BlueI slowly stop laughing when I notice the guy's face hasn't changed. He isn't cracking a smile or laughing along with me. Neither is the woman next to me. "Are you serious?" I ask with clear disbelief in my voice. "Yes." He says. "Okay. Can I ask why?" I'm not sure what to ask if I'm honest. "I'll be right outside Mr. Rhodes." The redhead says before leaving me alone with this crazy man."I need your help with a problem I'm having." The man says as he moves and stands at the edge of my bed. "Well, admitting you have a problem is the first step but what does that have to do with me marrying you?" He doesn't seem amused by my odd comment."I need to be married by Sunday. My family has a tradition where all children are supposed to be married by the age of thirty. Either to someone of their choice, within reason, or to someone of their choosing." He says this in what I assume is his way of explaining the situation. It only makes me more confused though. "Aren't things like fo
Blue"I agreed to marry you, not carry a child! What the hell? It's a good thing I didn't sign anything yet. You are fucking crazy if you think I'm going to give you free rein over my reproduction choices." We are back to me wanting to kick this guy out on his ass. How dare he drop that bomb on me! "I never said you would have to carry the child. We could claim you have a problem conceiving and use a surrogate to carry the baby. We can even use a donated egg if you don't want to have any biological connection to the child." My mouth drops open in shock. Literally. Did he just say..."You want me to pretend I can't get pregnant and have another woman carry a baby that isn't mine but will be passed off as mine? You are certifiable." I can't believe I thought about marrying this guy!"Look...Blue," He stops and tilts his head at me with an odd expression on his face. "Is that a nickname for something?"Great now I have to explain this to some rich prick. "No. When I was little my fo
ArtemisI hesitate outside of Blue's room feeling a strange surge of concern for her. After what she told me...something changed. She wasn't just a random woman I picked to play a role in my life. She was a real person with a past and from what it sounds like, possibly a bad one. She was in foster care. What happened to her in the system? Suddenly I want to know everything about her. What happened to not caring? I told myself to keep my distance from the woman I would marry so I wouldn't have to deal with the mess of a relationship, but I don't know what that means now. From one conversation with a mysterious woman, I've only just met my whole plan has been thrown out. Maybe because she isn't like most women I know. It's not just the blue hair, it's more than that. I have never been interested in getting to know people. My mind is constantly wrapped up in my work. The only reason Alan and I are friends is that he was the one to keep that connection alive. He is an extreme extrovert
BlueI stand in front of the mirror and see a girl playing dress up looking back at me. It's blindingly obvious that these sorts of clothes don't suit me. My hair is a bright blue sign saying this businesswoman look isn't me. Also, it doesn't hide some of the scars I have. One in particular. It's a section of round burn marks from when one of my foster dads put a cigarette out on my skin a few times as punishment. I was too little at the time to fight back and too scared to try. For the most part, I don't notice it and it's easy to forget some of the dark moments of my past, but this outfit highlights all my worst parts. It's unflattering and...off. Still, Abigail thinks it would be a good idea to wear it, so I'll follow her advice. I would prefer people not to make horrible comments about my looks if I'm going to be in the spotlight from now on. I'm hoping that once Artemis and I are married...if we get married...Who am I kidding? I'm accepting his dumbass deal. What the heck? It
BlueThe view is amazing from Artemis's office. I don't think I haven't had the chance to see Seattle like this. It's breathtaking even with the dark clouds steadily rolling in. His office on the other hand looks very...professional. There isn't a hint of anything personal anywhere in the room. No pictures of family or diplomas like you see in most offices. It's a lot of brown and black with a pale grey wall and wood accents. It sort of reminds me of what you would expect an old man's den would look like.I'm not surprised, to be honest. He seems to like control and this room allows him to become the center of everyone's attention. The air around him screams authority and I guess that's enough to fill this space. Still, if I had a say he would at least have some colorful pillows. Even something like a soft cream color would do a lot for this place. "Who decorated your office?" I ask moving away from the window. I can feel his eyes following and soon I hear his footsteps as well. "
ArtemisBlue and I are both breathing hard. I realize too late what I just said and I hate that I lost control like that. Actually, I hadn't been thinking when I said it. My mouth blurted it out before I knew what I was saying. Shit. Then because I can't seem to control myself around her, my eyes travel down her body taking in every detail that I have yet to see. When I bumped into her she was wearing a baggy sweatshirt and loose jeans. Somehow Abigail had bought her clothes that fit her almost perfectly and is giving me a good idea of the body that hides beneath them. "Those clothes look wrong on you." I blurt out. Blue looks down at her outfit and blows out a breath. "Yeah I thought so too, but I didn't have anything else. Plus Abigail went through the trouble to bring it so I didn't want to waste them. Plus she said it would give me a better image in the press since my last photos were less than appealing." She said what?"Why would that matter?" I ask her knowing full well w
Blue Artemis watches me through the window of the car until I can't see him anymore. Something happened just as he was about to follow me. One second he'd been holding my hand and it felt...nice. He seemed so set on going somewhere with me to buy clothes and as much as I hate admitting it, I wanted him to come. I never did things like that with anyone. Honestly, I didn’t spend much time with anyone at all. Bucky hangs out with me for about an hour every night and although nice, it didn’t feel like eating with Artemis did. I feel surprisingly comfortable with him. We should have a level of comfort between us if we'll be married, but it felt easier than I expected especially since we don't know each other. Don’t get me wrong, the man has some serious personality flaws, but it’s nothing I can't handle. I've had to deal with my share of personality-stunted men. “Miss?” My mind had been too distracted to notice one of the men in the front seat had been talking to me. “I’m so sorry. Wha
ArtemisAfter I make it back to my office I call Abigail in to cover the emails we hadn't gotten around to discussing. Most of them are pretty standard requests for services that we file away for when we have an opening in our schedule. Every once in a while my mind drifts to Blue's face when I handed her my credit card. It was stupid to give something so expensive to a woman I barely know, but for some reason I trust her. Besides I get an alert to any transactions from the card which have to also be approved by me personally before it is processed completely. I can't be too careful with a credit card that valuable. I had expected Blue to be okay with me staying behind after taking it but she looked disappointed. Is it too much to hope she was disappointed because I wasn't going with her or is that selfish? I freaked out. Did it hurt her to see me pull back from her? "Mr. Rhodes?" Abigail's voice cuts through my waring thoughts. I needed to focus and Blue was making it difficult b