A small growl escaped Thea's lips as her alarm blared loud angry beeps. The day ahead was going to be long and trying. She felt it in her bones. Something bigger than the typical annoyances of her mother was going to be thrown at her.  Which at the thought of her mother's classic crusade, Thea felt the urge to burrow herself even further into the comfort of the luxurious Egyptian cotton sheets surrounding her.

‘Your hair is still short I see.'

‘No husband either? Not even a possible boyfriend? Your twenty-five dear your biological clock is ticking.  And are you gaining weight? Really, Thea watch what you eat, you'll never get a husband with love handles.'

‘Why you decided to go into sports law is beyond me, do you even like sports? You never played one a day in your life!'

With her mother's voice ringing loud inside her head, Thea ripped her covers away and jumped out of her bed. 

As she slid her balcony door open her senses were hit with the pleasantries she knew awaited her outside.  Warm sunlight had her skin sizzling with pleasure. The slightly salty air produced a calming effect as she slowly inhaled in and out.  These were just two of the small things she felt made life worth living. Her hands gripped the metal railing as she watched downtown Miami slowly come alive. A few runners were out for a morning run, tourists were getting in their last few pictures, a few overachieving business people heading to their offices to get a jumpstart on the work week ahead, and over in the distance the port was full of morning commotion.

The tension in Thea's face began to return. Procrastination wouldn't get her anywhere, being late for brunch would only make things worse.  

As she entered her bedroom a picture on her dresser caught her attention as she passed on her way to the bathroom. It was of snap shot from her graduation from Harvard Law School. She stood beaming between a stone faced James and Caroline, who wore something that resembled like a genuine smile. She slammed the photo faced down on her nightstand before attacking her morning routine with vigor.  

Clad in her lucky underwear set, Thea stood in front of her closet carefully selecting each item of clothing. Her choice of a simple white Stella McCartney blouse, her favorite dark washed Joe's skinny jeans, and black Louboutin pumps would keep her off of her mother's fashion police tirade. She kept her make minimal and natural, she wasn't looking to get called a prostitute. Lastly, she put a few extra curls into her hair before realizing there was nothing more for her to do unless she wanted to be tardy.

After leaving the safety of her condo, Thea slid into her most prized possession, a charcoal grey M6 BMW convertible. Feeling ready to face whatever it was life was going to force upon her, she put the car in drive and began to cruise as Beyonce's voice crooned through the speakers.

The journey to the Viceroy Hotel proved to be easy and traffic free.  This good fortune made Thea wonder if the day really was going to turn out as horrible as expected. But, her feelings of serenity seemed only to last as long as the elevator ride to the restaurant.  As she exited, Thea caught a glimpse of a familiar figure she hoped was only a figment of her imagination. Her steps were cautious as she approached the restaurant's reservation desk.

"Hi, I'm here for the Malebranche party."  She told the young Hispanic girl.

The hostess nodded, "Ah you're the last of the party.  Everyone else is already seated. This way please."

Tension filled her body. With each step it was nearly crippling. Once the table came into view she instantly knew it would have been right to stay in the bed.

Without telling her, it would seem that her parents decided to invite extra guests. Two of them she had to admit she was pleased to see, her father's best friend and Co- CEO Gabriel Garner and his lovely wife Rebecca. It was the third guest that made her feel sick to her stomach.

Julien Garner.

Her breath hitched at the sight of him but it had nothing to with his neatly styled black tresses, piercing blue eyes, perfect tan, and pair of the most kissable lips ever. No, that had nothing to do with her reaction, rather it was mere surprise followed by instant rage. He sat in all of his arrogant glory between her mother and his own, telling the women something that sent them both into a fit of giggles. She hoped he choked on the water he sipped. Steeling herself for the encounter she greeted everyone.

"Good morning everyone." She chirped giving both of her parents a light kiss and slight hug then took a seat between her father and Mr. Garner.

"Oh how nice of you to finally join us." Her mother began.

"Nice to see you too mother." She mumbled under her breath.

Rebecca Garner gave her a reassuring smile, "How have you been Thea I haven't seen you in so long."

She liked Mrs. Garner. Rebecca was the anti Caroline in every sense. 

"I've been fine just working on contracts and such for clients." She replied before signaling the waiter over. "Could I get a screwdriver please?" Thea's eyes flitted over to Julien. 

"Alcohol so early in the morning dear?" her mother commented though a Bloody Mary sat in front of her. She almost burst out in laughter at her hypocrisy, but it was truly typical of Caroline Malebranche.

Suppressing a retort, she turned to her father and asked how business was going. He and Mr. Garner were the heads of an aerospace and Defense Corporation that rivaled Boeing.

"Business is business I suppose. With both of the wars going on we're getting a number of contracts from the government." He answered though he shot Mr. Garner a strange look.

Thea only nodded giving him a soft smile, which he returned. Though he wasn't around much when she was growing up, she always felt a special connection with her father. Perhaps she was just a natural born daddy's girl.

The waiter returned with her drink and then took everyone's order. Thea decided to go with a healthy option picking the option with Greek yogurt, fruits, and whole wheat toast. She had a feeling she was going to need the comforts of greasy comfort food and ice cream later on.

Once everyone had ordered her father cleared his throat. "Gabriel and I have something to share with you two, Thea and Julien."

 Thea took a large gulp of her screwdriver. Anything having to do with her and Julien collectively couldn't be good. Her normally stoic father looked weary and upset as well. This was not a good sign at all. 

"I suppose I should start considering this is mostly my doing." Gabriel Garner began. "As you all know I have been offered a fairly high ranking position at the Department of Defense.  And while James is fully capable of running the company himself, it is my wish that Julien is able to step up and fill my position as the 2nd CEO. James and I have both discussed this and we believe wholeheartedly that Julien will be able to execute his duties as a CEO with ease. However, we have some concerns about his public image. In the papers he is a notorious playboy that even has a few false rumors of rape and illegitimate children floating around. Therefore, to ensure the confidence of our company's employees, shareholders, investors, and the board that his image will not tarnish the company's good name, Julien will marry in order to gain his title."

Thea felt sincere pity for whoever had the misfortune of being stuck with the blue-eyed demon. But the question remained, why did she need to hear this?

As if reading her mind her father spoke. "Thea I know your wondering where you come into all of this but we have decided that you would be the perfect woman for Julien. You two are to be married in three weeks." His voice strained more and more at each word coming out of his mouth.

Thea sat in utter disbelief before she was able to form a slightly coherent thought.

"Daddy I must have heard you wrong but did you just insinuate that you have placed me into an arranged marriage with him." She snarled the last part pointing at Julien who sat cool and unaffected.

Her father looked at her helplessly. "And if I don't cooperate?" she challenged.

"I dissolve my half of the company." Gabriel answered smoothly.

‘Apparently bastard is genetic', Thea mused sienlntly. 

A small part of her heart tugged as she looked over at her father who looked like he was in a true bind. She knew that company meant everything to him, and truth be told it meant everything to her. If it weren't for Garner & Malebranche she would not have had a lot of the experiences she had growing up that made her the woman she was today. But an arranged marriage to a man she deemed Satan incarnated? She just didn't think it was possible. However, she looked at her distressed father once more and felt a tiny crack in her fierce opposition to the situation.

"I'll think about it," she said quietly.

"You'll think about? Think about what? You have no love life, no men banging down your doors, what on earth could you possibly have to think about." Her mother commented harshly. Thea went to give her mother a piece of her mother but her dad beat it for once.

"Caroline not right now. Not. Right. Now." James said quiet but firm.

Gabriel gave a small smile, "Thea how about this, I'll give you a week to think things over. But in the mean time you two live together, effective immediately, in order to maybe resolve any outstanding issues you two seem to have."

A whole week with Julien? Someone was going to end up dead. By homicide or suicide, she wasn't sure which just yet.

However, she didn't really have a choice. Thea looked at Julien who was staring at her. He still had yet to say anything about this arrangement.

"Fine." She said evenly as a plate was placed in front of her. Suddenly she was so hungry anymore.