A Creed's Attraction (Available on Amazon Kindle)

CHAPTER 2:

RYKER

"You have a plan?" My father, Magnus repeated with disbelief in his voice. I visited them in their home in the Hamptons late this morning, the same house where my siblings and I spent our childhood.

"Yes," I answered confidently, studying the huge photograph of my grandmother above the fireplace where she was seen wearing the yellow diamond necklace around her neck on her wedding day that they were forced to sell when grandpa's business faced bankruptcy decades before.

"What is your plan then?"

I smiled at my father who was sitting across from me while looking skeptically. "I will have a meeting with Daniel St. Clair and talk to him about selling our family heirloom to me."

My father permitted himself to smile slightly in my direction. "I like your optimism but I think your plan is futile. I've done that thing countless times before I've asked him to name his price so we can retrieve your grandmother's necklace but he's resolute."

"That's why I decide to be the one to talk to him, Dad. Who knows maybe I'll be able to convince him to sell the necklace to me. Will you allow me to pursue this meeting with the richest gem dealer in America?"

He was silent for a moment looking at me with sharp eyes. My father was probably weighing the possibility that he'll allow me to have a one-on-one meeting with the ruthless businessman. He finally took a deep breath. "I don't know, son. I am not sure if you are capable of dealing with that man."

"Oh, have some faith in me, Dad." I groaned when he appeared to have no faith in me when it comes to dealing with a man like Daniel St. Clair. "I know that I don't have an interest in our businesses but I think I have some talent when it comes to negotiation."

My father surprised me when he suddenly burst out laughing. "I'm just messing with you, Ryk! Of course, I trust you. Go ahead and meet this man if you want. I will be grateful to you if you can retrieve your grandmother's necklace in his possession. I'm sure your grandmother will be happy if the necklace she was forced to give up due to circumstances will be back in our family someday."

I smiled appreciatively at him. "Thanks, Dad."

He sat back on the sofa while looking at me with amusement on his face. "Good luck, son. I hope you are well prepared before you meet with Daniel St. Clair because he's not an ordinary man..."

*****

I questioned my optimism once I was inside the office of the man they called the 'King of Diamonds' on West 57th Street and things were not going according to my plan. So far, I am getting irritated as our conversation progress.

"Why are you refusing to sell the yellow diamond necklace that once belongs to my grandmother? As my father tells you before to name your price and we're willing to pay the amount." I said with an irritated tone.

He smirked in my direction as he sat back from his swivel chair. I think he was rather enjoying the annoyance on my face at the moment. He was testing my patience on how far I badly wanted to get my grandmother's necklace.

Damn him.

"I told you, I will not sell that necklace."

I took a deep breath as I rubbed my hands together to calm my nerves. I will not lose my composure in front of him. "I thought you are a hotshot businessman?" I asked as I decide to attack. "Why are you refusing to do a business deal with me? You'll earn a lot of money if you will just sell my grandmother's necklace back to me, I assure you."

"Lad..." he drawled with a thin smile on his lips. "Money will not always solve the problem. A genius businessman always knows how to play his cards well at every opportunity. Besides, a few more dollars will not make any difference with my bank account."

I stared at him frustrated as hell. My father was right about him, he's one hell of a businessman. I am losing hope of retrieving the necklace in his possession. "So you're not going to make a deal with me?"

"That depends," he permitted himself to smile sympathetically in my direction. He started playing with his fountain pen with his finger. I have a feeling that inside his head I am that fountain pen in his hand.

"Depends on what?" My brows furrowed.

He gave me an innocent smile but I realize how fake it was. "How badly do you want to get back the necklace your grandparents sell to me decades ago?"

I let out a frustrated breath. "Bad enough that I'm still talking to you when I should have walked away from your office earlier."

"What if I'll make a deal with you?"

My eyes narrowed in his direction instantly. What's with this sudden turn of events? "What kind of deal?"

"I'll give the necklace you wanted so bad for free of charge if you will work for me in return." He announced breezily which made my jaw drop.

"Are you serious or you're just fucking with me?" I asked in disbelief, I couldn't believe my ears. Is this really happening? And then my eyes narrowed in his direction when his words finally registered in my brain. "What kind of work are you talking about?"

He was silent for a moment making me demand to explain himself right now but I perceived that he was enjoying having the upper hand at every opportunity like a lion enjoying toying with his prey before going in for the kill. He finally smirked evilly in my direction. "You see, I am working on my last project. My granddaughter, Emerald, is the last one who is unmarried among my granddaughters and I am hoping you could help me with my plan."

I stared at him with utter disbelief. I think I have some idea where this conversation leads and I don't like it. "You are not thinking of pairing me with your granddaughter, are you?"

"Not really." I finally let out the breath I was holding when I heard his answer. "I already have someone in mind who I think will be the best husband for her. I'm sure my Emerald will agree with me if she will just stop denying her feelings."

"So what kind of work will I do for you, then?"

He gave me a wicked smile that made me shiver it was like dealing with the devil himself. "I want you to play the role of her pretend fiancé and provoke her."

I looked at him with indecorousness. This man was cunning. "I don't think that's a good idea, Mr. St. Clair."

I merely raised an eyebrow in my direction. "Do want to reclaim your grandmother's necklace or not?"

I bit back the curse that wanted to escape my mouth. I thought this was a deal. But why do I feel now he was starting to blackmail me into doing what he wants? I feel that he manage to trap me unknowingly. "Is there another way to get the necklace without getting involved with your famous granddaughter?"

"That's my condition if you want to get your family heirloom without hassle then I suggest going along with my plan and you'll get the necklace for free once Emerald is happily married to Prince Khalil."

I nearly swore out loud thank goodness I manage to stop in on time. What kind of deal is this? It feels like I am making a deal with the devil.

"So what's your answer, lad?" He demanded when I didn't give him the answer for quite some time. "Do we have a deal?"

"Do I have a choice?" I retorted with unconcealed exasperation in my voice. "Just make sure to honor our deal or else..."

He merely cocked an eyebrow while there was a smug smile playing on his lips. "Or else what, lad? Do you think I am that sort of man who breaks on his promise?"

Oh, how I wanted to say 'yes' but I kept my mouth shut because it was not advisable to antagonize this man when he has the upper hand right now. But this will not be long, I assure myself. Soon I'll be out of his clutch with my grandmother's necklace in my hand. So for now, I'll just play along as his pawn in his cunning game. "When do you want me to start playing this pretend fiancé to your famous granddaughter of yours? I can't wait to see my face splashed on every tabloid in New York City for getting engaged to a famous model."

He allowed himself to smile sardonically. "Oh, my... your words were laced with disdain, boy. I sympathize with you, truly, but this is business and in business, you need to be ruthless if you want to win."

"Geez. Thanks for the sympathy, it means a lot to me."

If he heard the sarcasm in my voice he just choose to ignore it. "Just play your part to perfection. No one must know about our deal, especially Emerald. If she suspects that it was only a sham engagement then I'm sorry to tell you that our deal is off."

I stood from my chair indignantly while glaring at the man they consider one of the most powerful men in America. "Aren't you being an oppressor right now?"

Daniel shrugged indifferently. "Sorry for being not sorry."

I let out an angry sigh and sat back, on my chair that was across from his glass table. "When will this pain in the ass deal will start?"

He let out a self-satisfied chuckle, knowing his plan succeeded once again. "Once Emerald comes back from her job in Saqr that's the time you will come into the picture."

My eyes narrowed in his direction while judging the smug smile playing on his lips at the moment. "I gather that it is part of your plan that she went to Saqr for her job, isn't that right? Saqr is where the prince rules, correct?"

"You are an intelligent boy. I like you. If it's not for Prince Khalil I might consider you to be Emerald's husband."

"No. Thank you." I replied flatly. "It's not on my plan to settle down yet. I believe I am too young for that thing."

"Very well," he said with finality and a signal that our meeting was about to end. "I'll keep in touch when the time comes and I will finally introduce you to my family as my choice to be Emerald's husband."

"How exciting!" I said with false enthusiasm.

I knew that deal would lead to trouble in my peaceful life. Because even before I even had the chance to meet Emerald St. Clair in person there were already rumors circulating that my constant meeting with the gem dealer had something to do with the impending engagement between me and his remaining unmarried granddaughter.

I have some idea where the rumors started. Could it be that man was responsible for the gossip? Or perhaps the employees at the St. Clair Diamonds overhear us? Either way, I couldn't do casual dates, for now, as that might irate Daniel and cancel our deal. For now, I am at his mercy.

Fuck life.

While waiting for Emerald to come back from her modeling assignment in Saqr I am a frequent visitor to the CEO office of St. Clair Diamonds. I didn't tell my parents about the deal I have with Daniel St. Clair I just told them when they ask the other day that I am working on finalizing our deal which made them skeptical about this 'deal' of ours.

After I went to the St. Clair Diamonds I decided to have a drink with my brothers who were all busy with their work thankfully I manage to convince Kelan to join me for drinks. I choose this rooftop lounge since it's the start of the autumn season the perfect weather in my opinion was not humid or cold.

I arrived earlier than the time we agreed to meet so I sat at the vacant table and immediately order a drink while waiting for my brother. I didn't have to look at the menu since I knew I'm a regular customer here I already knew most of their drinks.

Once the waiter arrived with my order, I start sipping my liquor while having this internal debate on what should I do with this pretend engagement with Emerald St. Clair...

Emerald St. Clair. I scoffed while recalling the name of that famous model. I think I met her once on an occasion we both attended but we weren't formally introduced to one another. Well, simply because I don't want to get involved with celebrities and become tabloids fodder. I prefer to date women who were not famous and like to keep everything private.

Being a member of the Creed clan was already bad enough that parties my parents hosted often end up on society pages and often label me and my brother as 'one of the most eligible bachelors' in New York City. If that not cringing enough, you have to pretend to be engaged to the heiress of the St. Clair family for the sake of retrieving your grandmother's necklace that was in the possession of the cunning Daniel St. Clair for decades.

Seriously, I have a feeling that my peaceful life was about to become chaotic because of this—

"What the fuck?!" I was taken aback when I felt cold liquid soaking my shirt. I was dragged from my reverie as I looked at the stain on my clothes.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" I heard a melodic, sweet-sounding voice of a woman in front of me.

I managed to remove my eyes from my shirt and stared at her. I saw a beautiful woman probably a few years younger than me with beautiful cool green eyes who was staring at me with a horrified expression on her face.

"I-I'm sorry," she apologized again as she started to dab her handkerchief onto my wet shirt. "I trip while walking to our table. I didn't mean to throw my drinks in your direction."

I sighed deeply, I thought my day wouldn't get any worse and I was sorely mistaken. Now I have to deal with that I would probably smell like a ladies' cocktail throughout the evening. I pushed away from her hand who was still wiping the stain from my shirt. "That's okay. I got this."

She bit her bottom lip while looking at me nervously. It seems that she probably perceived my annoyance since she doesn't appear to be drunk at the moment. Maybe it was a genuine accident that is why I tone down my irritation and tried to smile at her. "Don't worry about this. We're good."

"Please allow me to pay for the dry cleaner for your shirt."

I gave her a surprised look. Why does she being stubborn about this? I get it, it was an accident but the world wouldn't end because of this. "You don't have to do that, Miss. Just be careful next time." 

"Once again, I'm sorry for the blunder." The young woman who was probably in her early twenties had said with pink stains on her cheek before walking away. I watched her sit on the table near the glass railing where this woman probably the same age as her was waiting.

She didn't appear to do it on purpose to catch my attention because if that's the case, she would immediately introduce herself but instead, she offered to pay for the dry cleaning of my shirt without revealing her name. Watching her now discreetly with her shoulder slumped and her head bowed to her hand, she appeared to the mortified with the whole thing.

I shook my head with a slight smile while sipping my drink.

What a weird woman.

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