Chapter 18: XENDER ARMSTRONG

“You again? Why are you everywhere? Are you stalking me?”

“Stalking you—why would I even do that? You are the one who is everywhere. First, you dumped your food with me; second, you made my night a living hell; and third, you had to run away with my shirt.” 

Why here? Why can't I just see him in another place other than here? 

“I will return your shirt to you, but can you not start an argument with me? I really have things I want to do.”

“I want my shirt now; how can you be so ungrateful? You had to leave a note; is that how you thank someone who went through hell to keep you safe?”

“Keep me safe from what?”

“You are one hell of a lady. I want you to have that shirt delivered to me by the end of the day.”

"Well, as you can see, I'm in a meeting. Did you really have to follow me here because of your shirt?”

“Do you actually think I followed you here? I was invited to this business gathering; I just happened to see you here.”

I can't believe I actually thought he followed me here. Even the house he lives in shows that he is not an ordinary person.

I need to get out of here; having him stand this close to me is becoming more uncomfortable. And to think that I still can't remember what happened last night.

I saw my dad speaking to a middle-aged man, and I decided to use him as my escape.

“If you would excuse me, I still have people I need to meet with.”

“Good, now let me have your number." He said this as he passed his phone to me.

“But I already promised to send your shirt back to you; I can even buy you a brand new one if you want.”

“I don't need a new one; I want that same shirt back. Now leave your contact information behind.”

“Fine, you don't have to be a jerk about it,” I said, watching as a frown appeared on his face. I didn't mean to call him a jerk, but he was becoming so annoying.

I inputted my number and gave him back his phone.

“Happy?” I asked why I was rolling my eyes at him.

“Not yet,” he said before he dialled my number. My phone started ringing inside my bag, which I grabbed and took out, shaking it in front of him.

“Satisfied?”

“Yes”

I sighed out of frustration and walked away from him to meet my dad, who was now standing alone with a glass of wine in his hand.

“Dad, I'm sorry I left you alone for a while. I went to grab a glass of water.” I said to him:.

“It's okay; I knew you needed some breaks.” 

"So, when am I meeting Mr. Armstrong?” I asked; I just wanted to get this over with so that I could leave here in peace.

“I was discussing this with him a few minutes ago, but he excused himself to talk to his son.”

“His son? I didn't know Mr. Xender Armstrong was married.” My words had my dad laughing while I was confused.

“You are very funny, Alda. How come you don't know that Xender Armstrong is a son of Michael Armstrong?”

“Oh, so Xender is the son. But then I'm confused: Who owns M & J Suit Up, the son or the father?” I asked when I couldn't guess who I would be signing the contract with.

“Xender owns M & J Suit Up, but his father decided to sponsor this project.” I nodded my head, indicating I was able to grab what he said.

“Here they come,” my dad said, pointing behind me. I turned to meet my awaited business partner, only to find the same guy standing in front of me.

“You again?” I asked, which left my dad and the middle-aged man I assumed to be Mr. Armstrong staring at us both in confusion.

“Have you met Xender before?” Mr. Armstrong asked.

“He is Xender, as in Xender Armstrong?” I asked with my eyes wide open.

“Yes. Let me introduce you to my daughter. She is the owner of Glams Beauty and Fashion. Please meet my daughter; her name is Alda.” My dad introduced me to Mr. Armstrong, who had this beautiful smile on his face, and that made him look more handsome and younger.

“Alda, that's a beautiful name for a beautiful damsel." He said that and took my hand as he kissed it.

“It's nice to meet you too. You have a lovely smile, and I must confess, you are so handsome.” I said to him, and he laughed out.

“Thank you, dear. I have always been popular among girls; your dad here can testify.” He said. He was staring at my dad with a teasing smile on his face.

“Michael has always had a way of stealing girls attention back when we were younger. He almost stole your mum away from me, but my love for her won her over.”

As my dad and Mr. Armstrong were busy catching up on their old times together, I was busy staring at the guy who was introduced as Xender Armstrong.

Just when I thought this project was going to get my mind off Seth, why do I have to be stuck with him? Why couldn't it be another person?

“I'm so sorry we got carried away,” Mr. Armstrong said after a while of talking and gisting with my father.

“It's okay; I would do the same if I were in your shoes. Catching up on old times is really fun and memorable.” I said, trying to hide the discomfort that was brought to me by the young man standing close to his father and staring fixedly at me.

“You must be Xender; it's nice to meet you.” My dad said, extending his hand, which he accepted and said,

“The pressure is all mine.”

“It looks like you both already know each other,” Mr. Armstrong said, looking from his son to me, waiting for us to clear him off.

“Well, we have met each other on a few occasions, but I never knew who he was,” I plainly said.

“What do you mean by a few occasions? We have been seeing each other more often than I thought.” Xender said with a smirk on his face.

What is he trying to do—put me in a tight position in front of our fathers?

“What do you mean, son?” Mr. Armstrong asked.

“It's nothing; how about we both go discuss for a while and leave you two alone?” I said, letting out a nervous laugh while glaring at Xender.

I drag him by the hand away from his dad and mine. I took him outside the hall before forcefully pushing his hand away from mine.

“Hey, easy. Do you want to break my wrist?”

“What is your problem? Are you trying to get me in trouble?”

“Get you in trouble? I was only going to tell them the truth.”

“What truth?”

“About our relationship, I can't believe I saw your ID yesterday and yet didn't know you were Mr. Barnard's daughter.”

“You went through my suffs?

"Technically, I saved your ass yesterday from the robbers." Did he just say robbers?

“I was robbed yesterday. But when and how?”

“You were too drunk to notice, but you are welcome.” He said it with a pleasant smile on his face.

“No, I am not welcome. How come you didn't tell me about this?” I said as I began to pace around. I have a lot of my valuables in that bag. And to think that I didn't bother to check if I was missing anything.

“Relax. I made sure I took back all your belongings from them.”

"Well, it is not like you know everything that was in that bag.”

“Your ID card, some makeup stuff, work files, pregnancy stripes,” My eyes widened in shock when he mentioned that. My hands flew to his mouth, stopping him from saying anything else.

This guy is a teaser. How can he talk so casually while making me uncomfortable?

“You don't have to say anything else; I'm sure they are complete.”

“Good, so now can I get the thank-you I have been waiting for because I deserve it?”

“Thank you. Are you happy now?” How can he be so annoying?

“No one says thank you to people with that tone.”

“What does my tone have to do with me appreciating you for what you did?”

“Hmm, thinking about it now, it had a lot to do with it. How we express our words defines our emotions.”

I turned towards him and smiled sweetly at him. You want to express my words, right?

“Thank you so much, Mr. Armstrong, for being my saviour in my darkest moments. You shine like a light that blinds my enemies. May you forever live long,” I said in a deep British tone.

“Are you reciting an ancient book or something?” I totally ignored him as he continued laughing as I walked away.