Authors: Fiona Knightingale
It was there, in front of his mother’s mirror surrounded with beautiful photographs of hers, that he realized he might have thrown away many great opportunities. He had been too fixated on one thing and, as a result, had lost out on another. And now his time had run out. Now he needed to find a wife quickly and it was more important to trust her with the family’s estate than to love her. It was more important to make sure he married the right woman for the family rather than the right woman for him. If what his mother said in the past was true and the numerous women who showed interest in him held as a testament, William thought he should not have a problem finding a woman to marry. What worried him was whether or not he would make the best choice given the situation.
As he sat down to think about everything at stake and what marrying someone and having a child with her truly meant, it finally dawned on him the best way to approach this was as a business deal. And wasn’t the point of a business deal so both parties would benefit? And wasn’t it customary for the larger and more powerful company to benefit more, whether it was obvious or not? He thought of an idea that seemed fitting though ludicrous. It was something he absolutely had to run by Mr. Jenkins before coming to a final decision. So he picked up his phone and quickly dialed the number. As soon as Mr. Jenkins answered William said, “I have an important matter to discuss regarding the stipulation. What is the soonest time you can make a house call?”
Less than two hours later, Mr. Jenkins was escorted into the entrance hall. He had just set foot inside when William came bustling out of the office, having been anxious for his arrival. “Mr. Jenkins, thank you for making time for me despite your busy schedule and sudden notice.”
Mr. Jenkins smiled and raised a hand as he replied, “It is not at all a problem to accommodate the heir to the Larsen estate. Your family is very valued by me. What is it you needed to discuss?”
William motioned for Mr. Jenkins to follow him into the study, which resembled more of a large office. Given his father was of very high status and the family wealth had been passed on through the generations, it was important to have an ample and inviting workspace even at home. William remembered the doors closed when he was still a kid and his father held emergency meetings in his study. Looking back now, those types of meetings seemed to happen quite often. That made William worry what kind of emergencies occurred so frequently or if his father was actually hiding something. He snapped out of his thoughts and motioned for Mr. Jenkins to sit as he took his seat behind the desk. It felt odd to sit at the place he had so many times seen his father sitting, going through paperwork and consulting with those who worked for him. He recalled often seeing his father work late into the night and thinking he never wanted that kind of life, no matter what kind of fortune it brought him.
“What’s the point of amassing such a fortune if I’ll never be able to enjoy it?” This was the question he had secretly asked his younger sister when they were both adults and he had just received a promotion in the US Marine Corps. Though his parents had given him a tight-lipped “congratulations,” it was really only his sister who had appropriately celebrated the event with him. He knew his parents were proud of him or joining the service but were not all too thrilled to learn he wanted to make a career out of it and focus solely on said career. His sister, however, was thrilled every time she learned things were going extremely well for him.
He had never fit in anywhere as well, especially not so quickly, as he fit into the US Marine Corps in his entire life. It was as if he had not been given the chance to truly show off who he was and how skilled he truly was until he joined them. It was there that he finally shined. He had finally found his perfect fit. He cleared his throat and shook away all his thoughts and memories. No matter what, he was here now at his family’s estate and fighting to keep it under the Larsen name. If nothing else, he did feel he at least owed that to his parents, sister, and the generations before him who had built everything up. He was never ungrateful for the life he had been so generously given, he only disliked the idea of everything being planned for him without any consideration to what mattered to him. Luckily, his parents had never forced him to follow a path he did not care for even if they were not enthusiastically supportive of what he chose.
It was not until they were older that he and his younger sister grew closer. It was as if the diverging paths of their lives somehow ended up pulling them closer together, especially where their parents were concerned. Marsha was well on the path his parents would have liked for him. She had gone to a top university and graduated with highest honors, receiving numerous acceptance letters from top universities for her graduate studies. She graduated in the top 5% of her graduate class as well and immediately began work in the family business. Their father knew she had many innovative ideas but he always told her they could come to fruition in good time. This meant he wanted her to work in the business for a few years first before she began changing anything. William understood the philosophy behind it at the time but now he only felt deep sorrow knowing Marsha would never be able to see her plans come alive.
“Maybe I can help make those plans happen,” he muttered under his breath.
“Excuse me?” The voice of Mr. Jenkins asking the question with deep confusion was enough to pull William out of his thoughts. He had not even realized he was so lost in thought that Mr. Jenkins had simply sat there making himself busy with the paperwork in his briefcase. “My apologies. I’ll get straight to it. I was thinking about the best course of action for the stipulation and I thought of something that will seem quite odd but I think would prove to be quite effective.”
“What would that be?” There was no denying Mr. Jenkins sounded at least slightly apprehensive. William had started the conversation off with a warning, after all. He had also pulled the lawyer out of his daily schedule for something that sounded urgent. William now knew he had gone about this conversation poorly but it did not matter now. The only thing that mattered was reaching a solution and making a plan with the lawyer. That was the top priority at this moment. William swallowed, knowing it was likely to be his top priority for the rest of his life.
“If we approach this as a business deal, we can find a spouse who gets something out of the marriage but still benefits us the most. We just need to make sure appropriate measures are taken so she cannot mar the family name or seize the estate.” Mr. Jenkins nodded as he processed what William had said. After confirming this was actually a good train of thought, he asked if William actually had any idea who that spouse could be. This was what would be tough to say out loud so seriously despite it sounding rather ridiculous. “I thought a mail order bride would be a good candidate,” he said quietly.
Mr. Jenkins simply gaped at him. It was very obvious he was completely at a loss for words. William could not blame him. The moment he said the words out loud in such a serious manner and setting, it seemed all the more ridiculous for him to have even thought of it. After a few minutes of silence, Mr. Jenkins cleared his throat. “Actually,” he said slowly, “That might function quite well. Much better than one could anticipate without further investigation.”
William opened his eyes wide. He was taken aback by what the lawyer had just said. Had he just made a good case for it? But there was no way he could so easily persuade a lawyer. So he reasoned it was perhaps a plausible idea after all. “If looked at from a business aspect,” Mr. Jenkins went on to say, “It does make sense. You make a contract with the mail order bride. The contract states the benefit she gets is transportation and citizenship here. She will be taken care of. In return, she is to remain married to you for a minimum of ten years and bear a child. She cannot claim any portion of the estate, we need to make sure of that.”
William continued to stare at the lawyer, a man who always appeared to be such a feeble man but was far from it. Every time Mr. Jenkins said or did something like this, William could not help but be somewhat in awe of him. “Let’s work out the details then,” William replied, much to his own disbelief.
Three weeks later, everything had been taken care of. Mr. Jenkins had drawn up an ironclad contract and gone over every last detail with William. He had researched and found the top mail order bride company available and made contact with them. He had set up a meeting for William to go to the headquarters and discuss his needs and wants. Everything had been done and all that was left was for the woman to arrive so they could go to City Hall and be legally wed. It was a Tuesday evening when she finally arrived at the airport. She was picked up by William’s personal driver and taken to the city’s most luxurious hotel for the night. Mr. Jenkins and William had decided it would be best for them to meet on the day of the actual wedding. After pulling some strings, Mr. Jenkins fit the two of them in that Wednesday morning. They were the first couple who would be wed at City Hall that day.
It was not until the drive over, with Mr. Jenkins by his side, that William finally learned his future wife’s name. “Her name is Natasha,” Mr. Jenkins told him as they drove past numerous office buildings. They were nearing the destination and, for the first time, William felt slightly nervous. He knew what she looked like in pictures but that was never the same as seeing someone in person. He also had no idea what she was like as a person given someone could not truly be summed up on a piece of paper. No matter how many in-depth questions were given and candid moments recorded, it was nothing like getting to know the actual person. He swallowed so hard it hurt a bit as they pulled up to City Hall and he saw her car parked out front already. He wondered if she was still waiting in it or if the driver had already escorted her inside. William stepped out of his own car and stretched, running his hands over the jacket to make sure it was not wrinkled.
As he walked down the hall, his breathing grew more and more rapid. He had no idea why he was having such a strong reaction to this. He needed to continue thinking of it as a business deal. That was all there was to it. But as soon as the door opened and he saw Natasha standing there in a simple, white dress he felt something unfamiliar drop down the pit of his stomach. Right at that moment, he had a fleeting feeling it would be much harder to continue thinking of this as a mere business transaction and nothing else.
She turned completely to face him and smiled widely. Mr. Jenkins led William over to her and introduced them. “It’s lovely to finally meet you,” Natasha said. She had a soft accent and raspy voice that sounded incredibly sexy to William. She had deep red hair and eyes the color of honey. Her very fair skin looked unimaginably soft to the touch and he found himself longing to feel it under the palm of his hands. The judge cleared his throat to get everybody’s attention and the very quick ceremony began. Less than an hour later, William and Natasha were married and walking down the steps of City Hall.
It was not until halfway through the car ride back to the Larsen estate that they finally spoke. “You’re beautiful,” he told her as he inched closer to her on the car seat. She smiled knowingly and shamelessly eyed him from head to toe. She made a face of approval and replied, “I would not have thought someone like you would order a bride.”
“I have my reasons,” he said simply without breaking eye contact. He wanted to know more about her. He wanted to know how her childhood was, what she did back home, what she liked, what she hated, and why she had enlisted as a mail order bride. But, for the time being, what he wanted most was to touch her. He wanted to be with her. He wanted to know if her skin felt as soft as it looked. He wanted to feel her body against his. He wanted to have her naked body rubbing against his skin. He wanted both of them to end up a panting, sweating mess.
As soon as they stepped inside the estate, he grabbed her by the hand and pulled her upstairs to the master bedroom. He had it remodeled during the time he made a decision and finally the arrangements so it would be ready by the time he needed to occupy it with his new wife. Before then, he had been using the guest bedroom downstairs. It was his way of maintaining some distance in the place he did not want to call his home anymore. He closed the door behind him and said, “I can give you the grand tour later.” He immediately seized her waist with both hands and spun her around before pushing her back against the wall. She looked and sounded startled but that was all before her eyes were taken over by the sultriest look William had ever seen. He licked his lips and leaned forward, pressing his wet lips roughly against hers. She immediately gave in to the kiss and after a couple minutes, he felt her hips slowly move forward and push up against his.
He leaned in to it so that their bodies, especially their hips, were pressed tightly against each other. She pulled her head back and looked up slightly just to catch her breath. He took the opportunity at seeing her neck bared and leaned in to lick it and nibble on it lightly, before running the tip of his tongue along her jawline until he reached her lips again to continue the kiss. He ran one hand up her side and kissed back along her jawline until he kissed down her neck and began to suck near her collarbone. “Oh wow,” she gasped out. He cupped his other hand to her cheek and moved to kiss her again just as roughly as the first time. He then ran both hand round her back and pulled her forward from the wall in an attempt to keep their bodies pressed tightly against each other as he slowly pulled down her zipper, taking care to graze her skin along the way. He broke the kiss and looked her directly in the eyes as he realized her skin felt even softer than it looked. He could not believe a person’s skin could be so unbelievably soft.