Meredith found Dino in the bedroom near the office. He was curled up in the far corner of the closet as if he were trying to get as far away from wherever he was being held against his will. He looked up at her with his ears back and a sad but angry look in his eyes.
“I’m sorry Dino.” Meredith crept slowly towards him. “I had no choice. I had to marry him.” She apologized to Dino and he let her pick him up and hold him close in a cuddle. Involuntarily he began to purr and she was glad he wasn’t going to be traumatized for life over the ordeal. She couldn’t say the same for herself. And poor Dino was going to have to stay locked up in this little room. “Not if I can do something about it.”
She sat there with Dino in her lap stroking him and wondering if she would have been better forever obsessing
Meredith sat at the kitchen island alone. She knew she had overstepped with the question. But it was all she wanted to know when she thought about it.She wondered about this man that was her husband. He didn’t show much emotion and was very matter of fact What kind of life would she have? She had made her choice, what little choice she had.Brayden had told her that he made her forget Chad. That the reason she had fallen for him was because she could forget the past. But in truth it was the opposite. Being here in this strange cold condo with things that didn’t belong to her living a lie made her think of nothing but the past. She didn’t want to think of her future because she didn’t want to see how dark it would get the longer she stayed here in this mess. But there was no way out of “death do us part.”
Meredith was falling. She felt her stomach lifting and doing flips and turns in synchronicity to her body as she continued to free fall. She was wearing a blue dress and a white apron. She looked around and saw she was falling through Alice’s rabbit hole. She was Alice. She saw her father on an old tv set in the roots. He was at a dog race with tickets in hand looking nervously out at the field. The shot cut away to the dogs and focused on one that had the lead but was being gained on quickly by the pack.Meredith looked away and along the other side of the tunnel she saw another tv set with her mom sitting at their home office desk. She was calculating something and crying while she did it. The screen blinked in and out like it was losing reception. Meredith felt a tear slide down her own face as she watched until it was nearly out of view.S
Meredith was looking out the window in Brayden’s home office when he brought her attention back to him.“I wanted to go over my routine with you and add a few changes to accommodate married life.” He told her as though they were going over the final details of a business project of some sort. She thought he must see it that way. It was all about business for him. It was a matter of who would become the next CEO, there was nothing more to that. He was married to his work. She figured if he was going to go through with a fake marriage just to keep working harder and harder each day maybe he did deserve to be the next CEO.“Okay.” She finally responded.“Everyday I get up at 6 a.m. and go running on the lake then workout,”
Meredith sat down on the love seat in Dino’s room while she waited for her apartment to arrive in boxes as foretold by Brayden. She decided she needed to respond to her messages. She picked up the her phone and hit send then waited. “Hello, Meri.” Her mother answered on the first ring. “Why did you make me wait so long. Why are you moving? What’s going on?” “Hello, Mom. Are you sitting down? I have a lot to say.” Meredith responded with a sigh. “Oh?” “First. I know about Dad and the races.” Meredith began. “Oh…” Her mother whispered and audibly sat down. “Mom, I told you to sit down.” Meredith scolded. “I know, I know but I wasn
“Hey.” Brayden said as Meredith entered the main room of the condo that held the living and dining areas attached to the breakfast nook and kitchen. He was standing before a wall of boxes. “Can you come with me to the truck? I was going to have them send your furniture to the Salvation Army.”“What?” Meredith didn’t want her stuff given away. It was her stuff. But then what use did she have for it in Braydens furnished condo.“Just come look with me.” A couple of guys walked by with stacks of boxes on dollies as Brayden led Meredith by the small of her back. At first she found the gesture comforting then she realized that he was doing it for show. She sighed and went along with him. This was what her life was now. She had bargained with the evil and lost. More like her parents had made the bargain for
Meredith and Brayden finished going through her clothes and were left were her favorite pajamas, a sundress Chad had picked out for her that she couldn’t part with, two pairs of her favorite jeans, a hoodie from the University of Chicago, and her favorite T-shirt. She kept the outfit that Taylor and her mother had picked out for her which Brayden agreed with as it had gotten his attention. She had a pair of black flats that were worn that she refused to get rid of no matter how much Brayden protested, and a pair of strappy sandals. Everything else in her wardrobe remained in the boxes or on the bed where they had been sorting things.It was late. The wardrobe sorting had taken several hours due to Brayden having to convince Meredith to get rid of things reminding her that they would be replaced. They were both worn out and tired of each other. Brayden excused himself to the office and Meredith went i
Meredith and Brayden were both quiet for some time as they after they shared a brief discussion about how amazing Estrella was. They were silently eating their dinner together. Taylor had taken Meredith to some good cafes for lunch, she was always very proud of her ability to sniff out a good cafe within walking distance for the two of them. She often made sure that there was a good soup selection for Meredith even though she hated Meredith’s slurping. The Purple Pig that Ben had introduced Meredith to was amazing. Everything she had tried was absolutely delicious. She had finished her meal with a fantastic bacon torte a la mode with bacon ice cream. It was one of the best desserts she had ever had. Even though her win consumption for the night was a bit much for obvious reasons, she did thoroughly enjoy the meal and the vibe of the place. It was somewhere she would love to go again to.
Brayden woke Meredith the next morning at 6:30 a.m. He nudged her slightly and softly called out her name.“Meredith, We have to leave soon.” She moaned as her eyes blinked awake. Still not used to waking up in his bed she wondered where she was and assumed she was still dreaming. She looked up at Brayden and paused as her eyes drank him in. He stood in front of her wearing only a towel low on his hips. She swore she was dreaming. He truly was perfect. He had damp disheveled hair from his shower and beads of water speckled across his bare chest, which was quite sculpted. His abs, no words could do them justice. She was in awe and knew this dream was one she would want to savor. She couldn’t look at him with lust in her eyes when she was awake. Meredith slowly reached out and touched the washboard abs of a god. His skin was warm and damp. Her eyes followed the contoured lines that rippled
Meredith was thoroughly enjoying the garden party. There were immaculate flowers, greenery and shrubs delicately sprinkled around the greenest lushest lawn Meredith had ever seen. She had gotten so many compliments on her outfit. Of course, she gave all the credit to Brayden who had picked it all out. Brayden charmed all the women without even saying anything, when he did they were almost faint.Meredith shook her head at it all and went about the party trying every bit of the au d'oeuvres that were presented. If she found one that was exceptional she would pop it in Brayden’s mouth. Brayden didn’t complain because he loved watching Meredith doing this little dance of the foodie.The Baxton’s finally caught up with Meredith and Brayden near the sushi station where Meredith was trying a mini dragon roll. Brayden was talking to a well known architect and promising to stop by and take a look at his home designs.“I see you two made it okay,” Dave Baxton greeted he chuckled watching Mere
Meredith and Brayden had finished their fourth and last jump of the day. They had been at the Chicagoland Skydiving Center for nearly the whole day. They were having so much of a fun time it felt like time flew by and before they knew it they were on jump four and starting to wear out a bit.They thanked Steve and scheduled to come back in a week to go over more ground training and get some more jumps in. Then they headed on their way.“I’ll drive. You’re exhausted, babe,” Brayden said and he opened the passenger seat for Meredith to get in.“It’s just an excuse to drive my car.”“Maybe”“Did you like it really?” Meredith asked with a yawn as Brayden slid into the driver’s seat.“I loved it! I think we should do jumps on Saturday and Sunday. Eight jumps a week and we can get to two hundred in no time.” Brayden looked like he was grinning, which to anyone else would look like a small smile. Meredith knew her husband was excited and so was she. Brayden drove towards Schaumburg and foun
Meredith woke up earlier than usual for a Saturday. She had a long night and had only managed to squeeze in a few hours of sleep. Still she felt refreshed and with excitement that her husband was slightly afraid of. He of course had been up long before she opened her eyes.Brayden recalled the kayaking date, which was fun with a hint of danger being him falling into the river with Meredith laughing. But that was nothing compared to her jumping down the Swiss Wall. And while they were separated Brayden had no idea what Meredith had been up to. Jacob had been very vague with his reports.Brayden, who wasn’t sure how to dress for wherever Meredith was taking them, opted for casual attire. He wore a pair of Bruno Magli Italian leather sneakers in a dark burnished chestnut color. He had on a pair of Brunello Cucinelli navy cashmere creased sweatpants and a white Tom Ford t-shirt under a black The Row cashmere zip up hoodie.He followed Dino into the kitchen where he first fed Dino then pre
Meredith and Brayden took the elevator down to Brayden’s office. Brayden seemed to be deep in thought so Meredith decided not to interrupt. Finally just as they entered Brayden’s office he turned to her and raised an eyebrow.“What?” Meredith asked, confused.“What’s going on tomorrow?” Brayden asked in a serious tone.“I just decided to pick up a new hobby and thought it would be great if you came with me,” Meredith gave her best I’m-an-angel smile and puppy dog eyes.“As long as you aren’t planning on jumping off the side of a mountain again.” Brayden moved in close to his wife and searched her eyes.“Not at the moment,” Meredith smirked. Brayden leaned in to kiss the smirk off Meredith’s face. She reached around his waist and he wrapped her in his embrace as they both sighed a calming peaceful sigh simultaneously.“If you want to move back to the condo let’s make it happen.” Brayden conceded. “I don’t care where I live as long as I’m with you.” Meredith looked up into Brayden’s sin
Meredith was on her way out the office to have lunch with Brayden before they went to see his father to talk about the CEO position. Brayden had felt very strongly about securing the title. So much so that he had coerced a random stranger in the elevator into marrying him. Meredith sighed in relief as she walked out of her building and saw Sean waiting with the familiar Mercedes to take her to the Maxwell Sharpe building. She had on her black belted pleated short sleeve Burberry dress and her strappy Louboutin stiletto sandals. “It’s good to see you, Sean. Thank you.” Meredith said as she reached the car. “It’s good to see you too, Mrs. Maxwell.” Sean responded. Meredith smiled and got into the car and they were soon on their way. Meredith was slightly nervous about
Meredith felt that familiar thumping and the pounding through her body as her feet hit the treadmill mat in her building’s workout room. She looked out the window at the natural light shining in the already bright workout space and smiled. She no longer needed to run as an escape or to be strong enough to push things down in order to be a perfect Maxwell. This time she had chosen Brayden and they truly were a united team going into things. As she was running she remembered her parents’ had been suspicious about her relationship with Brayden. Maybe they should look for a new home. It would be weird if Meredith had told her parents that they were getting a new place and they just kept the old one. Meredith shrugged to herself, and started her cooldown. Technically her apartment was a new place for them. And t
Meredith woke up in her husband's arms and didn’t want to get out of bed. She sighed and picked up her phone and pressed the button to light up the display flashing the time before her eyes. Another sigh and a light groan later and she was getting out of bed and headed into her shared walk-in-closet and chose something to wear from her work wardrobe.She picked a Tommy Hilfiger pencil skirt with front faux zippered pockets. She paired it with a pair of BCBG black pumps and her Eileen silk top. Meredith got washed and dressed and grabbed her Michael Kors bag and headed out for work.She texted Jacob as she walked from her apartment to her job and made sure that was going to send Brayden home on time and make sure that he ate lunch. Meredith decided she was going to nag about this for the week.She d
“No secrets, Mere.” Taylor was looking Meredith up and down and her outfit. She knew Meredith had kept her ‘billionaire wardrobe’ at Brayden’s for whatever reason but was now suddenly wearing them. “I can’t wear them?” Meredith tried to feign ignorance to no avail. Taylor just gave her a look and Alyssa was still confused. “Isn’t Brayden your husband?” Alyssa asked, having never met him but heard stories. “I don’t understand. Do you have separate homes?” “Yes. Sort of.” Meredith responded and Taylor raised an eyebrow as the server dropped off more drinks. “We separated.” “What!” Alyssa gasped while Taylor casually picked up her drink and waited for Meredith to get to the part she was interested in; why Meredith was wearing clothes that were at Brayden’s. “We missed each other. He's moving in my place and we are working things out.” Meredith shrugged then began to sip her drink as well. She had gotten a lemonade so she wouldn’t have to worry about Clinton popping up and carrying he
Brayden wanted to help Meredith get rid of her Christian problem. Meredith didn’t really want Brayden involved at all. If she had needed help she would have called Jacob but she wasn’t ready to go that route. In all actuality, Meredith was hoping Christian would get the clues and bold hints she had for him that she wasn’t interested.“If it gets too much for me to handle, I’ll let you know.” Meredith told Brayden over some twenty-three layer chocolate cake that she had picked up earlier. Brayden picked the dessert wine and as always Meredith was loving the combination and they accented one another.“I was worried you would say that. Meredith, I want to be with you. Hopefully that’s a little more obvious by me moving in but for this to work I think we are going to need some sort of structure.”