Chapter One
Her face was twisted in the oddest of forms. Face sunken, creating double chins, with nose and forehead scrunched. Of course, she was yet to get used to the idea of a woman in late 50s getting married so abruptly to a billionaire in his mid-60s in a few weeks. Nothing too hard to wrap her head around, really.
Except that the woman was her mother.
“What the actual…” she almost spat her coffee on her blueprints, “hey, ma!” she yelled from her bedroom.
“Yes, darling?” her mother sang from her bathroom, which left Mina bewildered. She was sure her mother had left her room almost half an hour ago to let her work on her projects.
“Who the hell is Dave McCarthy?” She demanded waving the wedding card in the air. She was sure her mother had left it purposely on her bed to read. Heidi Willows only hummed a tune in response and Mina stared at the bathroom door in disbelief. She couldn’t even get herself a man as of yet and her mother is getting married again at 57. And this was amazing news, Mina didn’t deny it, but-
“Ma, I could’ve used a warning!” she stormed into the bathroom to find her mother three fourths deep in a tub of pink and purple bubbles, sipping on wine. The off-white epoxy seemed infused with the smell of roses, and the setting seemed disturbingly romantic, with the wall scones dimmed to give off a soft yellow glow against the stone walls and intricate brown and gold wallpaper, “And I gave you a luxury bathroom of your own, for God’s sake.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” started off Heidi, “Your bathroom seems to have this…this, er…”
“Intimacy?” she deadpanned with a raise of her brow. She understood that, and despite earning extremely well, she kept her living space small and compact for the exact feel. Of privacy and intimacy.
“Yes!”
“That’s beside the point, ma,” Mina sighed in exasperation, “Who is McCarthy?”
She was answered later that evening as she was dragged to a formal dinner with the man in question, and his family. Mina had a client to meet after, so she stuck to a sleeveless, key-hole neckline black number under a white jacket, accompanied with pearl jewelry and simple make-up that lifted her naturally tan features and light brown eyes, leaving her short black hair in an elegant mess of curls around her neck in a side part. Her stilettos clicked behind her mother’s wedges against the marble floor of the McCarthy Continental hotel. They had been invited to their penthouse to enjoy their flavors with a beautiful view of the New York night life.
The elevators opened with a soft ding right into the penthouse. The Korean operator gave them a light bow as they left, and Mina bowed back out of respect. She had a deep appreciation for culture and languages and often co-operated it in her works as an architect and interior designer.
She studied the penthouse in awe. It was a beautiful work of art. Greek accents and Latin calligraphy fell systematically into an aesthetic view, accentuated with modern leather furniture and stone walls that gave the cultural theme a futuristic appeal against the clear glass windows behind which skyscrapers and their lights were spread out.
For one thing, she was delighted this person carried different cultures with importance. All of that she had come across of the McCarthy’s carried with it the Mediterranean, Arabian, and Asian blends beautifully incorporated. A paradox against its name claiming the empire as Continental. Maybe it was on purpose. If she saw any hints of European or Western influence, it was relatively small.
Her mother walked in expertly towards the lounging area.
“A’right, ma, how many times have you been here?”
“Are you her mother?”
“Bruh,” Mina deadpanned, “her mother is here with her third shot and I’m still single.”
“Mina, I introduced to that very nice boy of her co-worker’s who is-”
“He was a misogynistic piece of-”
“Heidi!” A deep, velvety voice cut through from afar, freezing Mina and stealing Heidi’s attention.
Dayum, dat voice, Mina thought appreciatively as a well-groomed and a rather fit man appeared at the top of a glass spiral staircase in a black silk shirt and white pants. Mina felt like she would cry out of shock. Dark skin, with eyes a bewitching hazel decorated with a grey, well-groomed mustache and hair pulled back to the nape of his neck, all over clean cut features, the man was the epitome of Mina’s image of slay.
“Does he have a son?” she whispered to her mother who cheekily elbowed her in the stomach, “Ma, I’m serious.”
Heidi gave her daughter a sly look, “What if he turns out to be a misogynistic piece of shit?”
“Lel, I’ll change him.”
“I’m so glad you could make it,” Dave said as he reached out for Heidi, kissing her cheek in greeting, “Oh, is she your daughter?”
His accent very subtly gave away evidence of multilingualism. This only excited Mina even further.
He’ll be such a cool dad to have, she squealed internally, I’ll die!
Heidi brought Mina forward by her shoulders and introduced her to him. He met her so warmly that it almost shocked her. How could someone as sternly built be so jolly and soft? She melted like a kitten under his touch on her head that welcomed her in his abode. Is this what kittens feel like when their owners pet them? Now Mina was really going to cry, but she did her best to hold back tears.
“Her son will be here soon,” Dave announced, “Let’s have a seat, shall we?”
Mina took to the leather couches across from them, and started grilling Dave McCarthy shamelessly. This was her mother she was sharing with him, and she deserved nothing but the best. He and Heidi laughed at her demeanor, but something told her that Dave found it endearing. It wasn’t long before his son finally entered the premises.
“Ah, Aaron! You’re finally home,” Dave greeted him joyfully as he stood up. Mina got up as her mother followed suit, and turned around to greet him.
“Yeah, the meeting kind of stretched out longer than I would’ve liked.”
Mina’s jaw almost dropped and crashed through the marble flooring. She felt in dire need of breath as her heart stumbled in her chest. If she thought Dave McCarthy was good-looking, then this guy took beauty to a whole new level.
He had his father’s hazel eyes, only brighter and speckled with green. His hair was darker than a raven’s brushed back into a short pompadour over beautifully golden skin framed with a beard and mustache trimmed well close to his jaw. His blue pinstriped suit fit him perfectly. Too snug in Mina’s opinion, but she did not mind one bit.
Wait, he’s going to become her brother, she realized, dammit!
He’s not your blood, though, argued another part of her mischievously.
Forget it, Mina, she told herself, you don’t date anyway.
Heidi walked forward to greet him and Aaron met with her warmly, “Good to see you again, Heidi. Have you been doing well?”
“Better than ever,” she replied happily. His gaze rose to meet Mina’s, and she swore she must’ve blushed. Mina never blushed.
Ever.
Look at this shit trying to get to me, she grumbles internally, while another part of her kicked her repeatedly for putting her guard up so quickly. Aaron politely broke away from the adults and approached her. Although his face looked respectful, there was a mischievous darkness behind his eyes she wasn’t quite ready to deal with. She had half a mind to break into a run, but his eyes kept her rooted to the spot.
Oh, he’s trying to dominate me, is he? She thought defiantly as she straightened her back and locked away her emotions, meeting him with a cool composure, Imma show him who’s boss.
Calm down, tiger, the other part told her and she could literally hear the eye-roll.
“You must be Mina,” he said lifting her hand in his, “Your mother talks of you a lot.”
“I can’t say the same for you,” she forced normally through the kiss he placed on her knuckles, “I didn’t even know anything until this afternoon.”
Aaron laughed. It was definitely not genuine. She could see he was stressed, and she knew how it could get. She felt empathetic towards him and offered him a smile of solace. Aaron seemed to have caught onto it and smiled back, grateful that she understood.
Maybe we’ll get along okay, she thought as he led her to the dinner table and pulled out a seat for her. The menu surprised them and Heidi gasped in delight and ordered for a plate of deep fried shrimps straight away. Mina wanted to try some of the Japanese cuisine so bad, but she had a client to meet in an hour and had already stuffed cookies on her way to McCarthy Continental.
“I’ll just stick with chicken soup,” she spoke softly to the waiter, who nodded and waited for others to fill in their request.
“Mina, eat properly, please,” her mother poked her with concern, “You’ve only had breakfast.”
“I’m good, ma,” she said with her cat like smile. Talk started at the table and it started to gravitate towards Mina soon. She talked of her ambitions and her mother jokingly complained about her daughter’s life long celibacy. Mina only laughed and said she was waiting for the right person and that everything takes time. Dave nodded appreciatively.
“There is plenty of time to pursue romance,” he started, “and it’s not bad to start it alongside your career, but never allow it to hinder you.”
“Exactly,” Mina agreed, “I just don’t think I’m mentally and emotionally equipped enough yet to deal with a relationship. Plus, I’m still learning a lot about herself and fixing somethings that aren’t the best parts of me to deal with, even with her own.”
“You should be more like her, Aaron,” Dave scolded his son, “She has it all figured out.”
“Do be available for the impromptus, though,” Heidi started humorously, “she gets into more trouble than getting work done.” Mina only smiled sheepishly at the truth. Dave laughed.
“Aaron here is a trouble magnet himself. Rather, he’s simply extremely prone to bad luck,” Dave said, and Aaron laughed a little too nervously to be deemed okay. None but Mina seemed to have noticed, but she knew it was a topic he wouldn’t want to breach, so she didn’t comment.
There was something about him that needed clearing up. Something that needed digging into. But Mina knew better than to stuff her nose into matters that did not personally call to her attention. And so she vowed to stay away until he let her in himself.
There was something between them, though. A private understanding. They kept glancing at each other, exchanging friendly looks. The mood grew comfortable and she was positive Aaron and she would get along just fine. He had a thing for good design and diversity, as did she. He was a hardworking man, and she was hardworking, too. He handled finances well and she was also very organized in her bills and payments. He was the CFO and she was aspiring to start up her own company soon.
The dinner went by smoothly and dessert was just as delicious, but it seemed as if they all were purposely trying to stretch it out to have more to talk about. As if the disappearance of food would mean the talking would, too. Of everyone was just as huge a foodie as Mina was. But she had a client to meet and discuss house plans and room designs with, so she was soon to leave.
“Do come again when you feel like it,” Aaron said as he led her to the elevator, “You’re fun to talk to. It’s been a while since I met someone with common interests.”
“Hey, we’re going to be siblings, soon,” she said cheerily with a childish grin, “We’ll have plenty to talk once that happens.”
Aaron gave her a curious once over. Mina wasn’t sure if she wanted him as her brother. Would it be incestuous to want more? There was still so much to know about him, though. She couldn’t just fall into him without knowing him properly. She couldn’t make that mistake over and over again. It’s hard to rightfully walk away from feelings for an awful person, no matter how strong she was. And she had done that to herself too many times.
“Yes, definitely…” he trailed off in deep thought. The intense look he gave her was melting her into a puddle, but the elevator dinged open and she collected her pooling composure and sculpted it back into place, although somewhat out of proportions.
“See you some other day then.”
“See you,” he bid her farewell, and she was on her way.