Ruth was still feeling mildly emotional as she made her way to the table where Mrs. Ross and Maureen sat.
“Just relax, smile, and be friendly.”
Maureen spotted her first, waving her hand toward the table. “Veronica! Over here.”
Ruth pasted a smile on her face, waving back. The women were the epitome of understated wealth, the old type that didn't have to say anything to prove their affluence. When she arrived at the table, the two women stood up to give her air kisses before they all sat down again.
“Sorry I'm a bit late, I got held up with a client.”
“Nonsense, dear,” said Mrs. Ross. “We know that you're a working woman. I trust that everything went well?”
No, not really. I've just found out that my ex and his wife played me like a fool, but I can't tell you all this, can I?
“Yes, yes, everything went well, thanks.”
“Good! I've taken the liberty of ordering something for you to eat, just a simple salad and a glass of iced lemon and mint water. We wouldn't want you to gain weight before the wedding, now would we?”
Ruth studied the older woman for a second, wondering if her words were a jab of some kind. Is she trying to say that I'm fat in rich people's language? Ruth found herself sucking in her belly, sitting up straighter in her chair.
“The salad and water sound great, thanks.”
From the corner of her eye, she saw Maureen reach into her bag and pull out a file, placing it in front of her.
“Veronica, since I just had a wedding myself, I feel that I have a lot of knowledge and experience to help you with yours. My brother is the eldest in the family and the only boy, so it's only natural to have something big and fabulous. Don't you think so?”
Ruth had her own mind, and while she wanted to be respectful and keep a good relationship with her in-laws, she also didn't want to come across as a pushover.
“I agree that you must have a wealth of experience when it comes to weddings, and I've agreed to make it a little, uh, larger than I expected it to be, but I have to insist on a wedding that will not be on the extravagant side of things. I'm just a simple person, and I really don't want anything too grand.”
The two women looked at each other, their eyebrows raised. They don't look like they agree with what I've said, but I've got to put my foot down somewhere. Maureen turned her gaze to her, smiling without warmth.
“Well, we hear what you're saying, Veronica, but and don't do extravagant but instead elegant and beautiful. We understand that you're not used to our lifestyle, but you'll be marrying into the family—we have to keep up appearances. We cannot afford for the daughter-in-law of the family to receive a less than... favorable reputation due to a, well, simple wedding. A backyard wedding with a barbecue to feed our guests is hardly the thing to be done. You understand this, right?”
Ruth didn't like the way they mocked her idea of a cozy but straightforward wedding. I'm a designer, I know how to make anything look beautiful and expensive! What don't they understand? She wished that Lucas was here to help her, but he was always busy, especially since taking over the family company.
"A garden wedding with a tastefully done barbecue is hardly something that will earn me a less than favorable reputation."
Mrs. Ross sighed. "Dear, you need to understand that we're only here to help you. I will be your mother-in-law, and I am here to help you make a good impression on our friends and family. You wouldn't want to embarrass Lucas, would you?"
Ruth didn't like the way the woman said 'dear', it sounded patronizing, as though she were anything but dear to her. They're going to try and lay on the guilt, I can just see it happening. She could detect a veiled threat in the older woman's words, a promise of a difficult life ahead if she didn't let them do what they wanted to do. Lucas, you seriously need to be here!
“Why not tell me your ideas and we can take it from there?”
Maureen opened her file. “I thought you'd never ask.”
The next hour was spent just discussing wedding details, from the color scheme to the food. Ruth put her foot down when they tried to dictate the type of dress she should wear, and they relented, but begrudgingly so. It was when they began to discuss the guest list that things got touchy and nasty.
"So, Veronica," Mrs. Ross began. "Who will be coming to the wedding on your side?"
There was absolutely no way that she was inviting her mother's family, not after they abandoned them many years ago. Ruth didn't know her father's side well besides his sister that hardly ever had anything to do with her. Apart from a few friends and some clients she had established a good relationship with, there were not many who would come.
“About fifteen people or less.”
Maureen raised a thin eyebrow. "Fifteen? That seems quite a little."
Ruth shrugged. "I don't have much family, and I keep my social circle small."
"But your parents will be coming, right? As a matter of fact, we would like to throw an engagement party for you and Lucas, and we'd like you to invite your closest family and friends. You know, Lucas hasn't said much about you, we feel as though this has come about quite suddenly, don't you think, Mom?"
“Yes, honey, quite suddenly. I feel like I don't know a thing about you, Veronica, apart from what we've heard about your profession. We need to make sure that we have the right sort of company at the party. I mean, you are such a polished person, can we expect the same of everyone else?”
Did she just say what I think she said? If that wasn't an insult, then I don't know what is. The Ruth in her wanted to lash out at the women, but Veronica was always poised and levelheaded. Just answer the question and move along, don't give them a reason to justify their opinion of you. It was increasingly clear to her that they didn't approve of her, and it didn't sit right with her. I feel like calling the whole thing off, but that would disappoint Lucas. She couldn't do that to him, not when he finally had what he wanted. But what about me? I seem to be getting more hostile stares and attitudes than good reactions to the pending wedding. It's like I've committed some crime by agreeing to marry him! I've only known the guy for a month, but I'm already sacrificing my pride for him.
“I guess that you can say we've had a whirlwind romance, that's probably why you don't know much about me.”
“It certainly has been a whirlwind, dear. Tell me, does your family approve of your relationship with my son?”
Ruth frowned. “What do you mean?”
"Well, dear, it's glaringly obvious, isn't it? You're black, and he's white."
Ruth sucked in her breath. Here we go. I told Lucas that there would be a problem, but he said that everything would be okay! First, I had to deal with finding out about Charity, and now I have to deal with invasive questions like these. Ah, hell, no! She decided that she needed to call Lucas before she throttled his family because her anger was rising. Ruth stood up, startling the women.
“Uh, would you excuse me for a minute, please? I need the restroom.”
She left them quickly, making as if she were heading to the restroom. Instead, she went outside to cool down before the violent image in her mind came true.
“Lucas Ross, you're in a lot of trouble.”
Chapter 4
Lucas could hear his phone ringing, but it sounded muffled. Where had he put it? The papers on his desk were scattered all over, he'd hardly slept a wink in the past couple days, and to top it all off, there was still the wedding to deal with.
“I should have known that Mom and Maureen would interfere with the wedding planning, but I foolishly believed that they would give me space and let me do things the way that I want to do them.”
The way that he and Veronica had wanted to do things. A quick and simple event would have been preferable, but they were insisting on some big social event that would likely surpass his sister's wedding if he didn't rein them in.
“Ugh! I almost forgot about the lunch today!”
How was Veronica doing with them?
Lucas knew that they could be overbearing at times, but they weren't terrible people.
“They're probably getting along. I mean, they have a few things in common, the main one being me.”
He hoped that she was sticking to the story about how they met and supposedly fell in love. They'd kept it as simple as possible to avoid getting their information mixed up, but there was always a chance of error. Basically, they'd met at a function, started to casually date each other, but only became serious just before the wedding. They soon realized that they were madly in love and decided to tie the knot. Lucas wasn't someone who readily gave information about his love life, so it was believable for him to have been dating someone without anyone knowing about it. His parents didn't say much about the sudden engagement other than congratulations. However, when he'd told them just who it was, they'd been shocked. He liked to think that they'd been shocked by the type of woman Veronica was rather than her race, but he knew that wasn't the case.
“I've never brought a black girl home before, it's bound to surprise them.”
But they wouldn't treat her differently, would they? No, his family weren't prejudiced people, they were just unused to change.
“But that won't affect their relationship with her, they'll treat her as they would if I were marrying a white woman.”
Lucas continued to search for his phone, but as it had stopped ringing, it was a bit more challenging. His office wasn't usually this messy, but once he'd taken over the presidency of the family business, there had been many financial and legal details to look over. He wanted to present some changes at the next board meeting, but he needed to pour over every single financial report, statistics, and policies before compiling a business report to back up those changes. Spending so much time on the company as well as keeping his own business going was a time-consuming activity, but fortunately, Veronica understood him and wasn't pushing him to take on any more responsibilities.
"I'll just have to get Mrs. Finchcombe to call it."
He got to the door, stopping when his phone started up again. Lucas looked around the room, pinpointing the exact location of the sound.
“Aha! Under the cushion!”
When had he put it there? Shrugging, he fished it from beneath the Aztec-patterned cushion, seeing Veronica's caller ID. Lucas answered the call, not expecting what he was about to hear.
“Hey, Vero.”
“Lucas Ross, get your butt here now! I cannot handle another minute of this lunch, you hear me?”
“What? What happened?”
"I told you that your family would have an issue with me being black," she hissed.
Lucas felt a ball form in the pit of his stomach. “What did they say?”
"Listen, get here as soon as you can. I will not return to lunch until you get here, alright? I'll speak to you then."
“But what will you say to them while you wait for me? You can't just leave them there.”
“Nothing! I'll say nothing at all! They can think that I've run away for all I care! Your mother and sister have insulted me, do you know that? I'd rather stay outside and cool down than go back and give them a piece of my mind.”
What could they have said to make her so angry? He didn't have the time to deal with this drama right now, but what else could he do but go to the country club?
“Okay, okay, give me thirty minutes.”
“Make it twenty.”
She abruptly ended the call, leaving his ear ringing. He'd never heard Veronica sound like that before, she was usually calm. Lucas regarded his mother and sister to be the terrible duo because there would always be some sort of trouble when they were together.
“But I didn't think that they would cause trouble for my fiancée.”
Maybe he'd been naïve to think that they would merely accept Veronica as his wife without question, but could they really have insulted her because she was black? That sounded far-fetched to him.
"Maybe she just took things the wrong way. Mom and Maureen can sometimes rub people the wrong way, especially when those people don't know them well."
Yes, that had to be it. He would go down there and sort out whatever misunderstanding they had and return to work soon after. Lucas alerted his secretary that he would be out for a while, and to hold all calls until he came back unless they were unimportant. Right now, he had a more significant issue to worry about. In his mind eye, he imagined a fight breaking out at the country club, with his sister and wife-to-be going at it. Grimacing, he quickly shook that thought away, not even wanting to entertain the idea.
“No, they wouldn't do that. They're too dignified for that, they just need to get to know each other better and find out that they actually have a lot in common.”
The drama would probably be quickly resolved once he got there, but Veronica wasn't one to overreact. He may have only gotten to know her in the past month, but he knew her well enough to know that she was a self-controlled and professional woman who wouldn't let something so scandalous ruin her reputation.
“She's a smart woman, there's no doubt about that.”
But everyone had their limits. What was he going to do if what she said was true? Would she want to back out of their business deal? The mere thought of it sent a jolt of fear through him.
“I've only just taken over the company, I can't let go of the reins.”
This was his right, his inheritance! Louis would never be able to lead the company like he could, never. What didn't his parents understand?
“Let me go there and straighten everything out, I'm not losing anything over a silly argument between the women.”
Lucas was in his car and on his way in record time, fear of the future pressing his foot on the gas pedal. He'd only just achieved what he wanted and there was still so much more to be had, he couldn't lose Veronica.
Ruth paced the pavement by the carpark, waiting for Lucas to arrive. She was no longer feeling as angry, but she still wasn't calm enough to go back to the restaurant. No one had come to look for her yet, maybe they thought that she'd run away and were happy about it.
“Nope, definitely didn't run away, but avoiding your skinny butts in case I give you both a beat down.”
Which would be all over social media in seconds, and then down the drain her reputation would go.
“Oh, but I'd feel satisfied, especially with Maureen. I can't beat up an old woman, but the Ruth in me would gladly give Maureen a lesson in how people from the streets deal with such insults.”
It had been so long since she'd had such an urge to lay a fist on someone. In fact, she prided herself on how self-controlled Veronica was, how she didn't let anyone phase her.
“Until today.”
It had to be the whole drama with Tally and George, and then this one with Mrs. Ross and Maureen building up in her mind. There really was only so much a person could take before it all became too much to handle.
“And I've reached my breaking point.”
Well, nearly. Breaking point would have meant lunging across the table for the women. Ruth giggled a bit as she thought about it, although there really wasn't anything funny about it.
"I've gone a bit crazy, that's what happened. What am I thinking by putting myself through all of this? I hardly know the guy, for heaven's sake! Not only do we come from different backgrounds, but our personalities are completely different. Screw the prospects of a bigger clientele! I don't need this crap in my life."
She decided that the best thing to do was call Lucas and tell him that the business deal was off effective immediately. Ruth dug her phone out of her bag, yelling when a hand closed over her wrist.
“Relax! It's only me.”
Ruth walloped Lucas on the shoulder, narrowing her eyes at him.
“Why did you have to scare me? Couldn't you call out my name or something?”
Ruth didn't like the fact that she noticed how charmingly good-looking he was. I don't need to be thinking about his looks when I'm feeling angry with him.<
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“But I did, you just didn't hear me. You looked like you were in your own world. What's up? What happened?”
“Your mother and sister are what happened! All I got from them was judgemental and prejudiced behavior. That's hardly fair considering the fact that you're getting more out of this deal than I am. I seem to have more drama than anything else, which is why I've reached the decision that I no longer want to be a part of this business deal.”
His expression became fearful, his hands reaching out to hold her arms.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, just a minute, Veronica, please. Can't we work this problem out?”
Ruth shook herself loose of his hold, crossing her arms on her chest. Why had she felt so much heat when he'd touched her arms? She resisted the urge to rub them, instead, she fixed him with a stern gaze.
"And how do you think you'll change a prejudiced belief? I knew that agreeing to this plan was a bad idea, but I still went ahead with it. I thought maybe, just maybe it'll work out, but if I'm encountering such issues before our marriage, just how many am I going to encounter in the future as Mrs. Ross?"
Lucas retook her arms, and this time she didn't shake them away. Oddly, she couldn't do it.
“Please, just listen to me, okay? Let me talk to them, let me reason with them.”
“To what end? They'll just resent me even more—don't you get it? You need to find someone else to marry, Lucas, preferably a white woman.”
“But you're the perfect woman for this deal, Veronica, I know that I can count on you. I don't trust easily, but I find that I can trust you. Let me play the supportive fiancé and go in there with you.”
Ruth looked heavenward. This is some complicated crap. There's so much desperation in his eyes, how can I say no? She didn't like disappointing people, one of her many weaknesses. She returned her gaze to his, sighing.
“Fine, okay. You better play the head-over-heels-in-love fiancé, and make it believable.”
He grinned crookedly. "Oh, I can play it easily, the question is: can you?"
“Is that another challenge, Mr. Ross?”
Ruth and Lucas Page 4
