Chapter 1
14 years after the prologue
“For the fifth time, Mother, I get your point!” James groaned. He shook his head as he buttoned the jacket of his dark gray suit and adjusted his cuff links. He grabbed his tan overcoat from the armchair while he glanced in the mirror. His dark gray suit highlighted his sleek, muscular figure. It was one of his favorite suits. Because of how tall and broad-shouldered he was, he often had trouble finding clothes his size.
Draping the coat across his left arm, he turned into the hallway. A woman appeared, shooting daggers at him with her eyes. He towered over the woman. His sharp jawline, dusted with day-old stubble, was set in a stern frown. With his honey-brown hair and bright green eyes, he looked nothing like the woman in front of him.
She was a middle-aged woman with dark blond hair styled in a short bob. Her angular features made her face stern, and James felt her navy blue dress only added to the effect. It was no secret that his stepmother, Elaine Sorenson, was a strict woman. Nevertheless, he thought that people might not be so afraid of her if she dressed a little brighter.
He seemed to be the only person in the world who was impervious to the wilting effect of her stare. He respected her but held no fear towards her. He figured it was the reason he hadn”t responded to the Singer’s offer of an engagement to their only daughter, Veronica. Elaine, his mother, had plotted with the Singer family for James to marry their daughter.
“Five times,” Elaine said with a shocked gasp. “Did you hear that, honey? He’s keeping count.” She turned towards the living room, and a man appeared.
“Yes, dear. I heard him loud and clear,” his father said with a less shocked look on his face. “Although, I”m not surprised,” Frank Sorenson was an older version of James. Same honey brown hair, same green eyes, same tall and foreboding muscular build.
The only difference was that the older man sported a beard and had thinning hair. “It’s been a month since the proposal came from the Singers, but if you keep pushing him, he might blow the whole thing off.”
“I”m only trying to help push him in the right direction,” Elaine huffed. “The least you could do is make him see reason and yet–”
“As much as I love being the center of attention,” James said, putting his coat on and picking up his phone from the ornate glass table at the center of the room. They were standing in a grand foyer with a crystal chandelier hanging above, casting its soft glow over the room’s golden and dark brown furnishings. James walked away from them towards the door. “I”m running late for a meeting.”
“Remember lunch with Veronica Singer,” Elaine cut in.
James tucked his phone into his coat pocket with a sigh. “And lunch with Veronica. Who knows… maybe I’ll suddenly fall in love with her, even though I have known her for years as an acquaintance and have never had any inclination towards a romantic interest in her. Maybe today is the day we will suddenly fall for each other, get engaged, and plan to get married before my birthday this December. You’d like that, Mother, wouldn”t you?” He met Elaine’s gaze with a forced smile.
“Yes, I would. I’d like that very much,” she said with a wide smile, and in that instance, she did look like she wanted his happiness and not the merging of two powerful families through marriage, a move that would secure her future and that of her son, Martin. “Ow, hurry along. Lateness doesn”t suit you,” she said with an air of finality and strutted out of the room. “I can”t wait to hear all about how the lunch goes.”
“How lunch goes, huh,” James echoed her words.
He turned to his father and said, “She’s delighted,” with a shake of his head.
“Cut her some slack, James,” his father said, walking up to him. He had crow”s feet around his eyes, evidence of a happy life, but James knew that it was because his father didn”t hold on too tightly to the sorrows of life. “She just wants what”s best for you.”
“And the family,” James cut in and made for the door. “I don”t need a lecture, right now,” he said sardonically.
“Of course,” his father nodded with a deep sigh. “I’ll be at the office shortly. We could return home together and talk.”
James didn”t give him a reply, only a lopsided smile and a nod. He knew his father wanted to say more, but he was running late. The sun was at its peak, and its merciless rays bore on his skin. He crossed the short distance between the door and the black Audi SUV waiting for him.
A lean young man was standing beside the car, holding the door open. He wore a white dress shirt cuffed to the elbows and black slacks. His brown hair glistened with sweat, but his face held a soft smile.
“You shouldn”t be waiting outside in this heat, Greg,” James said with an easy smile at the sight of his friend and personal assistant. The sight of Greg broke the bad mood of the Sorenson house that morning.
“Ah,” Greg replied in an animated voice. “But I had to, or you”d think I”d forgotten how to do my job. I had to do this, or you’d damage the door with your terrible mood.”
James laughed, stopping by the door. He stood a head taller than Greg and was more muscular by a long shot. But it didn”t diminish the bond he and Greg shared from their high school days.
Without Greg, James’s long workdays would be devoid of fun. Even now, all these years later, Greg always found a way to make him laugh. Greg had not attended the same high school as James, but the two had become fast friends.
“Here”s the real reason,” Greg continued, “I must protect this car at all costs.”
James laughed and said, “It”s my name on the purchase receipt, but–”
“It”s my car,” Greg completed with a laugh. “Now get in.”
James smiled and shut the door behind him. He slid onto the smooth leather seat and let out a deep breath. The SUV was black and sleek on the inside, with tinted windows that kept it cool despite the bright sun.
He sat in silence as Greg slid into the driver’s seat and turned on the engine. The car roared to life. “Ore HQ first,” Greg said, “and then… lunch with Miss Singer, I see.”
“Don”t patronize me,” James chuckled and turned his focus to the files Greg had set on the car seat for him.
James had a busy month ahead of him, as his father had announced he would be stepping down as CEO and would name a successor soon. The announcement had the whole company worked up, and he suddenly became busier with additional duties.
James was preoccupied with thoughts of running a conglomerate. The possible engagement with Veronica Singer was the last thing he wanted on his mind. He tried to ignore the marriage proposal and the major benefit it would be to the company.
Yet, no matter how much he tried to ignore it, he was lonely. The weight of expectations as a Sorensen and the CFO of the conglomerate was becoming much harder to carry alone these days.
He was ripe for marriage, and whether he liked it or not, he had to be ready for it. Veronica was very competent from what he had heard and could share his burden.
He sighed and wondered if he had to resign himself to a marriage of convenience.
***
James saw Veronica before she saw him. She was impeccably dressed, as always. She was wearing an off-shoulder pastel pink bodycon dress paired with a cream-colored coat. He couldn”t see her feet, but he was sure she was wearing a pair of heels.
Her long black hair tumbled down from underneath a wide-brim cream hat. She was tapping away on her phone as a lady walked up to her. Veronica paused and looked up at the red-haired woman with a smile.
James had seen many red-haired women, but none with the shade the lady had. It was light at the roots and darker at the tips. He wondered if she dyed the tips a deeper shade of copper. However, when the light shone through her hair, he noticed a few darker strands were mixed in with the lighter shade.
It is her natural hair color,he thought.
She wore dark jeans and a white dress shirt tucked in at the front. Her attire accentuated her curves without being too tight on her.
He watched Veronica from behind his tinted glass as she talked and laughed with the girl. Then the girl walked inside the restaurant, and Veronica returned her attention to her phone.
“You can go out now. She doesn”t bite,” Greg mumbled from behind the wheel. James threw him a look of resignation and clicked the door open. There was no way around his lunch with Veronica.
The sunlight greeted him as he stepped out of the car. He got why she chose an outdoor restaurant. The aesthetics were beautiful. Tables and chairs were arranged around a garden, planted artfully with more flowers than he could identify or count. He did notice many pink, red, and white roses, yellow sunflowers, and cream jasmine.
A short white cast iron fence separated the outdoor restaurant from the street. He passed it in quick strides, and he noticed that the eyes of the patrons skimmed over him. It was a phenomenon he had been used to since he was young. He had always been the center of attention, so he learned how to deal with the stares.
He knew when Veronica noticed him. Her eyes shined bright, and she rose to her feet. She reached out to him. He took her hand, bent low, and placed a light kiss on it. Veronica’s face turned bright red, and she shoved his shoulder playfully. “Always a gentleman,” she giggled and returned to her seat.
James waited for her to sit down before he took the chair across from her. “I have to be,” he offered her a strained smile. “I am having lunch with a beautiful lady, after all.”
Veronica giggled and gave him a wide smile in return. “James, stop it with all the flattery, or I”ll forget what I want to tell you.”
“You have something to tell me?” He arched his brow at her and leaned back into his seat. He wondered what she had to tell him. He may have known Veronica for a long time, but they were never close. She was as close as wealthy people wanted their friends to be–distant yet supportive.
If it weren”t for the peculiar situation of considering her as a possible partner, he wouldn”t have cared about what she wanted to say.
“I do!” Veronica said with glee. “I”m sure you”ll be happy about it,” she picked up her phone. She tapped on it for a minute and dropped it back into her purse.
“It’s going to surprise you.”
James didn”t want to burst her bubble, but he was certain Veronica couldn”t surprise him. She didn”t know him that well. Unless, of course, someone had helped her by passing along information about him. He wondered briefly which family member to hold responsible, but he realized he would know soon enough.
She began, “So, remember when we were at Dorothy’s birthday soiree?”
James remembered that party. It was one of the first times he had met Veronica in public after high school. He had heard about her rise in the modeling world but hadn”t interacted until that night. They had spoken at length, and he had told her about his life outside work.
She continued, “And you told me about your plans to build an orphanage downtown. Your passion for orphans touched me so much that I wanted to help, you know?”
No, I don”t know,James thought. However, he opened his mouth to politely say, “How kind of you to want to help–”
“It’s the least I can do,” Veronica smiled brightly and turned back towards the restaurant.
“Is that all? Is it time to order lunch?” he asked, following her gaze. He caught sight of the girl that he had seen with Veronica earlier, and his breath caught in his throat.
Her eyes were bright behind glasses that sat on her heart-shaped face. As she came closer, she smiled at Veronica. James noticed her lips were full and sat perfectly below a cute button nose. She walked elegantly towards them, and James couldn”t deny she was beautiful—even more beautiful than Veronica, it seemed to him.
By his guess, he was more than a foot taller than her, but what she didn”t have in height, she made up for in sleek curves.
Veronica had the model beauty, with a smile that belonged on billboards for everyone to admire, with her delicate features and airbrushed skin. Meanwhile, the newcomer had a beauty that he was certain she herself couldn”t see. It was the kind of beauty you wanted to hide and protect from the world. A beauty that you wanted all for yourself.
She reached their table, and he noticed she had a sketchpad in her hand. She seemed to draw into herself all the colors from Veronica and the flowers around.
“What took you so long?” Veronica asked her with a small smile. James watched the long earrings Veronica wore dangle and observed that the girl wore little ones. It didn”t make her any less beautiful.
“Sorry,” the newcomer said in a soft voice, giving Veronica a sad smile. “I got a call from the office. They want me back there for the presentation. Means I can”t stay.”
“It’s fine,” said Veronica. “I”ll just introduce you guys, and you”ll pick it up from there.” Veronica turned her gaze to James, and the girl followed her gaze. James forced back a smug smile as she took in his presence and stiffened. “James, meet Mariah Sanchez, my godsister. Mariah, meet James Sorenson.”
James rose to his feet and walked over to take her hand in a handshake. She was indeed more than a foot shorter than him, and her hands were small in comparison to his. It felt to him that she would need protecting now and then. Instinctively, he felt that he wanted to shield her from whatever she needed shielding from.
“Nice to meet you, Mariah,” he said, reeling in his superhero thoughts.
When James let go of her hand, she hugged herself around her middle and instantly looked even smaller. Her action only validated his superhero thoughts—she looked like Lois Lane, who needed saving from Superman.
He only wondered what had happened in her life to make her self-confidence low. He wondered what trials she had faced and what bullies she had had to confront. He made no effort to let his thoughts be known. He returned to his seat while she remained standing next to Veronica.
Veronica spoke. “Mariah is a skilled architect and I hired her to help design your orphanage! She grew up in an orphanage. So, James, with her help, it’s my goal that we build and inaugurate your orphanage before the year runs out!” Veronica said with glee.
“My what?” James scoffed, shifting his laser focus from Veronica to Mariah and then back to Veronica, his eyebrows raised in actual surprise.
Elaine, what have you dragged me into now?he thought.