything more, but there was this faint scent of sweetness coming from Amari's body, like a soft fragrance hanging in the air. They split up in the lobby. Amari asked his personal driver to wait in the office while he went to the café.
It's 7:00 PM, and Joshua's coming through the front door. The guy was decked out in his usual all-black outfit and hat. He was just wandering around until their eyes met. Joshua waved his hand at Amari, who was now rooted to the spot.
The man looked so handsome. He was nervous.
Joshua was sitting in front of Amari with a big smile, "Did you place an order?" He asked cheerfully and Amari nodded, he felt like his throat was tight. He's just sitting there, frozen to the chair.
Joshua turned his head right and left, "Are you alone?"
"Huh? Do I have to bring someone here?"
Joshua chuckled, "Nah, you've been surrounded by a bunch of guards ever since we were kids. I guess that by your age, your parents aren't what they used to be."
Amari was taken aback by Joshua's words. That's right. His friends from school and college also started to distance themselves from him a bit because they felt uncomfortable around him..
"Ah, I wanted to ask you something so I asked you to meet." Joshua switched topics so fast that Amari started focusing on him again.
Joshua didn't say anything for a second, then shot glances in different directions. Amari looked up at Joshua, but his hat was in the way, so Amari couldn't see his face.
"Joshua?"
Joshua turned to Amari and looked at him, "Amari, can you run?"
"Huh?"
Joshua suddenly grabbed Amari's hand, startling the man, and swiftly snatched the bag next to him. Joshua and Amari ran together and used the back door of the café to get out of there. Amari's still confused about what happened. He's running, but he feels all mixed up, either 'cause he's running out of the blue or 'cause of the hand he's holding right now.