Meeting Mr. Mogul(69)

As he slowed down the car, I knew we finally arrived. He quickly parked  the car in front a small white, wooden house that was surrounded by  trees. There was a porch leading to the well-varnished wooden door that  looked like it was carved from a century old tree. The sliding windows  took some modern edge to the design with white curtains that covered the  view inside. I started to get nervous at the sense of privacy of the  property. I watched the house lit up, which made me sigh in relief that  we weren't alone.

"Come on, I think they've been waiting long," he said as he turned off the ignition and got out of the car.

"What do you mean by ‘they'?" I asked in confusion, but he was already outside.

In annoyance, I jumped out of the car and watched him walked around the  car towards me. "So, who are ‘they'?" I asked again when he was in  hearing range.

"You'll see," he replied with a beaming smile.

I didn't give him the pleasure of escorting me in like a gentleman when  he offered his hand. I gestured for him to walk first and followed  behind him. As he opened the door, I wasn't expecting what happened  next.

"Surprise! You're finally here!" my father exclaimed with enthusiasm as he enveloped me in a bear hug.

"Dad?" I asked in shock and confusion. I patted his back awkwardly, not processing the situation.

"And, you look surprise …  I thought he gave you a heads up," Terry said, making me turned towards his direction in surprise.

"Terry? You're here, too?" I asked breathlessly after my father let me go, while Terry walked towards me for a hug.

"What is going on here?"

"This man came and pick me up for a good outdoor fishing and hiking this  morning. And, Terry sort of was there when William picked me up. So, he  tagged along," my father replied with a smile.

I studied my father's genuine smile for a second before looking at Terry  for confirmation. Terry gave me a wink, which was his way of saying  that my father had said the truth. I turned around and faced William,  who was still by the door watching us.

"You did this?" I asked him for confirmation, even though they've already convinced me.

He gave me a small shrug and smirked. I raised my eyebrow at his  nonverbal reply, but I didn't drill the answer out of him. I couldn't  believe him doing this for my father. I understood why he had done it,  but I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that he planned all of this  just to get in my good books. He really wanted to get that chance.

As we finally settled down in the living room, I made a quick scan on  the interior design of the house. It was very different from how his  apartment and office looked. This house had a homey and warm feel to it.  There were furniture that almost accommodated every space and a wall  filled with pictures. It was the opposite of the empty and spacious  rooms that he had from his other place.

The interior was also a contrast to the modern design of his office and  apartment. The house was all wood and antic. I could almost smell a  distinct scent of moss and earthy smell, which was familiar. He must  have spent a great deal here to retain the scent on his body. I shook  the thought away as my mind trailed off into something less appealing.  It was rude to think about a man that way while you're sitting next to  your father, who was telling me about his day.   





 

William had taken him out for fishing and a little hiking around the  property. He told me in detail how he caught a fish, and how an expert  William was at fishing. You wouldn't guess it from the way the man  always dresses. After half an hour, my father started to yawn from  tiredness. I was in awe he waited for me this late.

"Dad, you can tell me about it tomorrow. You're tired and I am too," I suggested as I patted his arm nearest to me.

"I think that is best," he agreed after another stifled yawn.

Around this time, I didn't notice William walking out of the room and  change. When we were done talking, he reappeared from a hallway all  dressed up in casual clothes. I eyed him for a second before telling him  that we were going to bed. With a soft smile, he guided us to his extra  room  –  which shocked me how many were there in this huge house.

As we made a last stop to my room, after telling Terry where he would  stay the night, he stood in front of the door for a moment in silence.  It was an awkward silence that none of us is willing to break. Since I'm  too tired to be stubborn, I finally took the initiative to convey my  gratitude.

"Thank you so much for today. I didn't know you were planning all of  this behind my back. I'm quite sure I know why," I stated with a grim  smile.

"Well, I didn't make it less obvious though," he agreed with a light chuckle.

"Thank you, again, for today," I softly said again before heading inside the room with a brief wave of goodbye.

"Sweet dreams. I'll see you tomorrow," he whispered loud enough for me to hear.

After I close the door behind me, I did what any girl would do in that  moment. I leaned on the doorframe and slide down on the floor, as my  knees slowly grew weak. How could this man have a hold on me? Why was I  so affected by him? After all he has done to me, he still have something  off his sleeves. I was truly stupid for not running away. I couldn't  seemed to get away from him now.

By next morning, I felt so tired that I didn't notice the alarm that I  put on my phone went off. When I heard pounding at the door, my mind  finally registered that I should wake up.

"Would you stop with the pounding? I'm up already!" I called, my voice  cracking. I rolled out of the comfy bed and ghostly got to the door when  the person didn't stop beating it at an annoying rhythm.

"Good, you're up. You need to wash up and go down the dining room for  breakfast. We'll be waiting … " Terry stated as he quickly walked away  from my room backwards while still facing me.

"Are you freaking kidding me with the knocking and the pounding?" I hissed in annoyance, ignoring what he had said.

"Oh, you can thank me later for waking you up." He waved off my outburst as he turned around when he reached the stairs.

I watched him walked down before shutting the room. I let out a heavy  breath to calm myself before heading towards bathroom to wash up. I  couldn't get the grimace off my face when I found a change of clothes  that Terry packed for me. After I was contented with my appearance, I  headed downstairs with a heavy heart.

I stood in the middle of an archway that leads to the living room, a  little flustered on finding out the location of the dining room. Last  night, William only showed me where the living room was when we arrived  before he escorted us to our room.

"What are you doing standing there?" Like he had read my mind, William appeared on the threshold that leads to the living room.

"I'm a little lost," I mumbled in admission.

"Right, let's go. They've been waiting for you," He grabbed my wrist and  pulled me towards the dining room, guiding me to where it is. "Did you  have a good sleep?"

I looked up towards him, eying the back of his head. "I don't know whether to give you the good answer or the bad one."

"Why not just tell me what you thought first when you woke up this morning?"

"Then, that would be the bad one since I woke up with someone pounding  on my door. My sleep ruined, starting my day with my lame sarcasm," I  replied with a chuckle.

"Yeah, you're pretty lame right now," he agreed.   





 

I lightly slapped his back with my free hand and pushed him forward.  "Let's get to that food before you start hearing me say things that  would ruin my image forever."

"You were keeping an image?" he asked in refined shock as he glanced at me.

"I still have some energy left to slap you again, William," I warned  sternly, but I can't help but smile at this light exchange between us.

It feels so weird yet comfortable when I talk to William like this.  Though I've been really difficult on him for the past few days after the  bet incident, I couldn't help but joke around with him at this moment.  Maybe, this was the effect of him doing something right for once. Did I  like it? I'll leave that for later to ponder on.





Forty-Four





After we had breakfast, we chatted in the living room as we watched some  sitcom my father watched while he was in the hospital. I asked him  about the discharge papers that he had to sign early to be here. He  properly explained to me that he didn't signed it. He was in fact a  patient who was out for a whole day to get some fresh air.

"You, what?" I asked in disbelief.

"Don't worry about it. They said I can sign it when I get back to get my  final bill, and you should be there also to finalize things," he  replied like he had done this before.

"You didn't mention this last night because … ?" I asked, not letting him sidetrack me.

"Because we were both tired," he replied nonchalantly.

"Oh, Dad. Let's get back to the hospital to finalize those papers," I  stated and stood up from the couch, ending our morning chat.