They say that the right person you’re looking for will show up at the right time. I used to believe in that saying until I realized something. What if that person never comes? What if I’m not his type of person? I think I should be the right woman that person is looking for; that he could be my leaning shoulder and I could be his.
The atmosphere was tense. I began to worry that if no one spoke up, it would continue forever. Being summoned by both of your parents is something sobering. Dad remained silent, and stared at nothing with narrowed eyes. I could just imagine what was going on inside his head right now. He’s probably glaring at Chad Montgomery’s face. Hoping that his stare alone could kill him.
Mom, meanwhile, was leaning against his armchair. Her eyes were filled with concern and I could tell she, too, was waiting for her husband to speak. I fought my tiredness, refusing to shut my eyes and fearing that if I did, they would never open again.
“Rachel.”
When Dad finally spoke, I tensed up. My back became straighter than a ruler. His eyes averted from the spot he was staring at for a while and landed on me. I swallowed hard, preparing for the worst.
“Yes, Dad?”
Just seeing the heat behind his eyes made me quiver in fear. Please, don’t kill me. Please don’t. I shut my eyes in a silent prayer. Lord, if I die here, please forgive me for my sins.
“Are you in love with Chad Montgomery?” Dad asked bluntly.
I opened my eyes and stared at him, dumbfound. “Huh?”
Dad narrowed his eyes and I backed away slightly with a squeak when the chair stopped me. Trapping me with Dad’s glare.
“I’ll say it again. Are you in love with Chad Montgomery?”
Mother’s eyes went wide. “Oh, Rachel! If you told us sooner that you liked Chad, I would’ve invited him for some coffee!”
I laughed sheepishly and waved my hands at them shakily. “No, no! You guys got it all wrong!” I defended with a nervous smile. “I don’t like him or love him! W-we’re not dating at all! Just business partners!”
“Then, why are you hiding it? You’re in love with him! Is that why you’re keeping the business partnership between you two a secret?” Dad demanded hotly. “Honestly, I didn’t expect that you’d like him Rachel!”
I could see the flames in his eyes and I held up my hands. “N-no! Dad, I don't love him!”
“Damon, don’t yell,” Mom whispered. Her hands rubbed Dad’s shoulder soothingly while staring at him with worry. “Just listen to your daughter, I’m sure she has her reasons.”
That only caused him to frown deeply and to yell once again. “Reasons? Then what are those reasons? I want to hear them! Helen, just look at our daughter! There are a lot of other men out there who deserve a good wife! But she chooses one who doesn’t even know how to have one!”
“Dad…”
“Damon, you’re yelling again,” Mom scolded him. When Dad refused to acknowledge her words, Mom took him by the arm and pushed him out. “Wait there for a while. I’ll talk to her.”
Dad’s brow shot up to his hairline. “What? Hey! You can’t just shoo me away from my own study!”
“Behave yourself,” Mother mumbled. She shut the door and locked it. Dad’s protests grew quiet and Mom only smiled before sitting herself on his seat. “Now, let me have your attention, dear.”
I looked at her in disbelief before answering, “Yes.”
Mother smiled. She propped up an elbow and rested her chin on her hand.
“So, is it true? Do you like the young man?” Before I could shake my head, Mom giggled to herself. “You can tell me the truth, dear. Chad Montgomery may have a reputation with the ladies, but I can’t deny that he’s good looking. So, why do you like him?”
“Mom, not you, too!” I moaned. “I don’t like him, Mom. We’re just business partners and friends.”
Friends.
“We’re friends, aren’t we?”
Mother nodded. “I see. So, you don’t hold special feelings for him. At all?”
I shook my head vigorously, hoping that she would take my point.
“All right. Then, why did you hide your partnership with the Montgomerys’ son?”
Hearing her words, I lowered my head to the ground. If I tell her, then my chances of being-
“Is it because you ran into trouble with the company? Is that it?” Mother suggested. “Or did you run out of funds? I know that the factory burned down and I know how much money it cost to build it up again. So, you can tell me.”
“I…” I trailed off. Shame filled me and I refused to face her. “No investors were willing to invest anymore. I ran out of funds and I don’t want to bother you guys. I…wanted to stand up for myself. The idea of being dependent again made my body squirm with unease. The last time I was dependent, it didn’t do me any good.”
“Oh, dear, why didn’t you tell me sooner?” The sound of the chair moving reached my ears, and before I knew it I felt my mother’s arms around me. “Is this because of…Nathan?” I felt teardrops flow down my cheeks and I cried. Mother accepted this and tightened her embrace. “There, there. Rachel, it’s all right to depend on me and your father. We’re your parents. This is why we work—because we want to provide the best for you and Harvey.”
I felt the guilt inside me well up even more. They’re giving all their money, the company, everything they own to a daughter who doesn’t even like handling business. A useless daughter. I bit my lip hard and buried my face with my hands.
“S-sorry… I’m so sorry.”
“No need to apologize, dear.” Mother pulled away, removed my hands and wiped my tears. “I can tell you’ll be a great businesswoman. You taking Chad as your business partner proved that.” She sighed. “To be honest, I don’t know why your dad dislikes him. I’ll talk to him about that matter, so don’t fret.”
“Please, don’t tell Dad. I don’t want him to worry,” I whispered. Adding my plight to his would only make things worse and I was glad Mom understood.
“I won’t. And you won’t have to worry about funds, dear. This is only your training. It’s all right to ask.”
“Thank you, Mom.”
A knock came from the door. “Am I allowed inside already?” We both laughed and I proceeded to open the door to let Dad in. His stare shifted between and my mother, who only giggled softly at her husband.
Dad scratched his head. “Care to tell me?”
“I’ll tell you, Damon. Your daughter needs some rest.”
Mom pushed me gently out of the study room. I turned back to see the door click shut. I blinked at it a few times, before moving silently to my bedroom. Passing by Harvey’s room, I quietly opened the door and peeked in. The room was dark, and soft snores was the only thing I heard besides the ticking of the clock on his nightstand. I smiled softly and closed the door.
Sacrifice.
Sacrifice my joy for the happiness of my parents and Harvey is what I’ll do.
It’s the right thing to do.
***
After a hearty breakfast, I went directly into my office and started to work. Anything that would take my mind off what had occurred last night. Don’t think about it, I’m sure Mr. Montgomery has even forgotten about it. Just relax and forget it.
The door suddenly burst open. Just hearing Arianne’s meek protests, I didn’t have to guess hard on who was barging in right now. I mentally sighed. I guess fate has other plans.
“What are you doing here?” I questioned Chad, who walked in like he owned the place or something.
I looked at him from head to toe. To be honest, I felt more comfortable seeing him wearing a suit, but Chad wearing casual clothes was somewhat…refreshing.
“What’s the matter?”
Gosh, he caught me staring. I blinked once or twice. Act cool. Just. Act. Cool. I closed my eyes and coughed, shaking my head.
“Nothing,” I curtly answered, looking away.
“If you’re trying to act cool, you failed.” He chuckled. I sighed and turned to face him. Before I knew it, he flopped down on the seat in front of my desk. “Let’s play chess,” he suggested. He lifted his hand and placed the chess board on top of my folders.
I suppressed a twitch and took a deep breath. It’s too early to deal with this man.
“As you can see, I’m still busy—”
“Ah? You’re backing off right now?” Chad questioned with a leering smile. It brought chills up and down my spine. “Seriously, Rachel, I’m beginning to think you’re trying to avoid me. I comforted you yest—”
“Let’s forget about what occurred last night,” I hissed. Earning a chuckle from Chad, I rubbed both of my temples and sighed, defeated. “Fine. Let’s play.” I guess it won’t hurt to play a little. Because if I don’t, Chad will only pester me. By the way, why is he even here?
Chad set the chess board up and I began to prepare my tactics on how to defeat him so I could get back to work. It’s time to put those skills to the test.
After three turns passed, I ended up losing. Again. I suppressed another sigh. As we set the chess board to the beginning once again, I frowned at Chad’s words.
“So, what did your parents do to you last night?”
“Nothing that would interest you.”
Chad laughed aloud. “Come on, everything concerns me. The way your father stared at me last night, I thought it was the end of my life.”
And it almost was, until I saved both our sorry butts.
“I tried to convince them that I don’t like you.”
“It’s a useless endeavor.”
“You made it like that,” I retorted. “You made them think that way.”
A scoff escaped his lips. I shook my head lightly and glanced at him, face grim.
“If we continue it like this, people will grow suspicious.” My comment made him look up from the chessboard and throw a smirk at me.
“What’s the matter? It’s not like we have something to hide. Or, do we?”
When I pinched him, he let out a pained expression and muttered a curse word. I lifted my hand and moved my bishop across the board, trapping his king.
“My parents think that I like you, or something. I made it clear to them that it’s only business. But the rest don’t know that.”
Questions that were absurd and horrifying at the same time. I didn’t expect them to think that way, especially Dad.
“Are you in love with Chad Montgomery? Is that why you’re keeping the business partnership between you two a secret? Honestly, I didn’t expect that you’d like him, Rachel! There are a lot of other men out there who deserve a good wife.”
“Oh, Rachel! If you told us sooner that you liked Chad, I would’ve invited him for some coffee!”
He had added even more bodyguards to our unit and made sure that Percy never left my side. I spared the man standing at the doorway a glance. He had been there a few minutes after our first game started. I thought Dad would enforce his security later on, but I guess I spoke too soon. Even if Percy’s eyes were covered by the dark tint of his glasses, I knew he was staring at us.
“Why? Are you afraid that my fan base would gang up on you for stealing me away?” Chad chuckled deeply while diverting his king away from my bishop. I proceeded to pursue his king until my bishop ended up eaten by his rook.
I widened my eyes a fraction, before deciding to change my tactic. “A fan base? Are you popular enough to even have one?”
A smirk made its way onto his face and he let out a hum of satisfaction. “It would be impossible not to have one with this face.”
I rolled my eyes and pushed my pawn into the enemy’s territory, ready to sacrifice pieces to gain the upper hand. “You’re unbelievable.”
When he didn’t say a word, I looked up to see him smile and move his queen. My lips parted in surprise at what just happened. There is no way out.
“Check.”
I let out a sigh as Chad cheered in victory, defeating me for the fourth time. His commotion made Percy spring up in alarm. Seeing that it was only Chad cheering, he eased himself and leaned against the wall. I leaned back on my chair and raised a brow.
“Tell me, besides wanting to play chess, why are you here?”
“Come on, Rachel. Stop pretending that nothing happened.”
Chad’s smirk grew when I blushed at the reminder. The images of vomiting on his shoes, being drunk and pouring out my problems to him flashed before my eyes. It was embarrassing, really. But what was more embarrassing was that I told Chad, out of all people. Even Francine and Patton didn’t know the whole details about the matter concerning my ex-fiancé. All they knew is that he cheated and I left him at the altar. Letting them know the dark details would only cause war between them. That was the last thing I wanted to happen.
Percy’s curious stare that was well hidden by his shades didn’t go unnoticed by me. I quickly pinched Chad’s hand. The man only responded by letting out a yelp, only to be silenced by another glare of mine.
“Will you please stop talking about it?” I half-whispered, half-hissed at him, stretching out the ‘please’.
“Will you please stop pinching me?” he fired back, cradling his hand. I reached out to pinch him again, when he caught my hand and gave it a squeeze.
“Didn’t I tell you to stop?”
“Then stop making me remember that night,” I whispered fervently, as I tried to free my hand from his grasp. He only tightened his hold and gave me a smile.
“What night? Oh, that night.”
Knowing what he was suggesting, I glanced at Percy, only to find him looking away. I felt my cheeks grow hot and I threw Chad a murderous glare.
“Stop it,” I ordered. Unfortunately, it fell on deaf ears.
“I remember that night clearly. How you wanted me to—”
Chad’s words were cut off when I hit his head with a folder, the nearest thing I could grab.
“Hey! You hit me again!” Another hit. “Maxwell, stop it!” I threw another hit and he was already wincing. I was in a fit of laughter before I could land another hit, making it easy for Chad to grab the folder and pull it away.
“Why did you hit me? I thought we were friends?”
“You were suggesting something revolting that didn’t happen. You’re horrible,” I accused. A sound, similar to a puppy being kicked, escaped his lips, and before I knew it Chad was pouting at me.
“Ouch. That really hurt, Maxwell. And here I thought we were friends.”
“Friends tell the truth. Even if it hurts,” I replied with no remorse. Want ice? For that burn? When he remained silent, I sat back once again and rested both of my hands on my lap. “Honestly, why are you here?”
Chad rubbed his chin fondly, while staring nowhere in particular. “Let me try to remember.” Casting him a deadpan expression, I watch him mumble to himself about why he was here. What a troublesome guy. I let out a sigh and frowned at him. “Stop playing around and tell me.”
“Geez, you’re such an impatient woman,” Chad remarked. His statement didn’t make my expression waver nor change. With a short nod, Chad slightly leaned forward. “I propose that we should announce our partnership to the world instead of hiding it. Maybe host a party?” Chad smiled. “I figured that now your parents know, you should just announce it to the public for everyone to know.”
Is that it? I closed my eyes briefly and considered his words. He has a point: My parents already know and it’ll only take a matter of time for the media to find out. It’ll be even more suspicious to them that we didn’t announce it sooner. I sighed, defeated. Anyways, there’s no loss in telling them.
“Fine,” I answered curtly. Chad didn’t hide his enthusiasm and just went hollering. Arianne, who walked in carrying the coffee we asked for, took a step back in surprise. Luckily, she didn’t spill any of the beverage, and proceeded to place them on my desk.
“Thank you, Arianne.”
Turning to the now calm man, I took my cup of coffee. “I’ll have my lawyer change the terms of my contract.”
“It’s a good thing we agreed on this together. I thought you’d put up a little fight to keep our partnership a secret.” Chad smiled. The glint in his eyes didn’t go unnoticed. He’s been waiting for this opportunity to show off.
“Well, there’s no point in hiding it anymore.” Not when you tried to make it obvious a couple of times. With that said, I lifted the cup and drank the strong beverage. After that night, I’d decided to never drink too much alcohol ever again. It seemed, every time I did, Chad Montgomery never failed to show up. The thought alone made me feel uneasy. I shouldn’t be around this man for too long or I’ll go nuts!
“Ah! Now that we’re telling the public about it, what about our relationship?”
I choked on my drink and coughed heavily, before throwing him a look of disbelief. “What? What are you talking about?” I demanded crossly.
Chad laughed and pointed at me, tears brimming his eyes. Seeing him continuously slapping his thigh while sniggering made my cheeks burn.
Chad suddenly stopped short, and I thought it was the end of his boisterous laughter when it grew even louder. “D-do it again! With those cheeks, you look exactly like a plum!”
“What?!”
I grabbed the nearest thick folder and whacked his head. Chad cried out in pain but still managed to throw pestering words. This man is unbelievable!