Chapter two

I sat in front of my vanity, my makeup artist working her magic. As she was rubbing different products on my face, I pondered on the type of solution my father might have come up with for the Spain deal.

Defeated, I let out a heavy sigh, sitting anxiously, waiting for her to be done.

“Tasha, can you hurry? I’m getting late.” I snapped at her.

“Almost done,” she said in a whisper as she doubled her speed and then she let out a “done.”

“Good, now leave!” I commanded.

She scurried away from my room as if it was on fire. I advanced to my walk-in closet, connecting to the bathroom. My eyebrows furrowed as I looked at the massive collection of dinner dresses, not knowing what to wear. After a good five minutes, I finally decided on what I wanted.

I slithered into a body hugging red off-shoulder dress with a slit resting mid thigh. I looked at myself in the mirror, happy about the outcome. My raven hair falls down to my shoulders in curly locks, paired with silver five-inch heels that brought up my height to a significant 5 '9.

I rushed downstairs, my feet quickly leading me to the door.

“Mommy, are you going out?” Dylan asked, stopping me dead in my tracks. It was his birthday today.

“Yeah, I’m meeting with some people from work at your grandpa’s house.” I replied.

“Do you have a boyfriend?” he asked, “Because Melinda told me that girls dress up when they have a boyfriend.”

“I am not dating anyone.” He flinched when I snapped at him. “I’m sorry, I just have some work things. I’ll see you later okay, be a good boy and listen to Mrs Williams, eat dinner. Don’t forget to brush your teeth before sleeping.”

“Okay mommy, can I also watch Ninjago?” he asked, giving me puppy eyes.

I stood up from the squatting position and said, “Only for an hour.”

“Thank you, mommy, I love you.” He said, hugging me.

“Okay, bye, be a good boy.” I said as I pulled from the embrace and headed out of the door.

At quarter to seven, I arrived at my father's house. Fifteen minutes was all I had. I passed the threshold without even knocking. I used to live here, after all.

I made my way to the living room, where I found my father sipping a glass of whiskey.

“Father,” I greeted.

“Bella, happy you could join us.” He said, offering a small smile.

“Father, can you please tell me the solution you came up with?” I asked, acting on the impatience that had been eating me all day.

“Bella,” he shook his head, “You need to work on your impatience. Just wait five more minutes and you will know what I came up with.”

“But—” I started, and he cut me off.

“No buts, just sit here patiently and look pretty.” He said, getting up from his seat. As he walked away, I glared at the back of his head, hoping I could burn holes into his back.

I grouched in my seat, answering a few emails to pass the time. I was halfway through an email when something tickled my neck.

Rolling my eyes, I said, “Damien, quit it.”

“You’re psychic. How did you know it was me?” he asked with amusement playing on his face.

“You’re the only one who annoys me to death.” I started, looking back at my phone.

Damien is my twin brother. He is tall, buff. He has dark brown hair, ruby eyes, strong eyebrows and an angular jaw. He was dressed in a gray three-piece tux, his hair gelled back. “You look human,” I quipped.

“Still the MD.” He added.

“You’re an MD without a brain. I literally do all the work.” I complained.

“You know, I’m the most eligible bachelor in New York.” He informed me.

“People here are so blind, they can’t detect ugliness.” I said, gesturing my hand at his face.

“Can you two stop?” Selena yelled, catching our attention. I looked at her up and down, noticing her pregnancy was showing. “Your bickering is making my ears bleed.”

Selena was my father’s wife, she has her own two children and now she is pregnant with Perez. I reverted my attention back to my phone, typing away.

“Say hi, sis,” Damien whispered into my ear and I glared at him, “Stop looking at me like that and say hi. She’s pregnant and her mood swings are unbearable, especially when someone is rude to her.”

I elbowed Damien as I greeted Selena. “Good evening Selena, you look lovely.”

“Thank you,” she said, stomping off to the kitchen.

“And you expect me to be nice?” I murmured.

The Spanish people, who I later discovered were the Mendoza’s. They owned a construction company called Mendoza Co. It dealt with construction and had several mines around the world. We sat on a ten seater dining table, my father sitting at the head of the table and Mr Ignacio Mendoza at the other end. Selena and her two Children, Kyle and Camille, sat at the right-hand side of my father, while on the left there were Damien and I. Mr Mendoza’s three sons and his wife Mia filled the remaining seats.

The eldest was Leonardo. He has jet black hair, a devilishly handsome face and the bluest eyes I have ever seen in my life.

The second was Alvaro. He looked charming and was definitely a ladies’ man by the way he greeted me. He was just as handsome as Leonardo but had a more relaxed and fun expression compared to the scowl on Leo’s face.

The youngest was Armando. He differed from the rest, as his brothers wore tuxedos he simply wore dark blue jeans, a plain white shirt and a white jacket.

“Bella,” Damien whispered beside me, “Stop staring at them, it’s creepy.”

“I’m not staring.” I glared at him.

“Right.” he rolled his eyes.

“May I have your attention?” My father said, smiling. When we all looked at him, he cleared his throat. “Ignacio, thank you for joining us with your lovely family at our home, and let us make a toast to the union of our families.”

The entire table erupted into a chorus of cheers, whilst I was the most confused. I looked over at Leonardo, who looked even grumpier. I was certain this union was not something that I would like.