Arranged

Rhone couldn't find her. He'd spent the whole day searching the school for a girl named "Nessa", but nothing came up It really bugged the hell out him since he'd missed his classes. He already missed school because of work - not that he really cared about school - and his Dad threw such a fit when he didn't go when he could. And when he didn't get A's. He really let Rhone have it then.
But it was the first day. What did he care? It wasn't going to affect his grades or the fact that he'd take over his Dad's company. Like his Dad was forcing him to. If he didn't need his Dad's money, he'd tell him to take the job and shove it up his ass.
He made a frustrated noise and glared out the window of his car. Joshua had been late picking him up today after he'd called doing one last sweep of the school hoping Nessa had been walking the halls. Joshua had given him some excuse about picking up someone earlier and apologized. Like saying sorry made everything better. If apologies fixed things, there would be no need for cops. And just who in hell had been more important than him?
"Joshua!" Rhone shouted from the backseat of the limo. "Hurry up. I want to get home before I die."
Joshua fought the urge to roll his eyes, pulling on his training to muster a smile for the "Young Master". He really lived up to the master bit.
"Yes, Young Master," he said. He missed Nessa already. She'd sat in the front seat and chatted with him eagerly, telling him all about her day like they were best friends. And he'd liked nothing better.
This past month had been hard on her, he knew, but she'd been strong and had only cried in her room when she thought nobody could hear her. He'd passed by her door often enough to know that she cried long and hard. Probably about what she was giving up instead of what she left behind. He knew enough about her background to know her life hadn't exactly been a walk in the park.
"Joshua!" Rhone shouted again, pulling him out of his thoughts. "Why aren't we moving faster?"
Joshua but back a sigh and stepped on the gas.
Rhone sighed as the car sped up. This school year had come way too fast, taking the Summer with it. The leaves were turning colors again and beginning to fall. By the end of September, the green would be gone.
Right now, Rhone figured his Mom would be somewhere in the Bahamas, celebrating her twenty-some-odd-year wedding anniversary with some guy she'd spend a week with then never see again.
He smiled. His parents were a real piece of work. One spent every hour he could working. The rest of his free time was spent with whatever woman he could get his hands - and other things - on. the other parent spent every waking minute as far away from her family as she could get and spreading her legs for any man she found.
He snorted. The apple didn't fall far from the tree.
The limo pulled into his driveway and he glanced up at the house he'd been trapped in all his life. No matter how many times he left or for how long, somehow, Rhone always ended here. He cursed the house. The prison he'd always been alone in. Sure, the cream walls and green shutters looked harmless enough, but it was empty inside. It had nothing but servants wanting to do anything he ordered them to. Not that that was so bad.
Joshua opened his door and he stepped out in the cooling air. "Remind me to start wearing my jacket."
"Yes, Young Master," Joshua answered, closing the door behind him and following him up the steps.
Rhone really couldn't wait to get up to his room. There, he could use his father's name to find out more about this Nessa. The school's database hadn't had a "Nessa" on their records and the Chairman hadn't heard of a Nessa transferring in, either.
Rhone opened the large front door and was met by the echoes of laughter. He shook his head and continued into the house. Must've been his imagination. There hadn't been laughter in Manor House since. . Well, since forever.
Fuck, that Nessa girl had messed with his head. He was getting all weak and sentimental because some girl had walked out on him.
The laughter echoed again, from the direction of the kitchens. He stopped walking, his right foot on the bottom of the stairs, and looked towards the noise. "Joshua," he snapped, irritated. "What is that?"
Joshua bit back on his frustration. Just a few more minutes and Rhone - who seemed more pissed than usual - would have locked himself in his room and blasted his music and would have been none the wiser. Now, thought, Joshua knew he couldn't stop him from meeting Nessa.
And Nessa was not prepared in the least. None of them were, really, because it had been a complete surprise when Rhone had called requesting the car to take him home. There would been no time to warn anyone.
"Joshua," he snapped. "I asked you a question." He sighed when Joshua opened his mouth to answer. "Forget it." He started walking in the direction of the kitchen. "I'll find out myself."
Unconcerned by anything other than why people were laughing, Rhone confidently walked to the kitchens - a part of the house he'd never really been - trailing a panicked Joshua behind him, who was wracking his brain for a way to stall.
"You know!" Joshua said quickly, jumping in front of him, placing his arms on the door frame as Rhone reached for the knob, effectively blocking him. "You must be tired, Young Master. It's been a long day for you, what with the concert this morning and-"
"Move," he ordered, trying to reach around him.
"Really," Joshua tried, moving to block him. "You should go rest and-"
"I told you to move!" Rhone repeated, frustrated. He pushed Joshua out of the way and opened the door and nearly had to catch his eyes as they bugged out of their sockets. "What the hell?" He pointed at the girl sitting at his counter, happily chatting away with his cook, obviously at home. "You! I- What are you doing in my house?!" He had searched for Nessa everywhere and the whole time she'd been here. That just pissed him off even more. "And why are you laughing with my cook?"
Nessa closed her eyes and sighed inwardly. Crap on toast, she hadn't expected him to come here. And everyone seemed just as shocked to see him as she was. Nessa had been secretly hoping to fade into the background and never see him again and try to live a relatively normal life.
Well, that was shot to Hell.
Nessa looked behind Rhone and saw Joshua running a hand over his face. She sympathized. She was almost sure she'd made the staff's lives a little worse.
"Hello!" Rhone said, waving a hand to get her attention. "Girl, why are you in my house?"
She flicked her eyes to him and narrowed them. "For one, my name is Nessa. Or have you forgotten that already?" She paused, shrugged. "Guess I can't blame you, though. You probably don't remember the name of the last girl you slept with, either."
He rolled his eyes. "Of course I do. It was Carrie. . Or Terry. . Something like that." He waved a hand dismissively even as Terry coughed behind Nessa. "But that's not the problem. Why are you in my house like you belong here?"
Nessa crossed her arms. "Because I do belong here."
"Why?" he demanded. Dammit, he wanted answers. This was ridiculous. His servants were keeping secrets from him. Just how long had this been going on? And why was she chatting so happily and. . and laughing with the servants?
Suddenly, it all clicked together with a snap in his head. Of course! Why hadn't he seen it earlier? That had to be the case, since it was obviously so. . well, obvious, he could do whatever he wanted with her.
He smiled, nearly laughed at his luck. "I get it." Rubbing his hands together, he already began to plan out what he'd do. "This is perfect."
Nessa didn't like the way he was staring at her. Whatever he was thinking was not good for anyone except him - and that was so very obviously not good for her.
"It is?" she asked. Why in that tiny little brain of his would it be "perfect" for them to be married? It was a life sentence of dealing with a cheating, selfish spouse who needed Botox for his personality.
"Of course it is!" he exclaimed, completely delighted. "You being my maid makes everything easier."
Nessa's draw dropped as silence filled the room, then she burst into laughter. Behind him, Joshua put a hand to his mouth, trying not to laugh.
"What a conclusion. . "Terry said softly behind her, sighing Chris was shaking his head and smiling, chopping some celery.
"Why are you laughing?" Rhone asked, feeling like a fool. His cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "Stop laughing now!" When she didn't, he stomped his foot. "I said stop!"
Nessa bent double, holding her stomach. Joshua let out a snort, his eyes watering from the effort it took to not laugh. "Oh, man!" she said. "Oh! . . My . . stomach hurts. Ahahahaha!"
"If you don't stop laughing," Rhone threatened, frustrated, "I'll fire you!"
Nessa sucked in air, wiping her eyes as her laughter calmed down. She hadn't laughed that hard since she'd last spent the night with Jay. That was a long time ago.
"Okay, okay," she said, smiling. "Look, you can't fire me, so cool your pants, hot stuff."
"Who says I can't?"
She smirked, crossed her arms again. "Our contract. It's a rather permanent one, I'm afraid. I'm not exactly happy about it, either." She frowned. "But it's not like I can doing anything about it." She looked him in the eye. "Yet."
"Contract?" he asked, confused. He didn't remember signing a contract with her. "What contract?"
"God, you're slow." Nessa got up and got into his face, making him take a step back in surprise. "A marriage one, you idiot. I'm your wife - not that you care." She patted his cheek, smiling sarcastically. "Welcome home, hubby."



Rhone stood frozen for about twenty seconds before he smiled wickedly and turned on his heel to chase after Nessa, leaving the kitchen staff and Joshua staring after him. Whatever he was going to do was not going to be good. So Joshua followed him out with Terry, both curious.
Nessa was only a couple steps up the stairs when a hand grabbed her arm and turned her around. Since she was on the higher steps, she was face-to-face with Rhone when he grabbed her head between his hands and tried to kiss her.
In reflex, she grabbed his wrists and pulled her knee up, nailing him in the stomach before his lips reached hers. His expression was priceless, Nessa thought in triumph, as it registered both shock and pain. He stumbled back, lost his footing, and landed at the bottom of the stairs with a thump on Joshua, who had rushed over to catch his "Young Master".
"Sorry, Joshua," Nessa said, feeling bad for the guy. Really, though, who wanted to work under a spoiled prick? "It's a reflex when someone grabs me."
"Yeah," he grunted, giving a thumbs up from under Rhone. "No prob, Nessa."
Nessa turned on her heel, completely ticked, and continued up the stairs.
"Hey!" a breathless Rhone called out. "Fuck." He grabbed his stomach and levered himself off Joshua. That girl knew where to land a knee. "Nessa, you stupid girl, wait!"
Nessa froze, looked over her shoulder at him. "There are many things I am, husband, but one of them is not stupid."
Rhone made a low sound in his throat, completely pissed off. Still holding his stomach, he stomped his foot. "But you are my wife. That means I can do with you what I want."
She smirked at him. "For the love of-" She stopped, rubbed her forehead. What in the world had they been teaching this guy? "Look," she said, worn out. "I may be your wife, but I'm not your slave. A piece of paper may take away my freedom, but it can't take away my rights as a human being. So get that through that pretty, stubborn head of yours right now." Tired of looking over her shoulder, she turned around and glared at her gorgeous husband that did absolutely nothing but make her insides curl up and the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.
"You don't want to be married any more than I do," she continued, staring at his stunned face. She had a feeling that no one had ever talked to him like this before. Well, there's a first time for everything. "So, let's make a deal."
He raised a brow at her. "A deal?" he asked. In all his life, he'd never met anyone like her. No one had ever stood up to him before - or kneed him before. He rubbed his still-sore stomach. "What kind of deal?" He hoped it involved sex. With her. Lots and lots of sex with her.
She nodded. "Yup. A deal. I don't want people to know I'm married to a- Uh. . Well, you. . " She shook her head, tucking away her dictionary of Fun and Interesting Names To Call People she kept in the back of her head turned up the Politeness Meter. "And you so obviously don't want to stop your more. . adventurous ways. So how 'bout we keep the little fact that we're married a secret outside this house and we can go on living our relatively normal lives?"
He blinked at her a couple of times. "You don't want to be married to me?" he asked slowly. "Why? I'm Rhone Blossom. Everyone wants me."
Nessa was back to rubbing her forehead. She actually felt kind of bad for the guy. He was seriously high on himself. "Oh, boy." She sighed, dropping her hand. "Right. I can see that you're not getting the bottom line here, so I'll tell you flat out: I don't like you. At all."
Rhone surprised her by laughing, waving a hand in dismissal. "What are you talking about? Everyone likes me."
Nessa just stared at him. Slowly, Rhone got the sinking suspicion that maybe she didn't like him a little. But only a little. No one had ever disliked him completely before.
He narrowed his eyes on her. "You've got to be kidding. You like me, you just won't admit it. You're my wife. You signed the papers yourself." He was grasping at straws and he knew it. What's worse, he knew she knew it.
She shook a finger at him. "Do you really think I would sign away my life willingly?"
"But-"
"Yes," she snapped. "I signed the damn papers. But I was tricked into thinking they were something else." She sighed, rolled her eyes. "There's no point to this. Let's just agree to disagree on whether or not I like you and keep our marriage a secret to the outside world, okay? Good. I'm glad you agree."
Turning on her heel, she marched up the stairs and disappeared down the hall. A few seconds later a door slammed.
Rhone was still staring at the stairs, stunned, a few minutes later.
"Uh. . " Joshua said, then winced when Rhone let out a loud, frustrated noise and kicked the banister.
"Joshua!" Rhone roared, rounding on him. He flinched away. "That- That GIRL!" He pointed up the stairs in Nessa's direction, furious. "Is she really my wife?! That ignorant, stupid nobody is my wife?"
Joshua jerked straight, insulted as if he were Nessa himself. "Excuse me, Young Master," he gritted out. "But Miss Nessa is not a nobody. She happens to come from a very well-bred family. Nor is she ignorant or stupid. She happens to be a strong, kind girl who was forced and tricked into a situation by her manipulative Aunt and Mr. Louis. Which, I might add, she is handling with more grace than you are. Her entire life was turned upside-down and you're acting like a child and complaining that she doesn't like you when you haven't cared a wink about the whole thing until today." Joshua knew he could lose his job for losing his temper, but, right then, he really didn't care. Having Nessa at Manor House had showed him just what kind of crap he'd been putting up while under Rhone's thumb.
He marched over and got into Rhone's face, towering over him and surprising a very proud Terry. "You! You need to be nice! Go apologize!"
Completely shocked, Rhone stared at his driver, speechless. "A-Apologize?"
"For ruining her life," Joshua answered. Terry nodded in agreement.
Rhone's head snapped back as if he'd been punched and he found his voice. Lifting his chin, he glared at Joshua. "I will not apologize to that stupid,-" And attractive, he added silently "-annoying,-" Beautiful "-crazy,-" Sexy "-backwards girl!" Did he mention how hot she made him? "She's just as responsible for this situation as I am." Heading up the stairs, he felt the irritation build in his system, but he knew it wasn't all from anger. He had a frreaking tent pole hanging out in the front of his pants from his "irritation".
He passed her floor, the scent of some sort of flowers wafting from her room's direction. Not giving her the satisfaction of pausing, he continued on to his room.
"Damn it," he cursed, slamming his door. He stomped over to his stereo and cranked the volume, blasting some random rock from the '80s from the speakers to drown out his thoughts as he flopped into his beanbag chair.
But Nessa kept popping up. Her face, her body. The fact that she was just downstairs. Those damned lips. He tapped his own, wanting to kiss her again.
"Fuck me sideways!!" he swore, shouting to hear himself over his music as he stood and hurled something - he hadn't bothered to look - across the room, turning his back as it slammed into the far wall. Whatever it was, he could replace it.
Somehow, in the space of a few hours, his new wife had gotten under his skin. So he was damn well going to return the favor.