Elena
The boutique was closed to the public by the time we arrived but that did not stop them from receiving Evan Price. From what I heard; this was one of his grandfather's many businesses - smaller but worth a lot.
A team of attendants were already waiting at the door, with practiced smiles on their faces and recognition flashing in their eyes. Of course, I wasn't the one the smiles were for and it definitely wasn't me that they recognized.
An older woman stepped forward, ignoring me and focusing all her attention on Mr. Price - I didn't mind, in fact, I'd appreciate it if no one noticed me at all, including Mr. Price. And I tried to make myself as small and invisible as possible, but I didn't have the luxury of that.
"Bring me all the best dresses you can find. Take her measurements if you need, but I need her to be perfect." Mr. Price announced and all the eyes in the room turned to me.
For the next fifteen minutes, I was moved, shifted, prodded, and burned eyes through my skin. By the time we finished, my mother's dress was gone and I was fitted with what Mr. Price called a better dress.
A sleek, deep blue gown - fit perfectly but probably cost more than my account balance - a pair of silver heel and a matching bag.
We were back on the road a minute later and arriving at the restaurant the next. This time, Mr. Price held the car door open for me, placing his hand on the small of my back when I stepped out. A tingle ran up my spine from the contact and my heart raced.
"Mr. Price -" I started, leaning away from him.
"For this event, refer to me as Evan," he stated, inserting a bit of warmth in his voice. His breath fanned my neck as he closed the distance between our bodies and another shiver shook my body. "Tonight, you are my wife. Act like it."
I swallowed, allowing the corner of my lips to lift up in a nervous smile - clearly fake - as he led us to a table where two people - a man and a woman - were already seated. They both stood to their feet when we approached, holding out both their hands for Mr. Price.
Blood rushed in my ears, ringing too loudly for me to hear the introductions that were being made.
"... and this must be your wife." the man with salt and pepper hair said, holding out his hand for me. I glanced at the hand, unable to comprehend anything since I must have left my brain back in the car.
"Yes." Mr. Price intone sharply, eyeing me. "This is my Elena. We got married recently, she is not a social person so she wanted a quiet marriage."
Right. I took the man's hand, putting on what I figured was my most charming smile. I wouldn't be surprised if I was actually grimacing.
"Pleasure meeting you." I said, reaching out to shake the woman.
Evan ushered me into a seat, pulling it out for me before settling beside me. I was sure everyone could hear my heart racing and feel the anxiety pouring out of me. Heck, I really needed a drink.
"So, how did you two meet?" the woman asked - why had I not being paying enough attention to catch her name? "Nothing is on the internet about it. The bloggers are all quiet."
I swallowed, browsing for lies to come up with when Mr. Price spoke up. "In a business seminar."
I glanced at him, chuckling to ease up my nerves.
"Yeah. It was. He was very cold, but I guess I saw a warmth in him." I reached across the table, taking his hand in mine and squeezing it with all my strength. "I wasn't wrong. It was there, even if I had to squeeze it out of him."
They both chuckled, muttering words that didn't reach my ears. I could feel Mr. Price's death glare burning into the side of my face but the satisfaction I got from seeing him squirm when I took over was enough to ease my nerves.
"Yes, Elena is a good match for me but maybe we should move onto why we are here." Mr. Price said, steering the conversation away from his 'marriage' and pulling his hand from mine. I smiled with contentment.
The waiter had brought a bottle of expensive wine and I used it to keep myself company while they discussed boring business stuff. Basically, they were all stuffs I had already dealt with and while I found it funny that they were busting their asses over something as simple as vulnerabilities in their AI driven health monitoring system, I was still bored.
"Our finest technicians are on it at the moment and I am sure that soon, services will be restored." Mr. Price said, with a tone that left no room for any arguments, although I could see it on their faces that they wanted very much to do just that.
"Our rates are crashing down fasts. Reviews are quite bad, could be worse." the man pitched. "I guess, but we trust you. Great thing that we discovered the issue in time."
I glanced at Mr. Price, reaching across the table to hold his hand. I flashed a smile at the table. "I know I shouldn't be meddling but I couldn't help but overhear your… troubles."
Fishing for the laptop on Mr. Price's side of the table, I gave it a hard look.
"Some of the logs here are wrong." I said, pushing the laptop to the center of the table. "Have your guys tried the implementing differential privacy alongside federated learning?"
All eyes on the table simply stared at me. What the hell was I doing?
Mr. Price was the first to break the silence. "My wife is right. I guess we missed that," he chuckled, squeezing my hand a bit too tight. "She majored in Data analysis and cyber-security, and has a Ph.D. in Robotics engineering. Basically, she's one of the bests in the field, if not the best."
They both nodded. "And?"
"Her approach is quite solid and practical. I may have to fire a bunch of my employees for missing something as simple as that." Mr. Price said lightheartedly and they all laughed.
Everyone, except me. How the hell did he know all of that about me?
I gripped my glass tight, my stomach twisting with more nerves than I had when I first walked in those doors. The rest of the conversation was a blur and when they finally left, I could tell they were happy.
Maybe meddling had been a good thing.
"Meddling in a business that does not concern you is never a good thing." Mr. Price said as soon as we were back in the privacy of his car. "You don't speak unless I ask you to."
My stomach dropped. "I - I thought it went well with your partners. They seemed - I was just -"
"Trying to be helpful?" he asked, turning to face me. "Well, that's one way to put you making me look like a fool. I don't care what qualifications you have or how much experience you may have gathered, especially if it only took you as far as agreeing to a marriage with a man you know nothing about for money."
What? I opened my mouth to speak but thought better of it. He was right, wasn't he?
No matter the qualifications I had, I was still a failure who couldn't pay her mother's medical bills without doing something as stupid as getting married to a stranger.
I had no idea the car had stopped in front of my house until the car door opened and cold air slammed into me.
"Get out!"
I blinked back the tears that threatened to fall and didn't waste one moment in his car. Grabbing my bag, I stormed out of the car and was almost to my door when I heard his annoying voice again.
"My driver will be here tomorrow to move you to the estate. Make sure you are ready when he comes."
I did not grace him with an answer, shrugging the cold off, I climbed up the short flight of stairs which led to my front door and slammed the door behind me.
Who the fuck does he think he is?