A TEMPTING ARRANGEMENT

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

“Hello buddy how’s summer camp?” Andrea asks her little brother…

“Great, Coach Rodgers brought in the Kings. I’m leaning so much Drea, I can’t wait until we get on the ice with them.” Damien says excitedly.

Andrea smiles. The boy lives and breathes Hockey, he shocked the entire family when at age four when they went ice skating, and he took to the ice so naturally that one would think he was born to be one the ice.

Andrea thinks back on how Archer learnt as much about hockey so he could skate with Damien and when Damien got really into it, he’d take time off work so he could be there for him, he’d take him to games and Damien’s love just grew from there.

Archer always treated her little brother as his own little brother. She knew he’d make a great father one day for his own child.

The more she thinks about it the more the possibility of it being her child as well brought her with relief, she didn’t understand.

“I called dad last night, I told him I needed new gear, my skates broke during practice yesterday, I taped them up, but they’re going to snap again.” he goes on and on about his superstitions.

There was a knock on Andrea’s office. “Look here buddy I’ll have my assistant drop a few things for you and a pair of new skates. One you can break in before the season starts, okay? I have to get back to work.”

“Thank you, Drea. I’ll text you what I need…” Damien says before hanging up.

Andrea smiles, placing her phone on her desk.

“Come in…” she says.

The smiles wipes off her face when Tate’s assistant walks into her office acting like she owns the office.

“Tate says you should meet him next door, you’re having lunch together…” she turns her nose up at Andrea.

Her eyes travel around the room like she’s inspecting it to move in.

“Leave…” Andrea stands.

Rachel smiles looking at Andrea. “Meet the boss downstairs…” she says before leaving.

Andrea doesn’t say anything, she just stands picking up her purse and phone.

She walks out of her office locking the door behind her.

It was around twelve in the afternoon and Tate was already waiting for Andrea when she walked into the restaurant. What surprised her most was the romantic set up. Tate was many things but romantic wasn’t one of those things.

Sitting opposite him, she busies herself on her phone ignoring him.

She texts Archer letting him know what was happening.

He answered right away telling her he had a surprise planned for her.

"I have ordered our meals already…” Tate’s says trying to get Andrea’s attention, but she didn’t even look up.

She smiles with her phone before her phone rings, and she answers.

“Hey Gia, could you buy the things I just sent you via text and send take them to Damien’s camp. He needs those for later…” Andrea asks.

He breathes a sigh of relief when he realized she wasn’t talking to another man.

As she talks, he looks at his fiancée he couldn’t help but think how things would be like when they’re married, would his father-in-law help get them more actresses and actors and help them get movies.

Andrea’s father didn’t like him much now, but they’ll be family soon, he couldn’t dislike him forever.

As their food came, he was surprised that Andrea had something different from what he ordered on her plate.

Andrea looks up at the waiter in surprise. “Is that Thai curry?” she asks.

The waiter nods. “It’s a complimentary dish the chef cooked just for you to congratulate you on your marriage…” the waiter says.

Andrea pauses before smiling and thanking the waiter.

Whereas Tate looked at the food then at Andrea. “We’re not married…” Tate glared at the waiter.

Was he flirting with Andrea?

The waiter ignored Tate and left after placing Tate’s steak in front of him.

Andrea picked up her phone and sent Archer a text thanking him for her food. She knew it was from Archer. He was the only one who knew how much she looked Thai food and even how much she enjoyed Thai chicken curry.

Tate watched as his fiancé ignored him through the entire lunch.

If she wasn’t eating, she was on her phone.

“Andrea what’s going on? Why are you ignoring me?” he asks.

He didn’t understand why she was so distant. Was she still upset she had to give away her shoot. He thought this lunch would coax her into forgetting about it.

Andrea’s phone dings. She looks at the message smiling.

{Archie - I found out he was taking you for lunch, since I know the owner, I asked him to prepare your favorite, I also took the liberty of asking him to prepare your supper as well. knowing you, you won’t make yourself something to eat tonight…}

Andrea let out a laugh, she couldn’t believe how sweet Archer was being. He’d always been the sweetest guy she’s known, but him as a husband was next level. He wasn’t even in the country, and he treated her well.

{Andrea_Beckett – How did you even know I was going to be at this restaurant, I didn’t even know I was going to be here until a half an hour ago.}

{Archie - I was already ordering your lunch when the owner told me you were going to have lunch there.

Andrea held her phone to her chest smiling. Archer was the sweetest.

Her response didn’t go unnoticed by Tate. He narrowed his eyes on her.

“What’s going on with you?" Tate asks.

"Oh, it’s nothing..." Andrea pulled her phone away from her chest, remembering she wasn’t alone. She looked at the man she loved just a few days away, she felt nothing but disgust for him now.

Tate was deserving of her love; she knew that she wanted nothing more than to put him in a box and set it alight.

"After all of this is settled, we will get married, and we’ll be so happy…” Tate says placing his hand on hers giving it a squeeze.

Andrea pulls her hands away from him. “Don’t worry once this is over, you’ll get everything you deserve Tate, and so much more…” She was going to make sure of it. Andrea smiled sweetly.

Tate smiles happily. He knew she was going to speak to her father about helping him. He knew just how Andrea loved him and how she’s would always go out of her way to help him.

He didn’t realize Andrea’s words held a hidden meaning and how it was said out of revenge, and she was planning to destroy his very being.

Tate sighed and tried to touch Andrea again, but she just pulled away from him and ate at her food. “Andrea, I know you’re still angry with me for asking you to give up on this project I promise I’ll help you…” he promises.

Andrea couldn’t believe she’d fallen for all of this man’s lies. Now that she’s hearing it after knowing the real Tate, she couldn’t help but feel everything that came out of this man’s mouth was all bullshit. Everything he said was just a new way to use and abuse her generosity.

"After the press conference let’s have dinner together. Maybe the weekend we could visit your folks out in Miami…” Tate suggests.

If anyone heard they’d assume he was being a great fiancé, but all he wanted was a meeting with her father so he could exploit her family.

Andrea pauses and looks at him, a smile spreads on her face. “I am going to my parents the weekend but Archer’s coming down for a visit as well. That’s why I didn’t invite you…” she says sweetly on purpose.

She and Archer spoke about telling her parents about their marriage, she has to introduce him as her husband, her parents loved Archer and knew they would be happy it wasn’t this i***t in front of her.

Tate didn’t say anything, but he wasn’t happy. Archer had always poisoned Andrea’s parents with bad things about him, that’s why they didn’t like him. Not that Archer would ever admit to doing, but he knew he did.

“You know Archer’s in Ireland right now working on a movie, he’s seen many things, even sent me pictures…” Andrea says before getting up and walking out of the restaurant.

Tate sat there in shock. His heart sank, did Andrea know something?

She shakes his head. No, she didn’t know anything, and he didn’t even leave his hotel room, there was no way Archer would have seen him. He did try to meet with Archer, but the man refused to do business with him.

He got up to pay for the bill, but the waiter told him the bill was taken care of.

He sighed in relief, Andrea still loved him, she didn’t know anything. knowing Andrea, she if she did know something she would have tried to kill him.

When Tate returned to the office, his assistant informed him she’d given Andrea the speech he’d written for her. But Andrea locked herself in her office and asked that no one disturb her.

When he knocked on her office door there was no answer.

Choosing to leave her alone, he returns to his own office.

Around one thirty the press started filing into the auditorium inside of IC.

The room filled with murmurs. Andrea had been missing for a few days and the press couldn’t get any pictures of her. And yet drama broke out about her abusing her power. Everyone was curious.

They all wondered what she had to say for herself.

At two, on the dot Andrea walked in, everyone started snapping pictures of her.

“Thank you all for coming today. I’ll give the stage to Andrea Beckett…” Tate says smiling at Andrea.

Andrea walked past him without so much as looking at him.

"First of all, I want to start this press conference by saying a few things before I address the drama that’s been surrounding my name for the past two days. I was seventeen when I first started modelling, it helped me deal with many of my own personal problems. I started at the bottom just like every other model has. I’ve never used my last name to get ahead of other models, my father has never helped me book shoots, also I’ve never asked…” Andrea pauses and looks at Tate before sighing. “I’ve never asked my boss to steal jobs from other artists either. That is why with deep regret that I announce my contract with Pink has been cancelled. I hope my fans understand that it wasn’t a decision I came up with on my own or a decision I take lightly. Thank you…” Andrea bows.

The press went crazy with questions.

Tate stared at Andrea in shock, he never imagined she would do this. That wasn’t what he wrote. She didn’t follow the script. He was in such a shock; he didn’t even realize she basically putting the blame on him.

He blocked out the presses voices and he stands slowly.

It was when everyone’s phones started to go, and they started looking at him differently did he realized something was happening.

“Mr. Andrews what do you have to say for yourself?”

“Did you create the drama so you could give the Pink contract to you mistress?”

The question caused Tate’s spine to stiffen out of instinct his eyes found Andrea. But she was focused on her phone and not him.

Security came onto the stage and escorted Andrea off the stage leaving Tate alone with the press, pressing him for answers.

He could only stand and watch it all go down. It wasn’t until the PR Director came out to help did Tate react.