Meeting Mr. Mogul(44)

"Good morning. And, you must be … ?" he replied with a small smile as he offered his hand to shake.

"Allison Coleman. I live just across from Andy." Ally quickly grabbed  his hand and shook it lightly as she pointed at her door with her free  hand.

"Right. Uhm, we need to go now. We're running a bit late for his meeting  and stuff … " I grabbed William's elbow and pulled him towards the  elevator.

Ally noticed the urgency in my voice and made a quick retreat towards  her apartment, saying she left something behind. As William turned his  back on her, walking towards the lift, I gave Ally a quick glance as she  looked at me with a playful look in her eyes.

I mentally cursed at the bad luck that just rained on me the moment I  stepped out of my apartment. I wished I had stayed inside and let  William go ahead of me. But that would be a bit rude, considering he's  still not well. We finally got out of my apartment building without  experiencing another awkward encounter and as I was about to bid him  farewell, he had another plan in mind.

"Would it be a bother if you walked me back to my apartment?" he asked.  From the tone of his voice, I didn't really have a say on that matter.

"I don't know why you have to ask. From the looks of it, you aren't  letting me go until I say yes," I replied sarcastically, rolling my eyes  at him.

He studied my expression for a moment before giving me a sly smile.  "Right this way then," he said as he gestured in the direction of his  apartment building.

The walk back to his place was short and silent. I spent most of the  time glancing around, checking if anyone was following us. I was  starting to get a bit paranoid whenever I was out in public with Mr.  Mogul. I don't really want a repeat of last time. I sighed in relief  when we reached the main lobby without being harassed by the paparazzi. I  was about to leave when he stopped me again.

"Can you come up with me? I have something to give you before you go,"  he asked, making me close my mouth before I could say anything.

"Oh. Uhm …  sure."

As we stepped inside the elevator, I started speculating about what  William wanted to give me. If it was about work, Alexandra would have  given it to me through her other connections. From the last task she had  given me with the gallery, it seemed like she didn't trust William.

When we reached his floor, my heart started to pound from nervousness. I  was hesitant when William stepped out of the elevator. I thought about  closing the elevator and leaving him but William instantly turned around  and held out his arm to stop the metal doors from closing   





 

"I know what you're thinking," he stated scornfully.

"I wasn't thinking anything," I replied shyly as I felt my face heat up. I turned away and walked past him.

We went inside his apartment silently. I didn't think I would come back  to this place in such a short time. The memory from last time was still  fresh in my mind. I flinched as I heard William walk behind me.

"Please make yourself comfortable while I go get that thing … " he  offered, his voice faint as he slowly backed away towards the direction  of his room.

I nodded in reply as I walked towards the huge black couches. When I  heard a distant sound of a door closing, I let out a huge sigh of relief  as I sat down. I looked around his apartment again. The dim light  seeping through the clear glass window made the room feel empty and  spacious because of the lack of furniture. I can't understand why he  wanted so much empty space. Is he claustrophobic?

"Thank you for waiting."

The sudden sound of his voice made me jump in fright. I turned towards  him with wide eyes. "Can you please not sneak up on me?" I mumbled in  annoyance as I tried to calm my frantic heart. For a second, I noticed  that he was wearing fresh new clothes.

"Sorry," he smiled apologetically in reply. "So, you're going to the  hospital today? That would mean you'll be there for the whole day,  right?" he asked, changing the topic quickly.

"Yes," I replied, as I looked him suspiciously.

"Oh. Okay. Then, let's go," he stated enthusiastically as he walked  towards me, grabbing my wrist and pulling me out of the seat.

"What do you mean ‘let's go'?" I asked dumbfounded.

"We are going. Mark is downstairs waiting in the car," he replied casually, unaffected by my tone.

"Was this your plan all along?" I asked him accusingly.

"If we keep on talking here, your father will be worried wondering why  you're late," he spouted as he continued to pull me towards the door.

When I finally came to my senses, I pulled my wrist out of his grip and  took a step back from him as I glanced the door. I looked back at him as  my eyes narrowed in frustration and anger.

"I'm not falling for this trick. Don't think I already forgot what you  did yesterday," I threatened him, my voice dripping with venom.

"I know you haven't forgotten about it. You're not dense. Well, at  least, not about that … " he said wearily as he sighed. "Can you please  come down to the car with me before you start with the sermon? I promise  you, I will listen to you then," he added.

"I'm not dense about anything," I mumbled. "Okay, fine. Let's go down  now," I added more loudly and gestured for him to lead the way.

I can't believe he tricked me into coming with him so that he can come  with me to meet my father at the hospital. What was his motive? Why was  he doing this? He already knew what I thought of him. Why was he still  trying?

When we finally reached the lobby, I was having second thoughts about my  decision on allowing him to tag along. I'm not really ready to place  him and my father in the same room again, especially after yesterday's  episodes, but it was too late to back out now.

William was very quiet as we walked towards the car. He looked almost  nervous, but I didn't pay much attention to it since my thoughts were  elsewhere. I faintly recognized Mark as he opened the passenger door. I  gave him a small nod of greeting before going inside the car.

"What took you guys so long?"

My head looked animated as it whipped quickly in his direction. I was  startled at the familiar sound of my father's voice. Then, his face  broke into a smile as we stared eye to eye. The end of his lips twitched  upward. I stood frozen outside the opened car door.

"What? You look like you've seen a ghost?" he asked teasingly as his frail voice chuckled.

"Dad? Wha-what are you doing … ?" I asked as I choked on my words in shock.

"William here called me early this morning for an invitation to a  baseball game. How could I refuse to watch it live and in a bunker  suite, right?" he replied. His face broke into a genuine smile.   





 

"I was merely asking him if he wanted to come. He told me yesterday he  was a fan and a friend had given me tickets. And, he told me you had to  come," William stated behind me, his voice somehow lacked its usual  authoritative tone.

"When did you plan this?" I slowly turned to face William. My voice was  low as emotions tried to punch their way through my guarded façade.

"Last night. And I finally decided to just wing it this morning … " he admitted softly as he turned his face away from my gaze.

"Well …  Uhm …  thank you … " I stated awkwardly, my voice lacking sincerity.

"Right, then, let's go. The game will start in an hour or so," he interjected, breaking our moment of awkwardness.

He lightly nudged my arm towards the car, making me roll my eyes at him.  As I got in beside my dad, I heard his faint chuckle. I can't help but  smile at the sound of his delight. At this moment, I had no idea where  this so-called "friendship" is going. If you asked me, I would probably  freak myself out with my answer.

The car ride to the game was slightly cramped. I was wedged between my  father and William. Though the car was huge and there was enough  legroom, being seated between two full-grown men was not at all  comfortable in any way. I was mostly leaning away from William while not  crushing my father on my other side.

Somehow, on the way there, I felt William slightly twist himself on the  side, giving me more room to breathe. I quickly stole a glance in his  direction and found him looking out of the window. I looked at him for a  moment longer, enough for me to see a small smile escape his guarded  lips. I glanced away from him and turned to my other side, where my  father was doing the same thing but his eyes were gleaming with  happiness.

My dad laughed as he shook his head in amusement. I couldn't help but  let out a small squeal of excitement when we finally reached our  destination. William suddenly looked at me. He was startled at my  reaction but he laughed it off like my father.

"Are you ready?" William asked his face broke out into a huge grin.

I eyed him for a second as my eyes tried to remember his rare smile  while my heart tried to calm itself down. "Ready as I'll ever be," I  replied gleefully, my enthusiasm breaking my entire hard exterior.