Not edited*

Ivan's pov.

I slammed my fist against my desk as I read yet another letter from this mystery person who no doubt had to be connected to Amelia's father. I've received a letter similar to this one everyday since Amelia and I confronted her parents. The letters always contained the same information about how I needed to stay away from Amelia or the consequences would be catastrophic.

Personally, I thought these letters were a bit irritating considering I knew what to expect after the second one was laying on my desk. Having enough of this nonsense, I got up and charged straight for the door ready to put an end to this.

Getting into my limo, I directed my driver to my desired location, ready to face this bull head on. It took all but about 15 minutes to reach Alejandro's establishment as I quickly thanked my driver and stepped out of the vehicle. Walking into the building, I didn't bother to acknowledge the receptionist who clearly was surprised by my sudden appearance which caused the security guard to step forward.

"Mr. Stone, you-you can't go up there without an appointment" she shouted after me in attempt to stop me from going any further. I whipped my head around and charged straight for her desk, slamming my hands against the marbled counter angrily.

"I don't need an appointment to see your pathetic excuse for a boss so you can either let me be or have your petty little security guard try to escort me out" I thundered, not giving her a chance to respond before continuing towards the elevators.

Getting into the elevator, I didn't acknowledge the fellow also in the elevator whose smile was more than eager for someone who worked in this building.

"You're Ivan Stone" the man blurted in an English accent.

"Yes" I answered confused as to why that mattered to him. I watched as his smile widened even further which I must admit, scared me a tad bit.

"Successful businessman and owner of Amelia Winters heart, correct?" he continued, his cheeky grin not wavering an inch.

"Is there a point to all of this or do you just enjoy telling people what they already know?" I asked slightly annoyed at why I was receiving this speech about myself. His smile only got bigger which I didn't think possible as he took a few steps towards me.

"Well fine gentleman, I met your better half in this very elevator and I must say, she was far more appreciative of my presence." he joked causing me to furrow my eyebrows in moderate frustration.

"If there's a point to all of this, I suggest you get to it before the elevator reaches my destination." I urged as the elevator got closer to my desired floor number.

"Well come to think of it, I really have no idea why I'm speaking to you." He muttered to himself before directing his attention back to me "Nevermind that, Philip Wagner, nice to make your acquaintance" he introduced himself slightly bowing in my direction.

"You are a strange man Mr. Wagner" I replied

"I get that a lot but at least my personality is more memorable than most and that's all that matters right?"

"You are absolutely correct but I must be going, I have an important appointment to get to" I said while stepping out of the elevator and beginning my walk down to Alejandro's office.

"Have fun Mr. Stone!" Philip shouted from down the hall, gaining the attention of several employees. I waved my hand in his direction while continuing to the end of the hall not wasting any time as I pushed the door open.

The sight that came before me already engraved itself deep inside my brain as I turned away in disgust. I waited patiently as the shuffling of feet and the sound of a belt being buckled seized before turning myself towards Alejandro.

"You know, I honestly am not surprised that you're here with him" I said addressing the fact that Simone was attempting to straighten out her appearance, slightly embarrassed.

"You two know each other" Alejandro uttered in confusion as he fixed his posture to appear more authoritative.

"I was always a firm believer on giving your toys to the less fortunate when they've outlived their purpose, you're welcome by the way" I answered giving a slight hint on Simone and I's relationship.

"To be honest with you Ivan, your new play thing is a complete downgrade on what you had in the past. What was the unfortunate soul's name again? Annabelle? Annalise?" she bit back her eyes firey with jealous.

"Her name is Amelia and she is a better person than all three of us combined" I snarled taking steps forward utterly offended at her rude outburst.

"That may be the only thing you and I will ever agree on, now why exactly did you barge into my office unannounced?" Alejandro asked, the curiosity and slight annoyance visible on his face. Before giving him an answer, I shifted my gaze to Simone and signalled for her to take her exit which she obeyed.

"Whenever you get bored of that child, I'm only a phone call away baby" Simone purred as she strutted out of the office, her heels clicking down the hall until it was nothing more than a faint whisper. Shaking my head, I brought my attention back to Amelia's father and took a seat before shedding light on my true intentions for being here.

"Your childish game of attempting to intimidate me with empty threats is getting a bit old. If you're going for the whole big bad father figure thing, the least you could do is show your face instead of leaving meaningless sheets of paper with my receptionist" I explained, surprised at how collected I sounded despite my every intention being to rip him a new one.

"Oh please, do you really think I have the time or the energy to be wasting writing you notes much less paying you a visit" he questioned clearly amused at my accusations.

"I mean what else could you possibly be doing in your free time other than screwing around with a woman young enough to be your daughter"

"Let me make this clear to you boy, I hate you. The only thing keeping me from destroying your life is my little girl being hopelessly in love with you but let's face it, it's only a matter of time before she realizes how much better she could do"

"Don't flatter yourself Alejandro. You don't have the means nor the money to even scrape away an ounce of my success and as far as your daughter's concerned, she doesn't even see you as a father so I suggest you stop attempting to pick up the pieces of your failed relationship with her and move on with your life and leave us alone." I snarled, throwing my chair back in anger. Not wanting to waste anymore of my day, I stormed out of the office the same way I came in.

Pushing the door to the stairwell, I opted to walk down the stairs instead of getting stuck in the elevator with the strange fellow from earlier plus it helped cool my anger a bit. Making it back to the lobby, I smugly nodded at the guard from earlier before continuing towards the door but sadly, I was stopped in my tracks by a voice shouting my name.

"Ivan Stone, Ivan Stone" the voice yelled as I turned to confront the owner who was none other than Mr. Philip Wagner.

"I'm beginning to think you're following me around" I muttered only slightly joking.

"Though I'm sure that would be a wonderful experience, I came to ask you a question" he answered, the joyful smile still plastered on his face. A few moments passed without him saying anything resulting in me raising an eyebrow, silently telling him to get on with it.

"I'm hosting this karaoke night at the Karaoke Crave and was hoping you and Amelia could make an appearance." he asked, the excitement noticeable on his face.

"Karaoke isn't really my scene but I do appreciate-" i began to dismiss his offer before getting cut off.

"Come on lad, when's the last time you took Amelia out for date night?" he continued, hellbent on getting a yes from me.

"If I say ok will you leave me alone" I asked defeatedly not wanting to hear the word karaoke again.

"Awesome! It's tomorrow night at 8pm and don't forget to bring Amelia" he exclaimed handing me a flyer before rushing off to god knows where. Finally making it to my driver, I hopped in and closed my eyes thankful for the peace which was a complete contrast from today's series of events.

Amelia's pov.

After a few hours of going back and forth on decoration ideas, we finally reached a consensus on what theme to base the dinner around. We decided on a greek inspired event, the main colors being white and gold with olive green accents to give a pop of color and display the captivating plants blooming in Spain this time of year.

"Thank the heavens we finally finished, if i had to stare at one more decor layment I think I might've combusted" Katie remarked throwing her hands in the air for emphasis. Giggling at her over dramatic gestures, I nodded in agreement as I gathered all of my things into my folders. Almost on cue, Ivan popped his head in sending me a cheeky grin.

"I heard giggling and assumed it was safe to come in, Lord knows I've learned my lesson on not interrupting Katherine while she's in her zone" he said causing Katie to laugh in response.

"There was a easter event Ivan wanted me to plan which he sprung on me three days before might I add and had the audacity to disrupt my creative juices. So I took it upon myself to chew his head off for fifteen minutes straight until I finally was able to calm down" she explained making me erupt in fits of laughter as I imagined the scene in my head.

"You laugh now but you do not want to be on the receiving end of her wrath" Ivan defended himself before ushering me towards him.

"You're attending this charity event with me right" I asked Katie once i reached the door.

"Of course, it's my time to see my creation come to life. I wouldn't miss it for the world" Katie answered before continuing "I assume you will be attending as Ivan's date correct"she asked wiggling her eyebrows with a smirk.

"I'm not even going to bother with an answer to that, have a good rest of your day Katherine" Ivan spoke, not giving me time to wave goodbye before I was pulled out the door and towards his office. Once in his office, he pulled me into his embrace and nuzzled his head in my neck as we stood together in silence.

"Not that I don't enjoy being in your arms or anything but is there something wrong" I asked.

"I met with your father today or more like barged into his office and told him to stop forcing his way into your life. You have no idea how hard it was to keep from beating him to a pulp for all that he's put you through" he explained his head remaining in my hair.

"You didn't need to do that Ivan-"

"I know but I felt pathetic sitting around watching how his reappearance in your life has affected you so I figured I'd step in." My heart fluttered at his confession as a stupid smile grazed my face as I stayed in his arms content.

"Do you happen to know a Philip Wagner by any chance" Ivan asked

"I met a guy by that name yesterday in the elevator at my father's building, why"

"I had the pleasure of getting stuck with him in the elevator as he pestered me about nonsense, then proceeded to ask me if I'd bring you to a karaoke night he was hosting tomorrow night"

"I love karaoke" I exclaimed in excitement, bouncing in my heels before adding "we should definitely go, I could invite Sierra and Connor also"

"The only reason why I shall go is so that I can see you shake that sexy little bottom of yours and belt cheesy songs like a goof" he admitted, giving my bottom a light slap.

"We're so singing a duet together"

"Over my dead body" he whispered, bringing himself closer to me.

"That can be arranged, my love" I teased, grabbing his face and kissing him.