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 planne
d 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?
Thirty-Five
“Dad, I’m going to eat my lunch now. I’ll be back this afternoon.”
“Okay. I’ll be here when you get back,” he replied cheekily.
I chuckled at his light joke and got up from my chair to give him a light kiss on his forehead. I didn’t prolong the moment and got out of the room, walking at a fast pace towards the elevator, but the nurse on my father’s floor stopped me.
“Ms. Peterson, can I talk to you for a minute?” she called.
“Sure. Is there something wrong?” I asked as I approached her, hoping that it wasn’t about his hospital bills or another medication that I had to pay.
“It’s nothing. You don’t have to worry Ms. Peterson. I’m here to talk about your father’s progress and possible release,” she replied with a light smile.
“Oh! He can go home? I thought that…” I trailed off, speechless about this sudden news.
“It’s not sure yet, but the doctor has been talking about it,” she whispered in excitement.
I watched her in awe as I continued to stand there for a few seconds. “When would he be out?”
“Next week at most, if he continues to get good results,” she confided with a beaming smile.
“That’s excellent!” I exclaimed in excitement. The thought of home suddenly crossed my mind. Can we go back there and start all over?
When the nurse excused herself, I gave her a short farewell before skipping towards the elevator. I tried to clear my mind as the lift descended. When the elevator dinged, signaling the arrival of the floor, I took a steady breath and walked out. It took me a while to look for Kevin. When I saw his face, I smiled as I remembered our last meeting.
“Good morning, Ms. Peterson. It’s nice to see you again. The car is this way,” he greeted and gestured towards the main exit.
“Hey,” I nodded in greeting and allowed him to escort me out.
He told me to wait for a while as he got the car. I insisted to go with him rather than to wait for him to pick me up in front of the hospital, but he was adamant on doing his job perfectly, which I didn’t notice from our last meeting.
The drive to the restaurant that Alexandra and I were meeting at was silent. It took thirty minutes to arrive at a stately looking street. The building around us was designed mostly in glass and fancy brick walls. Kevin made a turn as he drove away from those fancy buildings, making me question my decision to go with him. A few blocks from that street, miles of green grass greeted us. I eyed the scenery in confusion.
“Where are we going?” I asked out of curiosity.
“We are going to Kingston Country Club, Ms. Peterson,” Kevin replied directly.
“Oh.” I pretended to know where that was. Though, at the moment, I had no idea where we were. Why did rich people like going to closed-off secluded places?
After driving a very long driveway, we finally reached a huge mansion that was mostly made of stones and glass. It had a similar design to the Maxwell Mansion. If Kevin told me that the Maxwells owned this place, I wouldn’t be surprised. Yet, I knew they didn’t since the name itself wasn’t under them but you can’t be too sure. I might be right.
Kevin parked the car in front of the mansion, where a man in a pastel yellow polo stood by the podium. When he saw our car approaching, he quickly walked down a few steps of stairs. He opened the door for me as the car stopped.
“Good day, Ma’am. Do you have any reservations today?” he asked with a big smile.
“Yes. I’m here to meet Ms. Maxwell,” I replied, giving him a soft, friendly smile.
“Oh... Ms. Peterson. She is waiting for you. This way please,” he lightly gasped in surprise, but gathered himself as he turned his work smile back on. Then, he gestured me towards the entrance.
I allowed him to escort me inside. He led me to a small glass room that had few seats and coffee tables spread around the room neatly. I glanced around and saw that it was empty until he opened another glass sliding door, which led to an outdoor veranda, where you can see a vast open field of nothing but green grass.
I was too preoccupied to notice Alexandra sitting a few meters to my right. I snapped out of my trance when I heard a familiar voice yell from that direction.
“What are you doing here?” William shouted in surprise.
I turned towards the voice, a little shocked myself. “What...” I trailed off in silence when my eyes landed on the only occupied table.
Alexandra sat at the head of the table with her fiancé, Michael Hamilton, by her left side. On her right side sat William with Maggie beside him. I continued to assess the small group from where I stood until Alexandra greeted me.
“Andy. Please take a seat.” She gestured toward the empty seat beside her fiancé. “She is here to help me and Maggie plan for this Saturday’s event so you two should get back. The ladies and I have some event planning to do,” she added sternly, glancing between William and Michael.
“Right. Okay,” Michael stood up, and gestured for William to follow him. “Come on, Willy.”
William stayed immobile as he sat still while staring at me. I stood in the same position, feeling trapped under his gaze. Since William didn’t make any move to stand up, Michael walked around Alexandra towards his seat. He grabbed William by his arm, forcing him to stand. His eyes finally broke contact with mine, snapping me back to reality. I quickly got to my seat as Michael and William walked towards the door.
When they left the area, Alexandra let out a strained sigh before her demeanor changed into business mode. I was taken aback by the suddenness of the situation. I thought that we were going to be talking about what happened this morning instead of planning an event.
I followed Maggie’s actions and wrote down whatever Alexandra decided and told us to do. I didn’t understand the situation, but I remained quiet in my seat as I listened to all her instructions.
“I know this is sudden for you, Andy. I forgot to tell you about it. This is supposed to be Maggie’s responsibility but I want to lessen her burden. I hope you’ll understand,” Alexandra blurted after we finished discussing everything.
“It’s okay. I’m glad I could help Maggie out,” I replied. I turned to face Maggie and gave her a small smile.
Maggie mouthed a silent ‘thank you’ while Alexandra was preoccupied by an incoming call. I mouthed back a ‘you’re welcome’ to her.
“You can go now, Maggie. You can ask Kevin to take you back to work. I have to discuss something else with Andy,” she ordered after she finished typing a text. “And can you call the waiter so that Andy can order. Thank you.”
“Okay, Ms. Maxwell. I’ll leave now,” Maggie stood up and pushed the chair back. “I’ll see you later, Andy,” she added softly.
I nodded in reply and sat silently until she left. It took a whole minute before Alexandra told me to move seats and sit beside her. I was hesitant but I moved anyway.
“I know that this morning was a little uncomfortable…” she started softly, which made me raise my eyebrow. “Well, it was slightly amusing to watch my brother like that, but I know it was uncomfortable for you.”
I remained silent and allowed her to continue. “Did you fall in love with my brother?” she suddenly asked
, catching me off guard.
My eyes widened in surprise. “Ms. Maxwell…” I trailed off, unsure of how I was going to answer her.
“It’s not a hard question, Andy. Your feeling towards my brother is none of my business but let me remind you that my brother hasn’t been in a serious relationship for a very long time. Even though he seemed to have changed these past few weeks…” she insinuated seriously.
“I don’t care whether he was serious or not. Though, I know he isn’t now. The point here is, I don’t care about any of this, Ms. Maxwell. I do not have such feelings for your brother nor any other kind of feelings that might lead to a serious and intimate relationship,” I countered in the same tone. For some reason, I felt like she was challenging me into something.
“I see… Are you sure about all of this?”
“I’m sure,” I whispered in reply. I felt my heart race from my answer.
“Why do you feel the need to deny, Andy? I’m not going to eat you if you did tell me you had fallen for my brother. I would feel a little angry since I’ve lost the bet. And I’m sorry you had to find out about it that way. I didn’t mean to put you in this situation. My curiosity just got the better of me,” she admitted, abashed.
“So, the reason why you hired me was because of the bet?” I softly asked as I tried to get the facts straight.
“Part of it is the reason why I hired you, but the other part is because I see that I can trust you to get the job done, which you had. And thank you for that,” she replied shamelessly with confidence.
“No problem,” I whispered, feeling unsure how to respond to her confession.
“I know you felt that we just used you for some game that William and I invented, but you see, I wouldn’t be suggesting such a thing if my brother hadn’t reacted so much from your first meeting. I’ve got to say, you gave him a very lasting first impression,” she chuckled at a memory.
My eyes grew wide in surprise at that newly acquired information. I didn’t know I had such an effect with my first meeting with Mr. Mogul. And from the way I remembered, it was very eventful for me, too. It wasn’t something you could easily forget.