Forget Me Not

“Jamesiiee.” I heard Vivienne call.

Letting out a small grunt, I threw my pen on the desk, leaning back in the chair and rubbing my face. This woman wouldn’t leave me alone. No matter how hard I tried to get rid of her, she wasn’t taking the hint.

“Oh, there you are,” She said as she walked through the door.

“What do you want, Vivienne?”

She let out a small laugh and made her way over to the desk. Then ran her hand over my shoulders.

“You’re so tense, Jamesiiee.” She squeezed my shoulders.

I shrugged her off, jumping out of the chair, and my body shuddered from her touch.

I furrowed my brow at her. “Why are you even here?”

“Your granddad told me to come help you prepare the arrangements for our wedding.” She smiled, taking a step closer and grabbing my tie.

I swatted her hands away, taking a step back. “We are not getting married.”

She let out another small laugh. “James, this is not something you can say no to. It’s been arranged since we were little.”

Some promise my Granddad made with hers when we were babies. Who in their right mind arranges marriages when you’re a baby with no say in the matter? Pretty sure they were both drunk when they made it, and ever since Vivienne knew about it, she’d been hounding me for years.

“Vivienne, you only want to marry me because it was arranged. There is no love between us. You’re like my sister.”

An annoying little bratty sister who couldn’t take no for an answer and always got what they wanted. Not me, though. She wasn’t having me.

“Don’t be silly, James. We are destined to be together.” She stepped closer.

Stepping back to avoid her touch, my heart raced as I stumbled backwards into the cabinet. A crash echoed through the office as I looked down at the broken vase.

“Boss—” Owen, my assistant, called, rushing in. “Is everything ok?” His eyes darted to Vivienne, then met my glare.

Vivienne looked Owen up and down, then shifted her weight to one side, resting her finger on her lip. “Everything is fine, Owen. Run along.” She shooed him with her hand.

“Actually—” I slide out from her trap. “I’ve got a meeting to attend,” I told her, straightening my navy blue suit out.

I strode over to Owen, patting him on the shoulder and gestured with my head to leave. He soon caught on, nodding, and we quickly made our escape out of my office.

“Who let her in?” I quietly asked Owen, as we walked fast through the office floor.

Everyone’s eyes flickered up from their screens, getting a small glimpse of their next CEO of Ivory Bean, the largest coffee empire in the world. The luxury international coffee brand that my great-great-great-grandfather built in eighteen ninety-six with his bare hands. I rolled my eyes, thinking about how many times my granddad had told me the story over and over as a child.

We managed to reach outside without Vivienne following us, and Owen opened the car door.

“Where are we off to, Boss?” he asked.

“Take me to see my granddad. I need to have a word with him.”

An hour later and we arrived at my granddad’s mansion. Owen opened the door, and I stepped out, looking up at the place as I straightened my suit. This place had been in the family for years. Handed down in the family, and it’ll probably end up as mine when the time comes.

The water from the fountain trickled in the distance as the birds chirped in the trees. I had had happy memories here with my grandfather. He raised me from a young boy. The stones crushed beneath my feet as I took my steps towards the front door.

“Mr Carter.” Alexander, the butler, greeted me at the door. “Your grandfather is expecting you.” I gave him a curt nod, and he opened the door, allowing me to step in.

This place never seemed to change much. My eyes scanned the grand foyer, the same antique statues, the same paintings and of course, the lavish gold grand staircase. It reminded me of the one from the Titanic movie. Luckily, this house wasn’t likely to hit an iceberg and sink.

Making my way further into the mansion, I knew where my granddad would be at this time of day. He’d be in the living room playing chess with Gerald, the groundsman, well, he was retired, and his son took over. They’d be sipping whisky and laughing about the times they used to get into trouble when they were kids. Gerald’s dad had been the groundsman before him and lived on the grounds. Now, Gerald lived there with his wife, Penny. My granddad gifted it to Gerald when they were adults and told him his family would never have to worry about anything. Of course, they had children of their own and grew up here with us. There grandson, Tyler, was my closest friend.

I heard the sound of laughter a I got closer to the living room.

I knew it.

“Granddad,” I said as I entered the room.

He looked up with a smile on his face, and the laughter died down. “James, what do I owe the pleasure?”

Making my way over, I leaned in to give my granddad a hug and then the same for Gerald. “Always lovely to see you, Gerald,” I said to him.

“You to James.”

I could feel my stomach tying in knots, but I couldn’t leave it. “We need to talk about Vivienne.”

My granddad arched his brow at me. “What about Vivienne?”

“I can’t marry her.”

“You have no choice,” he said, then looked back at the chessboard.

“But Granddad—”

His eyes flickered as he interjected. “No, James. This was arranged a long time ago.”

“Probably over a bottle of whisky!”

“So what if it was. It won’t be broken.” He took a sip of his whisky.

I wasn’t going to get anywhere this way. I needed to try a different approach.

“Fine, but if you want me to take over fully as CEO when I turn thirty, then let me go to England for six months.”

He nearly choked on his sip as he placed the glass down. “Why would you want to go there for?”

“You know I’ve always wanted to go since I was a child, and I’ve never been able to because of the company. I want to experience life. The life mum came from.”

“Why now?” he asked.

“Mum was from there, and I want to see the place she came from before her and dad died. I love you, Granddad, and I’m thankful for everything you have done for me, but how can I be the best man for the company if I don’t know half of who I am?”

Gerald nodded at me, holding a thumbs-up under the table. “He has a point, Reggie. Let the boy see the world before you tie him down to someone he doesn’t want to be with.”

My Granddad let out a heavy breath. “Fine—but you take Tyler with you.”

“Who knows, Reggie, he might find an English rose just like your boy did.” Gerald smiled.

He arched his brow at Gerald, then pointed at me. “Don’t go getting any ideas from what Gerald has said. You will marry Vivienne on your return.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it, Granddad,” I smiled.