46| Little Deed Of Kindness

Standing outside her father's office building, Zoey once again assessed the pros and cons of this situation. She spent the whole last night looking for different ways of helping Travis. She even thought about selling her designer bags but there was no way she could gather almost fifty thousand dollars without her father's help. Yes, that's the amount Travis needed.

She still didn't know why she was doing that. Travis and her weren't exceptionally close but for some strange reason, she couldn't see him in pain. She wanted to relieve him of all the stress so he could go back to being normal.

Bracing herself, she stepped through the glass door and entered the building. "Yes, Ma'am. Where do you want to go?" The receptionist asked.

Ever since she grew up, she has never been to her Dad's office, which explains why nobody here recognized her except his secretary.

"I want to meet Richard Crawford. I am his daughter." She replied.

Nodding, she guided her to the elevator and told her about his office. Muttering thanks under her breath, Zoey made her way into the elevator that took her to the 22nd floor.

The floor felt somewhat familiar to her, as she has been here few times in her childhood. She used her memory to guide her to his office but suddenly, a voice stopped her.

"You can't go in, Ma'am. He is in a meeting." A woman of short stature and almond eyes said to her.

"Well, I don't think you know me but for future reference, it's his daughter." Zoey replied sternly and then made her way forwards.

"Ma'am, he hates when---"

"Ssshhhh. Go do something else." Zoey said and entered through the closed door, with the woman rushing behind her.

Few heads turned towards her and she found herself in the middle of the room, with his father glaring at her. "What are you doing here, Zoey?" He chewed his words.

"I need to talk to you." She replied.

"And it couldn't wait?" He asked and Zoey shook her head in no.

Richard took a long sigh and then finally said, "Gentlemen." With that, all the five men left the room, leaving her alone with her father.

"I need some money." She said.

"I give you enough money every month to buy the things you want." He replied, pinching his forehead in a stressful manner.

"I need more." She replied.

"That's why you disturbed me in the middle of a meeting?" He narrowed his eyes at her. "How much?" He pulled out his wallet and asked.

"Fifty thousand." She said and his hand froze on the wallet.

"What in the world do you want fifty thousand dollars for?" He groaned.

She shifted in her position, focusing her eyes on the wall behind his chair. There was a picture of her on the wall, when she was in elementary school and had won a medal for an essay writing competition, one of the very few things she had won in life.

"Can you give me the money or not?" She asked.

"No. I can't give you fifty thousand to waste on stupid things." He replied and opened up a file.

She wanted to turn around and never come here again but her legs felt like they were frozen. Travis' crying face made an appearance in front of her eyes and she took a deep breath.

"I need the money for Travis, for his father's hospital dues." She said and Richard assessed her face in surprise. This was not an everyday thing for Zoey to think of someone other than herself.

"Zoey---"

"I am requesting you to give me the money as a human being, not as my father. This can help someone's future and I am sure fifty thousand is not a big deal for you." She said and for the first time in years, used a gentle tone.

She watched as his father pulled out his chequebook and wrote a cheque of eighty thousand dollars. He then tore the leaf and handed it over to Zoey. "They will need more for his medications and other things. So I am giving some extra." He said.

"Thanks." Zoey muttered under her breath, too low for him to hear.

•••••••••••

Zoey didn't know how to give the cheque to Travis without injuring his pride. So when she reached the hospital, she hid it in her jeans pocket.

"Hi." She said to Travis on reaching the hospital room. His father was sleeping on the bed and Rose was sitting by his side, looking deep in some thoughts.

"Let's go outside." He said and they both walked out of the room into the corridor. "He slept just few minutes ago. I didn't want to wake him up." Travis said and she nodded in understanding.

They both sat down on the bench side by side. The corridor was almost empty at this moment and there was a creepy silence filling it.

"Sorry about yesterday." He said after a brief pause.

"For what?" She asked.

"For being too much of an emotional mess." He lifted a corner of his mouth. "I was just worried about bills."

"So, did you find any solution yet?" She asked.

"No. But Mom and I will find a way." He replied.

"But what if you don't have to?" Zoey asked and his eyebrows furrowed at this.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Um...well..." She reached her pockets and pulled out the cheque, giving it to him.

He analyzed the cheque and then his eyes widened. "Zoey! What did you do? Did you steal your father's chequebook?" He asked in worry.

"No, Travis. I didn't." She rolled her eyes. "This is a real cheque that he himself signed."

His eyes switched between Zoey's face and the cheque and he sighed, "I can't take this, Zoey."

"But why?" She asked. She didn't know what was going on in this overly convoluted brain of him.

"Because.... Because... I don't... I don't want to owe you anything." He replied, trying his best not to look at her.

"For God's sake, Travis. It's not about you. I wanted to help Rose because she had been the closest thing to a mother figure in our house." She said and some of it was true. But mostly, she asked her Dad for this money because she wanted to help Travis.

"But---"

"No buts. You are taking this money." She said.

"Zoey, it's a huge amount. We may never be able to return it." He said worrily.

"Did I ask you to return it? It's yours now." She said, looking deep into his eyes.

"Why are you both arguing?" Rose walked out of the room and asked.

Travis and Zoey exchanged a look, after which Travis stood up and handed over the cheque to Rose.

"Dad has sent this. He wanted to help." Zoey said.

Rose's eyes widened and she stared at the cheque in disbelief. "This... This is... I don't know what to say."

"Don't say anything, Rose. Just come back as early as possible. We all miss you and your food." Zoey joked and Rose smiled weakly at this.

She moved forwards and enveloped Zoey in a small hug. "Thank you, Miss. Zoey." She mumbled.

A warm feeling erupted in Zoey's stomach at the gratification. She wasn't used to doing things for people but strangely, it felt good, even better than if she had spent this money on buying Gucci, Louis Vuitton or Dior.

"I should go now." She said to avoid the overwhelming feeling. She turned around and walked to the elevator at the other corner of the corridor and when she stepped inside, she heard footsteps following her.

"Zoey!" Travis called her name and entered the elevator behind her.

"What---"

Before she could finish the sentence, he snaked his arms around her and their lips collapsed against each other. The sudden kiss shocked Zoey but she responded nonetheless. They both backed into a corner, with each of them slowly devouring the other one's mouth. Fuzziness filled Zoey's stomach and her knees felt week because of the sweet pleasure coursing through her veins. They kept kissing, and kissing, and kissing until the elevator stopped.

Before someone could walk in, they straightened themselves and took a deep breath, moving to opposite corners of the elevator.

"Thanks." He said after a pause.

Zoey's heart was still drumming at an alarming speed. "That's one way to say thanks." She tried to chuckle but couldn't. She was too flabbergasted to do anything but breathe. "Just so you know, I didn't do this to get into your good books."

"I know." He replied. "Still, thanks."

"Welcome." She replied, licking her lips that still tasted like him.

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Sorry for being late. I was/am busy in Eid which is a three-day festival celebrated by Muslims all over the world.