the plan | pedri gonzalez

uno

"April, you can't keep getting away with these ignorant stunts!" My father yells, resting his hand on his forehead and leaning on his work desk. It's the second time this week that he's called me into his office to talk about the situations I've dragged myself into. The William Rosewood, who constantly is working every minute of his life, is reprimanding his own daughter about her getting drunk and ending up in some random guy's bed the next morning? That doesn't sound like the dad I know. But ever since I turned 18 a year ago, the attention has become a spotlight on me for the news stations to find anything, possibly anything, to pin on me to make Rosewood Firm look like a low-life business.

"Yeah, it was an accident, I get it already. Will you just chill out?" I sigh, running my hand through my brown hair, ready to leave this stupid room. On the other hand, my mom never really cares about my antics, and father absolutely adores her. I've always been my mom's favorite child-sorry Theo-but unfortunately, that still can't protect me from my father's disappointed chats.

"No, I refuse to keep letting this happen under my nose. Do you understand what a liability you pose to the company?" He closes his laptop shut, directing every single ounce of his attention on me. I don't think I've ever seen Father this angry, and I'm sure Theo hasn't either. Theo's planning to inherit the company instead of me, thank god, and devotes his all into trying to become the best heir he can possibly be. It's almost like these days I see Theo as much as I see Father.

I tilt my head to the side, slowly inching towards the door so I can leave, "Yes, and that's why it won't happen again!" I wonder how life was before Father met Mom; was he always this much of a bossy nerd? Mom came from a wealthy family, and her parents never accepted Father due to his background. Father worked really hard to create a company from the ground up so that he could give Mom everything that she would've normally gotten from her family, and even moved to Spain so that she could connect with her heritage and be closer to her family.

Father slowly shakes his head, and I know what this is leading to. He's going to give me a punishment, something stupid that won't at all change my attitude. "Your mom and I have already decided what to do next time that something like this happens. You're getting a boyfriend."

"What?" I shockingly repeat, "a boyfriend?" There is absolutely no way that this is their idea of a punishment for me. I've been having my fair share of boyfriends since I was of age to drive, there has to be an ulterior motive here. "Are you setting me up for an arranged marriage? Have you gone insane?"

There's a knock on the door, and before anyone can answer, Theo peeks his head in. If I did that, my head would be cut off before I was able to yank it back out into the hallway. However, since it's Theo-the prized heir to the throne-no one cares. His eyes dart between Father and I before slowly saying, "We're having dinner with the Simmes tonight. 7 at their aquarium." He then nods quickly before leaving.

Father then reopens his computer and quickly types his password in before sighing again and looking up to meet my eyes. At this point, I've used the time that he was on his computer to inch even more closer to the door. The handle is within arms reach, and I could so easily grab it, turn, and run...

"Go already. Your mom will talk with you later tonight, either before or after the dinner. And make a good impression. I know you and May love your tricks and mayhem, but cut it tonight, okay?" Father redirects his attention back to his computer, I'm guessing opening his mail and texting with May's dad.

I leave quickly, slamming the office door shut before I run down the house to the East wing where the bedrooms are. Instead of going straight to mine, I detour to Mom and Father's, where I'm guessing she'll be taking a nap. Nap or not, I need to know what's going on with this boyfriend thing. Do I get to pick him? Is he going to be handed to me? Oh my god, is he even going to be cute?

Luckily, the door opens and Mom is laying inside on her California king bed, legs crossed on top of the sheets, watching her shows on high volume. She immediately stops the video and places her laptop next to her, closing the lid halfway when she sees me. "Hola, amor." She holds out her arms for me to come hug her, and I jump onto her bed to wrap my arms around her.

"Hola, mami! Why was father talking about getting me a boyfriend?" I question, leaning my head to look up at her from inside the hug.

She sighs, a frown slowly appearing on her face. "Lo siento, April. Your papa and I have decided that it would be best for you to have someone you can call your own so that you stop, excuse me for using this language, hoeing around."

I'm disgusted that my own mom is referring to me as a hoe, but from an outside perspective, I guess I could see how it fits. Almost every night I'm out partying or clubbing with May, my basically sister since birth, and our other friends occasionally. The only reason I randomly end up in guy's homes in the morning is because I don't like being home, and I couldn't be caught dead in May's home, drunk and slurring my words. May and I are experts at hiding our nightly plans, her more than me if it wasn't obvious. News articles are starting to catch on to seeing us everywhere, but our parents have shut down the rumors numerous times.

"Do I at least get to pick who it is? I'm sure that Enzo would say yes if I asked him to be my fake boyfriend!" I supply a recommendation. Enzo is May's brother, and although him and I aren't that close, he treats me like a little sister. He's our #1 pick for when we're out cold and need someone to drive us home.

Mom lightly slaps me, "Absolutely not. And I know you and May are close, but I'm not dumping you onto Enzo's hands." There is no way. She's picking who I'm dating? Never in a million years. She's going to make me date some old man who has good money and will be a "good impression" on me. Good impression as in scare away all the hot young guys who want to buy me a drink!

"Then who? He better be hot," I joke. My mom and I definitely have a closer relationship than me and my father, and I would never be able to say that in front of my father without him lecturing me.

Mom laughs, "I'll leave that up to you to decide. He seems like a pretty nice guy, according to Theo." Okay, so they won't let me date Enzo Simmes, but they'll let my brother pick out a boyfriend for me? "His name is Pedri, and we'll be having dinner with him in a few days. So start using those face masks I bought for you for Christmas. Your face is getting dry," she pokes my cheeks and makes a disgusted face.

"Pedri who?" I furrow my eyebrows together, trying to figure out if I recognize the name.

"Pedri Gonzalez. He's apparently a very good athlete, I know you like those types of boys!" Mom happily explains.

I can't believe that she seriously thinks this is the best option for me. This is basically arranged marriage, but arranged relationship instead! I roll my eyes before storming out to go to my room, passing a busy Theo on my way to my room, but I'll deal with him later.