The day began just as any other normal day for a certain Arthur Kirkland.
The warm rays of the sun kissed his face at approximately 6:52 a.m. which prompted him to get out of his bed and begin his morning routine.
It wasn't until he was halfway done with brushing his teeth did he realize that this wasn't an ordinary day. His bloody roommate Antonio wasn't fighting him for the bathroom, even though he should be at this precise moment. Opening the door slightly, Arthur poked his head out and frowned as he saw drool dripping from the corner of his roommate's face. Along with the drool, his roommate seemed to be sporting many purple bruises on his neck—no doubt from his boyfriend, Romano.
Grumbling, he closed the door again and wondered why something was off…
After grabbing his towel and going for a shower—as Antonio was clearly not getting up anytime soon—he decided that something terribly bad was going to happen to him. In movies, this was most usually the case. What starts off as a normal day only turns really cruddy, right?
Dropping his wet towel on his roommate's face, he called out, "Oi Tomato! Get up or you'll be late to work."
Arthur grabbed his comb and brushed his unruly hair. Normally, he wouldn't have given a shit about his hair, considering he is a manager at the company he works in. But, considering the shit that was about to go down today, he decided he would be a bit more regal. It doesn't hurt to look like a gentleman.
"Did you change your shampoo?" a lazily voice called out from behind him. As Arthur turned around, he saw Antonio flinging his towel across the room and reaching for his pillow more protectively. "This isn't your normal mint shampoo." Antonio frowned as he rested his cheek on his pillow lazily, "This is your, 'Shit's going down' shampoo. Think you'll get fired?"
Arthur frowned as he thought back to the events that happened late in the afternoon by his boss. He was called down suddenly at 4:19 p.m., eleven minutes before he was officially done with the day. And his boss had told him that the company was making cuts recently, and that Arthur should hear back soon with good news.
Good news and cuts in the same sentence?
Yeah, his boss bloody hates him. Every time he talks about work, his boss—a snooty Austrian man—just gazes out the window before turning to ask him, "What is the greatest classical piece in history?" or some other random musical shite.
Roderich Edelstein was one of the reasons Arthur did not like classical music.
"Cuts are happening in the company," Arthur turned back into the mirror and began to straighten his tie. If Edelstein was going to fire him, he might as well look stylish.
Antonio chuckled, "Hate to break it to you, Arthur, but you won't get fired today." Antonio's voice was airy and light. No doubt he and Romano had fun yesterday.
"Why?"
In all his years of 'friendship' with Antonio, he never once felt the love. It all stemmed back to a rough patch they had in their teenage years after Arthur creamed Antonio in almost every Battleship game possible. But money really made a difference when the two of them had to set aside their egos to live together because rent was fucking astronomical in Manhattan. It was a rough first year, but they were slowly getting used to each other.
Before Antonio could answer him, a moan was heard from the other side of the wall, causing Arthur to twitch in annoyance.
"It's the weekend," Antonio mumbled glumly.
Weekends should be paradise, but for Arthur and Antonio, it was hell. Two months ago, they received new neighbors. A young married couple no more than the age of twenty-five or twenty-six. They were extremely nice, even offering apple pie to Arthur and Antonio. But, their sex drive was insatiable.
All weekend long, they had to listen to the music of moans and groans.
Arthur kicked off his shoes and collapsed on the bed right next to Antonio, "You don't have anywhere to be right now? Romano?"
Antonio hid his head underneath his pillow as banging started to be mixed into the moans, "Romano had to fly out to meet his grandfather, so my little baby will be gone for the next week."
With a snort, Arthur sat up, "Ale?"
"Please," Antonio groaned under his pillow.
After repeated complaints to the couple that they were being too loud, Arthur and Antonio just lost the patience to convey their message. So, on the days they had no plans whatsoever, they decided to drink away their sorrows.
Coming back with a bottle of wine instead, Arthur kicked Antonio's leg, "Have you been drinking the ale supply?"
Antonio lifted his head from underneath the pillow and nodded his head, "They were at it again after I came back home. I think you gave no fucks or you were probably sleeping like a log."
Arthur shrugged, "Doesn't matter, we'll just get drunk from this."
After finishing almost three bottles of wine between the two of them, Arthur stared at the ceiling and wondered why there were flashy little circles. Reaching out for one of them, he blinked and jumped when he heard Antonio's startled cry.
"What is it, Tomato?" Arthur leaned closer to his roommate.
Clutching onto his pillow, Antonio's tears damaged the cotton, "Estrella is pregnant right now and the man who caused her to become pregnant is not marrying her!"
Arthur leaned back into the bed as his head started to slowly throb. The sounds from their neighbors started up again, as Arthur wondered if he would ever meet a person who would provide him with a sexual fantasy just as intense as his neighbor's.
"Who's E-estrella?"
"My sister!" Antonio groaned into his pillow. "Poor Estrella and her man were dating for two years, but that puta left her the second he found out she was getting married! Now he's marrying someone else."
Arthur turned around. Married? Pregnant? Sister? Even though Antonio and him did not have the best of relations, he wouldn't back down from putting a fight. It was his roommate's sister after all.
"And that puta's fiancée doesn't even know about Estrella!"
"That fucking cretin lied to her?" Arthur sat up suddenly and groaned as he felt the blood rush to his head.
"Yeah…poor Estrella… I don't even know what to do, the poor girl is crying and the wedding is today!"
"Where?"
"Pfsdhza Hosfhtel," Antonio mumbled gibberish, yet Arthur picked it up as Plaza Hotel.
With a strong resolve to get away from his neighbors and save Antonio's sister, Arthur went to his closet and pulled out the classiest of dressing shoes. Luckily, because he had already dressed to impress, he had a nice enough suit on to crash a wedding.
Unfortunately, the alcohol in his system didn't let him listen to any reason.
Because since when did Antonio have a sister?
The ride to Plaza Hotel was surprisingly calm. There wasn't as much traffic as he had expected, especially as they neared the location. When he stepped down, a few men approached him to ask him why he was there, and when he mumbled wedding, they immediately directed him to the location, not even asking if he knew the names of the bride and groom.
He supposed it was because of his impeccable fashion sense.
As he arrived, he noticed that the groom and the bride were already up there at the altar. As Arthur's green eyes glazed over the couple, he couldn't help but linger on the groom for a second longer. The bride was pretty—yes—with her ash blonde hair and pretty face. Her dress was also—dare he say—gorgeous? Any sane person would be looking at the bride.
But he supposed he wasn't sane…or sober.
His green eyes lingered on the groom.
Dear sweet Jesus, what is this man? A masterpiece?
That was the only way he could describe the groom. With a boyish face, Arthur couldn't help but appreciate the curve of the groom's cheeks or the stubborn blond cowlick. Leaning closer, a blush spread across Arthur's cheeks as he realized the groom was ripped with muscles.
Leaning back slowly, Arthur rubbed his head using his thumb.
Don't fall for this man's looks, Arthur. He made Antonio's sister pregnant, and then he left her. He's a bastard!
In that precise moment, the groom's head turned around and Arthur noticed that the groom had a lazy and bored look to him. A lazy and bored look? If anything, any man should be brimming with love and happiness on the day they get married, not look bored to death! The groom raised a brow as he stared at Arthur, and Arthur couldn't help but growl in annoyance.
Taking a huge breath, he marched down the aisle ignoring the flashes and the protests coming from people. Swinging his arm, his knuckles collided with the groom's neck—though to be fair he was aiming for the groom's face. Stepping back slightly, Arthur growled, "You fucking cretin! How could you leave my sister pregnant and alone?!"
Any sister of Antonio's was a sister of his.
"Pregnant?" the bride muttered. Her voice sounded as though it had a Russian accent to it. Again, it was pretty, just like her face.
Arthur turned to the bride and had to take a moment to get his composure together lest the bride think he is a drunk idiot. "Yes miss, the man you are marrying," Arthur jabbed at the groom's chest, "caused my sister to get pregnant. And instead of marrying her like the honorable man would do, he left her in the dust and is marrying you!"
The bride cocked her head to the side as her fingers curled up slowly. With a small snarl, she flicked her gaze from the groom to Arthur and back. Leaning closer to Arthur, her violet eyes narrowed into slits, "And why should I believe a drunk man such as yourself? I'm marrying the love of my life."
"That player played you, miss," he reached into his pocket and pulled out the prank pregnancy test. It took him almost forty-five minutes to find this fake, but he realized it would be better to be prepared than to come empty handed. Hopefully, the woman didn't realize it was a fake, otherwise he would be royally fucked up.
Handing it to Natalya, he watched as Natalya's eyes widened ever so slowly. Her fingers turned white as she held onto the pregnancy stick with her dear life. Suddenly, she calmed down and pushed Arthur out of the way, "The fuck Alfred?" ignoring the gasps coming from the hall, the bride crossed her arms, "Tell me this man is lying! I'll sue the hell out of him."
The man—Alfred—stayed silent as he turned to Arthur before he turned back to Natalya, "Do you really question me, Nat? Do you think I would cause a girl to become pregnant and then leave her?"
It appears she was satisfied with the answer because she clapped her hands and turned murderously to Arthur, who was lying on the ground in pain. Suddenly, pretty didn't describe the bride nearly as much. She looked murderous. Turning to Alfred, Arthur noticed that Alfred was strangely calm.
But… he couldn't just let this go!
This was his friend's sister! It was his sister from another mother!
Standing up slowly, he screamed, "And you think this is the only thing this bastard did? Not only did he cause my sister to get pregnant, but he slept with another girl as well. My sister told me that the girl may be pregnant right now!" Pointing to Alfred, Arthur seethed, "He's a lying, cheating bastard who would no doubt cheat on you later!"
Natalya walked up to him and grabbed him by his tie, "Look you little shit, stop trying to ruin my wedding! I've fucking known Alfred for the past ten years and he has never once come across as a cheater. Get your drunk face out of here!"
She released her grip on his tie, and Arthur fell once more to the ground. Glancing at the ceiling, he breathlessly asked, "How are you so sure he isn't lying? He just asked if you trusted him. He didn't outright deny it. It's the sign of a cheating bastard."
It seemed as though that was the trick. Natalya asked Alfred once again, and again, Alfred growled the same response. Neither an acceptance or a denial. And suddenly, Natalya shrunk. Her confident violent eyes started to get glossy. The bouquet in his hands—purple violets and blood red roses—dropped to the ground.
The room was calm. Even the flashes coming from the corners of the room ceased. When Arthur turned his head to the side, he could see that most of the wedding guests were on the edge of their seats.
Hmm….
Edge of their seats?
Who was it that he had always seen that was on the edge of their seat?
His brows came together as his eyes stopped on an ash blond haired man who was domineering and terrifying. When the man turned to him, Arthur felt a slight chill pass through his body. This man…looked so much like Natalya. As if they were brother and sister…
I wonder how similar Estrella looks to Antonio…
Arthur frowned as he gazed at the ground. He had known Antonio for the past fifteen years. And never once did he ever complain about a sister. Yes, he complained about his half-brother who lived in Portugal most of the time, but never a sister.
Does he even have a sister?
A slap resonated in the room.
It usually takes him hours to get sobered up. Hours. But that slap sliced through his drunk haze in a mere two milliseconds. He began to shake as he covered his mouth with his right hand.
What have I fucking done?
Natalya stormed out of the room with her family in tow at that precise moment. It was in this mess did Arthur turn to Alfred apologetically. He ruined an innocent man's wedding! But as he met Alfred's gaze, he saw the murderous look that Alfred was sporting.
Run!
It was the only thought that Arthur could even think. When Arthur turned on his heel, Alfred's eyes widened as he screamed, "STOP!"
Didn't matter. Arthur continued.
He was a couch potato usually, but on this day, he came back into his apartment in record speed.
Of course, he knew it. Today was a shitty day ever since it started.
As Arthur trembled under the blankets muttering, "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" or "I hate myself!"
Antonio chuckled as he shrugged his shoulders casually, "I don't see what the big deal is."
Arthur poked out of the blankets with a glare, "What the big deal is? You git! Next time you're bloody drunk, tell me that you are talking about a fucking telenovela and not real life!"
It wasn't until Arthur had almost murdered Antonio, did Antonio tell him that no, he did not have a real sister, but that Estrella connected to him so well that he thinks of Estrella as his sister. And it wasn't until Antonio began to speak about the other characters—such as Estrella's best friend, the English beauty known as Ophelia—did Arthur realize that he also had watched Antonio's telenovela.
"Yeah, so you ruined a marriage? Big deal, we can't change the past. Just go up to both of them and tell them you had the wrong location," Antonio was grinning broadly. "I mean Romano fucks up a lot of things with his mouth—,"
"Nasty picture, don't tell me more," Arthur muttered.
"Get your mind out of the gutter puta!" Antonio socked Arthur in the arm. With a small huff, Antonio crossed his arms, "As I was saying, Romano uses 'ungentlemanly'" he used air quotes as he said this, "language which drives away a lot of people. But he apologizes, and most people usually forgive him. So, try apologizing, it'll work for ya!"
It was in Arthur's best intentions to apologize as well. Right after he collapsed on his bed, he decided he would find out the address or the bride or groom's names from the venue themselves and go in person to apologize for his reckless behavior.
But, the second he pulled out his phone, he started receiving texts from random people at work asking him if he really did have a pregnant sister. It was when he checked the internet did he realize his catastrophic mistake. He didn't ruin the wedding of two normal, rich people. He ruined the wedding between two business conglomerates.
Alfred F. Jones was the son of the man who started the technological revolution. Technology today would not have been possible without his father. With almost $74 billion as their net worth, the Jones family was quickly becoming America's most powerful family.
And his fiancée? Natalya Arlovskaya was a famous model and the daughter of Russian woman who owned most of the steel industry. Although not as rich as Alfred, she was still a very powerful woman. Her family had considerable power in the Russian government.
Natalya certainly wasn't kidding. She could sue the hell out of him.
Shivering underneath his blanket once more, he wished he had his stuffed unicorn and flying mint bunny plush toys with him.
And if ruining the wedding between two of the most powerful families wasn't bad enough, he had found out videos from the wedding uploaded onto HetaTube. People from all around the world were bashing him for ruining what would've been, "The Wedding of the Century!" Fan girls hated him, his boss hated him—received an angry text just a few moments prior—and he hated himself.
He felt Antonio's hand on his shoulder. Squeezing his shoulder reassuringly, Antonio whispered, "I know it's hard…but people will forget. Since I was the one who started this mess, I'll be the one to fix it."
Arthur gazed up at him with teary eyes, "Fix?"
Antonio's dark green eyes beamed, "Yeah, you've had your fifteen minutes of fame, now let me have mine."
In the end, the video that Antonio had uploaded to HetaTube did not make a huge difference, but it did help the press get all the information they needed to run the article. Antonio had talked about how lovely of a friend Arthur was to defend his sister's honor. It was a made-up story, but the emotion Antonio put in could've fooled anyone.
Instead of having everyone hate him and his eyebrows, some of the people started sympathizing for his mistake. To prevent matters from becoming worse, Arthur himself had uploaded a video onto HetaTube as well just an hour after Antonio uploaded his. He had to get his apology out somehow.
Instead of sticking to the actual truth…because the actual truth was too humiliating to reveal, he decided to stick with Antonio's story. And when he uploaded his video, most of the negativity cleared away. There were still some who blamed Arthur for destroying what otherwise would have been a perfect wedding, but there were others who loved Arthur for standing up for his best friend's sister.
Coming to work on Monday, though, had still been an embarrassment.
He even had to give up getting tea from his favorite pastry store because most people on the streets recognized him. Sure, he had thick eyebrows, but to insult him for every bleeding second as he went to work?
And now, after five and a half hours of misery at work, he was called to the Executive Manager's office for a small chit chat.
Because he hadn't eaten, he didn't need to worry about throwing up.
Digging his nails into his palm, he wondered how long it would take the Executive Manager to come along. He knew he was going to be fired. Hell, everyone on his floor knew. Their company had recently been bought by another and massive layoffs had been happening. If there was any doubt about him staying in the company, it was surely ruined after Saturday's debacle.
Antonio and he slammed their bed onto the wall repeatedly and even pretended to let out moans to get revenge on their neighbors. It was a shallow satisfaction, but a satisfaction nonetheless.
Staring at the roses in the flower pot, he was suddenly reminded of the flowers in Natalya's bouquet. He loved roses, and the bouquet was pleasing to the eye, but he wouldn't have used such contradictory colors. A blood red should have been paired with something lighter.
The door to the room opened, and Arthur felt his heart plummet along with his lungs and diaphragm and stomach and what not. Right now, he was goo. Gulping, he dug his nails into his palms even deeper.
Instead of being fired like this, he would have much rather received a termination letter in his email.
"Ah, sorry for the wait. I was held up at the coffee machine," the voice was deep and velvety. As the man entered, the smell of black coffee diffused across the room, embracing Arthur with the gag worthy scent.
"Now, when I read your file, you were supposed to be transferred over to our London branch. You had the credentials and you even knew a few of the other European languages which would've helped the company a lot. But after the debacle on Saturday," the voice stopped.
"I'm fired?" he added in glumly. There was no point in waiting in silence. The silence and anticipation killed him more than his termination.
"Fired? Mr. Kirkland, would you please look up at me?"
Biting his lip, he slowly lifted his head as a tiny yelp escaped his lips. Sitting before him was the man he thought was delectable on Saturday. Sitting before him was the man who's wedding was ruined. By him…
"Mr. Jones?" Arthur pulled on his collar nervously, "I-w-what are you doing here?"
He should've known that such a powerful man would've came out to seek him. Arthur has, after all, defamed him in such a horrid way. Sinking in his seat, Arthur winced as he thought up of all the different possibilities of his future. In all of them, he was rolling in misery.
Alfred—no, he lost that privilege the second he ruined the man's wedding—Mr. Jones smirked at him, "Mr. Kirkland, you of all people should have been well aware that I was the one who bought your company."
Arthur fiddled with his thumbs as he thought back to the recent news of the company. He knew that his company was bought. But he was quite sure Jones Inc. did not buy it out. If he remembered correctly, a smaller and newer company known as Magical Strike bought it out.
Mr. Jones's phone was buzzing crazily. He glanced at his phone for a second before asking, "So?"
Arthur frowned, "Last I heard, sir, Magical Strike bought us out, not Jones Inc."
Alfred rolled his eyes as he leaned back into his chair, "So you have been listening. Say Artie, you know who the CEO of Magical Strike is?"
Normally, he would've punched the daylights out of someone if they had called him with such a blasphemous name. But he was still sorrow and ashamed at what he had done, so he'll let it slide for now.
"Uh…can I phone a friend?"
This was getting ridiculous. He should be fired and be clearing his desk by now. Not playing guessing games.
With a snort, Mr. Jones's attention flicked to his phone for a brief second before it turned back to Arthur. The baby blue eyes of Mr. Jones were so calming to look at, even when they were hidden behind the thin wired glasses. Leaning closer to Arthur, Mr. Jones shook his head, "How about fifty-fifty? Is the CEO of Magical Strike Natalya or me?"
"Dear Jesus! It's Natalya isn't it?" Arthur jumped out of his seat as he clutched to his head.
As he read more and more articles online, he came to the conclusion that his greatest worry wasn't really Alfred F. Jones, but a certain Belarusian model by the name of Natalya Arlovskaya. When Natalya was pissed, she was pissed…
"What? No!" Mr. Jones stood up and crossed his arms as he stood in front of Arthur. "What gave you that ridiculous idea?"
Arthur's eyes became wide. This was just fucking embarrassing. Mr. Jones probably had a kick from all of this. Rubbing the back of his neck, he quickly let out, "Well…you know. I thought that Natalya was coming out to murder me, so you thought it would be moral to come and warn me so I can run away."
Mr. Jones blinked for a second, before he let out a chuckle, "Well you aren't wrong about that. Natalya is pissed. You've ruined the wedding she had been planning for the last five years, that too in front of everyone."
Arthur sat down clutching onto his head. Of course, Natalya would murder him. And with the money she had, no one would ever know he was gone expect Antonio. He raised his head as a treacherous thought passed through him. What if she murdered Antonio as well? He knew it! Antonio never should've posted on HetaTube.
"A penny for your thoughts?"
Arthur glanced at the copper coin before him. As he glanced up, he saw concern in the CEO's eyes. Getting down on his knees, Mr. Jones reached for Arthur's hands. His thumb drew small, yet steady circles, "Look Arthur, she's mad at you right now, and she'll be even more furious at you after what'll happen next." Before Arthur could even process what was happening, Mr. Jones continued, "But just know, that I'll be there to stop her from murdering you."
"She has a modeling contract in Europe, so she'll be there for the next few months right? She's already left?" he was shaking as he remembered the facts of the last article he had read. Natalya was scheduled to leave to London for a modelling gig now that her wedding was over. So, he should be counting his lucky stars since he wasn't being transferred to London.
Mr. Jones laughed nervously as his fingers grazed the buttons on Arthur's dress shirt, "About that, well…I think she saw your video on HetaTube or something, because she cancelled her flight. She's staying here in New York."
The first two buttons of Arthur's shirt had come off, but he was too distracted by the turn of events, "I see. Well that's good, right? Now you can get married to her without a problem?"
"Hm…you see," Mr. Jones began as his hand went up to Arthur's hair. Running his fingers through Arthur's hair, Mr. Jones effectively ruined his perfectly combed hair. "There's a small problem that I didn't tell you about."
"And what's that?" Arthur whispered softly.
"Natalya's coming up here in another—," the door banged open before Mr. Jones could even finish his sentence. As Arthur turned to the other side, he felt as though his soul was being drained out of him.
Instead of in the white wedding dress with light, flowery makeup, Natalya was wearing a jet-black skirt and an ivory halter top. On her shoulders was a fur coat that was probably thousands of dollars. Her boots clinked as she walked closer to Arthur. Her thin fingers curled around his collar as she picked him up, "You, what are you doing here?" her eyebrow twitched in annoyance.
"I-I….," he was left stuttering as he wondered what he could possibly say to salve their awful relationship.
"He's an employee of the company, Nat," Mr. Jones rolled his eyes as he walked up behind Arthur. Placing his large hands on Arthur's shoulders, Mr. Jones gently pulled him away from Natalya. "So I would appreciate it if you don't mutilate him."
"Mutilate him?" Natalya echoed. "Why would I mutilate him?" Just as Arthur was about to let out a sigh of relief, Natalya snarled, "I'll feed him to my bison, and then the crows will take a bite out of him as his withering body decays."
Arthur jumped and hid behind Mr. Jones. He was never, ever going to drink again. Let this be a lesson learning. Alcohol is injurious to your life.
"Relax Nat," Mr. Jones placed his hand on Natalya's shoulders. "The wedding is over, but you did see his video, right? He didn't ruin the wedding on purpose. And besides, you've received even more attention with this wedding than you have for any other modeling contract. Last Saturday pushed you to stardom."
Natalya's shoulders dropped down, causing the large fur coat to tumble to the ground. With a sigh, she rubbed her arm, "I suppose I did get the London modelling contract because of the wedding."
"See," Mr. Jones beamed and winked at Natalya, "All good, then?"
Suddenly, her eyes narrowed as her fists clenched, "No! Not all good. This little prick ruined my dream wedding! We won't be able to recreate the wedding for another nine months because of this! And think about all our relatives. My family had to make numerous phone calls to explain the situation. And because of that goddamn video, we have to explain some more."
Natalya pushed Mr. Jones aside and grabbed onto Arthur's shirt, "My family lost their power in the Russian Assembly, you asshole. Now the prime minister and president mock my father."
Arthur closed his eyes tightly, "I-I-uh, I'm really sorry, miss! Truly I am. I didn't mean to ruin your wedding, and I regret every second, as well." Arthur fell to the ground which was an absolute first for him. Even when his brothers almost singed off half his hair, he did not fall to the ground and beg. "I regret what happened on Saturday every second of the day. I regret more that I did not come to you to apologize personally, but I honestly thought you would've murdered me."
"Get up, idiot," Natalya mumbled after a moment.
Silence filled the room as Arthur slowly stood up. His shirt was covered in sweat, his pale skin was unusually flush, and his heart beat erratically fast. Natalya crossed her arms, "I still want to murder you, Arthur Kirkland," she spat out his name as if he were something vile. "But I suppose I'll forgive you if you agree to become my brother's lackey."
Before Arthur could even agree, Mr. Jones stepped in and laughed nervously, "Ah ha, ha, ha, Nat, no. He's not going to be Ivan's slave. I'm keeping Artie in the New York branch, but I'm promoting him as head manager. He'll be working under me."
Arthur's head snapped towards Mr. Jones's direction. After all of this, Mr. Jones was promoting him instead of terminating him. Mr. Jones turned softly in his direction and smiled, "Yeah Artie, that's what I called you down for."
Reaching out for a folder, he handed it to Arthur, "Here, this is your contract, and instructions for what you should do next."
"Instructions?" Arthur raised his brow confused.
"What? You are fucking promoting this son-of-a-bitch after he ruined our wedding?" Natalya's high pitched scream filled the room.
Mr. Jones nodded his head and laughed nervously, "Yeah, I am."
"We aren't getting married if this bastard receives a promotion, Al!" Natalya seethed.
Mr. Jones stood up straight and cleared his throat, "Then I guess we aren't getting married, Natalya." Arthur's mouth dropped open as he uneasily walked to Mr. Jones to give him the blue file. Promotions at this point were not necessary if it meant breaking up a couple. Mr. Jones opened the flap and Arthur's brows knit together as he read the words.
Agree to everything I'm going to say to Natalya, if you want to live.
Arthur glanced up at Mr. Jones, and Mr. Jones nodded his head reassuringly. Turning to Natalya, Mr. Jones frowned, "Natalya, I've been meaning to tell you for some time that I am not ready to settle down any time soon. You were the one who pushed me even though I had never wanted to get married, and then our wedding was ruined. But it wasn't Artie's fault."
Mr. Jones turned to Arthur and Arthur nodded his head profusely as he remembered the words on the piece of paper. With a small grin, Mr. Jones turned to Natalya, "I didn't realize what I was missing in life until that wedding, when I saw him," Mr. Jones pointed to Arthur.
What the hell is going on? Arthur gulped and took a step back.
"And what happened when you saw him?" Natalya's voice lowered.
"I fell in love with him," Mr. Jones mentioned in a soft and serious voice.
Arthur's head snapped up at the same moment Mr. Jones leaned down to kiss him. His mouth dropped open in that instant and Mr. Jones seized the opportunity to use his tongue on him. His big hands roamed across Arthur's lithe body, hitting all the appropriate areas to elicit a moan from him. It would've been the most passionate kiss he had ever had if you subtracted the crazy ex-bride and tense environment.
"You slept with him, didn't you?" Natalya's eyes grew dangerously narrow.
Mr. Jones grinned, "Yeah, and we even had a little make out session right before you came, didn't we Artie?" His fingers reached for the exposed skin at the top of the shirt. That's what the bastard was doing with his buttons!
Arthur was about to protest, but Mr. Jones—no the bastard lost his respect—Alfred glanced at the blue file and raised his brow in warning. Not knowing what to do he shook his head in every direction. He needed to go home and hide himself under a rock before his life became a telenovela.
Letting out a scream of frustration, Natalya growled, "You will pay for what you've done, Arthur Kirkland. And you," she jabbed Alfred's chest, "Get ready to marry me before the year ends, Alfie, because I am not letting you go for anything!"
She left the office room, leaving her fur coat behind.
Arthur pushed Alfred off of him before he growled, "You!"
Alfred laughed with ease. The sound was annoying. "Told ya she'd be much madder at you after this, Artie!"
"Why are you playing with my life? I said sorry! I didn't ask you to make my life more miserable," Arthur turned to the door with a glare. Right before him was the file folder with the promotion. And right out there, was Natalya. A girl he had wronged. He was a gentleman, goddammit. He would fix this.
"I'm going to tell her the truth," Arthur turned on his heel, but Alfred wrapped his arms around him.
"No can do, Artie," Alfred wheezed as Arthur managed to jab Alfred in the chest. Pushing Arthur to the ground, Alfred took a deep breath, "Look Arthur, I know you are mad at me, but hear me out for a second, alright?"
Running his fingers through his wheat-blond hair, Alfred sighed, "Natalya and I knew each other for years, and she was hell-bent on getting married to me. I was never even interested in her, but when Nat is hell-bent, she gets what she wants. On Saturday, I prayed to every god to not get married, and just when I thought it was a lost cause, you came and ruined the wedding!" Alfred grinned. "Thanks for that Artie!"
Arthur sighed, "You know, you could've stopped the wedding yourself."
"Wouldn't work, she would spot it really fast. We know all of the same people. Anyway, I thought the wedding was over, but then you uploaded the video, and that's when I knew that I was fucked up again. She would no doubt come to me once she realized that I did not cheat on her. So, I had to stop all of this, and what do you know? Lo and behold, you work at this company!"
"So you used me?" Arthur asked flatly.
"Think of it as getting even for ruining my wedding," Alfred shrugged.
"She's going to murder me," Arthur stated.
Alfred shrugged once more, "So yeah, she'll murder you. Whatever. I'll protect you, it's the hero's job after all."
"I'm telling her," Arthur narrowed his eyes.
"She won't believe you," Alfred rolled his eyes.
Gingerly taking out his phone, he glared at Alfred, "I recorded everything you said." A total lie. After watching enough telenovelas with Antonio, he became used to all of the ways you can get evidence. Alfred's eyes widened for a second before they narrowed.
"Artie," he walked closer. His hands cupped Arthur's cheeks, "I'll buy you whatever it is that you want. A penthouse? A car? An even better promotion?" His lips were dangerously close to Arthur's, "Just don't tell Natalya about this." He whispered one more sentence in Arthur's ear, causing a warm blush to spread across Arthur's cheeks.
As he kissed Arthur once more, Arthur wondered how twisted his life could've possibly been. What started out as a normal morning turned out into an absolute mess. Before Saturday, no one knew him, but now, everyone knew him. As Alfred took a step back, Arthur gulped.
He was a gentleman…
But even gentlemen had their limits.
Arthur, be my boyfriend?
He would be a rogue if he let such a fine specimen out of his hands.