Plans

                                    

                                          

P.O.V: Roman
                          
We tried to act as natural as possible for the next few days, Peter had moved into the pool house and I was back at work. My staff were pussy footing around me after rumours had spread that I had been mugged or something the other day. It made for a quiet working environment, but the looks which I kept getting irked me to no end. 
I sat at my desk and straightened out the cuff of my right sleeve, Pryce had just performed the final treatment which he had devised to remove the Dhampir venom from under my skin. I had been right, the venom couldn't permeate into my body so it just laid there, and all Pryce had to do was rinse it out with a saline solution which sounded more pleasant than it felt. 
It was a huge relief to not have the constant burn anymore, and it meant that I could start focusing again. The realisation had hit me like a truck that we were supposed to be launching our nanotech on Monday and I now had three days to pull it off. 
My intercom buzzed then as Veronica announced that the planner I had called was here. I sat up straighter then and waited for them to enter, I heard the clicking of heels before the door swung open. My brow furrowed as I watched the woman walk in slowly, she sat down across from me and crossed her legs making her pencil skirt ride up her bare thigh.
"Who are you and what have you done to my girlfriend?" I asked and Lillian smirked as she tossed her long ponytail over her shoulder.
"I do not know what you're speaking about Mr. Godfrey." She winked as she pulled her iPad out and set it on the edge of my desk.
"What happened to the planner I had Veronica book yesterday?" I asked and watched as she shrugged slightly.
"They may or may not have gotten a phone call from a representative of Godfrey Industries informing them that their services were no longer needed." She smirked slightly and I laughed.
"I purposefully didn't ask you to keep planning this thing because it's going to be fucking stressful as it is, and I don't want to put you under anymore stress." I said seriously, she grinned then and leaned forward slightly. Her sheer button down gapped as she did and I got a good view of her white lacy bra; she had worn this on purpose.
"I know you have ways to help me destress later Mr. Godfrey, I have no worries about that, but you should be worried if you try and replace me again." She said sternly, I inhaled deeply as I squirmed in my seat, this whole exchange was a lot more erotic to me than it should have been.
"Alright then Miss. Cassidy, what do you propose we do in such short notice?" I asked and leaned forward slowly.
"I have it all planned Mr. Godfrey, we just need to finalise the guest list." She said as she typed away at her iPad for a moment before shifting her attention back to me. "I've organised the demolition of the Mill for Monday evening, we will set up holographic projectors to display Pryce's research under a grand marque, there will be two other marques one for dancing and one for dining. Once Pryce has given his demonstration, we will then venture outside and watch as one piece of Godfrey history comes to an end as another begins, I think it's quite poetic, don't you?" She asked and I was stunned for a moment, this was definitely a lot better than the stuffy dinner I had originally had in mind.
"How many guests were you thinking?" I asked seriously, she had clearly given this a lot of thought.
"I've catered for sixty, it'll be intimate, and will add to our mystique." She grinned and I nodded as I reached out and took her iPad before I started to jot down a few names. "You can only invite fifty five, I'm inviting two guests of my own." She said seriously and I raised and eyebrow.
"And who is that?" I asked.
"Peter and Destiny, this isn't going to be a boring party Roman, we are young, and we know how to have fun, it's time we do more than just revolutionise technology, it's time we change the stuffy social scene as well." 
"You're a God send Miss. Cassidy, lets just hope Destiny doesn't get too wasted." I said cautiously.
"She won't, we have a deal, I get her a designer dress and she keeps it to a maximum of four standard drinks all evening, she's also limited  to two hits of a joint, and no other substances." I laughed as she said it, more out of sheer amazement at Destiny's willingness to behave than anything.
"You're a miracle worker, there's no disputing it now. I've give you the list of the people I was thinking of, we should be at sixty by now." I said and she nodded as she scanned through the names and seemed to mentally check off each one.
"I'll have my assistant send out the invites."
"You have an assistant?" I asked and she laughed as she nodded.
"Nadia has been helping me with this all along, we hand crafted the invites, she's quite the artiste." She winked and produced one of the immaculate invites which had a painted silhouette of the mill on it, it was then surrounded by silver embossed borders which when you looked closer were actually double helixes, and in the centre was Godfrey Institute in immaculate cursive
"You really did sixty of these?" I asked wide eyed and she nodded slowly.
"I told you that I get bored at home." She shrugged, I grinned as I reached into my desk draw then and removed a large white envelope and handed it to her.
"What is this?" She asked as she slid her finger under he sealed edge.
"Your contract, I wasn't joking when I said that I wanted you as my press liaison, you have a silver tongue, and it's time we capitalise off of that." I winked and she stared at me for a second as she turned the contract over in her hand. She proceeded to reach out and grab my pen, she didn't even bother to read it before signing under name.
"You haven't even looked at it." I laughed.
"Well if it's a shitty contract I'll go straight to the top Mr. Godfrey, some may say that I have the CEO's balls in my hands." She winked as she stood and slid her iPad and the invite back into her bag.
"I'll have an office set up for you down the hall from me, you don't need to use it if you don't want to, but it'll be yours." She gave me a grateful smile before slowly heading towards the door. "Thank you for this Lil, it's really a lot better than I imagined it to be." I said softly, her smile broadened as she nodded.
"This is my future too Rome, we are going to make it a huge success you and I." She said before leaving swiftly, we both had a lot of work ahead of us. 
I sat staring at the door for a moment as I found myself wondering where I'd be without her, obviously I wouldn't actually be alive, but if she had never come back to me after she found out what had really happened to Destiny then I doubted that I'd be anywhere near where I was now. 
If I forgot about the Dhampir, and my fucked up family for a second life was actually going great for a change. The Institute had had it's most profitable quarter, I had my best friend and his weird sister back, I had an amazing girlfriend, a beautiful daughter, and I lived like a king. I felt like I had to put everything in perspective once in awhile, otherwise I think I would have gone crazy a long time ago. 
Veronica walked in then and pulled me from my thoughts as she set a black coffee down on my desk and smiled.
"Can I do anything else for you Mr. Godfrey?" She asked and I nodded as I handed her Lillians contract before taking a sip of my coffee.
"Get this through to HR and get contractors in to redo the boardroom on this floor for her office. I want it perfect, run all the designs past me before you do anything." I said seriously, she nodded as she held the thick wad of papers to her chest. "Oh, and I need a new suit, I'm thinking either Brunello, or maybe Tom Ford." I said as I stood slowly and buttoned my jacket before downing the rest of my coffee.
"When do you need it by?" She asked softly.
"I need it by tomorrow afternoon, you have my measurements, and get a tailor around to mine as well. I think Lillians got her own dress sorted, but maybe get her something from Burberry to be sure. We're looking for something slightly more casual this time, but I still need it to make a statement." I winked and she nodded slowly.
"Are you finished for the day?" She cocked her head to the side as she watched me as I walked around my desk.
"I'm heading over to the Mill to see how things are being set up, and then I have a bit of shopping to do. Have you gotten the accommodation sorted in Bora Bora?" She nodded quickly and I smirked. "I need all the documentation delivered to the house this afternoon." I said seriously, Veronica always looked bewildered when I gave her instructions, I think it had to do with her large dow eyes. 
"I'll see you on Monday Mr. Godfrey." She smiled as I walked out and waved at her over my shoulder.
I got into the elevator and rode it down to the ground floor, as I stepped out the receptionist informed me that I had a package. I walked over and grabbed it from her desk without really acknowledging her presence, I turned the package over in my hands as I walked out to my car. 
I set the box down on the passenger seat as I started to navigate the i8 towards the Mill, Lillian had sent me through the plans for Monday and I had quickly glanced over them when she left, they were setting up the explosives today as well as the marques. 
The box beside me kept drawing my attention to it though, there was something about it which was making me uncomfortable. Eventually I couldn't bare the mystery anymore as I quickly pulled over and ripped the tape off to reveal a white polystyrene container. 
My brow furrowed as I removed an envelope from the lid and took a card out, in a neat block hand someone had written "YOU FORGOT THIS". 
My heart started to pound then as I opened the lid, as soon as I did I felt my whole body recoil from the box, inside was one of the Dhampirs discarded hearts from the other day. 
It was really a no brainer that it had been us who had done that to her precious little children, but this still set me on edge. I quickly reached out and pressed the bluetooth button and told Siri to call Peter.
My eyes were still fixed on the heart in the box when he answered, it sounded like he had just woken up.
"What?" He asked and I could hear him yawn.
"I want you to go into the main house and just make sure Lil got home." I said seriously.
"God, you really weren't joking about the whole baby sitting thing." He scoffed.
"Peter just do it." I said seriously as I worked my jaw.
"What's going on Roman?" His voice was more serious now.
"I received a gift from my dear aunt." I said bitterly.
"What is it?" He asked, I could tell that he had just walked into the house, the one french door had a discernible creek to it. 
"One of her creations hearts." I said and scrunched up my nose as I finally shut the box and set it back down beside me.
"Well that's really fucked up isn't it? So she knows it was us then?" He sighed, I heard Lillian's and Destiny's voices then and felt myself relax. "She's here man, I'll keep a close eye on her."
"Thanks Peter, what size suit do you wear?" I asked and there was a long pause before he answered me slightly hesitantly.
"Why do you want to know?" He asked then as I made a note of the sizes on my phone.
"You need a suit for Monday dumbass, old shitty jeans and those scuffed brown boots of yours aren't going to cut it."
"Hey! These shitty jeans and brown boots have lasted me a fuck ton longer than any of that expensive shit you have in your closet ever will." He defended himself and I laughed.
"Do you want it black, or do you have another colour preference?" I just ignored what he was saying as I pulled into the gates at the Mill, I hadn't seen this many people here since we had thrown a New Years eve party here years before.
"I like the idea of gunmetal grey." He said it softly clearly not to let either Destiny or Lillian hear, they would undoubtedly give him shit for actually caring about his appearance for once. 
"You got it, and I won't put a leash on you don't worry." I joked referring to a tie, the idea of Peter in a tie just did not compute. One of the men wearing a high vis jacket started to walk over then. 
"Good cause I ain't no dog." Peter said and we both laughed.
"I'll be home soon man." I said and hung up without another word as I stepped out slowly and shook the mans hand. 
"Mr. Godfrey." He nodded as he led me towards the side entrance of the Mill, they had rigged C4 all over the place. "Mrs. Godfrey made it very clear that you guys wanted a show with this, so we are going a little more over the top than usual. This place is going to take a lot more than just C4 to get rid of, but we discussed coming back on Tuesday to finish the job, it'll probably run on through the week, but you should have a clean lot by Friday." He said and I nodded as I looked around quietly, I didn't even bother correcting him about my and Lillians martial status, I liked it when people referred to her as my wife, it made her seem even more like mine.
"This will be good, it won't put any of our guests in danger though?" I asked and he shook his head.
"We've spoken to the guys setting your gazebos up, they're well within the safe zone, this is going to be a highly controlled blast, it'll be fine." He smiled, he clearly knew what he was doing and I had learnt a long time ago to just let the professionals get on with their work.  
"That sounds great, don't want any bad press from this you know." I smiled and he nodded knowingly. 
"We had one go wrong a few years ago, but the people who's building it was got into the red zone to try and film it, as long as your guests aren't idiots they'll be fine." I had to hide my grin at the thought of some of my competition getting squashed by flying rubble because they were rubbernecking, it was something these rich pricks would do too. They thought that their money and status made them indestructible, when in fact they were anything but. 
"Thank you for this, you guys are doing a great job." I said and patted his shoulder before walking out, I then proceeded to head up the embankment on the west side of the Mill where they were setting up large black and gold marques. There was a centre marques where we would be setting up the dinning table, we could open the curtains and let people see the Mill. There were also two smaller ones on either side connected to the main centre one, one of these would be for Johan's presentation, and the other one would have a DJ and a dance floor set up. 
The guests were all being driven here by drivers which Lillian had hired, it made sense seeing as there wasn't really space to park here. So far it looked as if this whole thing could go down really well, I stood beside one of the marques and surveyed my families legacy. This place had claimed so many lives, and had damaged the environment badly during its operational years, and now it was time to tear it down. I had decided to repurpose the land as an expansion of our wind farm. The farms were saving the tower thousands on electrical costs, and it gave us a good environmental image, it seemed right to replace one mammoth failure with something purer. 
"It's going to be weird to not have this place on the skyline." I heard one of the guys who had been setting up inside the marque say. 
"It is going to be weird, the high school kids are going to have to find somewhere else to get high too." I said and he laughed.
"I doubt you remember, but I came to the New Years eve party you threw here, that was by far the best party of the year. This place has seen some good memories, and some really bad ones." I nodded in agreement as I turned to face him, I did recognise him, he had gotten shit faced that night and had tried to make out with Letha. 
"I think what you're trying to do is good Roman, there's some people in town who really hate you, but I think you actually have your head screwed on right." I smiled as he said it and held my hand out, he accepted the gesture as we shook hands, I patted his shoulder before heading back down to my car. 
I grabbed the box from the passenger seat and set it in the boot before getting back in behind the wheel. 
I pulled away then and headed out to the mall in Newfolk, I had two items on my list of things to get. 
One was Peters suit, and the other was to find Lillian a ring, after what had happened to me the other day it made me very eager to officially be able to call her mine. 
I drove into the valet parking area and handed the valet my keys before heading into the shopping centre. I headed straight for the designer stores down the other side, I figured I could find Peter a suit at Gucci or Armani.
I browsed through some of the options at Armani and found a slim fitting gun metal grey suit which a store assistant assured me that Peter would look good in after I showed her a photo of him. I also purchased him a pair of black leather oxfords to go with the suit and finished it all off with a navy blue dress shirt. The tailor which was coming in the next day would be able to fix any problem areas for him. The total bill was just shy of four grand, but if it meant that Peter would look somewhat respectable then so be it. The one shop assistant carried the purchases down to the valet area so that they could be placed in my car, my next focus was the ring. 
I headed down towards a family owned jeweller where I had most of watches made, I knew for a fact that they had some beautiful pieces in their collection.
"Ah Mr. Godfrey." I heard the owner say as he walked out from the back of the store, I glanced up at him and smiled. "What can I do for you today?" He asked as he brought out a black suede jewellery tray and slipped on a pair of white gloves.
"I'm looking for an engagement ring." I smiled and his eyes widened as I said it.
"Is she the woman you were photographed with in Toronto?" He asked knowingly.
"She is." I nodded as I surveyed their rings, a few stuck out to me and he happily brought them out to show me. In the end I had a final selection of three, but there was one which just kept drawing me back.
"Tell me about this one." I said as I picked up the ring and surveyed it.
"Ah yes, I call her duchess." He winked as he held his hand out to me, I gently set the ring down in his palm. "This is a 1.5 carat rare vivid pink diamond, it was one of the last diamonds to be taken from the Kimberly Mine in 1914. It's been in a few different settings, I purchased it at auction a year ago, it used to belong to Miss Marilyn Monroe at one point." He said, and I forced a small smile as I waited for him to continue. "The diamond is then surrounded by 0.5 carats of Morganites, and then 0.5 carats of white diamonds, and it is then all brought together in 14 karat rose gold." I nodded as I took it back and surveyed the square setting. 
"I'll take it." I smiled and he nodded slowly, I produced one of Lillians rings which I had taken as a size guide. He measured both rings and nodded slowly as he started to polish the one I was buying.
"It's like it was meant for her Mr. Godfrey." He smiled as he set the ring into a white velvet ring box. We settled the bill then, the rarity and clarity of the diamond pushed the price well over the hundred thousand mark, but it was perfect for Lillian.
I put the box in my pocket as I started to head out to my car, the last thing that I had to to do today was get rid of that heart. 
The valet handed me my keys as I got in and started the car, the ring box pressed into my thigh reminding me of the life changing question which I was going to ask. A small smile danced across my lips as I headed back towards Hemlock, I stopped off just within city limits and discarded the heart in a trash can before heading home. 
I pulled into the garage and noted that there was a different car in our driveway, I got out and grabbed Peters suit from the boot before heading into the house. I heard talking in the lounge and slowly walked in, Nadia sat playing with some toys on her play mat she held her arms up to me as I walked in, I set the garment bag down and walked over and picked her up.
She babbled slightly as I did and I smiled as I kissed her cheek, I looked into the lounge then and noted that Destiny was in the middle of a fitting. She was wearing a burgundy dress which she actually looked quite nice in. 
"You actually look like a lady." I quipped as I walked in, she didn't hesitate to flip me off as the tailor put another safety pin in place to cinch her waist line a bit more. "Where's Lil?" I asked as I looked around the room which was empty besides the four of us. 
"She's upstairs in your office, Peters popped out to buy us pizza." She said and I nodded as I looked her up and down once more.
"You look very nice Destiny." I said softly and watched as a look of shock painted itself across her face.  I headed upstairs then with Nadia in my arms, I heard Lillian on the phone and took the opportunity to hurry into our closet. I opened up the secret compartment which I had installed in the one wall and put the ring box in there slowly.
Nadia peered up at me as I did, her blue eyes were mesmerising and I smiled as I planted another small kiss on her forehead.
"Let's go find Lily." I said softly and carried her towards my office, Lillian was off of the phone now and I smiled as I walked in. I stopped dead in my tracks as I took in what she was wearing, the striking red jumpsuit accentuated her every curve. 
"Well don't just stare, what do you think?" She asked as she adjusted the off the shoulder sleeve. 
"I think you look amazing." I smiled as I stepped forward slowly.
"I figured that I'd go with something besides a dress, change it up a bit." She winked as she pulled her hair back and twisted it before sliding a pencil into it to hold it in place. 
"You are going to take everyones breath away like always Lil." I smiled as I kissed her gently, Nadia reached for her then and I handed her over slowly. "My two stunning girls." I said softly, Lilian reached out and placed her hand on my cheek gently and winked.
"Come on, I better take this off before I ruin it before Monday." She carried Nadia out then and I followed. Peter had arrived back and set the pizza boxes down in the lounge as Maria came to take Nadia for her nap. 
"Your turn to model for us." I heard Destiny say as she handed Peter the garment bag which I had bought for him.
"I'm good." He said as he stuffed a slice of pizza into his mouth getting crumbs in his beard.
"You have to try it on you idiot otherwise you could end up looking like a fool." She said as she pulled her jacket back on, the tailor had left with her and Lillians clothes and would bring them back on Sunday. 
"She's right." Lillian seconded as she poured the two of us a glass of whiskey before padding into the lounge, she was now wearing a pair of yoga pants and one of my jumpers. Her hair was still piled on top of her head and secured in place with the pencil, even dressed so casually she was strikingly beautiful.  
"So, Peter told us about the heart." Destiny said as she poured herself a glass of vodka before grabbing a slice of pepperoni. 
"Of course he did." I sighed as I sat beside Lillian and pulled her close to me before taking a bite of her pizza, she playfully elbowed me as I did. 
"I want that bitch out of our lives for good." Lillian said before taking a bite of our slice. 
"She will be, lets get Monday over and done with and then our soul focus will be on ridding ourselves of her and her offspring for good." I said as I took a sip of my whiskey.
"I've never been invited to such a fancy shindig before." Peter said and I scoffed as he said it.
"Maybe it's because you refer to it as a 'shindig'." I said and he rolled his eyes.
"It'll be good to have you two there though, some of the men in the industry can be a bit pompous and arrogant." Lillian said and I looked down at her as I raised an eyebrow.
"Some of the men? Does that happen to include me?" I asked as she took a small sip of her whiskey and shrugged.
"Sometimes." She grinned as she peered at me over the crystal tumbler.
"Whose looking after Nadia?" Peter asked changing the subject then.
"Maria will stay on that night." Lillian answered, we hadn't even gotten around to choosing a nanny yet I had interviewed the four that I liked, but none of them felt right.
"She seems to be in a trance half the time, you sure Roman hasn't eye fucked her too many times?" Destiny asked and I glared at her.
"I have only had to use that twice on her, she was dazed from the day I hired her." I shrugged and she scoffed in response. 
"She's a nice enough girl and Nadia likes her, so let's just be happy that we have someone." Lillian said seriously as she stood slowly.
"Where are you going?" I asked softly, she had only had one slice of pizza and had downed her whiskey.
"I am exhausted, planning your shit takes a lot out of a woman Godfrey, and the way I see it you owe me a back rub." She winked and I couldn't help but smirk as I stood slowly.
"You two are disgusting." Destiny complained comedically as I took Lillians hand in mine.
"You're welcome to stay the night Destiny, just make sure you put the dog out." I called over my shoulder as Lillian and I headed upstairs quickly.