Once, at the height of youthful rebellion, Tristan had crashed a brand new sports car. He had nothing of it. His father had wanted to sweep the whole thing under the rug. But his mother had not. Tristan had spent a year on one of the family's ranches, cleaning the stables, and living off the peanuts that he was paid( way less than everyone there).
At the time he had been very embarrassed, and had never misbehaved in such a manner again.
That year had always held the number one spot as Tristan's most embarrassing moment. But now, in just a matter of seconds it had been made a very distant second.
In that current moment. Tristan, was mortified.
Beneath the table, the woman, Ariel Jones, was uncomfortably close to regions that she should not have been anywhere near. Tristan bit the inside of his cheek to keep from reacting to her fingers squeezing at his thighs. He counted to ten in his head and focused on his breathing in and out, in and out. Now was not the time for him to panic. Mr Riley had just said something very wrong and despite the fact that he was uncomfortable with what was going on in his lower region he had to ignore that in order to deal with the situation at hand.
"Mr Riley, could you repeat yourself? I am certain I misheard. What upcoming marriage?" He asked. Part of him hoped that the old man was kidding, that this was some joke. But Tristan knew Mr Riley. If his actual funny bone were not essential, the man would have removed it, then burned it until it was ashes in the wind.
Mr Riley did not do fun.
So if he said marriage, he meant marriage.
Rather than answering him straight away. The old man reached for his briefcase and opened it. He pulled out some paperwork and put it on the table.
Any other day Ethan would have made a quip at how ancient Mr Riley was still lying on pen and paper when most things in the world were now digital. But that day was not that day.
"Your father is worried that you will die single focusing all of your attention on the family business. Not only that, he has also insinuated that he is worried about the continuation of the bloodline.Which is why he had this clause of you getting married by the age of thirty,"
The papers were pushed towards Tristan. He briefly glanced down at them. Then he looked back at Mr Riley.
Beneath the desk, Ariel Jones shifted and Tristan did his best to ignore that. He could not afford to be distracted, not when it felt like his insides were caving in. Turning the unease into simmering anger, Tristan glared at the unbothered old man.
"What reason would I have to be married?"
"Pardon my rudeness, but just because a piece of paper says I have to do it. That does not mean I will agree Mr Riley. Besides if my father wishes for me to be married, then he should talk to me himself instead of sending you," It was irritating, ever since the death of his mother. His father had all but disappeared from the world of business and from Tristan's life as well. He only showed up here and there never staying more than a few minutes at a time. When he did show up however it was to cause chaos, and then just disappear into the mists but this time he had decided to mess with Tristan's life from a distance.
Fists clenching on the desk.
Tristan took a breath and pushed the paper over to Mr Riley without reading it.
"I do not care what is written here, Mr. Riley. Whatever my father's wishes may be, I have a company to run. I do not have time to be wasting on things like marriage and family duty. I am doing more than enough for the family as is by raking in all the money that I am bringing them," Had it not been for the uninvited guest under the table, Tristan would have stood just to show the old man that the conversation was over. But instead he remained seated and leaned back, looking down on the old man to show him how little the whole thing bothered him.
Did his father seriously think that by sending the lawyer, Tristan would just give in and get married out of nowhere? Folding his arms, he turned his face away. It clear indicator that there was nothing more to discuss. Mr Riley, having been dealing with generations of the Asher family, wasn't bothered by the display. Instead he just gave a long suffering sigh.
"Though I understand your point Mr Asher, I feel it is my duty to inform you what will happen should you decide not to honour your father's wishes," Dread prickled down the back of Tristan's neck at those words. Of course...of course it could not be as easy as just saying no.
His old man probably had some clause in there. Something that would tie Tristan up and force him to do the old man's bidding.
Straightening once again, he did his best not to glare at the lawyer.
"And just what is it that my father has decided will happen to me if I choose not to get married?" Tristan asked. There was warm breath against his knee, seeping into the fabric but he ignored it.
"Let me guess, will he dock my pay? Will I be suspended? Fired?" He meant it as a joke but Mr Riley did not smile back. Instead he gave a grave nod and Tristan's heart sank.
"Should you choose not to get married, you are to step down from your position as CEO with immediate effect,"
The words once spoken rang around in Tristan's head like a very loud bell. What? But his mind, calm and logical even when his heart was going a mile a minute, instantly put the puzzle pieces together and came up with something that he did not like at all. If Tristan were to step down, then there was only one other person who could come up and take over for him. His cousin Zachariah . And Zachariah could not be trusted in any shape or form.
The man was selfish to the core. He would not care about the employees. He would not care about the businesses that were not as profitable as they could be but were the lifelines of various communities. He would not care about doing his best to keep the status quo when it came to other companies. Zachariah would want to swallow everything for himself. Starting unnecessary feuds. Not caring how the money was made, legal or illegal, so long as the cash kept rolling in. To make matters worse, the man actually had support from some of the members of the board.
"My father cannot be serious,"
Frederick Asher was chairman in name only.
But just because he rarely exercised his power, that did not mean he could not. The fact that he had sent Mr Riley, let Tristan know that his father would not hesitate to kick him out of the position that he had worked so hard for over the years.
Taking a breath and doing his best not to panic Tristan did damage control. He had to gather the facts instead of just being too emotional.
Rubbing at his temples, he once again fixed the old lawyer with a look.
"How much time do I have?"
" One month,"
Tristan inhaled sharply."What?!" He hissed between clenched teeth, a headache building despite his best efforts to prevent it.
"You would have had more time as you meet. Had you spared a moment to listen to me all of these months. It is why I've been trying so desperately to reach you.
But you kept cancelling on me every chance you got,"
There you have no one to blame but yourself for the short notice was unsaid, but it was very clearly implied.
Knowing that he would say something regrettable the longer the old man stayed, Tristan closed his eyes and leaned back, all of the fight going out of him.
"Very well then Mr Riley. Message received. The old man gave him a look,"
"For what it is worth, young Asher, I really do hope you sort this out. Asher Industries will be in a world of trouble if you do not manage to do this," With that the old man saw himself out?
A few moments passed with the door closed and Tristan just sat there, his mind reeling.
What on earth?! Get married or give the company over to Zachariah? He was still mulling over that disastrous potential outcome when he was suddenly pushed back. He let out a very undignified yelp that should anybody else have asked, he would have denied ever making the sound.
Looking down he was met with wide green eyes and just like that he remembered that he had not been alone. Somehow the shock of the ultimatum had made him temporarily forget that the weight against his legs was a human being. But the woman had clearly not forgotten that she was there. Not only had her slipped free from his pant button, she had also overheard everything.
Tell anybody what you just heard, and I will make your life miserable. Tristan did not get a chance to say those words because no sooner had she pushed him back, Ariel Jones was standing.
"Sorry, sorry, sorry, I'm sorry," She said.
Just like that she was gone, running out of his office like the hounds of hell were chasing her. Tristan watched as the door close behind her.
He made to stand and run after her, but in the end he decided against it. Just as the two of them being caught with her on her knees in front of him, would have been bad. For him to be seen chasing a woman through the hallways would not be a good look.
Burying his head in his hands, Tristan exhaled. Not only did he have to get married soon. He also had to find Ariel Jones and silence her before she could think to run to the press with the news. Great, just great.