The Last Minute Bride

Ch 1 - Aurora

“Oh my god, Lexi, this place is amazing!  I cannot believe I am here right now!” I try not to scream too loud into the phone locked between my ear and shoulder as I clumsily pull my luggage through the suite door.

“You’re such a b*tch, I wish you could have brought a plus one.  Why is your boss so stingy?” Lexi whines at me through the phone.

“Oh stop, you know I am only here for three days and the time I have to myself will be minimal at best. And you would be stuck schlepping something for them, not relaxing. Lady Corleone only spends money on herself and her daughter. I am here because the business deal we are completing needs me in person according to Lady C, otherwise, I would have video conferenced into the meeting from home.”

I finally get all my things into the room since the hotel staff is busy with Lady C and Mallory’s belongings, which required its own form of transportation.

“She only has you video conference so you can’t distract any of the hot guys from Mallory. That girl needs all the help she can get and you have the total package without trying. Lady C must be desperate to get this deal if she’s putting you in the same room as Mallory and what ever business mogul she’s after.”

“Whatever, It’s just an expansion project for her fashion warehouse. It’s not that big of a deal, this location is too spotty to do a call-in from back home, that’s all. I have to run and get ready for our meeting prep, I’ll let you know when I actually get some beach time. Love you.”

She giggles at me. “Love you too babe. Call me before you fly out.  Do you still need a ride home from the airport?”

“Yes. Gabriel will be gone a day longer than me.”

“It must be nice to have the same schedule as your boyfriend.  At least he can’t complain about the amount of random hours and travel you do for Lady C, since he basically does the same.” Copyright ©️ 2025 Miss L Writes and Ember Mantel Production.

“It’s a benefit for now, but I know we will both have to give up some of that when we finally get married and start a family.”

“When is that going to be exactly?  You guys have been together since college. Haven’t you hit like Common Law status yet?”

I laugh. “You are impossible!” This is not the first time she has brought up the topic of me getting married.

“But you love me!”

“I do and I love him and we will do all the normal couple stuff when our jobs settle down a bit.”

“Sure you will. He’s so comfortable the way you have things, you will never get married if you don’t say something soon.”

“Ugh! Don’t start that again. He will ask when the time is right.  I really have to go, Lady C will be pissed if I don’t have this teleconference ready when she is.”

“Teleconference?! Why the hell are you doing a teleconference with someone who is in the same hotel as you?”

“Don’t get me started, but the bottom line is they are not here yet.  They get in later tonight.  Love you, gotta run!” I hang up before she can derail me again.

I toss my phone on the bed and start pulling things out of my suitcase to keep them wrinkle free.  I am only here for three days, but I have my six best suits with me, three pants suits and three with various types of skirts, all in shades of black.  Lady Corleone is very particular about clothing color and how it shows your status in the room.  I am 24 and started interning at Lady C’s marketing firm my senior year in high school and was lucky enough to stay on through college working my way through the ranks of her firm.  Once I graduated, I became one of 4 personal assistants to Lady C herself.  I am the youngest and least experienced so I don’t get to do many things that she would consider important. This trip is a first for me and I don’t want to blow it.

About twenty minutes later I am primped and prepped and standing at Lady C’s door waiting for James, her security guard/driver/lover.  I don’t want to know about that relationship, but, of course, others at the company like to share the juiciest rumors and I’m not opposed to listening to them.  There’s always some basis to what is said even though most of the time it’s out of context. He has always been kind to me. He understands what they are like and tries to shield me from some of the maliciousness Mallory likes to dish out.

James opens the door. “Aurora, just in time. She thought you might have gotten distracted by the scenery.” He chuckles a bit, giving me a knowing look. He knows good and well I am thirty minutes earlier than Lady C requested.  I just roll my eyes in response, plaster a meek smile on my face, and go in ready for whatever insults are coming my way today. Mallory likes to put me down as soon as I enter any space she’s in. I’m used to it and don’t really care for her opinion. Her mother is a different story.

“It’s about time, you need to be set up and ready to go, what took you so long? You can’t possibly have that many things to unpack.” The nasally voice of Mallory Corleone comes from the sitting room of the presidential suite. “If you get us on this call late, you could jeopardize this whole week. Why can’t you consider things like that, always needing others to think for you.”

James rolls his eyes at me from behind her back. He doesn’t like her any more than anyone else. He learned to tolerate and ignore her as an inevitable presence long before I ever came around.  He is also protected from a lot of her wrath due to her mother’s fondness for him.  The rest of us take the brunt of her bratty behavior with a grin and a deep slow breath.

“Yes, Miss Mallory.” Is all I say in response. The less I talk to her, the less she engages.  Her voice is like nails on a chalkboard and she likes to hear herself speak.

James walks me to where Lady C wants to hold this virtual call. I set up my laptop on a side table, connect a cable to an external camera that has the correct lens settings preprogrammed to Lady C’s liking, and hook that up to the large wall monitor with one final cable.  It’s really that simple. I am always ready and made sure to pre-check all my connections before even coming up to the suite, knowing both Lady C and Mallory will make my life difficult if they have to wait more than a few moments for anything.

I agree with Lexi and think this part of the meeting is redundant. Why fly all the way to a high-end beach resort to meet with a client in person only to have a pre-meeting via video conference, is beyond me.  Lady C claims it is to get the ball rolling and get pleasantries out of the way so the actual meeting takes less time.  What she really means is that we do most of the dealing now and Mallory flirts and attempts to make small talk during the live meeting, using the only assets she brings to the negotiation.  I am sorry to say that Lady C knows what she is doing and most men fall for it. Lady C is a force on her own, but she isn’t above using whatever it takes to get the deals she wants, that’s why she is so successful.  I don’t know if I could do all of the things she does, but I enjoy watching her work her magic. Mallory on the other hand got none of her mom’s charisma.

She has been very friendly with men since she realized she enjoys the attention. She has been bedding as many rich men as she can since she turned 18, and her mother uses that sex appeal to the advantage of the company. We have expanded from just business marketing to high-end fashion, including a magazine, modeling agency, boutiques worldwide and several merchandise warehouses.

Mallory is two years younger than me with platinum blonde hair, strategically designed to contrast with her mother’s dark chocolate hair.  They are almost identical aside from the hair color, it's a force when they are out together. Supermodel height, legs, and curves in all the right places; some natural and some paid for. Bright blue eyes and full lips compliment heart-shaped faces. Mallory has to wear contacts to get the blue color her mother was gifted with.  They are both beautiful, I just wish they had personalities that matched.

“You can go now.” Mallory sneers at me, standing elegantly from the couch like royalty.

“Your mother actually wants her to stay to handle the technical side of the meeting since she is on site, it will make things run more smoothly and give a better impression.” James comes to my rescue…again.

I nod and take a seat behind my laptop out of sight of the camera, knowing they don’t want me seen.

The meeting goes without any hitches. Lady Corleone is amazing with her words, she knows just how to make these men think they are making all the decisions when in reality she is giving them their decisions.  It’s like watching a master painter at work, she commands the room, giving me nonverbal cues as to when screens and slides need to be switched. It appears as though we can read each other’s minds.  This is why I put up with everything from her and her daughter, she fights for everything she wants and does it with grace and style and a bit of manipulation thrown in for good measure. These are the things that can’t be taught in a classroom.

“We should be arriving shortly, will we be seeing you lovely ladies this evening?'' One of the gross old men asks with lust in his eyes.  I’m so glad my face is hidden behind my laptop because I’m sure the disgust on my face is not appealing at all.

“Mallory and I would love to join you, gentlemen, for a few drinks later, we plan on relaxing by the pool most of this afternoon.” Lady C replies with a coy smile. Yep, still trying not to vomit.  I hate this part of the business deals, it makes me feel dirty and I don’t have to do anything.

“What about Mallory’s friend there?” He asks and my eyes go wide, I was never acknowledged during the whole exchange.  The only reason he even saw me is because Mallory was leaning on the table, showing off her cleavage, and knocked the camera loose and I had to fix the situation quickly. Unfortunately, the new angle has me sitting in the corner of the camera frame. The way he called me ‘Mallory’s friend’ makes me think he has other ideas of what type of friends we are.

I triy to put very little emotion into my face as I looked at Lady C for the answer to his question.  I know we both do not want me anywhere near these guys. But, I am at her mercy.  If she thinks my presence will help, then she will force me.

“She unfortunately has other matters to attend to before tomorrow’s negotiations. I’m sorry Mr. Westfield.” Lady C tries to brush the matter off and change the subject, but he won’t let it go.

“That’s too bad, she’s my grandson’s type.” He chuckles a bit.

“Which grandson is that?” Lady C questions, a fire burning in her eyes telling me I am in trouble for having the audacity to be someone’s type. “Last I heard, your only grandson was engaged, and she definitely doesn’t resemble my intern.” She’s deliberately not saying my name so he can’t find me in the hotel and calls me ‘intern’ to let me know I am, in fact, in trouble.

I look at my watch and begin to quickly gather my things as though I really have somewhere else to be. The only problem is the call is going through my laptop and I can’t leave without it, nor do I want to come back to retrieve it.  I never know what’s going on behind closed doors when it comes to these two women and I only come to them when called.

I turn in my chair to look at Lady C, the full view of my back to the camera.  I gently place my hand on my computer, silently telling her I need it to leave.

She takes a small breath and looks at Mr. Westfield.  I am sorry to cut this short, but we do have a few other things to attend to here before dinner this evening.  I will leave information for you with the receptionist.  We are having a small gathering here in our suite tonight, we would love for you to join. See you soon.” She does a little wave at the camera and I cut off the connection before he can object or say anything else.

I turn my eyes back to my things, collecting them in haste now, very interested in my work and avoiding the two fuming women. I do not care about looking frazzled.

“How dare you weasel in on my client.” Mallory snarls at me. I say nothing in response, just keep my head down. He’s not her anything, but I’m not dumb enough to open my mouth. “Don’t you dare think about coming up here tonight and ruining everything.  This merger is one of the biggest our company has ever seen and I will not have you messing it up.” I just nod.

I take a few steps towards the door and then turn.  “If there are any changes to tomorrow’s meeting, just text me at your convenience. I will be in my room the rest of the night.” I state letting her know I am not going to be any trouble and if she wishes me to not attend the in-person meeting, I’m fully aware my presence may not be appreciated by everyone in the room.

I hear, “Stupid b*tch makes everything so complicated.” from Mallory.

“If you learned to keep your slutty mouth shut…” is all I hear from Lady C as the door closes behind me.  I make my way to my room.  This is not going to be the luxurious getaway I thought it would be.  Who am I kidding? There is no way Lady C was going to give me downtime.