Meeting Mr. Mogul: A Billionaire Contemporary Romance (34 page)

“Thank you for reminding me. Now, can you please let me go?” I said in clinched teeth.

On cue, the front passenger door opened as a man in black suit, who I didn’t recognize, came out holding my purse and my jacket. William finally let my wrist go and allowed me to get my belongings. I looked at William in annoyance before grabbing my things.

“Now, can you give me a few minutes to explain things?” he asked softly as I hugged my bag closely to my chest.

I looked at him and studied his expression. He seemed sincere with his words. Since I didn’t have the voice to say anything to him, I nodded my head in agreement. I hope I’m making the right decision because from the day I met him, all the decisions I’ve been making were wrong. But I won’t let that happen again.

“Thank you,” he whispered softly in relief. He gestured for me toward the already opened door.

I was hesitant as I eyed the dark leather seats, but I’ve gathered my wits and got in the car. I moved over to the far left side, fixing myself again to the opposite door and as far away from William—as far as what the small confined space could give me.

“So, where do I have to start?” he quietly asked as the car drove into the busy morning street.

“How about from the top?” I offered in the same tone.

“Can you be a little more specific?” William asked shyly, like he was confused by what I said.

“Do I have to spell it out for you? I don’t have the patience to play your game anymore. Spill it out already, William,” I groaned in anger.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry,” he mumbled and let out a strained sigh. “After you and I met, it was a given what I thought about you then. I didn’t know who you were so I asked my sister… She handles the restaurant branches in the company…” he started silently, his voice strained and weary, and then paused.

“Go on. I’m not going anywhere since this car is running…” I urged when he didn’t continue.

“Right,” he whispered. “So, uhm… She looked you up for me. I wanted to know who you were. And then, she grew interested with you. I don’t know her reasons, but for me, it was all about the company.” He sighed heavily in guilt. “You don’t know how sorry I am right now for having you caught up in all of this… But I assure you, what I felt when I asked for another chance was real. I may have thought about you differently at first, but it is the opposite of what I feel about you now.”

“And you expect me to believe you because…”

“I wouldn’t be here right now if what I’m saying isn’t true. You already know about our agreement, what is there for me to want from you?” he asked pointedly.

“How should I know? You’re the one who used me as a toy, who played me, and who lied to me. You’re the one who wreaked havoc in my life. So, is there anything else you want from me?” my voice raised an octave higher at every question I asked from him.

“I’m so sorry, Andy. I truly am…” he whispered in desperation.

For a moment, all I could hear was the soft hum from the car’s engine, as we grew silent. The tension grew thicker and thicker by the second. I didn’t know what to say to him anymore. I was at loss for words and I felt numb.

When the car stopped at a red light, I glanced outside and looked for something I was familiar with. I didn’t feel like talking anymore and neither of us was going to initiate another conversation. Thus, it would be irrelevant to stay inside this suffocating car.

So, I quickly unlocked the door and opened it wide enough for me to jump out. Behind me, I heard a loud gasp from William. In the front seat, Mark had turned his head around just in time to see me get out.

“Where are you going?” William called aloud as I quickly straightened myself in the middle of the road.

“I’m going,” I replied intently and turned towards the driver’s seat. “Don’t you dare get out of the car, Mark,” I warned him, eyeing the already half opened door.

“Aren’t you going to work?” William asked, getting back my attention. His body was leaning towards me, his face full of concern and irritation.

“Yes. Later. I’ll call Ms. Maxwell that I’ll be late for work,” I intoned without interest and trailed off as I mumbled that last part to myself. “I’ll see you when I see you,” I said with more volume before slamming the door in his face.

From the way his mouth was wide open before I closed the door, I knew he wanted to say something more but I beat him to it. I turned around and half ran towards the opposite side of the street without turning back. When I heard a sudden loud honking of a car, I knew William’s car was still there. It took all of my will to keep myself from looking back and continued to walk towards an unknown direction.

The street was lined with building after building of boutiques. I turned at the end of the streets, took a deep breath, and closed my eyes as I stopped walking. After a few seconds, when I was sure that he wasn’t following me, I turned back from where I came from.

After walking aimlessly for a few minutes, I saw a bus stop and jogged there. I checked to see if the bus route would pass by two of the places I wanted to go. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw that one route passes through my father’s hospital.

On the ride to the hospital, I got my phone out from my purse and sent a message to Ms. Maxwell about my whereabouts. I didn’t have the guts to talk to my boss either. I had mixed feelings towards the woman. She was very sweet when she gave me the job and the apartment. Who would have guessed that it was all just a ploy for a bet between William and her?

When I reached the hospital, my phone buzzed. I dug out my phone from my purse and glanced down at the name flashing on the screen. I let out a strained breath when I saw the name.

I slowly clicked the answer button and placed the phone to my ear. “Andy, I’m glad you picked up,” Alexandra stated in relief.

“Ah, yes. I’ve sent you a message a few minutes ago. Can I get to work a little late today? I’m visiting my dad for a while,” I whispered shyly, repeating what I had texted her.

“Sure. Take the whole day off. You can come to work tomorrow. I’ll be doing some personal filing at work today,” she replied and paused for a second. “But can I take a small amount of your personal time today? I’ll treat you for lunch,” she continued softly.

“Oh… sure, Ms. Maxwell. Where are we meeting?” I asked timidly, unsure whether to truly accept the offer. I can’t see two Maxwells twice in the same day after what happened this morning but I didn’t want to be that rude to my boss either.

“Do you still remember Kevin? He’ll pick you up at your father’s hospital around noon, if it’s alright with you,” she said with more confidence, like the hard part had gone.

“Yes. Okay. Thank you,” I whispered with uncertainty as I tried to remember who Kevin was.

“Good. I’ll see you at lunch.”

Before I could properly say a word of farewell, the line went dead. I slowly took the phone away from my ears and glanced at the empty screen. I don’t know what to make of what just happened. So, I’ll be having another Maxwell today. But I knew she wouldn’t be saying sorry to me. One thing I understood and observed about Alexandra Maxwell is that she was not the kind of woman who easily lowered herself when she sees that she wasn’t at fault in a certain situation, even if she was involved in it.

I made sure to take my time going up to my father’s room. I didn’t want to look transparent like any other days. But I’m talking about my father here. Even if I had a poker face, he would notice something was wrong with me.

As I entered his room, he quickly noticed my sour mood. “Having a rough day? Why aren’t you at work?” he asked as I walked towards him to give him a kiss.

“Good morning, too, dad,” I greeted teasingly as I kissed him on the forehead and walked towards my spot.

“So, are you going to tell me or do I have to guess?” he asked after I sat down.

“Oh. Come on. It’s not that obvious that I look gloomy or sad. I have this no-nonsense expression right now,” I stated in disbelief as I pointed at my face.

“Peanut, have you looked at yourself in a mirror recently? Your eyes are red and puffy, like you’ve been crying recently. Plus, your face is slightly flushed,” he objected and gestured at my face.

“I didn’t… it’s not… really?” I stuttered in defense but gave in at the end.

“Oh, peanut. What happened? I thought you’re happy. Is this about William?” he asked in realization.

“No. Why would I let that guy affect me like this? I’m tough about stuff like that dad.”

“You saying all of this is proof enough that it is about William.”

I pursed my lips and kept my mouth shut for moment. He can see through my lie no matter what, and there is no use on lying to my own father I didn’t want to admit out loud that this man I used to hate, and knowing about his true feelings for me, affected me this much. So what if he doesn’t like me?

With a deep intake of breath, and letting it out roughly, I told him vaguely about what happened last night and a few things this morning. I didn’t put into detail about what happened after, or why I stayed over at his place. I went straight to what had happened this morning, and what I overheard William say about his feelings for me.

“So, you are hurt that he doesn’t have feelings for you? And you believe that lie?” he interrogated.

“I’m not affected whatsoever about…” I trailed off when my father stared at me with the look that he makes when he knows I’m lying. “Okay, I’m a little hurt by it,” I admitted softly.

“Do you believe him?”

“How can I not? He screamed it loud and clear for the world to hear.”

“Oh, peanut… Men are sometimes like women, too, you know. William doesn’t dislike you. If he disliked you, he wouldn’t have gone through all of that trouble for you. It would be a waste of time, and no matter what the bet was about, a man can’t be that dedicated to something when he doesn’t want it in some way. William has feelings for you but he himself doesn’t know it yet,” he explained smoothly.

I never heard my father give me love or relationship advice. When I had my boyfriends before, he was adamant about kicking them out of the house or out of my life. Well in those cases, I was still in school. I was speechless at his advice.

“Did William come to talk to you after what you heard this morning?” he asked after a short silence when I stayed quiet.

“Ah, yes. We talked for a while,” I stuttered in reply.

“And?” he probed when I didn’t continue.

“Oh… he told me he was sorry for what he did and told me his reasons for doing so… but, I can’t really wrap my head around it just yet,” I replied while I was in deep thought.

“I understand your reaction to the situation, peanut. Just take your time and think. I think William will understand.”

I raised my eyebrow at him and grimaced. “I can’t believe I never talked to you about things like this before.”

“Well, I wouldn’t be saying the same thing to you then, since you were still in school and the guys you dated didn’t pass my standards,” he reminded with a toothy grin, which made his sickly face brighten a little.

I grinned. “You have a standard for men I date?”

“Yes. You are my only child. You should have the best and the most respected man to look after you. No more, no less,” he replied proudly.

I chuckled at his admission and steered the conversation into a lighter topic. I stayed with him most of the morning until Terry made a surprise visit. I couldn’t help but give him a bear hug as he entered the room. After greeting my father, I asked him to come with me to get some coffee and chat.

“So, how was your date with Mr. Mogul?” he asked cheekily, his smile was from ear to ear.

“Don’t make me start. I have something to tell you, and you might not like it,” I whispered, my heart racing again as I started to tell him the story of what I just told my dad.

Half an hour later, we were sitting at a nearby coffee shop and taking small sips of our hot espresso. Terry’s eyebrows were crunched together after I finished telling him what had happened this morning until the part where Alexandra called me for lunch later.

“You’re going, for real? If I were you, I would have punched those Maxwells for toying with you. I don’t care if they owned half the damn city or the world,” he hissed in anger.

“I knew you’d say that about Alexandra but I haven’t really heard her side yet, and William…” I trailed off with a sigh.

“I didn’t know you were gracious, Andy. I’m glad you aren’t completely taken over by the dark side yet,” Terry chided with a sigh.

I chuckled and shook my head. “I’m not that angelic. I’m still angry and hell knows how deep my hatred is.” I admitted.

“Good. Use some hatred when you face those Maxwells again and if you need some help, you can always call Andrew and me for backup. But I doubt that Andrew would comply. He’ll just stare at Alexandra and gawk at William the whole time,” he inferred in jest

“Probably…” I laughed at the idea. I could almost imagine what the scene would be like if that were to happen.

After telling the people whose opinion matter to me, I felt slightly relieved. At least I knew that they’d always support me on the decision I’ll make. It also gave me other perspectives on the situation, but I was not ready to forgive anyone right now. Though, I’ll still listen to them and give them a chance to reason out. Terry was right. I do have some good in me.

When we finished our chat and coffee, we went back to the hospital. Terry stayed with my father and me for a while before he left since he had something planned for lunch with Andrew. After he had left the room, I felt nervous as I thought of the upcoming lunch I’ll have with Alexandra in a few short minutes.

I started to feel like backing out when my phone buzzed. I looked for it in my purse. It was a message from an unknown number and I opened it out of curiosity.

‘
Ms. Peterson. This is Kevin. Ms. Maxwell gave me your number to contact you. I’m already downstairs in the lobby. I shall wait here until you finish with your visit. Please, there is no need to rush. Take your time. Have a nice day.’

My eyes widened after I read it. I glared at my father who was preoccupied by the show on the overhead television. I gulped down the saliva that was stuck on my throat as my heart started to beat. Am I going to go along with this or not?