Chapter 22

“Mr. Chairman, the wedding coordinator, and the bridal consultant have arrived. Is it the right time for me to let them in?”

After the phone that was placed on the left side front of him rang, I was interrupted from making fun of Jaxson.

He turned up the volume of the telephone so that maybe I could hear what the man on the other line was saying too.

“Yes, you can let them in.” Jaxson replied sparingly to the man, while his gaze remained fixed on mine.

I wanted to chuckle when he choked earlier because of the unexpected words that came out of my mouth. That was also not something I expected. But I believe Jaxson is indirectly asking me out on a date. What else was it called if it was just the two of us and we were going out to eat? Am I right? Or am I losing my mind?

“Stop giving me those grins, Cattleya.”

My grin widened even more as I heard him speak again. It's because his face can't be painted right now due to the weird expression showing on his face.

“But at least now I'm not just a playdate. Am I?” I continued to annoy him.

“Cattleya, we're simply going out to dinner, buying you a laptop, and then heading straight home.”

“Sounds like a date to me.” I arched my brows and tucked my lips to tease him much more. ”

My chest heaved in surprise as he abruptly rose up from his seat and turned to face me. My feet took a rapid step back as Jaxson continued to approach me. As the end of the wall touched my back and I had nowhere to go, my lips loosened, shitting a brick.

“W-what are you doing?” I stammered.

Jaxson's arm ascended to the wall that he seemed to lock me in his arms. I lowered my head as my shoulders elevated when I felt his face lightly press against mine. I turned my face away from him for fear of what he'll do next.

I felt Jaxson next to my ear as his breath tickled my jaw and it ran down to my neck, leaving my entire body stunned.

“If that already sounds like a date to you,” he sighed to my ears. “I'm afraid that you won't be able to handle it when I really take you on a date.” With his mouth so close to my face, I couldn't help but notice his breath. It's like a mint that penetrates into my body and mixes with my soul, eventually taking over my complete body.

I am lost in words, I can't think of anything to say to him. I'd been the one who was teasing him earlier, but I certainly wasn't expecting him to be so merciless in his vengeance.

I cocked my head, trying to hide my face from Jaxson. I'm very sure I've already turned into a ripe tomato because my cheek is so heated from hearing the words he whispered to me.

My lips parted, attempting to say anything to cover up the impact of what Jaxson had done to me. But there were no words coming out of my mouth because he still did not withdraw his head away from me and I could still feel his breath on my bare skin, sucking my breath away.

“Pfft-” I heard him snicker through my ears so my hand quickly lifted to his chest and pushed him away from me.

He really enjoys toying with my emotions.

“See?” He said with a sneer on his lips. “Now, who among us feels flustered?”

He wiggled his brows in the same way I did earlier when I teased him.

Because of an unfathomable feeling, I felt my lips move forward and swell into a pout.

Jaxson is such a quirky person, and his grins are really out of this world. Because, even if he annoys you, you can't really get upset at this person, and it's strange that his smiles are even more contagious while you're trying to hold back your laugh to show him how annoyed you are.

Our attention was drawn to the door as we heard three knocks and two women entering the office. They both appear to be the same age and are still in their youth.

They greeted us with warm smiles. “Good afternoon, Mr. Madrigal and Ms. Santos. I'm Charlotte, your wedding coordinator. And this is Isabella, your wedding consultant. It would be such an amazing honor for us to be in charge of a grand wedding for the Madrigal born.” The lady expressed her delight. “Wishing you a bright and exciting future together!”

I merely responded with a feigned smile because of what she said about my fun-filled future with Jaxson.

I slightly shifted my attention to him and I realized that I also had his eyes, so I quickly withdrew my eyes.

“Shall we get started right away? This wedding is only a few days away, so we don't really have time to waste.”she spoke again, to which I only responded with a spiteful nod and began to join them when they sat on the sofa.

When I sensed that their focus was kind of distracted and gaping over to my left, I followed it and saw Jaxson gathering his papers.

“Excuse me, Mr. Madrigal?” Isabella addressed him politely. She was probably perplexed as to why Jaxson didn't sit next to us but rather on his desk and was compiling the papers he had read and signed a moment ago.

“Aren't you going to join us so we can start planning this wedding?”

Only then did Jaxson look up and turn to face the woman.

“You may begin right now. Cattleya will make all of the decisions because I still have another meeting to attend.”

Her forehead pinched as a response to what Jaxson said. “But, the opinion of the groom is important to the wedding. Would you like to reschedule our meeting so that we can do this tomo-?”

“No,” Jaxson said, cutting her off. “You can finish this today.”

When Jaxson approached the door with his papers, the woman was unable to respond.

“I'll meet you here when the meeting is over. I'll also have your security stand by the doorway,” he added before finally walking out.

Silence enveloped us after Jaxson was gone. I silently returned my gaze to the two women and gave them a phony smile.

“So... Where do we start?” I murmured, trying to evade the awkwardness.

“Our agenda for today will be the theme of the wedding, decide on the amount of guests, the guest lists and their addresses, ceremony and reception venues, catering services, food menu, florist, dj or band, photographers and videographers, the wedding dress, of course, honeymoon plans,”

I feel like becoming dizzy just thinking about all of the topics we need to discuss for this marriage.

I had no idea marriage was so difficult to prepare with everything that should be done. It's even harder than having a whole pile of thesis to make.

“Plan and organize bridal showers and bachelor and bachelorette parties…”

It was as though I wanted to tape her mouth shut to stop her talking.

"You'll be discussing the wedding vows as well as the dress fitting with Isabella." Tomorrow, we will be talking about the tasting of the cakes and many more. Things that need to be done will be explained to you tomorrow. But I'm certain that the wedding gown fitting, ring selection, and reception dress will all take place tomorrow. So I'm hoping that Mr. Madrigal and you will both be present so that we don't miss out on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

“This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity…” I muttered.