Jayden rested his hands on the railings with tons of thoughts in his mind. After the family meeting where his dad told him to get married as soon as possible, he had no idea where to begin.
Source
He had no girlfriend that would lead to a fiance and eventually a wife but now, he was given the ultimatum of two weeks to bring a woman home.
As the only son, first child, and heir to the Anderson family, there was no going back on his father’s words. Since his father was on a life-supporting machine, he believes he might die at any point, and that fear drives him to think he would not see Jayden’s children before he dies.
“Is everything okay, sir?” Cora, my private chef asked as she walked over to the balcony and I nodded.
“Yeah, yeah. You’re leaving already?” He asked and she beamed with a smile as she nodded.
“I have the beef stock in the fridge. You just need to microwave it and make your bowl of pho.”
He had never really noticed Cora’s facial features as much as he was seeing them all right now. She had vibrant blue eyes that sparkled with curiosity and a beautiful bright smile. He was almost not listening to anything she was saying when she called his name again.
“I'm sorry, I get you. Thank you,” he quickly chipped in.
“I guess that’s all for the day,” as she turned to leave, taking just a few steps to the door, Jayden called her back.
“Erm, Cora,” she turned back to face him with a straight face.
“Yes,”
“Can I drop you? I mean, I would like to drop you,”
“Drop me?” she asked with a raised eyebrow, moving closer to him.
“Okay, to be honest. I was going to ask to have a couple of drinks together. That's if you do not mind,” Jayden wasn’t certain how she was going to take it since this was the first time he was asking her out for a drink even though she had been working for him for almost two years now.
“Mr Anderson, is everything okay?” she asked with genuine concern plastered on her face.
“Call me Jayden, please, and yeah, everything would be okay if I have a drink with you,” Jayden said softly and she smiled sheepishly.
“Okay, Jayden. Let’s do that,” she said in the most seductive tone he had ever heard in his life.
There was something about her that night that caught Jayden’s attention. For a chef who had cooked for him for two years, he hadn’t ever noticed so much about her as he did that night. It was probably the tension of getting a woman that was on him or there really was something different about her.
They both went out for a drink that night and that became the genesis of their subtle love story which they both weren’t ready to accept just yet but Jayden needed things to be done as soon as possible. His two-week ultimatum was almost up.
So one afternoon, while they were hanging out, Jayden popped a question to Cora.
“What do you think about dating? Ever been in a relationship?”
Cora took a long sip of her drink before looking up at him with a chuckle.
“Of course, I have been in a relationship and I think the concept of dating is a beautiful thing,”
“I haven’t ever been in one,” Jayden mentioned and Cora almost choked on her drink.
“What? That can’t be possible!”
“Well, it is. That's why I find this a little difficult!” he swallowed hard and Cora wondered why.
“What, Jayden?” she could almost sense what the next words were.
Jayden held her hand, rubbing his thumb on the back of her palm gently. “Would you be my wife? Marry me, Cora.”
“Excuse me!” Cora’s tone was a mixture of anger and shock as she yanked her hand off his hold. “Be your wife? You must be kidding!” she laughed it off.
“But I’m not,” Cora stared dead into his eyes to read through him. She saw no smile forthcoming and she knew Jayden was serious.
“I must seem easy to you!” Cora said before getting up and walking out of the restaurant without looking back even though Jayden called after her.
Three weeks after the ultimatum to bring home a wife and inherit the company had passed. For Jayden, all hope as the heir to inherit the company was lost.
He wanted to make things right regardless so he went over to Cora’s place. She had stopped picking up his calls and coming over to his house. He wanted to give her space and three weeks after seemed like enough time.
“Hi,” he said with a soft smile as she opened the door for him. She returned the smile, which was a good sign.
They sat on the sofa in silence but soon, Jayden broke it as he began to explain things to her. He mentioned how stupid he felt after asking her that day and told her he rushed things all because he needed a wife to inherit the company.
Cora felt his sincerity and how responsible it was for him to man up and be accountable for his actions. She forgave him and they sealed it with a kiss. Now, Cora agrees to be his girlfriend.
This is my submission to the Inleo prompt suggestion for the month of April. The topic is "HERITAGE - CULTURAL, FINANCIAL AND BIOLOGICAL". You can join here. This is the calendar
