Meeting Mr Fox

Amelia stood in the entrance of the Fox mansion, dressed in her favorite pair of high-waist jeans, a tucked-in white blouse, and sneakers.

Her hair was brushed back into a sleek ponytail. It was casual and more importantly comfortable, but judging by the way Mr. Richard Fox, Kris's father, was staring at her, you'd think she'd walked in wearing pajamas.

"Kris," Mr. Fox began, his gaze sliding slowly from Amelia's shoes up to her face, "didn't I tell you we were having a proper lunch? Not a picnic?"

Amelia's lips curled into a tight smile. "Good afternoon, Mr. Fox."

He gave a stiff nod and turned back to Kris. "Lunch will be served in exactly one hour. Show... Miss Quinn around. I'm sure she's never seen a building of this size before."

The sting of his words hit Amelia like a slap to her face, but she didn’t let it show. She smiled again, even wider this time.

Kris slipped his arm around her waist and leaned in, whispering, "To me, you look lovely."

She knew he was just trying to make her feel better. But it wasn't working.

"Thanks," she murmured. They watched Mr. Fox walk away into one of the many halls.

As they strolled down the marbled corridor, Amelia finally let her thoughts spill out. "I don't think your dad likes me very much."

Kris chuckled. "No, he does. He’s just... He can be a bit difficult to read sometimes."

Amelia raised a brow at him.

"Okay," Kris conceded with a sigh. "But he’s like that with everyone, he doesn't trust me to make my own choices"

"Well I'm sure he just wants the best for you… In his own twisted way"

Kris scoffed. "He wants the best for himself. If he had his way, I’d be married to a senator’s daughter with zero personality and a 10-year plan for social climbing."

Amelia chuckled.

They paused at a wall lined with vintage photographs. Amelia pointed to a framed photo of a glamorous woman in a red gown standing beside a younger Kris.

Her eyes widened. "Oh my God... is that Veronica?! The fashion designer-slash-badass movie star?!"

Kris smirked. "Yes she is and she’s also my mother."

Amelia gasped. "Kris! Your mom is the Veronica? Do you know how many girls in college worshipped her?"

"Yeah, unfortunately I do. But she really doesn't like fans. So I suggest you dial it down on the crazy."

Amelia chuckled, eyes still fixed on the photo. "You look happy in that picture."

He took her hand and kissed it lightly. "I’m a lot happier now."

Her cheeks flared red. She playfully smacked his shoulder. "Stop that! Not in public!"

Kris grinned. "Just trying to make the fake relationship look real."

Out of nowhere, Tony the butler appeared like a ghost. "Mr. Fox. Miss Quinn."

They both jolted.

"Tony! Seriously, stop creeping around," Kris scolded.

Tony smiled. "Welcome, Miss Quinn."

He took her hand and kissed it gallantly. "Just incase you’re curious, Master Kris's baby photos are in the attic upstairs."

"Tony!" Kris said, half amused, half annoyed. "Don’t you have cobwebs to clean or something?"

Tony, still grinning, lifted the dusting cloth he was holding and casually flicked it. A streak of dirt landed on Kris's crisp shirt, leaving a stain.

"Oops. Must have slipped," Tony said, not looking the least bit sorry. "Good day sir."

As he vanished down the hall, Kris sighed. "The man has been here since I was born. I swear he lives to humiliate me."

"He's adorable," Amelia said.

Kris checked his watch. "We have about fifteen minutes. Come, I need to change."

He led her upstairs to a wide hallway and into an enormous bedroom. Amelia stepped inside and let out a low whistle.

"Wow. Is this your bedroom? This is the size of our entire apartment."

Kris shrugged and headed toward his walk-in closet. "It’s just a bunch of space. You get used to it."

Amelia wandered around the room, touching the edge of the massive bedframe. "It must've been nice, growing up with all this—the toys, the gadgets..."

Kris's voice came from the closet. "When my friends were out playing, I was reading books on stock market trends. My father thought toys were a distraction. He gave me a briefcase for my tenth birthday."

Amelia grimaced. "That's... intense."

He emerged with a crisp white shirt and started unbuttoning his stained one.

Amelia turned around quickly. "Hello! I'm still in the room."

Kris laughed. "You're acting like you haven’t seen this before."

"Shut up," she muttered, face red.

"You can look now," he said a moment later. "I’m decent."

She turned back to see him fumbling with his tie.

"Give it," she said, walking up to him.

“He's the biggest business tycoon but can't tie a simple tie" She laughed.

Kris stood still as she expertly tied the knot. He didn’t take his eyes off her.

"Stop staring."

"I'm not staring, I'm simply admiring."

She tugged the tie tighter than necessary. "Take a picture. It'll last longer."

He winced and loosened it slightly. "Feisty. I like it."

She rolled her eyes. "Why wear a tie to lunch anyway?"

"Because it's never just lunch with my family. I remember one time, my dad said we were having a movie night, now you'd expect some kind of fun family trailer movie but no! My dad played 5 hours of a documentary on politics and how to be a leader. It was traumatizing for me as a kid”

Amelia checked her phone. "That sounds so sad and depression, you had a fucked up childhood but we need to go now. We're late."

Just as she turned to head for the door, Kris grabbed her hand and pulled her in. She struggled to escape but he just pulled her in even closer, tightening his grib on her.

He lowered his head, inching closer, brushing his lips gently over hers.

Amelia's heart skipped but she didn’t pull away.