Mark, the Professional

Chapter 2 An Arranged Date

She had a busy schedule today. As soon as she finished the meeting, she took the elevator to the underground parking lot, hurrying to the next conference, the Weekly Fashion. The door opened and she had hardly stepped out of the lift when she noticed that her bodyguard was knocked out. She glanced at her watch, twenty-seven past ten, exactly ten minutes after the phone call.

Looking at Mark into his eyes, Kate appeared calm but alert. “Who are you?”

Mark had met numerous gorgeous women, but this was the very first time he had seen someone as stunning as Kate Lawrence. He met her steady gaze and couldn’t help noticing her beautiful eyes, blue and clear like the navy ocean, her nose, tall and pointed, and her lips, seductively rosy red. She had her long, wavy and blonde hair down, looking elegantly attractive.

Mark was certainly amazed. Jack has surely made some effort in finding me a partner to settle down. He thought to himself.

“Hey gorgeous, I’m Mark, Mark Jackson. Well, your dad has requested me to meet you. I mean he’s arranged a date for us.” Mark said with a cheeky smile. He was planning of telling her that he was there to be her personal bodyguard and it was his job to keep her safe. However, he was too amazed by her beauty and changed his mind.

Kate frowned at him. She thought him fit and quite good-looking, but she didn’t like the impression of his unreliable playfulness.

“I’m afraid you’ve mistaken me for someone else. My father has never arranged any dates for me.” Kate replied indifferently and intended to walk past him.

Meanwhile, a fancy Rolls-Royce pulled over and a handsome man, formally attired in a black suit, got out of the car and handed a huge bunch of red roses to Kate. “Here’s my love for you today, a bunch of beautiful roses a day for my most beautiful Kate!” 

It was Tony Jones, one of the many pursuers of Kate Lawrence and the eldest son of the Jones Corporation, one of the best known and most successful companies in the UK. Beautiful and successful, Kate Lawrence had gained herself many wooers and they were all rejected instantly. However, Tony Jones thought he knew the secret key to success and that was persistence. For an entire month, he had been showing up every day at various venues to ‘surprise’ Kate, which actually annoyed her very much. Kate resented him, but he was too arrogant and ambitious to see.

Tony said with a bright smile, but the smile soon turned to a frown of concern as he noticed the bodyguard lying on the floor unconsciously. He turned to Mark, who was standing next to Kate and questioned, “Who are you?”

Three masculine men soon gathered around, all in black shirts and with sunglasses, guns in hands, watching Mark intensely. They were Tony Jones’ bodyguards.

Kate took no notice of Tony and went straight towards her Maserati. Tony followed right after her and begged, “My beautiful Kate, wouldn’t you like to have dinner with me tonight? I would love to spend time with you.”

Tony had a reputation for tempting girls with his wealth and sweet words. He presented himself as a gentleman but was in fact a notorious playboy. Kate knew it well.

Just as Kate was about to reply, she caught sight of Mark who was standing by, watching indifferently. An idea came to her.

“Can’t you just leave me alone, Tony Jones? Can’t you see that I’m not in a good mood as I’ve just had a fight with my boyfriend?” Kate said impatiently and took a look at Mark.

Tony was shocked at first. He stared at Mark for a while before he started laughing. “Ha. Come on, Kate, you could think of a better excuse than that. I mean, look at this guy. It’s ridiculous that he could ever be your boyfriend.”

Kate said no more and walked towards her car, but Tony was persistent and followed. He had actually made a plan of getting Kate drunk and drugged tonight.

Suddenly, Kate felt someone put their arm around her waist and she raised her hand up and slapped Tony on his face, yet to her surprise, she saw that it was Mark that was holding her when she turned around.

Having got a slap on his face and seeing that Mark was holding the woman he fantasized about, Tony was enraged. “Get him!” He waved his hand at his bodyguards as he shouted angrily. The three masculine guys dashed at Mark, but before they could throw a fist or kick at him, they were knocked down within seconds. It took Tony a while to realize what had actually happened. He stared with his eyes wide open, completely shocked.

Just then, the door of the lift opened and a girl, who looked like a secretary, came running to Kate Lawrence with an envelope in her hand. She seemed to be on a mission. “Miss Lawrence, here’s a letter for you.” She said and handed the envelope to Kate.

It was only after she completed her mission did she notice the bodyguards lying on the ground. Shocked, she covered her mouth with her hand so as not to scream out loud.

Kate knitted her brows, wondering what the letter was about. She opened it and at the sight of the content, her pupils dilated. It was a marriage certificate. Mark saw the photo on it and shouted out despite himself, “What the f**k?!”