Chapter Twenty-Five:
Emberly's POV:
All night, I couldn't sleep well. I never thought that both father and son would make my life this... miserable. The annoying, chirping sound of birds told me it was morning time. Don't get me wrong but I really didn't like the sound of birds chirping in the morning. It was plain annoying. It was worse than the sound of an alarm clock. Seriously, even alarm clocks had a shut-up button but birds didn't. I really didn't understand why Disney princesses were shown loving the sound of nature. Well if you thought about it, they did speak to animals and apparently animals spoke back. I rest my case.
Maybe, I had woken up on the wrong side of the bed. All the nerves were jinxed together and to make it worse, I didn't even know why. Then I remember my conversation with Arran's dad. Honestly, you can't really tell them apart. Both of them are so confusing and they would something so out of character that it would leave me speechless. I swallowed the dry toast and took a long shower to relax my muscles.
Okay, here was the deal. I really, really didn't know what to wear. It was the first time I was going to the senior Raymond house and I didn't have a clue what to wear. Should I dress casual or should I dress formal? But since we were going to sort this 'problem' out, I really didn't see a reason to put so much effort just to get dressed.
After debating for half an hour, yes I did debate with myself; I ended up wearing dark blue skinny jeans. Since it was still a bit cold I wore a black, oversized jumper. It didn't look that bad on me. I wanted to wear heel to look somewhat formal but screw that! I wore my black converses. Who knows I might have to run away from there. Comfort over style. I left my wavy hair open. I shoved all the documents, namely the contract inside a side bag.
I looked at mirror and nearly grimaced. Dark circle... pale skin. Am I quite a sight to sore eyes or what! I checked the time. It was fifteen past eleven. Wow, had I really taken that long to get ready? I added the address to the navigation. Not surprisingly, my car was parked when I had arrived home yesterday. I followed the directions and stopped when I had reached the destination.
I should have gotten use to seeing large houses but boy it still took my breath away. Like a typical big mansion, it had a huge front garden with everything in the world growing in its expanse. Okay, maybe not everything but it had more flowers than the miracle garden in Dubai and trust me that garden was the world's largest flower garden. Holy shit, there were two massive statues of lions!
I could go on and on about how ridiculously amazing the house looked from the outside and to be honest, I was flabbergasted. I noticed that there were many cars parked along the side and I could hear loud chanting coming from the other side of the house. There were also many cars parked around the entrance. They must've had a party going on which made me wonder why he asked me to come over at this time. If I go inside, will that be considering as gate crashing?
I parked my car outside and kept walking, obviously looking around when I bumped into a wall. I groaned and rubbed my head. When I looked up, it wasn't a wall but a security guard. I smiled sheepishly and told him my name. He glanced at some paper and let me in. He made me wait in a guest room and I complied. I sat down on plush looking sofa and waited for Mr. Raymond to come. Mr Raymond is filthy rich. There is no other way to put that. I looked around, taking notice of expensive decoration going around the massive room, flowers arrangement and the large dining table.
I watched the clock ticking with a hint of impatience. No, seriously, I was that bored. I waited for what, an hour now? And he still wasn't here even though I had told some people to go around and inform him I was here. They had told me he was aware that I had arrived but he was currently busy.
Idiot. Why on earth would he call me if he had a party at his place? After a while, a girl who was probably the same age as I was came inside the room with a trolley, which had all sort of drinks, snacks and amazing looking pastries. She smiled at me and turned the huge TV on. I asked her to inform Mr. Raymond again and she nodded politely.
I opened a can of Coke and took a huge gulp. The plasma on the wall was showing me the latest headline and I turned my attention to it.
"What are you doing here?" A familiar voice snapped.
I whipped my head to his side. My eyes widened seeing him. Why was he here? Don't be stupid Emberly; remember he was Mr. Raymond's son and your boss. He didn't need your permission to visit his own father.
I took a look at his appearance. He had black jeans on with a plain, white V t-shirt and white deck shoes. There was no need to mention that he looked incredibly handsome. I didn't even realise I was staring until he cleared his throat. I diverted my attention to his face and almost blushed in embarrassment. He was smirking and he had his arms crossed giving me a good view of his flexed biceps. I wanted to stand up but my legs felt too wobbly.
I wouldn't lie about the fact that he was an attractive man and he knew that. Now I was regretting wearing this jumper. It suddenly felt a lot warmer. It was always his presence that left me speechless. Don't forget why you are here. I chanted in my head.
"I'm here to meet Mr. Raymond." I told him with no trace of nervousness at all. Thumbs up for me!
"If you haven't noticed I am Mr. Raymond." He arched his eyebrow mockingly. I rolled my eyes.
"I meant your dad." I flushed a shade redder and tucked a hair behind my ear.
"What is it about?" He eyed me suspiciously.
"I really prefer to talk to him instead. It's about my contract." I told him. Truthfully, I didn't want him to know anything.
"Are you not happy with it?" He teased and I smirked. Someone is in good mood.
"Are you really going to ask me that?" I asked him, biting my own smile. Stop, Emberly. You just argued with the dude last time you met, which was last night!
"Ouch, I'm hurt." He said playfully and I chuckled. Dear god, did I giggle? I hope not. I looked away.
Wait... were we having a normal conversation? He seemed to be in an awfully happy mood. I wondered what had happened over a night. He was never happy around me.
"Can you go and call him please?" I asked him politely.
"No."
Yup, said it too soon. I sighed in exasperation.
"Fine, I'll wait for him." I told him simply and turned my attention to news again.
"I thought I was your boss." He feigned a hurt look.
"You are, but he hired me. I really need to talk to him." I tried to dismiss him. Why wasn't he going away? The longer he stayed, the harder it was for me to stay mad. Why don't I have that trait in my body? I wanted to hold grudges too for once in my life!
"Going to complain?" He asked playfully.
I laughed humourlessly. "Yes." I said with a serious tone and he visibly stilled, all trace of humour gone. "No, I... need to sort something out."
I didn't miss the confused look on his face. Where was the senior when you needed him? He made me wait for nearly an hour and instead of showing up, he sends his son?
"I can help you. I may not be the owner of that company but ma'am I do work for them." He added sarcastically and this time I really laughed. He smiled at me too and gazed at me intensely, which made me extremely nervous.
"I told you, it's about my contract. I've just realised something is wrong with the contract so I need to ask him about it. He told me to come and see him but instead you are here. I don't know why though, it's not like you would understand anything. Where is he?" I completely blurted out, shocking both of us.
I was supposed to say all this in my head, not to him. He stood still, gawking at me.
"I'm here. Arran, your mother is looking for you." Mr. Raymond entered the room and dismissed Arran.
He was hesitant to leave at first but after looking at his father's serious face, he nodded his head. "Sure." He gave a final nod to me before walking out.
"So what brings you here Emberly?" He questioned me as soon as Arran walked out and I managed not to glare at him. I was about to stand up when he stopped me.
"Why did you transfer such a large amount to my father's account?" I asked him, getting straight to the point.
He sat down on the opposite sofa and studied me carefully. I felt uneasy but didn't let it show.
"It's not a lot." He shrugged his shoulders and I bit my tongue, preventing myself from shouting.
"240,000 Euros is not a small amount, sir. How on earth will I pay you back?" I asked him, dejectedly. I was planning to save money and return the loan but now it seemed impossible.
"Who said you have to pay it back?" He grinned and I was sure my jaws were about to touch the floor.
"Then why?" I whispered.
"Can't I help you?" He arched his eyebrow and I nearly scoffed. Nearly.
"If you really wanted to help me, you could have without this contract." I stated matter-of-factly and he laughed.
"Smart girl. I knew I chose the right girl for this job." He said in a suggestive tone and I shivered involuntarily.
"What do you want me to do?" My voice was trembling a little now. Get a grip Emberly!
"Make my son fall in love with you." He said as if he didn't cause turbulence all of a sudden.
All the blood flowing in my body froze. My eyes widened in shock. I must have heard him wrong.
"Excuse me?"
"Make my son fall for you. Stay with him." He repeated his words.
Was he on drugs? Yes, he clearly was. Whichever one he was on, it was a pretty high one. That was the only reason I could think of for his absurd words. Did he even realise what he was asking me to do? Could he even comprehend his own words? I expected him to laugh or tell me he was joking but the look on his face showed he meant every word he uttered.
"Why? How? Why me?" I asked confused. I looked for any visible symptoms of being high. No slurring, no red eyes, no stumbling. Is he serious?
"Because, it's simple. He seems to be happy around you. I know I sound a little selfish but I want my son to stay happy." He sighed with a regret. His shoulders slouched a little.
A little? Yup, definitely on drugs. What father asks some random girl to make their son fall in love with them so he can stay happy? The answer was the one on drugs, which meant him.
"But what if I'm not happy?" I exclaimed, standing up. I paced around the room, trying to comprehend the situation.
"I'll pay you, ask for anything and I'll get it for you." He responded calmly. I stopped pacing.
Did he really think I was that cheap that I'd do anything for money? My skin itched with growing shame and embarrassment. I knew I needed money but I was not that desperate anymore. I shouldn't have accepted this deal in the first place. All of a sudden it felt like Karma bitch-slapping me. Did he really think this would sort all of his problems in life? Just because I made him 'happy' didn't mean I would do such thing. Right now, I wanted to hit him with a shovel till he realised what he was actually freaking saying. I was that angry.
"Wow, are you really going to stoop that low? You want me to play with your own son's feelings?" I didn't even care how harsh or loud my voice was.
"Anything for his happiness. I've already made a mistake in the past and I want to repent for it." His voice was a little lost and his face was clouded.
"So instead of actually apologising, you would stoop so low to offer me money so I could play with your son's feelings? You, my sir, are the best father anyone could ever ask for." I yelled and added the last part sarcastically.
This seemed to anger him as he stood up. "Think about it Emberly. You will get anything you want; Gucci, Chanel, Ralph Lauren and you could have any car to drive, Ferrari, Lamborghini, anything."
"No, absolutely not. I will not play with his emotions. I will not make him fall in love with me. He deserves to be happy and how do you think he would react when he finds out that his father hired someone to pretend to like him? He would be hurt Mr. Raymond." I tried to reason out even though I was getting pissed with each second that passed.
"You don't have to pretend." He said, looking me straight in the eyes.
Oh, just hand me the gun. Was he serious? I thought Arran had been bad; clearly I hadn't known his father well enough. Today he was asking me to make his son fall in love with me and tomorrow I could imagine him telling me marry him and in the future I wouldn't be surprised if he asked me to leave Arran. He really must've thought I am some sort of toy he can use anything and throw it away when he was done with it. Worse, he thought it was totally fine to play with his own son's feelings. I knew he was his father but he had no right to play with his son's life like this.
"You know I thought it was Arran's fault that he was not moving on but now I can understand why he isn't. It's because of his family who keeps screwing his life. Just leave him alone Mr Raymond. Let him deal with his own problems." I said, not caring that someone might hear us.
The party going on made sense now. He didn't want anyone to hear or anyone to get suspicious.
"If not you then someone else." He shrugged his shoulders uncaringly.
This made my blood boil. Why wasn't he realising that what he was about to do would break Arran further. I had only known him over few month now and I already knew what would hurt him and what wouldn't. He was his father; he should know him better than anyone else in the world. Whatever happened in the past had happened, there was no way to undo it but if he does this then god forbid what Arran would become. He would no doubt completely cut everyone out of his life. I may have never been in love but I do know you can't force someone to love you. I doubt if Arran believes in love anymore
"Are you even hearing yourself? I will do no such thing." I said firmly and picked up my bag to leave.
"Fine Emberly, no one is forcing you to. You don't need to worry about the money. It doesn't matter to me. You may leave now." He dismissed me and this felt like the last nail in the coffin.
"Maybe you should sit down and talk to your son, rather than hiring random people to do your job. Goodbye sir." I spat out venomously and his face turned red in anger.
Good, that would teach him something. I couldn't believe what I had heard today. I understood that like every father, he was worried but that didn't mean he should pay people to fake their feelings for his son. Just because Arran didn't trust anyone, didn't mean you should give him more reasons not to. My vision blurred and tears formed in my eyes. More than anything, I felt insulted and humiliated. When did my life became so messed up?
I also felt bad for Arran. He was right, I would never understand him. With people like his father, who literally thought money could buy happiness; around him he would never let go of his past.
I didn't even realise I had walked to the backside of the house. I quickly blinked tears back. I spotted Arran in a corner with Luke and Stacey. He was actually laughing with his friends. I smiled watching him smile. It was just yesterday when I thought 'screw him and his problems' and suddenly now, I felt like talking to him. I wanted to make sure he was doing okay. I really wanted to know the reason that made him this way. All my anger vanished in thin air. Sudden loneliness engulfed me.
Sensing my eyes on him, he looked my way with his eyebrows knitted together. I smiled at him sadly and turned around quickly so he wouldn't see the tears in my eyes. I quickly rushed out of the house, ignoring his voice from behind. I started my car and drove really fast, getting away from everything behind me. I stopped at the side when I couldn't take it anymore and I cried, not for myself, but for him.
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Its edited by a very talented girl Mia (76ROSE) <3 thank you so much hun x She will be editing my story from now on :D hopefully :P so thankyouthankyouthankyou x