Waving goodbye to the driver he hired, William lifted his black GG gucci carry on bag and started his walk towards the stairs that led to the front door when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Shit, he thought, Tristan was supposed to go to his own apartment. He turned around, giving the young man a faint smile. Before he could talk to Len and figure out what his next move should be, he needed to pretend nothing was wrong. Now, his family's safety depended on it, and he was the one who brought this all upon them, after all. He kept his voice level and even, adding a hint of a joyous tone to it as he spoke to Tristan.
"What's wrong, Montgomery? I thought that the driver was taking you home. You didn't move in, yet."
"No, I told Calvin to take the day off. I wanted to come here first and see Mass, then I'll call a car when I'm ready."
"Oh, oh, okay. Well, shall we?"
William continued up the stairs with Tristan on his tail. Taking his house keys out of his pocket, he unlocked the front door and entered the home, pressing his passcode into the alarm next to the front door. William dropped his bag at the door, which one of his housemaids Anne came and collected, and kicked his shoes off.
"Kendra?" He called out, his voice echoing in the tall ceilings and long hallways his home held.
"In the kitchen!" His wife called back.
He nodded, taking the keys out of his pocket and hanging them next to the door before winding into the kitchen. Tristan was behind him, his nose buried into his iPhone. There at the kitchen table was Kendra and Massie, picking at a china platter full of different cake flavors and frosting flavors.
"Making wedding decisions without me?" Tristan mused, moving to stand behind Massie and placing a kiss on her cheek before swiping one of the small tasting forks and trying the cappuccino flavored piece. "Oh god, this one's fantastic!"
"We're just weeding out the bakeries, my love. So many of them want to host the wedding of the century - we have a tasting next week…. two, actually."
"So, what you're saying is that I need to go back to the gym every day this week?"
"Precisely so, T." Massie giggled, taking his fork and stabbing a piece of strawberry shortcake and handing it back to him to try.
"Hello, darling." William kissed the top of his daughter's head, then took his seat at the head of the table, next to Massie and Kendra on the other side.
"Hi, Dad. How was the tournament?"
"We smoked them, as usual. Next year, they'll probably hire a professional for their team. Your Tristan here has quite the swing."
"Thank you, sir. But, if I'm being honest, it's all from what you taught me."
"Well, it sure sounds like you two had a great trip!" Kendra cheered brightly, resting her hand on William's right shoulder.
As Tristan opened his mouth to reply, his iPhone began vibrating obnoxiously. Startled, Tristan jumped up and took the phone out of his pocket. Reading the name on the screen, Tristan excused himself before walking outside through the double glass doors that led to the Block's now covered pool and grass ways, and pavers with lounge chairs.
Once he was out of the house and far enough out of earshot, William turned to the girls and Kendra and Massie's faces were full of confusion.
"Why is he here?" Massie asked.
"To see you. I sent the car to his apartment once I was dropped off, and he got out with me. Next time, we're dropping him off first."
"No kidding, William. What in the world is going on here?!"
"I have papers you both have to look at. But, for now, let's pretend we know nothing, right?"
"Right." Both women echoed, as Tristan walked back towards the door.
Kendra jumped out of her seat. "I'll make some tea!" She offered, going to the stove and putting the tea kettle on as Tristan walked back inside.
"Thank you, Kendra." Tristan grinned, going back to his seat as Kendra hummed around the kitchen, getting together tea cups and an herbal apple cinnamon tea to match the October season.
"Unfortunately, babe, I have to run out in a minute. There's business at my dad's office that needs to be tended to, but I will be back tomorrow morning and we'll have breakfast, alright?"
"Okay, babe. Do you want to take some tea to go?"
"No need, I'm all caffeinated up."
"Do you want me to call the car, my love?"
"Oh no, I have one outside already. Love you, and thank you both for giving me the opportunity to go on this trip with you, Bill."
"Of course, see you at the office tomorrow." Bill waved.
"I love you, babe." Massie blew Tristan a kiss as Kendra wrapped him in a quick hug. As soon as he came, he was out the front door and into the car disappearing out of the driveway.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. No one really knew the full deal of Tristain Montgomery - Massie thought she did, but what her dad scared her was even worse of a reality than before.
"I have the papers, hold on." William Block called Anna to bring him back his carry on bag, and once she handed it to him, he dismissed the staff for the rest of the night.
"Can't be too sure," William mumbled before rummaging through the contents of his bag. Pulling out a thick envelope full of papers, he laid it on the table and went through the papers. He handed half to Massie, and half to Kendra.
Massie gripped the stack of papers in her hands, half not wanting to look through any of them. She was actually hoping her dad was kidding. Now, she knows he isn't a good person, but she didn't think Tristan's actions would freak her father out to this extent unless it was worse than a drug habit.
"I need to figure out how we can get this family out of this arrangement. But, you can see for yourself."
Kendra gasped as she sorted through her stack of papers. "William, how did you not find any of this out before?"
The tea kettle whistling shook Massie out of her frozen state. She jumped out of her seat to go pour the hot water into the mugs with tea bags, watching her mother's facial expressions.
"Please share with the class, mom."
"Did you know your fiance was arrested seven times?"
"What?"
"And, four of those arrests was because of possession of illegal drugs?"
"And the other two?"
"One was a gun-point robbery, and one was an assault charge...He was also arrested another time for illegal possession of a firearm in two states, this one included.."
"Are you fucking KIDDING, DAD?!"
"I didn't know! Expunged records show as a clean one!"
"Well, how are you planning on getting me and this family out of this?!" Massie questioned, bringing the mugs of tea to the kitchen table and sitting back down. Her hands were now visibly shaken. Now, she could start letting her real feelings show, her real anxieties come to the surface after being pushed down for so long.
"I...I haven't yet. I'm working on it, Len and I are meeting tomorrow morning."
"Where did you even get these documents, Dad? Plus, I read that prenuptial agreement you concocted. It's fucking terrible. Now, I'm really fucking stuck because of your choosing to turn a blind eye. "
"I told you. I got a phone call at the tournament, it was anonymous. Someone faxed it to the business center there, someone who knew I was there to pick them up. Someone's watching over this, over us, and I don't know who but I damn well-I'm going to find out."
As Massie took a sip of her piping hot tea, the front doorbell rang. Before Massie could offer, her father was out of his chair and storming the front door, prepared to tell Tristan to go the fuck home.
"Oh, it's you."
"Hi, Mr. Block."
"Hi, Derrick."
"Is Massie home?" In that moment, Derrick felt like he was fifteen again, asking if he could take Massie to the town fair.
"Yes, she's inside."
"Oh."
"Would you like to come in, Harrington?"
"I mean...yes, if you aren't in the middle of something."
"DAAAAD, LET HIM IN, GAWD." Massie yelled out to the hallway.
"Come in, Derrick." William gestured quickly, not entirely sure if someone was watching this exchange from afar.
Nodding, Derrick walked inside, closing the door behind him and walking quickly to the kitchen to check on Massie. There might be years between when they dated back in middle school to their current...situation, but William still scared the shit out of Derrick and he wasn't afraid to admit that.
"I didn't know you were coming over." Massie greeted in a flat tone, signaling to Derrick that now was a terrible time for this unplanned visit.
"I didn't know you were going to not answer your phone." He retorted, shifting his weight from one foot to the other awkwardly as both her parents watched their conversation.
"Oh, sorry, Tristan came by."
"Oh."
Awkward silence could be felt by every person in the room. Even the daisies on the dining room table would've disappeared if they could've.
"Hello, Derrick."
"Hi, Mrs. Block."
"Come sit, I just made some tea." Kendra nodded to Tristan's seat and hot, untouched cup of tea. Nodding, Derrick took the seat and wrapped his large hands around the mug.
"So, Derrick, tell me. How was sleeping in my daughter's bed, when I was down the hall?"
Massie and Derrick's cheeks turned bright pink.
"Dad!"
"It's an honest question, dear. Did you think I wouldn't ask? I was subdued the next morning, but see, now I can ask him whatever I'd like."
"Sir, in all honesty? We were both very inebriated that night. Massie wasn't comfortable with me driving home. Plovert - Chris, was here, too. We stayed on her guest futon. I'm sorry we didn't ask first."
"Oh, come on, Derrick. You know I'm just busting your balls, giving you a hard time for old times sake. Like the time you broke my only daughter's heart and made her never believe in true love again. Rather, what made you come here today, though?"
Derrick gulped and awkwardly darted his eyes from Mr. Block to Massie, and back to Mr. Block, shaking his head. "I know that. And you should know, but my father actually. He asked me to look out for Massie, he didn't tell me why, but he mentioned some findings on Tristan and his family, and he seemed really...nervous. As I'm sure you know, the Montgomery family has a percentage of my father's company, which explains half of his anxiety. Do you know anything about that?" Derrick asked, sipping the tea Kendra gave him as Kendra and Massie's heads both shot up.
"Actually, that's here." Massie said softly, handing him the stack of papers in front of her.
Derrick furrowed his brows, but extended his right hand and took the stack of papers from her. He couldn't tell what was more eerie - the way the three Blocks were looking at him, or the way that the estate was so silent a pin could drop and you'd hear it. There's normally such loud hustle and bustle, vacuum cleaners and pool boys, maids doing laundry, chatter of the gardeners, but tonight it was dead silent.
He began to flip through the papers, though his face remained emotionless through each paper he flipped, his eyes said it all. Derrick tried very hard to keep a calm composure through all of this for Massie's sake, knowing how much she was internally battling. Besides, this empire was the only thing she really cared about, and her father set it up so either way she'd lose it all. Her husband was set to take over the company, not her, and Tristan would run it to the ground.
"Wow."
"That might be the tip of the iceberg of your father's worries."
"Right. Where's the other part of this iceberg you speak of?"
Kendra handed Derrick her stack of paperwork, and he leafed through it, one eye on the papers and the other occasionally looking over at Massie. It was weird, being here with her and her parents. It felt foreign - the last time they all sat together, it was about a month before the two ended things. The house since then went through about five major renovations, but the dining room table remained the same, the chairs they were sitting on stayed as well, and he felt...childish, all of a sudden.
Derrick couldn't fight the feeling that Massie's parents would never look at him as more than the sixteen year old he was when he was dating their daughter. Would they see all of his growth, all of his changes? All of his accomplishments? Or do they still see him as a child, a naive little boy with a lot more to learn?
"Derrick, I'm showing you these things for two reasons." William began, breaking Derrick out of his headspace and staring him straight in the eye.
Derrick sat up straighter, setting the papers on the table and folding his hands over them.
"One is that your father should know the danger he, you, and your company is in for. I wouldn't wish this upon anyone else, and you know your father and I were very good friends. Colleagues, mentees."
"I did hear about the past between you two. I still don't understand why you can't reconcile and settle your differences."
"That conversation, Derrick, is for another day. The second reason is because I know you're soft for my daughter. I know you always have been. You can try to pretend you aren't, that you have this bravado up and that you aren't phased, but I know you never got over this."
"William! That is none of your business!"
"Quiet, Kendra. Let me finish. I know this because I know I was the same way over Kendra. I know what real love looks like. And, I know you're going to help me work very hard to protect her from him."
"You're right." Derrick nodded, a blush creeping up his neck he tried desperately to hide by tugging on the collar of his soccer team's sweatshirt.
Massie looked at Derrick, then at her father. Her head was spinning. Was her father unintentionally giving her his blessing to go forward with her plan? Not that he knows what it is because let's be honest - Derrick, Massie, Dylan, and Chris barely have a plan. But, he now knows what a fucking monster Tristan is, so maybe he'd be okay with Massie marrying Chris after all? Not that she wanted it, but if that was her best option, she'd sure as hell take it.
"Tell me what you need me to do." Derrick's strong, deep voice shook Massie from her thoughts. He was ready to step in after seeing in black and white how terrible Tristan was, but also now knowing that William actually...likes him, for lack of a better word.
"I need you keeping an eye on them, on her. Get in the middle when you feel like you need to. I want your presence being known. I know he doesn't know you are part of your father's corporation, so I suggest you keep it that way. He just thinks you play professional soccer and your dad's company is no involvement to you. Once he sees you as real competition, I don't know what he'll try to do. Can you do that? I want you with her at all times. I don't care, make up excuses."
"Got it."
"Does dinner count as one? Because I haven't had lunch yet, and it's like five o'clock. You also sent the help home."
"I'm sure dinner can work."
"Well, Kendra and Massie, you two need to continue with this wedding planning. We need to act like nothing is wrong, nothing is different. We give him notice that we know something is up, and I don't know how he'll react."
"Got it."
"That means, Massie, you need to act like you still don't know his past. You need to act like he's still the best man in the world to you, the man for you, the man you want to spend the rest of your life with. Can you do that?"
"I've been doing it for months, dad."
"What?" William and Kendra echoed together, turning to Massie with fear all over their faces.
"He and I have had...disagreements, you can say. Altercations."
"Massie told me two months ago what he was like. That's why I've been so….around, I guess. Chris too, and Dylan..." Derrick licked the top of his front teeth nervously, sitting back in his chair and taking a long sip of hot tea. "I just have been spending the most time around her since we found out, because I figured I'm the one who can protect her if things start going south."
"Why didn't you tell us, Massie?!" Kendra exclaimed, almost knocking her mug onto the floor throwing her hands out to cover her daughters.
"I was waiting for the right time. You both loved him, you adored him. I didn't want to ruin this dream of yours, and I figured in time he'd show his true colors or change. I guess….I guess we didn't have to wait for either to happen."
"I am so angry you didn't tell us, Massie Elizabeth."
"Yeah yeah yeah, lecture me later dad. What my point was, is that I can keep this charade up, as long as you need."
William nodded his head and gave the other three at the table a very grim look. "Unfortunately, this might be a while."