Page 9 of No Mane, No Gain
“The pride is doing just fine,” Chaos interrupted again. “And I’m only thirty-five, not exactly decrepit. I have plenty of time to find the right woman - on my own terms.”
“But-”
“I’m sorry, Mamma, but I have to go. I have a board meeting.” It wasn’t entirely a lie - he still had nearly an hour - but Chaos needed to end this conversation before he said something he’d regret.
Isabella pressed her lips together, clearly unhappy but recognizing the finality in her son’s tone. “All right, caro. We’ll talk about this later.Ti amo.”
“I love you too, Mamma,” Chaos replied, his voice softening slightly. He ended the call and leaned back in his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose.
As if on cue, his phone buzzed with an incoming text message. Chaos glanced at the screen and groaned. It was from his baby sister, Tia.
Hey, big bro! Vanessa’s throwing a dinner party next Friday and specifically asked me to invite you. Please say you’ll come. Pretty please?
Chaos’s mood, already soured by the conversation with his mother, plummeted further. Vanessa Hartley was Tia’s best friend - a vapid socialite whose sole ambition in life seemed to be marrying into money. She’d been not-so-subtly pursuing Chaos for years despite his complete lack of interest.
He typed out a quick response:Sorry, Tia. I’ve got a late meeting that night. Can’t make it.
Thatwasa lie, but Chaos would rather sit through a dozen boring meetings than spend an evening fending off Vanessa’s advances and listening to her prattle on about the latest gossip.
Tia’s reply came almost instantly:Ugh, you’re no fun. All work and no play makes Chaos a dull boy, you know.
Chaos ignored the message, tossing his phone onto the desk with more force than necessary. He stood abruptly, needing to move and burn off some of this restless energy before he did something rash - like put his fist through the nearest wall.
A knock at the door interrupted his brooding. “Come in,” Chaos called, forcing his voice to remain neutral.
Baxter Lennox, Chaos’s best friend and COO of AmTech, stepped into the office. His muscular build rivaled Chaos’s own. Baxter was one of the few people who could meet the lionshifter’s gaze without flinching. His dark brown eyes took in Chaos’s tense posture and the slight scowl on his face.
“Rough morning?” Baxter asked, closing the door behind him.
Chaos snorted. “You could say that. My mother called. Again.”
Understanding dawned on Baxter’s face. “Ah. The arranged marriage situation?”
“Got it in one,” Chaos confirmed, dropping back into his chair. “She’s pushing for me to have dinner with the latest candidate - some woman named Brielle.”
Baxter leaned against the edge of Chaos’s desk, arms crossed over his broad chest. “And I’m guessing you told her where she could stick that dinner invitation?”
“In slightly more polite terms, but essentially, yes.” Chaos ran a hand through his hair, a rare display of frustration. “I don’t know how much longer I can keep putting this off, Bax. They’re getting more insistent.”
“Have you considered just going along with it?” Baxter suggested, holding up a hand when Chaos opened his mouth to protest. “Hear me out. You go on one date with this Brielle woman. If it’s terrible - which, let’s be honest, it probably will be - you can tell your parents you gave it a shot and it didn’t work out.”
Chaos shook his head. “It’s not that simple. In our world, agreeing to that first date is as good as an engagement announcement. If I meet with her, I might as well be signing a marriage contract.”
Baxter whistled low. “Damn. No wonder you’re so worked up about this. There’s got to be a loophole, though. Some way out of it.”
“If there is, I haven’t found it yet,” Chaos growled. He stood again, pacing the length of his office. “And it’s not just myparents. The pride elders are starting to make noise about it too. They think it’s time I settled down and produced an heir.”
“Well, technically speaking, couldn’t you do that without the whole marriage part?” Baxter’s lips quirked in a wry smile.
Chaos shot him a withering look. “Very funny. You know that’s not how it works for us. The pride needs stability, continuity. A strong, united leadership.”
“Which apparently requires you to be shackled to some society princess who probably couldn’t tell a circuit board from a cheese board,” Baxter muttered.
“Exactly,” Chaos agreed, his frustration evident in every line of his body. “They don’t care if she’s completely wrong for me, or if we have nothing in common. All that matters is that she comes from the right family and knows how to play the perfect trophy wife at social functions.”
Baxter’s expression grew thoughtful. “You know, there might be another way out of this.”
Chaos paused his pacing, one eyebrow raised in skepticism. “I’m listening.”