Dinner Time

As Stella and Mallory arrived at their destination just on time. As the jingle of the bell at the door broke the silence of the room the pair's eyes fell upon an almost empty location. Tables were moved away allowing for a singular prepared table to sit in the middle of the restaurant serving floor.

Until their arrival the restaurant that could easily hold hundred patrons now had one, Stella's mother. The woman even after hearing the bell didn't look up as she continued furiously tapping away at her phone.

The gentle background noise felt out of place and almost eerie in nature as they approached the velvet haired vixen. The only calming thing about the situation was the warm wafting smells that emanated from the kitchen.

"Mother~"

"Daughter."

Mallory just stood still and quite unsure how to navigate this minefield of social drama. The sapphires look over to Stella in hopes of getting some sort of cue as to her actions. Without a shift in her stance Stella gently nudged the chair in front of her.

Without a second thought Mallory pulled the chair out from under the table to allow Stella to sit properly before gently pushing it forward so as not to rub the wooden legs against the dark wooden floors.

Following Stella's example she was about to take her seat before she noticed Stella glaring daggers at her before motioning to her mother. With a deep breath Mallory turned to face Amelia with a quivering smile as her slightly sweaty palms held onto the chair in front of her.

"Mrs Amastacia I must thank you for your generous offer. It is my absolute pleasure to get a chance to dine with you."

Mallory looked over to Stella for any indication if she was in the clear as the stony visage of Amelia never changed. However hearing Mallory's words she finally put down her cellphone before looking at her daughter and then at their other guest.

"Sit Mallory sit. It is my pleasure to meet the lovely lady who seems to be occupying all of my daughter's time recently."

Quickly Mallory took her seat at the table for her wobbly legs would not hold out for much longer. Rubbing her palms on her pants Mallory tried to focus elsewhere in hopes of subduing the pounding heartbeat that was filling her mind.

"Yes, Mother Mallory has been my lovely accompaniment recently and has served as a source of warmth on these cold winter days."

Mallory couldn't help her cherry cheeks as Stella words took hold of her but her mind turned to mush as Stella shifted her chair over so she pulled Mallory arm towards her chest.

'This girl is gonna get her mother to strangle me!' thought Mallory.

The daggers clearly coming Mallory away from Amelia wasn't making the already tense situation even worse. The power that Amelia had wasn't lost on Mallory even if she wanted to think otherwise.

Amelia was known in the business world for her ruthlessness and the media had continued to portray her as such. She quickly became at least in recent years one of the most influential women in America.

Deep down Mallory had a lot of respect for Amelia for she was very much a self made woman. Not to mention when Mallory was little she had very much looked up to Amelia. However now sitting on the opposite side of table from Amelia, Mallory couldn't help but feel the terror like aura of Amelia.

"So Mallory, do you share this sentiment with my daughter?"

"Mrs Amastacia, I do truly care for Stella with all my heart."

"That seems practiced, Mallory."

"Mrs Amastacia I promise the feelings for Stella are true." whelped Stella.

Stella pressed a bit harder against Mallory as her Ruby eyes focused on the conviction scrawled all over her face.

"Well then Mallory would you answer me a question?"

"Yes, Mrs Amastacia!"

"Please explain this."

Amelia slid a tablet over the tablet towards the pair. Stella immediately interested grabbed up the tablet as her fingers nimbly scrolled along the screen as beads of sweat began to form on her face. As Mallory took a peek at the screen her brow furled in confusion.

On the screen were various bank transactions. Money shouldn't be a problem for the Amastacia party so she was unsure why Amelia would be upset about this however Stella's reaction clearly showed there was more to the situation.

"Mother, I will explain this." mumbled out Stella.

"No, I want to hear it from Mallory."

"Mrs Amastacia I apologize but I am unsure what this is referring to. If it is because your daughter has been paying for my suit or for some of my dinners I will make sure she doesn't do such things in the future."

"Mallory unfortunately you are under a misunderstanding. You see if she pays for dinner with her friends or something is fine. Her clothing budget is her to spend and if she truly wants to waste it on you I don't care. However where I draw the line is these payments that have been registered as business expenses going directly to your account."

The pair looked like deer in front of headlines as the realization dawned on both of them.

"So it seems that my daughter here has been paying you since my charity event sums of money as a business expense. Now apparently having a hired girlfriend is a business expense and I deem this to be an unnecessary arrangement"

The words from Amelia caused Stella to unintentionally dig her nails deep into Mallory's arm to the point crimson began to gently flow. Mallory's brain however was spinning to muster up a solution for she was resolute in being with Stella at this point.

"This is my solution, this little charade is finished. Mallory however I respect the struggle so as per this NDA you will receive a payment every month but you aren't allowed to inform anyone about your little relationship or otherwise I will own everything you have and ever will have. You should think very carefully as to what you do next."