An Arranged Marriage

by C. M. Bryden

  He’d managed to use this cold-hearted persona to his advantage, and not only in his business deals, but also in the few relationships he’d had with women, who, by and large, were attracted to him by his good looks, his wealth being a genuine bonus.

  Jake knew it would take someone very special to thaw his emotions, so, on the morning Jane had walked into her father’s office, he knew immediately he’d found the perfect woman to defrost him. His only problem was how could he get her to feel the same way about him?

  Seeing her with Leo, and thinking he was Jane’s lover made Jake rethink his strategy as to how he should help Andrew Reynolds and, for once, the fates were on his side, but for the time being they weren’t telling what they had in store for him!

  Chapter Three

  There was a backlog of work waiting for Jane when she walked into the office. It took until mid-afternoon before her in-tray was empty and the problems that had stockpiled in her absence had been solved.

  Jessie fielded the calls, until four o’clock, when an urgent call from the company chairman came through that only Jane could take care of.

  The call was for her to carry out a special training assignment in New York. It was short notice but she had to take over immediately from a sick colleague and, as that was the nature of her work, she knew she had to leave the office and get ready. She was used to leaving Jessie in charge and, once she was booked onto the early morning flight to New York, she rushed back to her flat to pack.

  Jane had put her thoughts of Jake Adams on hold, but as she tried to sleep that night she could see him quite clearly. It was his eyes that first came to her mind.

  No, that wasn’t strictly true, she’d been intrigued by his eyes of course, but it was how he’d looked in his business suit that had really caught her attention. It took very little effort now for her to imagine how he would look when he wasn’t wearing it. The very thought of him being naked aroused her as she brought this image of him to the forefront of her mind. Then, the thought of him, lying next to her in bed, made her nipples rise and her heart start to beat really fast as she imagined them, lying together, both naked of course: caressing each other, until she could stand it no longer and tried to think of other things but it was impossible. She longed for him. She wanted him to kiss her with his perfect lips, imagining what he would be doing to her with his hands. It was all too much; her emotions were on such a high she felt tears of frustration falling onto her cheeks as her body cried out for him, knowing he wasn’t the man for her. It looked as though he was already spoken for with the young woman who’d been looking up at him with such adoration.

  Although she was twenty-five years old, Jane was not given to sleeping around, but then neither was she sorry she was no longer a virgin. She’d happily lost her virginity years ago, aged eighteen, while she’d been away at university where she’d met a young man. Being young, innocent and inexperienced, there’d been lots of exciting moments as they explored each other’s bodies. Lots of kissing, with her young man nipping her nipples and caressing her breasts before the fumbling moments when he’d reached down to explore the contents of her underwear, where finally they made what to them both was a big step towards being adults, and did the deed.

  Unfortunately, that first time wasn’t a happy occasion for Jane. It had been messy and certainly not fulfilling, although the young man seemed happy enough to have bedded the most attractive woman in the university; as for Jane, she preferred not to think about what had happened. It was only afterwards, when she came across the perfect book that explained, in words and pictures, just what she and any young man who took her fancy should do to make lovemaking a satisfactory experience for them both.

  For the rest of her university years, there’d been another young man who’d found his way into her bed and, for a while, she’d enjoyed his company, and his body, until she realised he wanted a relationship that would give him a temporary wife; one who would do the cooking and cleaning, as well as a convenient live-in lover for when it suited him. After a while Jane decided she didn’t want such a relationship, realising she was far too young to be no more than a young man’s skivvy and, more importantly, her examination results were far more important than looking after a man who was quite capable of doing for himself. She’d therefore finished the relationship and, ever since, she’d been much more circumspect in her choice of young men, making a point of not encouraging them to have feelings for her, which was quite difficult considering her looks and bubbly personality.

  Once qualified, with a degree in management and economics and happily working at her first job, her social life fell pretty much to zero! Except, of course for the office parties she had to attend, deciding she was much too busy and serious about her future for frivolous relationships.

  It even got to the point where her mother told her she needed to find herself a young man and settle down, or she would turn out to be an old maid. This had made Jane laugh and, up to her meeting with Jake Adams, she’d had no interest in men at all, and certainly had no intention of settling down to marriage and motherhood for some years to come. How little we know of what the fates have decided for us! Or even what is our destiny!

  Suddenly, she sat up in bed. Was Jake Adams the elusive man from the tarot cards? For the life of her she couldn’t understand why she found him so attractive. He was the antithesis of the type of man she was normally attracted to.

  First of all, he was arrogant and rude, if his behaviour in her father’s office and at the hotel when he saw her with Leo was an indication of his normal way of behaving. He definitely wasn’t her type at all. She didn’t go for the debonair, man-about-town types. Oh, and then there were his eyes that had stared at her with such intensity: amber eyes that looked like a wild animal! And how he’d stared at her, stripping her naked with his gaze, as though she was destined to be his dinner.

  Had she been younger, and still a virgin, she would have been scared of him, but then she realised, that’s exactly how she had felt. She was scared, but not of him, but at the intensity of the feelings of lust she’d felt, but why, when he wasn’t her type?

  It was a mad scramble the next morning to be ready and at the airport in time for her flight to America. Lustful dreams of Jake had woken her early and had led to her caressing her own body, until she’d climaxed, leaving her exhausted.

  It wasn’t until the plane had taken off and the flight was well under way she’d finally begun to relax and took out the book she intended to read. She’d hardly read more than a couple of pages of the latest blockbuster when her eyes had closed and, with the book lying open on her lap, she’d slept most of the way across the Atlantic.

  After checking into her hotel, just a few blocks away from the training venue, and after taking a quick shower, she was ready to do what she was good at, training others.

  And that’s how Jane’s days flew by, until the night before she was due to return to London, when she’d been invited by her colleagues to join them in an evening out. To her surprise, as she entered the restaurant, she suddenly saw Leo, Sylvie’s husband, also on business in New York and dining on his own. Thrilled to see her, he agreed to join her and her colleagues for the evening. He was such good company he managed to take her mind away, for the time being at least, from Jake and his scowling good looks as she’d last seen him at the hotel with his ladylove on his arm!

  Leo is the Financial Director for a global company and frequently travels back and forth across the Atlantic and, when he found Jane was returning to England the next day, and after comparing flight times, he surprised her by telling her he would be on the same plane and would arrange for them to be seated together.

  Jane liked Leo enormously, ever since he’d fallen in love with Sylvie, her best friend, while they’d all been at the same university. When they’d all qualified, he’d proposed to Sylvie and she’d accepted. Jane was chosen as her maid of honour, and now was godmother to their two young children, a girl, Louisa, five-years old and alread
y a beautiful replica of Sylvie, and the new baby, Anton who followed his father for his good looks.

  It was a mutual liking as Leo admired Jane too. He thought her to be, after Sylvie, the most beautiful and intelligent young woman he’d ever met and hoped one day she would meet a man, equally as intelligent, one who would fall in love with her and appreciate her for far more than her looks.

  Even though he loved Sylvie, and couldn’t wait to get home to her and the children, for once, Leo looked forward to the long flight home and sharing a few hours with Jane, whose company he knew would improve the journey home enormously.

  Their flight arrived at Heathrow on time. Having arranged to travel into the city together, Leo hailed a taxi from the rank. He was just in the process of opening the door and helping Jane in, when his eye was caught by a black limousine drawing up behind them and then at the man just getting out. He looked familiar and was obviously in a hurry to head into the terminal until suddenly he caught sight of Leo staring at him. Jake recognised him although not from where. At the same time, he saw Jane, partially hidden by Leo’s bulk. The smile he’d been about to give him changed into a scowl of pure rage, as it suddenly dawned on him how he knew him! For a moment, Leo was baffled as to why this man’s expression should have changed so quickly, then, thinking Jane might want to acknowledge the man, he touched her arm and pointed in Jake’s direction. As she turned her head at Leo’s touch, so she saw Jake. Her heart lurched in her chest. For a minute or to, she felt light headed, collapsing onto the back seat of the taxi only managing a weak smile at him, but Jake merely nodded at her in acknowledgement: his mouth contorted into a grimace that led her to believe he too might have been in pain, until she saw the final look he gave Leo. It was the same glowering look he’d given him at the hotel. Without further ado, and with a final glance at Jane that left her gasping at its ferocity, Jake Adams went storming into the airport.

  As their taxi headed towards the city, Jane was at a loss to know what to say to Leo. She felt as though her heart had been clutched from her body and squeezed dry of its blood.

  How could she explain Jake’s behaviour, when she didn’t understand it herself? As for Leo, he couldn’t understand what had happened either to cause Jane’s obvious distress at seeing the angry young man. He was puzzled. What could he say that wouldn’t be an intrusion?

  Until she gave him an explanation, all he could do was to hold her hand and talk to her in the soft tones he used to comfort his own small daughter when she’d fallen down and hurt herself. How he wished Sylvie were with him. She would have known immediately what to do and say that would alleviate her friend’s pain. He would have to tell her what had happened and let her make of it what she would, as for once Leo was totally baffled!

  The rest of the week rushed by for Jane as she tried to catch up with her work and write up her notes for the chairman on how the training schedule had gone in America.

  Her father had left a message with Jessie that he’d heard from Jake Adams and a meeting had been arranged for the following Monday. At the mention of Jake’s name, Jane’s heart started to beat faster and, for a moment, she felt faint, such was the effect he had on her.

  The meeting was to be held in a small room at Andrew’s club, where he planned on staying overnight. But what Andrew failed to tell her, was that Jake had already put a proposition to him that would ensure the company’s future, swearing him to secrecy, until he’d met Jane and told her himself.

  Andrew, was secretly worried by Jake’s proposal and, knowing time was running out, he had no other option but to agree to Jake’s terms, if the company was to survive intact. He had to accept what was being offered, but would Jane agree to Jake’s outlandish demand and, if not, what would happen next?

  Oblivious to what lay ahead, Jane arrived at Andrew’s club on time, her heart beating twenty to the dozen, which seemed to happen every time she thought of Jake.

  The door to the meeting room was slightly ajar and, with a terrible sense of foreboding, Jane pushed it open and walked in to find her father and Jake waiting for her. With her heart in her mouth, she felt like an animal walking into a trap. She desperately wanted to turn tail and run but she knew that wasn’t an option. She had to stay and listen to the plans Jake had made; plans she hoped would save her father’s company from ruination, but something inside her told her she wasn’t going to like what she was about to hear.

  Jane quite expected to see Jake with a frown on his handsome face but instead, she saw the face she’d dreamt of the night before and this time with a smile of welcome on his well-shaped lips: lips that in her dreams she’d kissed passionately. Suddenly, she felt uneasy, as though she’d already been captured and ensnared, knowing there was nothing she could do, other than to let what was about to happen, happen!

  ‘Hello, Jane,’ Jake said silkily, holding out his hand to take the one she cautiously offered. A big change, from how he’d reacted when he’d last seen her at the airport.

  ‘Hello Jake,’ was all she managed to say; her mouth too dry with nerves to say more. She shook his proffered hand then quickly dropped it, afraid to hang onto it and instinctively moving closer to her father, who took her in his arms and kissed her in greeting.

  No one spoke for a few moments, the air so full of tension, until they were seated at the table, where a tray of coffee had been set ready for them.

  Suddenly, feeling cold, Jane felt herself shiver, her body’s defence mechanism to her rising stress levels taking over.

  She sat down at the table and tried to recover her composure. Andrew joined her, leaving Jake to remove some papers from his briefcase. Picking up one sheet at random he started to study it at length.

  After a while he cleared his throat and looked directly at Jane, taking in the two glittering jewels that shone from out of her pale face. He could see she was anxious, aware of her fear he lowered his gaze to her full and generous mouth, set in an uncharacteristic straight line. Holding her head high and, keeping her posture upright, Jane stared back at him.

  ‘I’ve come to a conclusion as to what needs to be done to solve your father’s problem!’ Jake said in a commanding tone of voice that defied any argument from Jane or her father.

  Looking first at Andrew, who he could also see looked nervous, then quickly at Jane. Jake continued.

  ‘I’ve already spoken to your father and he’s agreed with me that the solution I’m about to propose will be in the best interests of the company…’ He stopped speaking for a few moments, looking directly at Andrew, who by now was looking decidedly, guilty, as well as nervous.

  He then stared at Jane, perched demurely on the edge of her seat, impatient for him to tell her his proposal to save the company.

  ‘My suggestion is…’ Jake hesitated, ‘that I will take over the business and pay off all its debts…’ again he stopped in mid-sentence, staring straight at her, ‘on condition…’ pausing now for his next words to have their full impact and effect on Jane, ‘that you marry me straight away!’

  Jane’s head shot up, her eyes looking straight into Jake’s. The expression on her face said it all. She thought he’d lost leave of his senses, that he was quite mad and then, when she looked at her father, she thought the same of him!

  Her head was spinning as she realised exactly what it was that Jake had just said. Suddenly, she felt as though a hundred hammers were banging against her brain. Whatever was the matter with the man? Marry him to save her father’s business? Never, not in a million years!

  But she said nothing. She felt powerless to give vent to her feelings. She looked across at her father who was studiously avoiding her eyes and then she looked at Jake, but his face was impassive, giving no sign as to his thoughts.

  But her thoughts were obvious. Jake Adams could see for himself she thought him to be a complete lunatic and that he should be locked up, and the key thrown away. Why did he think she would even contemplate his outlandish proposal? Suddenly she felt an indubitable compulsion
to get out of the room, the only problem, her legs wouldn’t move! She was incapable of standing up, let alone run! She felt trapped! Minutes ticked by without as much as a breath to be heard, until Andrew began to speak, breaking the heavy silence, then to Jane’s utter chagrin, and in a pleading voice, her father quietly urged her to accept Jake’s marriage proposal.

  It suddenly became quite clear that Jake had somehow managed to blackmail her father, obviously telling him he would refuse to bail out the company if she refused his generous offer of marriage, thus forcing the business to close, which in turn would leave all the workforce jobless! Not only had he blackmailed her father, he was now doing the same to her.

  Her dilemma? She would be the one responsible for all the misery the workforce would have to endure if she refused and, as there was no one else her father could turn to, it was up to her to save the company! It was as desperate as that.

  ‘What about me?’ She’d cried inwardly. ‘What about my life?’

  Marriage to Jake Adams hadn’t been part of her plan for the future. She might have dreamt about him, but as for marriage! That was another thing altogether and in any case, why would he want to marry her? He didn’t know anything about her and, come to think of it, what did she know about him? He might look handsome and sexy, but surely, there had to be something more than just being sexually attracted to someone before getting married, or, was she, like Jake Adams, living in “cloud cuckoo land”?

  Jake let Jane do her thinking while he poured the coffee, holding out a cup towards her. It took a mighty effort on her part not to take it, as her desire at that moment was to fling it all over him. How dare he presume to think she would marry him, just to save her father’s failing business! As for her father, what could she say about him? He seemed quite happy to arrange a marriage between herself and Jake Adams as being the solution to his problems, without any consideration for her feelings. As far as she was concerned, he was acting just like a pimp!