Business as Usual (2 page)

“
Nĭ
hăo
, Yu
Xiān-Shēng
(Hello, Mr. Yu)
,” I said,
greeting the father as I entered. “
Nĭ
hăo
(Hello),
Wo
hēn
Gao
-Xing
zie
jian
Nĭn
,
(Very happy to see you again),”
I said, addressing Ethan right after.

He sat straight up in his chair, fully alert,
appraising me as I walked by. I followed his gaze from my legs up to my face.
Our eyes connected and I smiled.

With his dark shoulder length hair and chiseled
face, Ethan was an attractive man. He looked to be in his early thirties now,
not much older than me. Our fathers had a friendship that spanned decades. But
in all the years of knowing them, as adults, Ethan and I exchanged very few
words at the cabin save for the occasional friendly greeting in passing at
events where he made a habit of staring at me from beneath a cloak of dark eye
lashes when he thought no one was looking.

I prepped my paperwork for the meeting with
Ethan’s licentious gaze like warm fingertips roaming sensuously up and down my
spine, a far cry from the stubborn boy, who once hit me in the eye with a piece
of chalk when I was six years old…

When we were kids the two of us had a mutual
hatred of being forced to play together while our fathers talked. Now we were
the ones doing all of the talking and our fathers were the ones listening.

“Elizabeth?” Daddy called.

“Y-yes, just a moment, please…”

I erased the heedless, sensual imagery of those
fingertips bumbling around in the darkness from my mind and fumbled with the
papers in my hand. This was neither the time nor place for the silly girlish
fantasies I often lapsed into in the presence of gorgeous men.

I opened my laptop, syncing it with the
overhead screen I pulled from the ceiling. A platter left by the Café sat on a
serving table. There was orange juice, coffee, tea, bottled water, and soda
available to drink, as well as fruit, cheese, bacon and croissants for
breakfast. I wondered why Dad dismissed his assistants as they would be the
ones to pour the coffee and offer refreshments. They were also responsible for
setting up the audio and visual equipment.

Sighing, I poured a cup of coffee and said
“Refreshments are available if any of you are thirsty or need something to eat.”
I gestured toward the platter. The Yu men and my father uttered polite
refusals.

I moved to the head of the conference table as
a picture of one of my charts appeared on screen. Ethan watched from the corner
of his eyes as I passed him by.

“Thank you for coming, gentlemen. I should hope
the fact that we inadvertently booked the wedding room, that it’s a sign that
there will be a marriage of ideas between our respective companies after my
presentation today.”

Black
and white photos of women in various wedding dresses decorated the walls in
expensive frames. Mr. Yu and Ethan exchanged bewildered glances.

Dad waved, gesturing for me to continue the
presentation.

“Carrying on…” I uttered quietly, hoping the awkward
silence permeating the room would eventually dissipate.

I adjusted the position of the screen then
proceeded to go over the charts and graphs, which detailed the costs associated
with the design for the new Gold Dust Hotel.

“As you can see, the designs for the Gold Dust
Las Vegas are a bit elaborate. But we could always scale back and make a few
changes to meet my projected budget.”

“How will the Gold Dust compete with other
Vegas hotels if the designs are not as elaborate?” Ethan asked. “This is, a
luxury hotel, right?”

I repressed the desire to roll my eyes. “I
believe the hotel can be both cost effective and attractive, provided we scale
back unnecessary designs,” I answered.

Father slid out of his seat as we continued
talking and walked over to the serving table to pour some coffee. He mixed
cream and sugar into his mug, his back facing the group.

“However, the designs for the hotel are neither
attractive nor cost effective,” Mr. Yu replied.

I fished around for a worthy reply. “Then what
do you suggest is necessary to get costs under control?” I asked.

“What Mr. Yu is saying, Elizabeth, is that we
need something a bit more competitive for the Vegas market. All of which, is a
moot point, since Mr. Yu and I have already come to an agreement. Have a seat,
honey,” my father said, like I needed to sit down.

I folded both arms across my chest, annoyed
that he had been keeping this secret from me. “If you already had an agreement
then what was the point of this meeting?”

I tried not to show how angry I felt as I
stormed over to the conference table and sat next to my father, directly across
from Ethan and Mr. Yu.

“I have good news. Mr. Yu, has agreed to invest
in the Gold Dust Las Vegas as an equal partner on the condition that Ethan, who
is an architect, redesigns the hotel and oversees its construction. I felt,
since you already worked so hard on the previous project, overseeing its
budget, that we should at least hear you out.”

“So where do we go from here?” I asked,
ignoring the fact that Dad allowed me to work on the budget knowing they had no
intention of approving the project.

“The good news, Elizabeth, is that we would
like you to oversee the budget on the new project. So nothing has changed in
that regard except that you will be working closely with Ethan to get this
done. With Mr. Yu’s help, we’ve secured the funds we needed to complete this
massive undertaking. We expect this to be one of the grandest hotels in Vegas
history.”

“Congratulations,” I answered coldly, ignoring
Ethan’s pensive stare as he drummed the end of his pen on the table absently.

“There’s more…” father continued. “I’m not sure
how you’ll feel about this Elizabeth, but I really need your help.”

Finally, the truth was coming out. I wondered
what type of imposition would follow next. “What is it?”

“Now that AmeriAsia, of which, Ethan is part
owner, has a controlling interest in the Gold Dust Hotel, the government will
adjust his Visa status. Unfortunately, the adjustment will bar Ethan from
working and traveling to the U.S. His current Visa gives him employee status,
it does not grant him permission to visit the States as a business owner, which
is what he will become after the agreement has been signed. Unfortunately, Mr.
Yu’s investment depends entirely on Ethan overseeing the project.”

“In other words, the deal is off if Ethan can’t
oversee the project here in the States. What can we do to help?”

I waited for father to continue, as I was
obviously missing the point. All eyes in the room were on me.

“A green card would allow Ethan to live in the
United States for ten years, with the opportunity to apply for permanent
residency in five. We’ve spoken to various attorneys about obtaining a new Visa
status or immediate residency for Ethan, and unfortunately, all avenues have
been exhausted. It could take years and we don’t have a lot of time. However,
there is one other option that we haven’t discussed with our attorneys… with
good reason. If Ethan were to marry he could not only apply for a green card
right away, but also permanent residency after three years.”

Daddy sat his briefcase on the table, took some
documents out, and sat one before me, Mr. Yu, and Ethan.

I looked at the document, which read

Prenuptial Agreement:

‘This agreement made in triplicate this

12
^th
day of February, 2012

Parties:

Ethan ‘
Xiaoming
Yu

(Of the city of Las Vegas in the State of
Nevada)

and

Elizabeth Byron

(Of the city of San Diego in the State of
California, & the city of Chicago, in the State of Illinois)

This prenuptial Agreement is made between Ethan
‘
Xiaoming
Yu’ thereinafter referred to as “Mr. Yu”
and Elizabeth Byron, thereinafter referred to as “Ms. Byron”, who are
contemplating marriage to each other…’

I read the line
‘who are contemplating
marriage to each other’
twice. When had I contemplated marriage to anyone
other than Danny?

“What in the hell is this?” I asked, unleashing
the fury building within me ever since my father revealed that he and Mr. Yu
had already worked out an agreement.

“I am
not
to be bartered as a part of
some business deal!” I shrieked. “How dare you!” I was out of my seat, pointing
my finger accusingly at my father’s face. Dad had seen me angry before, but
that anger had never been directed at him. He looked shocked, not quite
expecting my reaction. Realizing that I was on the brink of losing control I
rescinded the invectives rolling to the tip of my tongue and waited for my
father to speak.

“You have two minutes then I am out of here!”

Dad was on his feet in seconds, hands on my
shoulders as if to keep me from leaving the room.

“I’m sorry, Elizabeth, I had no idea this would
upset you so much.”

“How could this not upset me? You lied to get
me to come to Vegas when you already worked something out with Mr. Yu. Then you
present me with some prenuptial agreement for Ethan Yu? Are you mad? Have you
lost your
mind
?”

Who did my father think he was, planning my
life in such a manner and under such shady conditions!  

“You have no right to ask this of me. I’m not
marrying
him or anybody else
!” I scoffed. I felt Ethan’s now piercing
gaze on my back as I glared at father.

“Perhaps, we should give the two of you a
moment,” Mr. Yu suggested with a disappointed look on his face.

The
situation was my father’s fault. Mr. Yu and Ethan discussed their end of the
deal at length, perhaps weeks in advance of coming to Vegas. They were on the
same page, but my father and I were not. I felt bad about my choice of words
and for flat out refusing in the manner I did. I realized how mortified the two
men must have been. Though neither could have been more mortified than I felt
when my father and Mr. Yu finally revealed their hair-brained scheme.

“I
apologize for my behavior, Mr. Yu. It’s just that, this is a bit unexpected.
Not to mention illegal.” I ignored Ethan and focused on his father, who over
the years had been so kind to me.

“I
can make my investments in China or some other company,” Ethan snapped, the
color draining from his face. “I don’t need this.”

He gathered the documents he had been given
from the table, dropping some of them on the floor as he stalked out with Mr.
Yu chasing his haughty son out the door. Finally, my father and I were alone.

 “How could you?” I asked.

“I’m sorry I lied, baby. But I knew you
wouldn’t come if I told you.”

“What about Danny? What about the fact that you
are asking me to commit a crime?”

“I would never impose on you if it wasn’t
absolutely necessary, sweetie. I don’t feel good about this,” he said, lowering
his head. “But I wouldn’t ask if Ethan wasn’t a good guy. I’m not asking you to
consummate the marriage.”

“Dad!”

I started to storm out, but Dad lifted a hand,
gesturing for me to stay. “Lizzie, come on. You said you would do anything for
me. I’ve given you everything you could ever ask for and I ask you to do one
thing for me, and you can’t help me out? And it’s not like an arranged marriage
is really a crime.”

I folded both of my arms. “Semantics. And the
guilt trip is
not
working.”

“Three years, that’s all I ask. Ethan is a
respectful young man, his father and I are good friends, and we know the two of
you will get along. I know you love Danny. But… he’s not right for you, honey.”

“And Ethan is?”

I turned away from my father, sighing.

“You promised you would do anything for me,
Elizabeth. I dedicated my entire life to raising you, putting you through
college, and helping you buy your condo. When have I asked for anything in
return?”

“I never asked for any of those things!” I
countered.

“When your mother walked out,” he said, voice
lowering, “who stayed behind to pick up the pieces? When you were devastated, I
was there for you,” father accused.

How long was he going to use that against me?
Of course Dad was
right. He was there for me, through thick and thin, rain hail sleet or snow.
But I couldn’t help but wonder… if he was willing to break laws to build his
hotel, would he be willing to engage in illegal maneuvers for Byron Energy?
Were the rumors true? I didn’t want to know.