Meeting Mr. Mogul(33)

When we reached the busy counter of the fast food restaurant, I glanced  beside me to sneak a peek at William's expression. From the way he was  looking around the place while flinching when someone walked past him, I  knew he wasn't comfortable with the situation. I mentally laughed at  his awkwardness.

"How did you find me anyway?" I asked him, trying to make small talk to ease his pain.

He looked towards me with a small shy smile, like he was guilty about something. "Mark told me."

"Mark?" I asked, confused at his reply.

He gestured at a man in a familiar black suit by the door. It was the  same man I see tailing William whenever he gets out of the company  building. I assessed him for a second. The man looked like a statue as  he stood there while scanning the place as if everyone were trying to  blow up the building.

"I thought he was your driver slash valet guy. Why is he standing there  looking like a damn secret service agent?" I asked William in confusion  as I continued to study Mark.

He chuckled for a second before giving me a reply. "His job doesn't just  involve driving me to and from work. He is my head of security and  sometimes my wingman."

I looked up and eyed him in confusion. "And how does that answer the  question about you finding me?" I asked, not letting him change the  topic. It was working. I glanced at Mark who looked intimidating as he  stood outside in a black suit.

"I asked him to look for you," he admitted sheepishly as he turned and  looked at the menu above the counter. "Hey, do they have anything  non-greasy here?" he asked after a short pause.   





 

"Don't change the subject," I stated as I sized him up accusingly.

"Okay. I'll answer that question if you tell me why you reacted that way this morning," he looked at me in challenge.

"You're not playing fair."

"You're making this complicated for me."

I gazed at him for a second and sighed in defeat. I knew he wouldn't  back down so easily. One thing I knew about Mr. Mogul was that he was  one stubborn man.

"Okay. I hate it when people pity me. And, I hate surprises," I admitted with a sigh.

"So if I told you I wasn't doing it for charity work..." he stated as his lips twitched slightly.

"I would hate you even more," I interjected in annoyance.

He laughed at my reply and gestured for me to move forward as the person  in front of me finished paying his order. I turned towards the cashier  and looked at the menu board. In the midst of ordering our food, I had  to clear my throat a few times to snap her out from ogling William. I  should have asked him to wait outside.

I offered William my token of thanks in the form of a burger and an  extra-large serving of fries. He was hesitant on accepting it because of  the fries. I lied to him and said that it was baked instead of deep  fried in a pool of grease. I'm surprised that he actually believed me.  It was the only way that he was going to eat it.

I was about to make my way back as I said my goodbye to him, but he was  adamant on walking me back to the hospital at least. I refused him for  the third time when he grabbed my wrist and started dragging me towards  the hospital. The worst decision I made in that moment was allowing him  to do it.

When I got back, I was aware of the smile plastered on my face. I had to  lie to my father and Billy about my encounter with William. How was I  supposed to explain his appearance in the first place? I only hope they  would not find out about it.

Before evening came, my father's room was cramped with Billy, Terry,  Andrew and me, who were all busy fussing about where Billy was staying.  Though it was already arranged that Billy was to stay over at Terry's, I  was the one who had a new and better apartment. So, I offered Billy a  place to stay for the rest of the weekend.

After some shouting, hissing, and occasional cursing, I was able to  convince him to stay with me -with my father's help of course. Terry  tried to look defeated, but when we caught each other's eye for a  second, he gave me a wink. I mentally chuckled at his smoothness. I knew  that Andrew moved in with him, which was why I offered my place.

As we made our way out of the hospital, Terry and I trailed behind  Andrew and Billy, who were having a quiet conversation about something.

"Did Maxwell give you his reasons for paying your father's bills?" Terry asked, breaking the silence between us.

"Yeah. I met him just a few hours ago," I replied with a sigh as I rubbed my temple.

"So, are you two dating?" he probed as his voice spiked with interest.

I abruptly turned to face him. "Where the heck did you get that idea?"

"Well, Andrew wanted me to ask you after he flashed me this magazine article last week," he replied sheepishly.

"Well, apparently, I'm not," I stated sarcastically, rolling my eyes.  "It was such a pain. At least, my face wasn't photographed properly or  people-well, women mostly, I guess-would be sending me death threats.  I'm glad Maggie handled that misunderstanding," I added with a strained  sigh.

"Yeah. Andrew also gave me another follow up on it. The article said  that you were just an associate. Really? You can pass as a rich girl  these days?" he chuckled as he asked me teasingly.

"Well, they can dress me up to look like one. But we both know, this  attitude breaks that image," I pointed at myself with a cackle as I  played along.

Terry laughed at that and playfully shoved me towards Billy and Andrew's  direction. I punched him in annoyance before I ran towards the bus stop  in revenge. Andrew and Billy grinned as they watched us both bicker and  fight like siblings.

We parted ways as we took different bus routes. When Billy and I arrived  at my apartment building, he gave a whistle of appreciation as we  entered. I felt embarrassed. He doesn't really know the whole story  about my new job and how I got this expensive-looking apartment. He  didn't ask anything about it and sat down on my living room couch as he  made himself feel at home for the weekend.   





 

"What do you want for dinner tonight, Uncle Billy? I could cook up  something for you." I offered as I stood in front of him, my back to the  kitchen.

"Anything is fine, Andy. I'm still full from what Terry brought this  afternoon," he replied gleefully as his eyes ogled on my plasma  television. "Man, that television is huge," he remarked with a whistle.

I sniggled at his words and turned towards the kitchen, thinking about  making some fried chicken and mashed potatoes. I checked my fridge for  the ingredients and grimaced when I saw how little I had in there. I  walked back to the living room and told Billy that I was going out to  get groceries. He replied with a nod as he waved his hand dismissively,  his eyes still glued to the television. I smiled at his actions. That  was the Uncle Billy I remembered.

As I headed down to the lobby, I felt my phone vibrate in my bag. I  turned it back on this afternoon after I talked to William. Since he had  found me, there was no need to hide from him anymore. I dug for my  phone and got it out of my bag. I glanced at the screen to check who was  calling. I stiffened as I watched the name flashing on the screen.

I mentally cursed as I took a deep breath before answering the phone.  "Ms. Maxwell. I'm sorry for not answering the phone right away," I said  my voice quivering slightly.

"Why didn't you tell me that you're taking a day off?" she asked sternly, making me stiffen at her tone.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Maxwell. I was... He was..." I stuttered as I try to  come up with something to say. This call was not going to go well.

In reply, Alexandra chuckled at my discomfort. "Did my brother finally get your attention?" she asked, still chuckling.

"What? I'm sorry. I don't seem to follow you, Ms. Maxwell," I admitted in confusion.

"Oh. He still hasn't asked you out?" she asked guiltily. "I thought my brother was better at his game," she added with a giggle.

"What do you mean?" I probed as my eyebrows scrunched together in frustration.

"Well, I'm sorry for assuming anything since you don't know anything  yet. But, please email me next time you take a day off. I've got to go.  Michael is calling," she stated gleefully and ended the call.

When the phone beeped, the call ended, I looked down at it in  uncertainty. I think I was missing something in this whole situation.  Maybe it wasn't luck that had landed me in this job after all.





Twenty-Two





The weekend passed by too fast. It seemed that there was so little time  to be spent with Billy. We visited my dad and stayed there during the  day, while in the afternoon I took him out for a tour of the city. Well,  there wasn't much sightseeing we could do since I wasn't familiar with  the area yet. Terry had better luck as he gave Billy a grand tour of all  the bars in town on his last day.

On his last night, the old man almost drank himself to death. If that  were the case, Billy would have died when I was in college. The thing  that awed me the most about Billy was his tolerance to alcohol. No  matter how much alcohol entered his system, he could still stand  straight the next day. Maybe when you start drinking at an early age, it  gives you that inhuman tolerance to alcohol. And from what my father  told me, Billy had been drinking even before he started sleeping with  girls. That was saying something.