The CEO's Assistant

"Arianna?" a sweet, familiar voice sang through the wooden door.

"Juliette," Arianna opened the door to find the small blonde heiress had arrived, with two large coffees. Juliette handed her one of the coffee's before pulling her into a hug.

"I'm so sorry about my mother," Juliette's voice was filled with sympathies and guilt. "I had no idea that she would do something like this."

"It's not your fault." Arianna forced a smile, "I have a feeling my mother had her own hand to play in this. She kept telling me that in this world we don't get the luxury of falling in love." Arianna ran her finger around the takeaway cup lid.

"yeah, well it's been taught to us since we were children." Juliette felt guilty, she just couldn't shake the feeling that if she had never said anything to her mother, maybe none of this would be happening.

"But what about you and Felix?"

"Felix and I were always going to get married whether we liked it or not, we just happened to be the lucky ones who fell in love anyway." Juliette started to guide Arianna towards the dinning room. "However, in even the brightest days must end and if Felix and I were ever to betray one another, it means the pain of being forced to stay together will hurt even more and betrayal will never go away." Arianna's brown eyes widened in shock; she'd never thought of it like that. She was away that people in high society didn't get divorced unless there was an absolute necessity for it; and an affair wasn't one of them.

Juliette's eyes met the gaze of one of the two maids who were heading the laundry room with baskets of washing.

"Did you hear, young master is getting married to Odette Whittingham?" a young maid with ebony hair spoke, failing to hide her arrogance.

"Yes, I saw Miss Odette in a magazine a few weeks ago she's stunning." The red-haired replied. Arianna ignored the two maid placing a cold demeanour as if she were walking around the office.

"She truly is, and I've heard she's so kind-hearted and humble as well."

"I overheard the young master tell Jeffery he was going to be meeting her and her family for lunch today." The red-haired, green-eyed maid smirked, as they walked passed Juliette and Arianna, making sure to speak loud enough so Arianna overheard.

Arianna froze when she heard what the maid had said. Liam told her he had an office meeting. He'd lied to her.

~ ~ ~

"Your mother and Mrs Whittingham are right!" anger still stirring in William's voice. "You're a Clair, not just some no name sc.u.m who's only responsibility is to provide the b.a.r.e necessities." His voice became filled with arrogance.

"Beside what can she offer that I can't." Odette at him like she was the victim of a heinous crime and he refused to believe her.

"Exactly, our family has connections all over the world, we could really advance your career and trust me," Lorraine still sitting beside him, narrowed her chocolate eyes. "there are far more benefits in having the Whittinghams as your in-laws than having us as your enemies." She said whispering the last part so only he could hear.

Liam's demeanour remained indifferent; despite the sudden threat he'd received. The smell of hot coffee and sugar filled the air around him as he continued to ignore the blabbering going on around him.

"Enough!" Liam demanded attention, everyone stopped. Whilst his voice was loud it remained calm it appeared as if his anger had subsided, Lorraine knowing very little about the young heir beside her hoped this meant he was surrendering; however his mother knew better. "Just what do you get from this marriage?" his blue eyes, darted between the members of Whittingham family, a cold as ice. Liam knew something was amiss, when Joseph, head of the Whittingham family, hadn't spoken up. It appeared as though this arrangement didn't affect him in the slightest, so who is it benefitting? No-one initiates an arranged marriage for the sole benefit of the other family.

"W…what are you talking about?" Lorraine stuttered in shock, as if trying to appear unaware of what he was talking about.

"Your family was the one to reach out for this arrangement correct?" his blue-green eyes looking at her with such indifference, she couldn't read him at all. She also couldn't deny this as he'd asked her with so many witnesses who knew the truth.

"Yes, why do you ask?" she asked acting confused.

"Well then what benefit do you get from marrying in our family. After all we have a lot of the same connections, the same wealth and power, so what is your benefit." Liam looked over at Odette who looked at him with a questioning look.

"Why does there have to be a benefit?" Odette coyly asked. Whilst holding her façade Lorraine cursed her dim-witted daughter after she'd realised where this was going.

"Well you all keep saying that a sacrifice we, as members of high society, must make is marrying for money, connections, power, as if like a business deal. However, if there is no benefit for your family I am starting to wonder what the reason is for this arrangement." Fear filled in Odette and Lorraine's eyes. Sharing a glance Camilla and William started to wonder the same thing, while neither of them were willing to verbally agree with their son, it appeared as though he'd figured noticed something they both failed to. "Now based of Odette's rather emotional reactions to my refusal I'm taking a guess to say, this little heiress has feeling for me. Now of course, that begs the questions as to where those feelings stem from." Liam stood from his seat, fixing his suit jacket as he glared down at Odette coldly.

"That is not the case at all." Lorraine was quick to defend her daughter's heart. "However, even if that was the case how is that a bad deal? You get more connections in the United Kingdom and my daughter would get the man she loves. Far better deal than having that gold-digging s.l.u.t of a commoner, who only wants you for your money and has nothing to offer other than her body-" SL.A.P! Before Lorraine could finish her sentence, Liam's cold hard hand hit the side of her face. "H…how dare you!" holding her now red cheek, her eyes looked absolutely bewildered at him.

"No! how dare you." Liam's expression was so deadly could send the devil running. "You know nothing about her." Suddenly his cold expression become a sinister smirk. Even as a woman older than his mother, Lorraine had to admit the man was mesmerising, he sent shivers down her spine, yet she could not look away from the heir. "Besides whomever said she was a commoner?" Not waiting for a reply, Liam elegantly walked out.