𝘏𝘈𝘙𝘉𝘖𝘙 ° 𝘙𝘖𝘔𝘈𝘕 𝘎𝘖𝘋𝘍𝘙𝘌𝘠 ✓

23 | two worlds collide

In the few months since Roman took over Godfrey Industries, he usually spent his days in endless meetings, either with the board or investors and the like, all desiring his final say as the CEO of the conglomerate. It was why he treasured Rory and Solara's daily visits so much, they kept him grounded, or as grounded as a blue-blood elitist 18 year old could be.

And so, it was unusual that his newest investor, the CEO of Aera Corp, had requested to have a last-minute meeting at some upscale restaurant downtown to go over details before official operations began the following week, but it was refreshing: if only the unexpected lunch invitation had come at a better time, he would be in a better mood. They were leaving for Forks by dusk and he knew Rory was especially anxious now that they were flying with Solara. He made sure Letha and Peter were with her before he left and made his way to the Spanish restaurant.

He didn't know what to expect from the Aera CEO other than that the reclusive man had been able to turn his business into a multimillion dollar company in only two years. With the popularity of DNA testing on the rise, it only made sense for Godfrey Industries to partner with the new company, creating a new branch, headquarters to be built right in Hemlock Grove.

When the maitre'd walked Roman over to the table that was still in view of a few other patrons, he was thrown off to learn that the mysterious Mr. Archer was not some old baby boomer or introverted-scientist type, but a tall, imposing man about his uncle's age with a full head of salt-and-pepper hair and bright blue eyes that felt very familiar. He brushed it off to it merely being the typical greedy stare of sharks meeting the youngest billionaire in the world, hungry to devour his fortune.

Mr. Archer stretched his hand across in a firm handshake that was surprisingly quite strong. "Mr. Godfrey, I believe it's time we finally met."

Roman nodded with his business-smile plastered on his face. "I've been looking forward to this meeting, Mr. Archer. And please, Mr. Godfrey was my father. It's just Roman," he said as they both sat down.

"Well, then Roman, call me Tom."

° ° °

Rory was looking forward to Bella and Edward's wedding, but not so much so the rest of what the trip entailed, which was included but not limited to: traveling with a two-month old, seeing her ex-boyfriend, and facing further judgement for being only 18 with a baby-and unmarried. In all honesty, the last segment wasn't bad at all, except for the fact that she wasn't ready to be married and to be further pressured by the context of the event was a cause of anxiety.

"It's a wedding, Rors, and you're an unmarried teen mom, all they're gonna wanna talk to you about is when is yours and Roman's, no matter how hard you'll fight it," Peter said bluntly from his position lying in front of Solara, who was on tummy-time, both caught up in a game of stare-down, somehow the baby was beating the werewolf, her big glimmering eyes held a stubbornness that belonged to her mother.

She sighed exasperatedly, folding another tiny onesie and setting it on top of the pile. "My biggest concern should be the fact I'm going to attend my best friend's wedding to my ex-boyfriend's brother at their house with all their family with Solara and Roman after not seeing most of these people in almost a year. But instead, I'm more worried about how I'm going to be bombarded with questions on my nonexistent nuptials. My plan is to just shove Solara in their face as a distraction and then pivot to find another group. God, I wish I could drink still." Rory sent her daughter a narrowed look of betrayal-Solara simply babbled and threw her toy at Peter's face, effectively winning their little game.

Letha frowned, "Would it be such a bad thing if you two got married? I mean you practically are already; you have this beautiful baby girl, living together in a huge house-big enough for a growing family, and he calls you his fiancée," she pointed out. The blonde found it hard to pick a side, regardless if Roman was her cousin or not. On one hand, she totally supported Rory's stake of independence, understanding why she didn't want to be married in her position, but on the other hand, Rory was already part of her family anyways, they may as well make it official, and get tax benefits. Plus the whole part where Letha could team up with Giselle and Dante again to throw the biggest wedding of all Hemlock Grove history.