What He Couldn't Buy

3

On Wednesday morning, Amelia woke up at 6am for the opening shift at work. Despite the fact that she had slept for a mere 4 hours, she felt as if she woke up with a smile on her face. She happily got dressed, with the sun shining into her room, it felt as if her heart was swelling with joy.

Amelia was surprised to come downstairs to find that Mrs. Bell was already awake and had made her coffee. "Now, I know you never eat breakfast, but I thought you could benefit from some caffeine after your late night," said Mrs. Bell with a sly smile.

"I promise, I'll give you all of the details when I get home!" Amelia said as she gulped down her coffee. After that, she gave Mrs. Bell a quick hug and practically skipped out the back door.

***

The sharp sound of curtains being forced open brought Chris out of his deep slumber. He knew he would soon be dragged out of bed, but he still pretended to be asleep. His mother's commanding voice was the next stage of his crude wake up call, "Christopher! We have brunch with the VanDerMeers at 10!"

Chris begrudgingly pulled himself out of bed and slowly made his way over to the shower.

Even though they woke up early, by the time Chris and Victoria Worthington arrived at the country club, it was 10:15. "Your father is already here, he took an early helicopter in from his office in the city."

Chris and his father were very close and got along most of the time, the only issue was when Maxwell Worthington-Hunt put too much pressure on his son.

"Chris! You look handsome as ever! And tan too!" Exclaimed Mrs. VanDerMeer.

"It must've been that Grecian sun," Cece said, eyeing him up and down.

Max Worthington's notoriously booming voice interrupted, "Not too much sun I hope, it was a business trip after all."

"Ah yes, nothing can rival the Worthington work ethic," Charles VanDerMeer said as he shook Chris' hand.

The two notable families eventually sat down to their meal.

Cece's younger brother, Emmett was telling the group about his most recent tennis championship when the waiters began to bring in their food. Chris was suddenly distracted when he recognized a familiar set of eyes that was accompanied with golden hair.

It took a moment for Chris and Amelia to lock eyes at the same exact moment, but once they did, they both found it difficult to stay focused on their respective tasks. Chris was suddenly brought back to reality when he heard his name, "Wouldn't it be lovely Christopher?" Agnes VanDerMeer questioned.

"Sorry, what were you saying?"

Cece's mother repeated herself, "I was just saying that it would be absolutely wonderful if you and Celine got married one day."

This type of conversation was nothing new or outrageous, but now that Chris and Cece were older, the subject matter was a bit too close for comfort.

"Oh..." Chris gave a polite smile and nodded. He then looked up at Amelia, whose eyes were cast down at the floor. Oh great. She probably thinks Cece and I are dating and that I cheated on her last night or something, he thought. He glanced across the table to see his mother giving him a death stare. She kept this serious look in her eye as she spoke up, "I agree Agnes, it would be a perfect match."

The pressure was starting to be too much for Chris. "If you'd please excuse me..." he muttered as he pushed in his chair.

Chris was sitting alone in the main dining room, watching golfers on the green outside the window. Maxwell soon sat down next to him, "Look. You don't have to marry her- but it's a good option to keep open. She is from a good family, she is smart, and we have good business relations with them as well."

Chris took a deep breath, "I know but-"

His father interrupted, "Look. For now, keep the VanDerMeers happy. We cannot be jeopardizing business at the moment." He got up and left, without waiting for a response from his son.

Amelia quietly walked into the room, Chris' back was to her "hey..."

"Leave me alone!" Chris snapped.

She felt all of the blood rush from her face. Suddenly, Amelia found herself fighting back tears.

"Fine."

Chris turned around and saw who it was, just as Amelia was turning around and storming out of the room. He tried to follow her, but was unsuccessful. Since her shift was nearly over, Amelia took off on her bike as fast as she could.