Chapter Two

“Excuse me?” She asked, baffled by his question.

He looked down at the silver band encircled on her ring finger. Fiddling unconsciously with her engagement ring, Dakota answered. “Engaged.” 

Ryan, her fiancé had proposed last year and they were set to marry in a month. Diana shot her a dirty look, clearly irritated at the attention Elias was giving her.

“To whom, if I may ask?” He pressed. It was obvious he didn’t know anything about boundaries. Dakota thought, annoyed. 

Mother cut in with a short laugh. “Oh, you shouldn’t bother with questions like that, Elias. I’m sure that’s far from important right now.” She motioned to the front door for them to leave. 

He took one last look at Dakota, like he still had something to say, but changed his mind at the last minute and walked out the door with Diana in tow.

***

“Mother! You won’t believe what just happened!” The front door burst open, revealing Diana’s distraught face. She had returned from her date with Elias earlier than expected. Undeniably, her date had gone south.

Her mother, Helen rushed to her side to placate her. “Take a deep breath and tell me exactly what happened.” She voiced calmly, stroking Diana’s hair.

“Elias…he hardly looked at me! He was so focused on his cellphone, entertaining calls all night! He even had to cut the date short, claiming he had something urgent to attend to!” Diana cried out, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Mother kept stroking her hair thoughtfully, as she listened to her outburst. “You have to try harder to win his attention, darling. For men like him, every second counts. I’m sure what he had to attend to couldn’t wait.” She said in a cool tone.

“I don’t know mom, he seems so hard to please. How could he leave me alone at the restaurant? I was so embarrassed!” Diana continued, her voice breaking. 

Mother shook her head. “Oh dear, this is Elias Persson we’re talking about. Surely, you didn’t think it was going to be that easy, did you? You have to work hard to leave a lasting impression on a man like him.”

Diana folded her hands together, frustrated.

At that moment, Dakota walked by, holding a glass of water. She had changed out of her black dress into another pair of jeans shorts and a black T-shirt.

Diana scoffed at her and turned to face Mother. “Did you see what she had on earlier? Why would she wear a dress like that in front of Elias?”

Mother sighed and gave Dakota a dirty look. "I said wear something presentable, not dress like someone begging for attention. You looked ridiculous in that dress.” 

Dakota gritted her teeth. “I didn’t have time to change into something else.” Rather, she didn’t want to change into something else. She could wear whatever she wanted.

Mother looked on, uninterested. “Give me that glass of water.” She motioned instead, for the glass cup in Dakota’s hand. Dakota sighed in resignation, as she handed the cup to her.

“Here, drink up and calm your nerves.” Mother gave the glass cup to Diana. “You can’t give up so soon. Remember, we need his family’s connections to build up the family business, so you need to seal the deal as soon as possible.” 

Dakota couldn’t believe her ears. How could they even think like that? If Elias Persson was exactly like people said he was, their plan was never going to work. It was almost laughable.

Diana nodded in agreement, full of conviction. She rose to her feet and placed the now empty glass cup in Dakota’s palm. 

“Thanks, sis.” And with a smug smile, she retreated to her room. Dakota suddenly felt the urge to smash the glass cup on her sister’s head. She bit hard on her lip in an attempt to keep the urge in. 

“What are you just standing there for? Are the latest designs for this season’s collection finished, or are you waiting for a special invitation?” Mother asked rather impatiently, a scowl on her face. She definitely didn’t realize that was what Dakota had tried to show her before she was interrupted.

“The designs are ready. I finished this evening.” She replied, a small smile on her face. She hoped her mother would love the designs as much as she did.

Her mother gave her an impassive look. “Good. Did you draw them exactly as I instructed you to?”

“Yes, they’re exactly the way you want them to be. I can show you right—” 

“Hmm, we’ll see about that, won’t we? Before I take a look at them, I’ll need you to go to the store tomorrow to drop off some new clothes. They will be added to the new set of clothes we’re planning to launch for spring.” Mrs Stone interjected, scrolling through her cellphone. 

Dakota nodded in response. “Is there anything else you want me to do before then?” She was eager to get in Mother’s good graces. She believed if she did everything her mother wanted without asking for anything in return, she would finally be accepted.

Mrs Stone barely spared her a glance. “Just get the store in order before the launch day. Everything has to be perfect.” 

“I won’t let you down. I promise.” Dakota said, full of enthusiasm.

***

The weather was exceptionally hot today. The AC was on full blast and Elias still felt uncomfortable. Loosening his tie, he stood up to look out his office window. He felt the vibration of his phone in his front pocket and didn’t even need to check who was calling to know it was his meddling mother.

He was absolutely certain she was calling to know how his date with the Stones' younger daughter went. She and the girl’s mother had planned it, after all. Elias had only agreed to go on the date after his mother had suddenly burst into tears, pleading with him to give her grandchildren before she died.

Much to his relief, the phone finally stopped ringing. He made a mental note to call her later.

Like the others, the date had been a blur. He was grateful for the much needed call that came in while his date droned on about something he could care less about. He wondered why his mother had insisted on him meeting the Stones’ younger daughter. 

The eldest one had certainly left an impression on him. For some reason, her face looked oddly familiar. Elias remembered how her eyes had widened for a fraction as if she had met him before. It was no news that she was adopted but that didn’t justify the way she was treated by her mother that day. His suspicions told him that wasn’t a one time occurrence.

A knock on the door brought him out of his thoughts. 

“Come in.” He gruffly responded.

His assistant, Esme, stepped into his office, looking helpless. “I’m sorry to disturb you, sir, but there’s a woman named Diana Stone here to see you. She insisted on waiting even when I told her you were busy.”

Elias sighed in exasperation. “It’s alright, Esme. Send her in.”

“And you have a meeting by 2pm. Should I push it back?” She inquired.

Elias checked his wristwatch, as he removed his tie. It was ten minutes to 2pm. “That won’t be necessary. It shouldn’t take long.”  

Esme nodded in understanding and walked out of the office. As the door to his office opened, a sickly sweet scent wafted through his nose. Diana Stone. She smiled brightly at him, holding a big brown paper bag. 

He raised an eyebrow in question. “What brings you here, Diana?” 

She settled down on his chair, her cleavage right in his line of sight. “I brought you food, silly. We didn’t get to finish our date the other night, so I figured we could have a quick lunch while you work.” 

She was bold, he’d give her that. “You shouldn’t have. I’m perfectly capable of getting my own lunch.” Elias replied, his face inexpressive. 

Diana pouted. “What’s wrong with getting you lunch? Besides, your mother insisted I bring it here for you. I couldn’t say no.” 

His lips formed a thin line. When would his mother stop meddling in his personal life? He had to put a stop to it. “Listen Diana, I don’t know what my mother has told you but I have no plans on getting married anytime soon.” He stated, blankly.