Business Always
CHAPTER 14—XAVIER POV

"Bro I'm stressed," Leroy says, pacing up and down my room.

"Why are you so scared?" I ask him, this is the third meltdown he's had today.

"What if she says no? Or what if she doesn't show up? Or what if she doesn't love me anymore?" He sighs.

"You love her, and she loves you," I say. "You guys are made for each other, right?" He nods. "Then everything will be fine."

"OK. OK!" He calms himself down. I hand him his tie, the final piece of his look, and give him a supportive pat on the back.

"Leroy, it's your wedding day. Please just enjoy it," I remind him.

As he calms himself down my mind can't help but wonder back to my own 'wedding.'

I never got to experience those ore-wedding jitters, the stress of whether she would turn up and the relief when I saw her coming down the aisle.

My wedding wasn't real.

It was a contract that made both of us a lot of money.

I had pretty much come to terms with the fact that getting married wasn't going to happen for me anytime soon.

The only person I could see myself getting married to was already planning to marry someone else and no one could ever take that place.

It wasn't hard to realize that I'm still in love with her, but I know I shouldn't be. She's bad for me, and I hated the fact that I don't care.

She was fire but I just wanted to get burned.

It didn't matter that she would ruin me time and time again because it was worth it.

I wish I didn't love her. I wish I could move on as quickly and as easily as she did. But I always loved her more than she did.

"OK. I'm ready." Leroy fixes his suit one last time. "I'm ready to get married."

We both get into the car, and a driver drives us to the beach. I don't know why they decided to get married on a sandy beach that smells like fish and shit, but they both seem pretty happy about it, so I didn't say anything.

I did do a few arrangements however, I made sure that the beach would be empty so that no one could interrupt or disturb their ceremony.

"I can't believe you guys are getting married on the beach in November," I mutter as the car halts outside the pier.

"She's a crazy girl and I'm crazy for her boss." Leroy smiles to himself. "Do you think I care where we get married?" he asks me.

My eyebrows furrow so he carries on speaking. "I don't care whether we get married on the beach, or in a castle or just at the register office all I care about is that she's going to be my wife."

"If you don't care then why pick the worst place out of all those options?" I question. If he really didn't care, wouldn't he rather get married indoors?

"Boss..." He throws his head back and smiles. "You should have seen the smile on her face when she mentioned the beach. She made the beach sound like heaven."

I smile at him. It's nice seeing him so happy. He's the most positive and cheery person I've ever met, and he really deserves everything.

"OK, lover boy." I open the car door. "It's time for you to get married."

A giant grin emerges on his face as he gets out the car and rushes down the steps.

It was relatively sunny for a November day, and the sand was mostly dry. I look over to see a little ceremonial area set up for everyone.

The entire area used for the wedding had some sort of fake wooden flooring, which was essentially a set of floorboards, down so no one was actually stepping on any sand.

The 'altar' had a red rug down for them to stand on and an officiator was standing there. There were a few rows of white chairs, mostly preoccupied by Leroy's family and one of Jodie's friends, Jasmine.

Leroy takes his position at the front, and I stand a few feet away from him at his side. I quickly double check that I have the ring in my pocket.

After a couple of minutes, I see a white Rolls Royce stop at the entrance of the beach. From afar I could only see 2 figures, one in a white dress and one in a brown dress.

As soon as they're both near the aisle someone from the seats plays a slow song on their speaker for Jodie to walk down the aisle.

She looks at Amelia, a smile on her face, and her eyes brim with happy tears before they link arms and walk down the aisle.

Her pure white dress looked even whiter against the dull brown sand in the background. The sound of her heels clicking was faint against the crashing waves of the ocean behind us.

Beside her was Amelia. A deep chocolate brown dress hugged her figure and stopped in the middle of her calves. She paired it well with matching gold jewellery and brown heels in the same shade.

Her usually curly hair was pin straight and flowing past her waist.

She's not the bride, but she's the most beautiful woman there.

I wasn't surprised that Amelia was the one walking down the aisle, Leroy never spoke about Jodie's family and from what I knew she wasn't very fond of them.

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When they make it to the front Amelia legs go of Jodie, giving her a big hug. "I hope you guys have the best life," she says to her and Leroy before taking her position to the side as her bridesmaid.

I can see her eyes watering, but she looks up to the sky, pushing the tears back.

"I believe you two have prepared your own vows?" the officiant says, and they both nod. "Let's start with the gentleman." He gestures to Leroy.

Leroy clears his throat. "I vow to hold your hand in my hand, to hold your head in my hands, and to hold your heart in mine. I love you and you are my wife for all time. I pledge to be your ever faithful, honest, and loving husband. Jodie, you are made for me, and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you," he says, whispering the last part.

Her smile gets even bigger hearing his words. "Leroy, I will take your love to give me hope, give me joy, and make me a better woman. I promise to listen, to hear, and to always consider your feelings and thoughts as we travel together on this journey. I vow to love, honour, and cherish you, forsaking all others, as a faithful wife as long as we both shall live," she says, her voice wobbling at the end.

"Can we have the rings?" the officiant asks, and I give my ring to Leroy as Amelia does the same.

They slip the rings into each bother's fingers, holding onto each bother's hands for a silt second.

"With the power vested in me, by the state of New York, I pronounce you husband and wife-you may kiss your bride."

Without hesitation Leroy cupped her face and pulled her towards him. I looked away not wanting to peek at their intimate moment.

My eyes move to Amelia instead, who's looking at them lovingly, using her index finger

to brush away the tears from her eyes.

She looks back at me for a second, giving me a small smile. Everyone clapped and cheered as they were finally husband and wife.