THE MEETING

ANNA

At exactly 10:00 AM, my father and I are seated in the office of Attorney Luis Davis.

Although the office is spacious, it is packed with shelves holding law books that run from the length of the walls, from floor to ceiling. The office desk is very luxurious that is well-organized with an iMac and a family photo placed at the center.

“Good morning Miss Anna and Mr.Smith.Glad to have you two here and thank you for honouring Mr.William Donovan of the blessed memory request.”Mr.Luis said.

“You’re welcome, Mr. Luis. May we get to the reason why we’re all present here as I do not have a lot of time to spare.”My father replied calmly.

“Alright let’s get straight to business then. Mr.Williams Donovan instructed me before his untimely death to meet up with you Mr.Smith and your daughter before going ahead to read out his last will.”

My father looks as confused as I am but nods to whatever the attorney says. He pulls out a brown envelope and begins to read out what would be the greatest shock of my life.

“I, Mr. Williams Donovan, being of sound mind and memory, do hereby humbly request Miss Anna Smith, the daughter of my beloved driver Mr Smith for the past 15 years, to do me the honour of marrying my only son and heir of the Donovan Legacy. This is my request and wishes from you, Anna Smith. I humbly request you to marry my son Damien Donovan. My reason for such a request is to have my son stop his promiscuous lifestyle and be a family man. I believe you are the only young lady who can help me achieve this wish. As I have instructed my attorney, you will have a share in my properties and your father will have the choice to stop working as an employee. Everything will be well stipulated in the final will that will be read two weeks later after Attorney Luis Davis has read this out to you. Thank you already, Anna, because I   believe you will help me change the way my son views the world. I hope you help me to fulfil my last wish. Regards William Donovan”

“This is what Mr Donovan asks of you Miss Anna.:Mr.Luis says briefly after reading out the greatest shock of my life to me. 

I am so shocked that I do not know what to say. I look at my father he looks as shocked and confused as I am. I try to speak but I can not seem to find the right words. One minute I am struggling to secure a decent job and the next minute I am being asked to marry Damien Donovan the famous playboy of Seattle.

I look at my father but he gives me a reassuring smile before he proceeds to speak, “Mr.Luis, does Mr.Damien Donovan know about this?”

“He doesn’t know about this yet. Mr.Wiilliams clearly instructed me to let you two know about this before he does.” The attorney replied. 

“Alright, but my daughter has to decide if this is what she wants because we both know how Damien Donovan is very well. He does not look like someone who will be willing to get married to my 23-year-old daughter.”My father says in a low tone.

Mr.Luis gives my father and me a little smile and says, “We all know how stubborn Damien Donovan is but his father is much more stubborn. Mr.Williams Donovan before he died ensured that he put in measures that will not leave Damien any choice but to get married to Anna. The only thing needed is Anna’s approval to get married to him.”

Mr Luis looks at me and asks,” Anna do you feel you can help Mr. Williams Donovan's last wish become a reality?”.

I turn to look at my father and then back at Mr.Luis and still can't express how I  am feeling but I am very confused.

The office falls into deep silence for a while as my father and Attorney Luis wait for me to speak up.

“Please can I have some time to think this through? This is a lot to take in at once and marriage is a huge decision and I do not want to  just jump into it.”I finally say.

“That’s perfectly fine but a little advice Anna, I will advise you to agree to marry Damien Donovan and help Mr William Donovan’s last wish come through.”Mr.Luis says.

With that being said my father and I say our goodbyes to Attorney.

The ride back home is filled with a lot of silence. I look at my father and I know very well what’s on his mind.

“Dad, I know you have a lot to say please go ahead and say what’s on your mind.”I finally break the silence.

“Alright my princess, I know this is a lot to take in but the little I want to say is that kindly consider this and help Mr. Williams's wish to come true.” 

“Dad but ….”

“But what Anna? I think the best we can do is to help his wish to be fulfilled. Anna, you know very well how this man has been of great help to our family. He helped with your studies in college and also assisted us when your mom was in dying need of chemotherapy. Anna, I know this is very difficult to come to terms with but I am pleading with you as a father to do this for Mr.Williams to make his soul happy wherever he is. I know  you do not know Damien Donovan but Anna he is not as terrible as the news blogs make it seem.” 

I retort saying “Hmmm.. Dad, we are talking about marriage and you think I should accept it because his father was generous to us? C’mon Dad! I want to find someone on my own who will love me and cherish me like how you did with Mom. I do not want to marry a man who has a long list of promiscuity and is known as a monster. Dad, I know that Mr.Williams was very good to us and he's even willing to give me a part of his shares and retire you if I agree to marry his son but Dad I do not know if I will be able to marry a man I know nothing about. Dad, what if he never accepts and treats me with love?What if  I end up being just his wife on paper but not the woman he loves deeply and cherishes? Not only that Dad, you know very well that we are two worlds apart. Look at us poor and him very rich I guess he does not even know how it feels to sleep on an empty stomach and do minimal jobs just to survive. Dad, how do I fit into his world? 

I guess you know the women he hangs out with and I am way below that standard. Why would Mr.Williams Donovan put me in this position knowing very well I am not the right fit for his son.”

“Anna, Calm down! My father exclaimed. Now listen and listen carefully, yes you’re right on all that you’re saying but my princess please I want you to do this to honour the memory of Mr.Williams.He has been so good to us and you can attest very well to that. If not for him you won’t have been able to complete college. I am pleading with you to please accept this for the seek of Mr.Williams.” Dad pleads with me.

“Dad, I am not sure I will be able to do this. I can not marry Damien Donovan he’s way out of my league. You know I am just 23 years old. I want to build a career for myself and have a life of my own….”

“Anna I know that very well but that is the last wish of Mr. Williams Donovan my boss who has been of great help to our family all these years. He was so good to us my princess. The least you can do is to make his wish of marrying his son a dream come true.” my father says.

My father is right but  I am confused with so many thoughts running through my mind as to how I will be married to someone like Damien Donovan the playboy of Seattle. I do not see myself being married to him. Mr.Williams Donovan of blessed memory was a good man, kind at heart and very easygoing. He treated my father and our family with so much respect and love, supported my education at college and used to occasionally check in on me when I was a student at Seattle University. It always used to amaze me why a man so rich and powerful as Mr Williams was so invested in my well-being.  I guess now it makes much sense because he believed that I would be the perfect match for his son. I know Damien through numerous rumours on blogs, magazines and other showbiz newsletters. From the little I know he seems like the exact opposite of his father. Physically, I haven’t seen him before but from pictures on the internet, he appears to be very handsome with a tall physique and captivating eyes.

“But why me?” I silently question myself. 

I have my whole life ahead of me and getting married to a total stranger out of obligation not love is something I did not see coming at all. I wonder how Damien will take in all this after losing his father and being obliged to marry a girl he knows nothing about.

Life has its way of playing itself out in my life. Whenever I want to do something, the entire universe turns things upside down for me. I hope this time around the universe plays itself in my favour because if I agree to marry Damien just to honour the memory of his late father. Mr.Donovan the good man who ensured that my mother was cancer-free even though we lost her. My family will forever miss him and his kind gestures towards us. I hope that fulfilling his last wish will make his soul very happy.

I call  Mr.Luis later in the evening to let him know about my final decision.

“Good even Attorney Luis, this is Anna. I am calling to give you feedback about Mr. Williams's last wish.”

“Alright Anna, I am all ears,” he says 

“Okay Attorney, I have decided to accept the offer to marry Damien Donovan. What do I have to do now?”

“That’s good to know Miss Anna. What you have to do now is to visit my office next week Wednesday for an official meeting with Damien Donovan for further decision about the wedding,” he replies.

The mere mention of his name makes me very uncomfortable and anxious. There’s a whole lot of emotions running through me now that I forget that I am on a call with the Attorney.

“Hello Anna? Are you still there?”Mr.Luis asks.

“Oh! sorry erm yes  I am still with you.” I quickly reply.

“Okay as I was saying  will have a meeting with  Damien next week on Wednesday  to know the way forward about your wedding preparation.”

“Wedding  preparation?”I ask sounding a little lost.

“Yes Anna, Mr.William wants his son's wedding to be well publicized so that everyone would know that his son is officially a married man.”

I feel like vanishing from the surface of the earth right now because I thought we were just going to sign the marriage documents and that’s all. However, from what Mr. Luis is saying it seems like there is going to be a whole big wedding with lots of important personalities, affluent people and of course the media.. 

“Anna are you still there?.”Mr. Luis asked for the 100th time on the call.

“Yes, Attorney. I am  just overwhelmed by all that you are saying and I am quite unsure if I am ready for this .”

“I understand you, Anna. I advise you to take it easy on yourself and take it one step at a time. Right now all I have to say is that thank you for honouring Mr.Williams Donovan’s wish by agreeing to marry his son. As for Damien do not worry about him because he has no choice but to make you his wife in the next two weeks.”Mr.Luis says.

“Two weeks?”I  ask with all the air in my lungs leaving my body.