Meeting Mr. Mogul(40)

When I reached the front door of the father's room, I stopped mid-knock  as I heard another voice. I stiffened at the familiarity of it.

"Thank you, Mr. Maxwell. I'm glad that you are taking good care of my  daughter for me. She can be stubborn sometimes, but she has good  intentions … " my father replied to an unspoken question, his voice a  little jumpy as he chuckled.

"It's my pleasure, Mr. Peterson. I know Andy can be a handful," William echoed as he chuckled along with him.

I was stuck in front of the door as I continued to listen to their  conversation. I can't believe my own father was warming up to the one  person I thought he would be tough on.

With a deep breath, I knocked on the door and interrupted their  conversation. I entered the room in quick strides and headed to my  father's bed to greet him with a kiss. As I leaned away from him, the  tension in the room was palpable. I tore my eyes away from my father to  look at William, who sat on a chair across from me.

"How long have you been here?" I asked grimly in clinched teeth.   





 

"Andy, please don't … " my father started in warning but stopped as I held his hand and gave it a light squeeze.

Both fell silent for a moment as guilt registered in their faces. I kept  my ground as I tried to reel in my anger. I didn't want to lose my cool  in front of my father.

"Andy. I'm here to talk to your father about … " he defended quietly. His  voice hardly had any confidence in it, which was unlike him.

"Get out. Now," I commanded darkly. My voice was low as I tried to control my bubbling anger.

"Andy … " William started again.

"If you value that face of yours, get the hell out," I threatened with more volume, my eyes zeroed on his startled face.

"I'm so sorry for intruding. It wasn't my intention to make you angry," he whispered in apology as he stood up.

He slowly paced towards the door while I remained motionless from where I  stood. I felt him pause for a second as his eye bored through the side  of my face. But I continued to ignore him and kept my gaze straight.  When I heard a faint click of the door closing, I let out a strained  breath as I visibly relaxed.

"Why did you do that, peanut?" my father asked softly, his voice filled with disappointment.

I looked up at him in shock. He was siding with him. "He was the one who  came here and barged in without my knowledge. He had no right to  intrude," I almost shouted in reply but I kept my voice at a minimum  volume.

My father stared at me as his face depicted the one expression I didn't  want to see from him. "I know what this is, Andy. I know that you are  scared. But you can't shut people out like that. I've raised you  better," he finally scolded me, though his voice held no anger in them.  It was calm and stern.

"Please, let's not talk about this now," I sighed in defeat as I moved  away from his side. "I'll head out a bit and get some air," I added as I  stopped halfway towards the door.

"I understand." He nodded briefly, giving me a sad smile.

After that, I silently walked out the room. At this moment, I didn't want to be with anyone. I don't know what I want anymore.





Twenty-Six





The noise of the busy city streets started to hum as I leaned back on  the park bench. It's been half an hour since I left my father's hospital  room. I texted Terry after I walked out from the hospital. He would be  here any minute now.

"Andy!" I look up and see Terry jog towards me.

I gave him a rigid wave as a greeting. "Thank you for coming. I thought  you were with Andrew," I said after he stopped in front of me. I moved a  little to give him space to sit.

"You said you needed me, so here I am. Andrew is busy at work," he  replied after taking in a few deep breaths. "So … " he initiated after a  short silence.

"Right," I looked away from him and stared at the half empty park  grounds in front of me. "I had a fight with someone today," I admitted,  my voice low and soft.

"You're always at it with someone," Terry snorted in agreement.

"It's not that kind of brawl." I turned towards him with a slight smirk.  "Could you let me finish first?" I cut him off as he opened his mouth  to speak again.

"Okay. Continue," he agreed with a nod and gestured for me to continue.

I told him what had happen half an hour ago in my father's hospital  room. I told him my encounter with William and the incident that  morning. But I didn't tell him about the kiss that William and I shared.

"Wow …  Okay …  You slapped William Maxwell," he marveled after he stared at me for a few moments.

"Of all the things I just said … " I huffed as my lips twitched upward.

"I'm sorry. I heard every word you said …  But you still slapped William  Maxwell. Plus, you had him run out of the room with his tail between his  legs!" he quipped while he looked at me in awe.

I rolled my eyes at his exaggerated expression before I got serious  again. "Terry. What am I going to do? I don't want to be in conflict  with my dad. But William is making things complicated," I whined in  defeat. I was shocked because I never whine.   





 

Terry eyed me in suspicion. "Is there more to this story than you are telling me?"

"What?" I turned towards him with wide eyes. "No!" I defended swiftly.

"Something happened between you and William that you are not telling me," he accused as he continued to stare at me.

I turned away from his gaze and let out a frustrated sigh. How can this man know so much about me?

"Okay. Fine. We kissed!" I admitted in defeat as I let out a huge breath.

"You …  He …  Really?" he asked in surprise. A small smile slowly formed in  his lips as his eyes gleamed in amusement. "Oh. This is golden," he  articulated with a chuckle.

"Shut up," I hissed at him in annoyance but a small smile had escaped my guarded lips.

"I knew you had a thing for him," Terry stated proudly, like he had known about it before I did.

"I did not …  I mean I do not," I uttered in defense but I slipped up as I rephrased my words in the same breath.

"Oh. Just admit it! You like William Ma … " Terry shouted aloud. I quickly placed my hand on his mouth.

"Okay. I get it. Can you not announce it to the world?" I spouted in a whisper, warning him.

Terry winked at me since my hand was still covering his mouth, stopping  him from replying. "I will let go if you stop being loud," I instructed  as I looked him straight in the eyes. He nodded in reply, then I let my  hand uncover his mouth.

"So why did you act that way?" he asked after a short pause.

I looked away again and turned towards the open field in front of me. "I have issues," I confessed, my voice still a whisper.

"Wait …  So, Billy wasn't kidding?" he asked outright. His voice was loud  enough to make me glare at him in warning. He made a sign with his other  hand, looking like he was zipping an invisible zipper in his mouth.

"What do you mean by Billy?" I asked after he remained silent.

"Yeah. He might have told me about your commitment issues when he was at  my place. I was getting curious why you aren't with anyone. I mean …   Andy …  you're awesome," Terry replied softly as he looked at me  sheepishly.

I felt my gaze harden at his words. I can't believe Billy told Terry  about my past relationship especially on the last relationship I had  three years ago. I lost confidence in any kind of romantic relationship  when it ended.

"Billy told me that you are afraid of letting people in your life  because you are afraid of losing them. You started shutting people out  after what happened three years ago," Terry continued, his voice soft  and filled with sadness.

I flinched at his last word. I always feel uncomfortable and irked  whenever my personal life is brought up. But I knew it was inevitable  with him. I sighed in defeat, knowing that it would be hard to hide  anything from a man who is a part of my life now. He had some right to  be this frank with me.

Being in this situation and having to think about the past, I felt a  pang in my heart while reminiscing about my ex-lover. I've given so much  yet only to be treated like trash once he no longer needed me. Why am I  attracted to men who had a bit of power? How they could easily cheat  and crawl back in my life because they think I had no choice? At first, I  didn't. His family was powerful just like William. And I was blindly in  love with him. But I got out. I'm glad that he left me and finally saw  some sense.

"Andy. What do you think of my relationship with you?" he asked.

I looked at him with wide eyes, my irritation gone and forgotten as I  was caught off guard by his question. "What …  What do you mean?"

"Do you think of me as a friend, family, or a stranger you just met?" he asked, all humor gone.

"You're my friend. You've been kind to me and you've always been there  when I need you. You are the only friend I have," I acknowledged  breathlessly in admission.