Last night after agreeing to visit the office, I left the room. I realised that the fact the woman James slept with is his assistant is not really his fault. He cannot fire her just because I don't like the woman. At least he knows she's not my favourite person and can respect my opinion on that.

When I reach the location through GPS, I'm extremely worried about the day taking a turn for worse. College was mundane as usual. Today it was just Ashley and I throughout the whole day and she kept on rambling about Max, probably without realising it.

The Clark Enterprise is huge, like literally huge glass building. I move my car through the parking before finding myself a spot. I look at myself in the rear view mirror. My blue eyes look a little heavy from the lack of sleep but the liner seems to make up for the heaviness. I look down at my attire and notice that changing into a black fit dress that reaches just a little above my knees was a good decision. I didn't want to show up in jeans and blouse so after bidding bye to Ashley, I rushed to washrooms to change into something more presentable.

I am the daughter of Gabriel Vince, for crying out loud! If there's one thing I know, it's how you appear at business official places.

After getting out of car, I run a hand through my loose waves and make my way to the reception on the ground floor with a clutch and my phone in my hand. I think about giving James a call but then realise that I should probably find my way up.

"Hey. Can you direct me to Mr. Clark?" I ask then immediately realise that it could imply Carrack as well, "James Clark, just to be clear." I tell the woman behind the front desk.

She gives me an annoyed look but I understand, it cannot be easy answering and catering to people entire day. "Do you have an appointment with him?"

"No. But he's aware I'll be coming." I tell her and she rolls her eyes.

"Miss, if you don't have an appointment, you cannot meet him. Whether he knows or not." She snaps and I bite my tongue.

"Mrs. Clark." I correct her, "Mrs. Lillian Clark."

It's as if the realisation dawns upon her. She gulps a little and I notice her checking through her laptop before she looks up at me.

"I'm sorry, I didn't—"

"It's okay. Just tell me which floor." I look at her calmly because I don't want her to feel bad about it.

"Fifteenth. He'll meet you at fifteenth floor. I'll just inform the front desk there." She nervously smiles at me.

I make my way towards the elevators. The doors are just about to close when a man sees me and presses the button to hold the elevator. It's just a two of us and I quickly mumble a quick thank-you before moving to press the fifteenth floor, but it's already pressed.

"Are you new to the company?" The man asks, his eyes set on my finger in the air which was moving to press the button.

There's a small smile playing on his lips as his eyes move to check me out. He's wearing a blue suit and looks just a little older than James. There's something oddly familiar about him but I can't quite put a finger on it. He has dark brown unruly hair and a subtle beard on his face but his features still out, his high cheek bones peeking out.

"Just visiting."

He nods, "I'm Hale, by the way."

I give him a smile but don't introduce myself as we reach the floor and the elevator door slides open. It's awkward as we walk side by side and he opens the door for me. When I reach the front desk, the woman looks up at me and then at Hale, passing us a smile. Does it look like we walked in together, like together-together?

Just as I'm about to speak to the woman at front desk, I notice Amy walking towards us. She's wearing a gray pencil skirt and a black blouse, her red hair pinned behind her ears as she gives us a smile.

"Hale." Amy nods at him, "How come you didn't join for the board meeting today?"

He shrugs, "We all know Clark's going to take the position. One vote doesn't hurt."

Are they talking about James taking the CEO position? I didn't know they had a meeting regarding that already. I knew Carrack mentioned the position a couple of weeks back but this is surprising, and also a good news. If it's already in motion, I'm happy for him.

She turns her attention towards me and smiles at me, a smile that doesn't reaches her ears, "I see you two have already met?"

"Actually, I didn't quite catch your name." Hale turns towards me.

Just as I'm about to open my mouth, I hear my name being called and immediately feel James's presence behind me, "Lillian."

I turn around to look at him, "Hey."

"Why didn't you tell me she was already here?" He looks at Amy, a little pissed as he comes to stand by my side and his arm almost immediately snakes around my waist.

I think we've grown way too accustomed to being in public now. Amy frowns at his tone but straightens up her features, "I was just about to call you."

He shakes his head as he looks at me, "I hope you didn't face any difficulty finding the place."

I nod at him before turning towards Hale who was looking between the two of us with a baffled expression, "Lillian Clark, nice to meet you." I extend my hand and he immediately shakes it.

He turns towards James, "She's your wife?" He looks taken aback, as if having a hard time processing the information.

"Yes. Yes, she is." He responds, frowning a little, "Forgive his reaction. This is Hale Thomas. He's the CHRO of the company."

I smile at the man and he returns it, but doesn't stop reading my face. James turns to Amy, "Just look over my schedule for the rest of the day. I'll be busy with Mrs. Clark being here."

His words surprise me as I look at him. Did he just free his schedule because I am here? It warms my insides but I'm also excited to explore this new experience even if it's just a visit.

"C'mon. Let's go to my office." He tells me, then looks back at the man, "Hale, you can join us if you want."

Hale nods as he walks by James's side. The floor is laid out pretty nicely. The front desk has a one way view to the town while the left lobby leads to five extremely spacious offices, all except one with glass shields and door. I can see that these are probably the offices of some of the top position holders. I can clearly see people working inside. There are some cubicles outside and the rush of the corporate life hits me. It's been way too long since I visited Vince Pvt. Ltd.

We make our way quietly to the office which seems to be built by Macassar ebony wood. The door holds the name very clear. James Clark, Vice President. When I enter inside, the space is huge with off-white walls and beige coloured couch set on the right and a long desk with macbook and lamps with various scattered papers against the left wall of the room. Two rolling chairs are sitting in front of it and I just know that this office has probably personally picked items by James. The back wall of the room is complete glass, from one end to another, and it overlooks what looks like half of the city. It's a breathtaking view.

"Make yourself comfortable." James tells me and I immediately move to sit in one of the chairs while he moves towards the coffee table where he picks up a glass to pour the water in.

Hale goes to stand by his side, "I didn't know you married an eighteen year old," he whisper-yells but the office is so quiet that I hear every word he speaks, "And you forgot to mention that she's incredibly hot."

At that, James glares at him. I wonder how is Hale so casually whisper-yelling at him. But I let it slip for now as I speak up, "She can hear you."

My husband immediately meets my eyes and smirks at my response, clearly amused while Hale realises his mistake and grumbles under his breath.

"Look, I'm sorry that we had to meet like that in the elevator but I'm genuinely not a creep." He explains, probably trying to explain that he didn't mean to come onto me, "If I had for a second known that you are the Lillian, I would've approached you very differently."

His words make me flush and James narrows his eyes at him, "How exactly did you approach her?"

"Nothing, just introduced myself. Asked if she was new to the company. The general." He says.

"As in the general ice breaker before you start with your flirting?" James comes to stand by my side as he offers me the glass he filled and I immediately drink from it to hide my smile and blush.

"I didn't know she's your wife." Hale defends himself.

"Well, I am wearing the ring, which implies that I'm someone's wife." I shrug, contributing in and Hale gives me a look that I'm not helping his case.

"Yeah, well that doesn't really matter." He waves his hand in the air, making my lips part in surprise. He shakes his head, "If it isn't clear by now, I'm his best friend."

That's why he looked so familiar. I think I have seen one of his photos with James when I first googled him after our parents announced our engagement. I wonder why wasn't he at the wedding. Also, it's hard for me to process that James has a best friend to begin with.

"I wasn't at the wedding because someone sent me to California for the meeting. I can't believe he did that to me, I mean you must understand my frustration, Lil. I can call you that, right?" He pauses and I nod, amusedly as he continues, "Yeah so, who the hell takes away the right of being a best man from their best friend?"

He takes a long breath before glaring at James who shakes his head at him and then looks at me, "You'll get used to his behaviour."

The entire situation is extremely amusing to me because Hale and James clearly have very opposite personalities. Hale gives off the vibe of a very care-free, go with the flow kind of person while James is just broody and serious.

"See, he acts like it's not a big deal." Hale throws his hands in the air, "Anyway, how old are you really?"

I bite my lip, not sure if I want to answer but then I look at James as he moves to sit behind the desk and he gives me a small nod as if to go ahead, "Twenty going on twenty one in a month, if that helps."

His jaw drops a little at my answer but he's quick to sober himself as he looks at his best friend then back at me, "I know how this all worked out but can you walk me through it once again? I've only heard his account which was only — 'I'm getting married', so help me out?"

"Hale, you're probably making her uncomfortable at this point." James intervenes and I almost want to scoff at his statement but stop myself because it's his presence which makes me nervous. If it weren't for Hale, my nerves would be clawing at me.

"It's okay. I don't mind answering if you don't mind him knowing." I speak and James looks at me, studying my face with a blank expression before he nods, "Vince Pvt. Ltd., I'm sure you've heard of it? It's my Dad's company. His partner screwed him over by a huge loss and the company went to bankruptcy. To save the day, Carrack intervened. He's investing to hold up the shares and the only thing he wanted in return was for his son and I to get married. I had met him before, never James. So Carrack knew about me, I don't know why he asked my father but apparently I came back to visit my parents after college one day and we were engaged by the night."

I finish and reach out for the glass of water again and gulp it down before looking back at Hale who's staring at me with sympathy in his eyes. It's apparently crystal clear that this is the last thing I wanted in my life, getting married at twenty, and that too to a person who's so closed off.

"And there's no deal breaker?" He asks me, his eyes a little hopeful, more for me than for his friend.

I look back at James, and his gaze is so intensely set on me when I speak, "Till death do us part."