The Arrangement

Chapter Four

     ** The ring of Helena Villafuente**

He's late again.

Joaquin Villafuente drums his fingers impatiently on the beautifully crafted table, as he waited on his son. He knew he was beginning to annoy some of the guests but he couldn't help it.

They were supposed to have lunch.

Lunch!

What kind of son makes his father wait for over an hour and a half?

He glares down at his watch just to see if it was still working. 1:41 P.M. It was already early in the afternoon. It was obvious that he had raised a son who does not know how to use that expensive Rolex he had given him last Christmas.

Joaquin sighs as his stomach growls. He raised his hand to call for the waiter for fill his glass with water. He took gulps half the glass down before he began to glare at the door again.   

If that disrespectful son of his does not show up anytime soon they would end up having a light snack instead of that delicious meal he had asked the chef to prepare.

There has to be some sort of morale code the boy was breaking. Who in their right mind would make a parent wait and go hungry for more than an hour?

It's just plain rude.

Joaquin sighs wearily.

He can't really blame Marko for being late. Ever since he took over the family's various businesses he was rarely around.

There were just too many things for him to do. It would be a miracle if he could get the boy to sit down for an hour before he runs off to do something again.

Come to think of it,maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to tie the boy down first before telling him the news. For one thing it would keep Marko in one place long enough for him to finish their talk. More importantly it would prevent his temperamental son from strangling him.

The things I have to do in order to get a grandchild. Joaquin thought with a sigh.

His daughter; Margarita; had been married for four years but children had not been forth coming on her end. He didn't know if Margarita was incapable of conceiving or they simply did not want a child.

Then there is Marko, his only son. The heir of the vast empire he had built. The boy is so wrap up with work that he was also taking his time settling down with the right woman.

Frankly he was tired of waiting.

I'm seventy three years old. He thought sourly. I'm an old man. I want to enjoy my grandchildren before I die. Is that too much to ask?

The sudden hush in the room had caught Joaquin's attention. When he looked up he didn't find it surprising that every female in the room had turned to gape at the man who had just walked in. Who wouldn't? The man was delicious and any woman in her right mind would certainly drool over him.

Marko Villafuente stood well over six feet with a perfectly tanned complexion. The man has a body any tailor would love; broad shoulders, narrow waist and well-toned muscles in all the right places. Joaquin smiles, recalling how the female staffs had started to call him Mister Yummy.

Who could blame them?

Marko is a fine specimen of a man. He had inherited the Villafuente's good looks but he was the only one who has his mother's stormy gray eyes that seemed to go perfectly well with his coloring.

Groomed as the heir of the Villafuente's vast fortune, Marko had always walked with a certain grace and an air of confidence that even a prince would envy.