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“No, I’m awake. What do you need?” I ask, throwing my legs over the bed.
“Today you will meet Jasper. He’ll be there around noon. He’s taking you to lunch so the two of you can get to know each other.”
My heartrate kicks up. Jasper must be my soon-to-be-husband. I literally know nothing about him. I didn’t even know his name until now.
“Jasper who? How old is he? What does he do?” I bombard her with questions that I honestly shouldn’t even have to ask.
“Does any of this even matter?” she asks in a bored tone.
“Are you serious? Yes, it does.”
“Jasper Rodgers. He’s twenty-nine. He’s an investment banker.”
Is she serious? A twenty-nine-year-old investment banker?
“How does this benefit you and Dad? How does this benefit his family?” I ask.
“Why are you suddenly full of questions? You never had any before,” she says, obviously irritated with me.
“Because I used to think it was a joke. I thought it was something you were threatening me with. Now that it’s a reality and it’s happening in like eight months, I’ve got questions,” I point out.
“This has never been a joke, Charlotte. I don’t know why you would think that. His family is substantially wealthy. Your father owes some people some money and this will help with those debts.”
So, basically, my father got himself into some shit and now I’m the one that has to bail him out. Perfect.
“I’ve got to go. Be ready for Jasper at noon. Don’t screw this up,” she says before hanging up on me.
My mind travels back to Cole. How he promised he would figure out a way to get me out of this. Is that possible?
Sighing, I head into the bathroom. There’s nothing he can do. It won’t do me any good to get my hopes up over something that’s never going to happen.
I’ve just walked downstairs when the doorbell rings. I feel the dread in my stomach. I don’t want to do this today. I wanted this to be a normal Saturday. I wanted to call Cam and see what she was up to. I don’t want to have lunch and hang out with a man that I’m supposed to marry at the end of the year that I don’t even know.
I pull open the door and am greeted by who I’m assuming is Jasper.
He looks a lot older than I expected. He’s not unattractive, but already something in his smirk is rubbing me the wrong way. His dark hair is slicked back, and he’s wearing a blue suit. He screams arrogance and money. Not even close to my type.
He’s not brooding, he doesn’t have tattoos––he’s not Cole.
“You must be Charlotte,” he says, looking me up and down.
This guy is definitely a creep.
“Yes, and you must be Jasper,” I say, putting my hand out in front of him.
He looks at me with a smile, like I amuse him, then wraps his arms around me, uninvited.
“There’s no need for pleasantries. I’ll be your husband soon, and we definitely won’t just be shaking hands then.” He grins.
I try not to grimace at his words. He is way too forward.
“Come on, I’ve got an entire afternoon planned for us,” he says, grabbing my hand, pulling me towards the car waiting for us in the driveway.
I’m feeling uneasy about this whole date, but there really isn’t anything I can do about it now. Plus, it’s not like he’ll be able to hurt me in a public setting.
I feel claustrophobic in the back of the car with him. He won’t stop staring at me.
“I thought it would be nice for us to go somewhere secluded to get to know each other. I have this special spot that I just knew would be perfect for this outing.” He grins.
