Chapter 5

"Venera Rustik Yates."

Everyone at the lobby looked at the direction where the announcement of the name came from. Vee raised her right eyebrow as she turned and found the speaker at the elevators area. She noticed how Rebecca started fixing her already sleek ponytail, and how the guards slowly backed off to their stations, removing the irritated looks on their faces and planting smug expressions instead.

Looking back at the man who spoke her name, Vee finally recalled that it was Conan Gallagher. She fought the urge to whistle as he descended the stairs from the elevator area since he looked like one of the models who worked for Guy. Wearing an all-black suit, Conan's fair skin stood out and his piercing eyes were like blinding spotlights that roamed the entire lobby. His gait was that of someone proud and powerful, but his smile was full of charm.

"You sure have tight security here," Vee smiled, trying not to sound too impressed. She didn’t move an inch from where she stood and waited until Conan was close enough when she spoke.

"I'd like to believe you're impressed," Conan replied with a smile, reaching for Vee's hand and twirling it around his arm like a gentleman ready to escort his princess. He nodded at Max in greeting and Max nodded back before leaving to fetch Vee's car in front of the building’s drop-off area.

Vee felt weirded out by Conan's gentlemanliness but she liked the idea of holding his muscular arm as they walked to the elevators. She took in his freshly shaven scent and tried to glance at his face in her peripheral vision. Conan was tall, about six-foot-two, and Vee was glad to have worn heels or else she would feel like a damsel in distress clinging to her knight in shining armor in fear of getting mobbed. She rolled her eyes at the thought and again looked at how Conan’s appearance was like.

Men wearing business suits in a sexy way always turned Vee on, and she started considering that Conan could be an eye candy if he were to become her husband. She liked neat-looking men, those who looked and actually smelled good, and Conan met the first few qualifications, so far. It was also quite obvious that underneath his crisp coat and trousers was a body of athletic build, and she inwardly nodded that he could be her type. She couldn’t wait to tell Guy and Lenka how she could now remember how Conan looks and how she might eventually end up agreeing that he could be a husband material. The next question was if he really was a true gentleman. Well, he acts like one, she told herself.

The long elevator ride slowly became a little awkward as Conan turned awfully quiet. He was holding Vee's hand on his arm a little too firmly which made the latter feel like he was scared of her disappearing on him suddenly. There was a far-away look on his face and the frequent sighs which he released made Vee feel like he was thinking of something seriously overwhelming. The low buzzing of the elevator reins was the only sound that accompanied Conan’s sighs as Vee tried not to create any other sounds for fear of breaking the silence and being reprimanded.

The ringing sound of the elevator finally came after which seemed to be fifty floors, and the doors opened to reveal a hallway. Conan led Vee as they exited the cart and headed towards another lady who was behind the desk which was ninety degrees from the elevators. She seemed to be Conan's executive assistant. She quickly stood up and opened the door to the office at the far end of the hallway and waited until Vee and Conan got inside before she locked it and went out.

Finally letting go of Vee's hand, Conan offered her a seat next to his desk. He walked a bit to the other side as he loosened his tie quite frustratedly, but decided to take it off entirely and hurled it over to his desk. It fell on top of a document pile. Before Vee could even say something, he let out another deep sigh and started massaging his temples as he walked around.

"I know exactly why you came," he said after a while. "My attorney left just an hour ago and we had run through my Dad's Last Will. I don't know what has come to his head to do this..." He resumed walking around again, grabbing a bottle of whiskey from the table behind his main desk and started drinking straight from it.

The frustration on Conan's face suddenly hit Vee with the harsh reality. It had never crossed her mind that whatever was indicated in her father's Will could have the potential to put that much toll on the other person involved. Yes, she was shocked that her billionaire father would arrange a marriage for her, but the weight of it didn't dawn on her until she had seen Conan's frustration face-to-face. She realized that like her, Conan must have had his own life before the accident happened, and that he would have wanted to marry someone he loved rather than just someone's heiress - or possibly not marry anyone at all, whatever he had wanted to do with his life. Marriage would have been a personal decision instead of an “instruction” from billionaire fathers. She realized that if she would have previously thought of it in a more mature manner, she would have felt the same level of frustration running through Conan’s veins, unable to confront their fathers for making such a decision.

"Did your father," she quietly asked, "say in his Will...that you have to marry the Yates heiress?" She suddenly felt embarrassed of the idea, but she had to ask to be sure that they were in the same boat. A few seconds had already passed but Conan didn’t respond, and instead continued drinking his whiskey. He lifted a finger to signal Vee to wait as he downed the entire bottle.

Feeling more flustered than earlier, Vee looked away from Conan and roamed her eyes around the office. She realized that they were not alone when her eyes fell on a black and gold German Shepherd sitting in the corner, looking at her like an unamused police officer. She stiffened a little bit, wondering if the dog was real or a perfect taxidermy, but it wagged its tongue a bit and blinked at her as though letting her know it was alive. It straightened its body and made its collar visible. It had a medallion pendant with the word "Jacket" engraved on it. Vee realized it was the dog's name.

"Yes," Conan's baritone voice brought Vee's attention back to him. "I was expecting that to happen." His words made Vee stare at him, wondering if she was the only person in the world that thought otherwise of the marriage order from their fathers. She watched as Conan took the seat in front of her and gently took her hands in his. "You might not have realized it, but our families are closely knit." He said while seriously staring into Vee's eyes, "you must find it in your heart to trust us. That is the only way we could move forward. You have questions in your head - I do, too. And I'm sure there are a lot more of these surprises which will come... But please, find it in your heart to trust our family."

Vee was unsure if Conan's words were what made her trust him in an instant, or if it were his hazel brown eyes which pored into her soul. She got tongue-tied - which rarely happens - and she could only nod in agreement.