Unbreak Me (rewritten)

Chapter Two

A disgruntled Vivienne stepped out of the vehicle. Maxwell was by her side looking like a kicked puppy. She spared him an irritated glance before walking to the door of the restaurant. A small, thankful smile was sent to the valet who held the doors open for the two.

"It'll be over before you know it," Maxwell murmured against her temple as he placed a small kiss.

His wife pasted on a pleasant smile, if one didn't know any better, they wouldn't guess she was discontented with the situation.

"Marie, Jeremiah, it is so good to see you!" she exclaimed warmly. Marie and Vivienne exchanged kisses on the cheeks before they moved to greeting the men. There was always something about Jeremiah Vivienne didn't like. He made her feel uncomfortable and uneasy. He never did anything untoward, she just didn't like him.

Maxwell assisted Vivienne to sit and sat on his own seat. They ordered drinks and engaged in general chit chat. Marie gushed about her children, specifically Leah, her daughter. It was clear she was proud of her child and wanted to give her the world, something Vivienne could respect. But Maxwell and Vivienne quickly picked up that they didn't mention Avery once.

Vivienne blew out a breath as their dinner arrived, it signified they were one step closer to concluding the little catch up and going home. She had about enough of Marie going on about décor, fashion and gossip. Not to mention the fact that she kept glancing at Maxwell coquettishly.

Vivienne had confidence in her relationship with her husband. Maxwell had always been an attractive man, even as he became older and more mature and distinguished. Women of all ages would fawn over him, but he never strayed. Not even once.

Marie was a gorgeous woman, she still held herself the same way she did years ago when she modelled on the runway and in magazines, but he was madly in love with his wife, even after all these years. No amount of cleavage, coy smiles and eyelash batting could interest him.

"I actually have a proposal to make," Jeremiah wiped his mouth with a napkin. Marie sat straighter with an eager smile, eyes subtly glimmering with greed.

"Oh?" Maxwell raised a brow. "What would you like to discuss, Jeremiah?"

"Well, I was thinking about a marriage between our families. We've been acquainted for a long time and now that we've started to work together it would make for good opportunities, not to mention publicity."

"A political marriage?" Vivienne blinked. It wasn't that unusual, although it wasn't practiced so much anymore. She wasn't sure how she felt about the idea. Of course, it was time for Oliver to settle down, but she didn't want to force him into anything.

Maxwell was supposed to marry a girl from a different family, but he chose Vivienne instead. It caused a rift between Maxwell and his family for a long time. Having said that, she had friends who were very happy after an arranged marriage, but there were still negatives and uncertainties.

Maxwell clasped his hands together after placing his glass down on the table. It would obviously create more security between the companies and their deals and instead of having competition they would be somewhat equal and could rally and become the best in the industry. He knew of Jeremiah's constant troubles and issues he had in the past. If he were to go to them for help, they may be able to acquire shares and even possibly absorb some of Adley Corporations. It would be an advantage to both sides but also a little risky if things were to go awry. He took a sip of his red wine and his calculating eyes assessed Jeremiah; the coldness was almost identical to that of Oliver.

"Alright," Maxwell nodded his head and received a glance from Vivienne and wide smiles from the Adleys, "but, I won't decide for Oliver. It is up to the kids if they want to follow through with it."

"That is fair," Jeremiah spoke confidently. They would be fools to turn down such a profitable idea.

Marie could barely contain her excitement while Jeremiah smiled at her happiness and was pleased with the idea.

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"I don't like them."

"I know, but you have to admit it opens a lot of doors for us as well as giving us security." Maxwell sighed and placed a kiss on her cheek. "It will be Oliver's decision anyway. Besides," he shrugged, "there's always divorce."

"Maxwell!" Vivienne scolded and smacked his arm.

With a chuckle he left her to change and rang his son.

"Dad?"

"Oliver," Maxwell smiled, "I just had dinner with the Adleys."

"I see you're still alive."

He chuckled. "We received an interesting proposal; I didn't give an answer other than saying I would put it to you."

"Okay, what is this proposal?"

"Marriage."

There was a lengthy pause over the line, Maxwell had to check to make sure the call didn't drop out.

"Marriage? With an Adley?"

"Yes."

Oliver heaved out a breath. Like his father, he was very business savvy, so he understood all the benefits it would give them as well as the disadvantages. He was never one to think about marriage, he had very few relationships in his life and mainly focused on the business. One could say he was already married to his job.

"I'll think about it."