Meeting Mr. Mogul: A Billionaire Contemporary Romance (28 page)

After taking a quick shower and changing into fresh clothes, I headed back to the kitchen. I stealthily made my way there, thinking that William was still cooking.

“Hey. The food is ready,” William greeted after he gulped down a glass of orange juice.

I stopped in my tracks as a blush slowly crept into my face. In my embarrassment, I quickly made my way to the empty stool across from him.

“So, any plans for today?” William casually asked after a few moments of silence.

“What?” I asked, startled by his question. I grabbed my glass of juice and took a huge gulp before giving him a proper reply. “Well, I’m heading out to the hospital as usual.”

“Are you going right after this?” he asked as I continued to eat like nothing had happened between us.

I gave him a brief nod as I chewed on my food. William eyed me for a second before getting back to his meal, swallowing it down like he was being timed. I looked at him with wide eyes as I gobbled up the food on my spoon. When he was finished, he quietly stood up and placed his empty plate on the sink where the frying pan he used was being soaked.

He stood there for a second like he was analyzing the situation. I smiled at his clueless expression as he suddenly grabbed the sponge and squirted liquid soap on it.

“Use the gloves if you’re washing those. It’s in the cabinet right there,” I said pointing at the location of the cleaning gloves. I kept my facial expression serious the whole time.

He turned towards me with a knowing look and followed my orders. I continued to study him as he rolled up his sleeves and put on the gloves. I watched as he slowly and messily cleaned the dishes like a kid. I smiled at his kindness and effort. I never thought I’d see a time when William Maxwell would be washing my dishes.

“Thank you for cooking breakfast and washing the dishes,” I said after he placed the last plate in the cabinet. “You know I have a dishwasher right?” I added with a smirk.

William turned towards me with wide eyes. “You could have said something before I did all of that,” he stated, his eyes blazed in annoyance.

“And, what? Ruin my fun on watching you finally do some chores? I bet that was the first time you’ve ever washed the dishes,” I remarked as I watched his lips stretch into a thin line at his discomfort. By the looks of it, I knew I was right.

“Yeah… Yeah...” He waved in dismissal as he removed the gloves.

I chuckled at his reaction and stood up. I walked towards him and carried my empty plate and glass, placing them in the bubbly sink.

“You go rest now. I’ll clean this up,” I stated as I nudged him towards the living room. “You can use the couch or the bed.”

“I’m fine,” he mumbled in annoyance but followed my orders.

I watched him walk towards the couch and slump down in relief. I shook my head and turned back to the work at hand. It only took me five minutes to finish cleaning in the kitchen, which is a short amount of time to distance myself from William. I let out a huge shaky breath as I walked towards him.

“I’m done. I think I’m going to go now,” my voice quivered slightly as my nerves sunk in. I don’t know why I felt nervous all of a sudden. 

“Oh. Okay.” He turned towards me and stood up quickly as he straightened his wrinkled clothes. I don’t know why he even bothered.

I quickly grabbed my things from my room while William waited for me outside. After I locked the door behind me, I heard a loud gasp. I turned towards the sound, feeling the air being sucked out of me. The situation felt familiar but this was more dreadful since the man beside me was no other than William Maxwell.

“Andy! Morning!” Ally greeted awkwardly, her voice slightly an octave higher than normal.

“Morning,” I greeted back with a strained smile.

“Oh, and Mr. Maxwell, good morning.” Ally turned to William, giving him a shy smile.

“Good morning. And, you must be…?” he replied with a small smile as he offered his hand to shake.

“Allison Coleman. I live just across from Andy.” Ally quickly grabbed his hand and shook it lightly as she pointed at her door with her free hand.

“Right. Uhm, we need to go now. We’re running a bit late for his meeting and stuff…” I grabbed William’s elbow and pulled him towards the elevator.

Ally noticed the urgency in my voice and made a quick retreat towards her apartment, saying she left something behind. As William turned his back on her, walking towards the lift, I gave Ally a quick glance as she looked at me with a playful look in her eyes.

I mentally cursed at the bad luck that just rained on me the moment I stepped out of my apartment. I wished I had stayed inside and let William go ahead of me. But that would be a bit rude, considering he’s still not well. We finally got out of my apartment building without experiencing another awkward encounter and as I was about to bid him farewell, he had another plan in mind.

“Would it be a bother if you walked me back to my apartment?” he asked. From the tone of his voice, I didn’t really have a say on that matter.

“I don’t know why you have to ask. From the looks of it, you aren’t letting me go until I say yes,” I replied sarcastically, rolling my eyes at him.

He studied my expression for a moment before giving me a sly smile. “Right this way then,” he said as he gestured in the direction of his apartment building.

The walk back to his place was short and silent. I spent most of the time glancing around, checking if anyone was following us. I was starting to get a bit paranoid whenever I was out in public with Mr. Mogul. I don’t really want a repeat of last time. I sighed in relief when we reached the main lobby without being harassed by the paparazzi. I was about to leave when he stopped me again.

“Can you come up with me? I have something to give you before you go,” he asked, making me close my mouth before I could say anything.

“Oh. Uhm… sure.”

As we stepped inside the elevator, I started speculating about what William wanted to give me. If it was about work, Alexandra would have given it to me through her other connections. From the last task she had given me with the gallery, it seemed like she didn’t trust William.

When we reached his floor, my heart started to pound from nervousness. I was hesitant when William stepped out of the elevator. I thought about closing the elevator and leaving him but William instantly turned around and held out his arm to stop the metal doors from closing

“I know what you’re thinking,” he stated scornfully.

“I wasn’t thinking anything,” I replied shyly as I felt my face heat up. I turned away and walked past him.

We went inside his apartment silently. I didn’t think I would come back to this place in such a short time. The memory from last time was still fresh in my mind. I flinched as I heard William walk behind me.

“Please make yourself comfortable while I go get that thing…” he offered, his voice faint as he slowly backed away towards the direction of his room.

I nodded in reply as I walked towards the huge black couches. When I heard a distant sound of a door closing, I let out a huge sigh of relief as I sat down. I looked around his apartment again. The dim light seeping through the clear glass window made the room feel empty and spacious because of the lack of furniture. I can’t understand why he wanted so much empty space. Is he claustrophobic?

“Thank you for waiting.”

The sudden sound of his voice made me jump in fright. I turned towards him with wide eyes. “Can you please not sneak up on me?” I mumbled in annoyance as I tried to calm my frantic heart. For a second, I noticed that he was wearing fresh new clothes.

“Sorry,” he smiled apologetically in reply. “So, you’re going to the hospital today? That would mean you’ll be there for the whole day, right?” he asked, changing the topic quickly.

“Yes,” I replied, as I looked him suspiciously.

“Oh. Okay. Then, let’s go,” he stated enthusiastically as he walked towards me, grabbing my wrist and pulling me out of the seat.

“What do you mean
‘let’s go’
?” I asked dumbfounded.

“We are going. Mark is downstairs waiting in the car,” he replied casually, unaffected by my tone.

“Was this your plan all along?” I asked him accusingly.

“If we keep on talking here, your father will be worried wondering why you’re late,” he spouted as he continued to pull me towards the door.

When I finally came to my senses, I pulled my wrist out of his grip and took a step back from him as I glanced the door. I looked back at him as my eyes narrowed in frustration and anger.

“I’m not falling for this trick. Don’t think I already forgot what you did yesterday,” I threatened him, my voice dripping with venom.

“I know you haven’t forgotten about it. You’re not dense. Well, at least, not about that…” he said wearily as he sighed. “Can you please come down to the car with me before you start with the sermon? I promise you, I will listen to you then,” he added.

“I’m not dense about anything,” I mumbled. “Okay, fine. Let’s go down now,” I added more loudly and gestured for him to lead the way.

I can’t believe he tricked me into coming with him so that he can come with me to meet my father at the hospital. What was his motive? Why was he doing this? He already knew what I thought of him. Why was he still trying?

When we finally reached the lobby, I was having second thoughts about my decision on allowing him to tag along. I’m not really ready to place him and my father in the same room again, especially after yesterday’s episodes, but it was too late to back out now.

William was very quiet as we walked towards the car. He looked almost nervous, but I didn’t pay much attention to it since my thoughts were elsewhere. I faintly recognized Mark as he opened the passenger door. I gave him a small nod of greeting before going inside the car.

“What took you guys so long?”

My head looked animated as it whipped quickly in his direction. I was startled at the familiar sound of my father’s voice. Then, his face broke into a smile as we stared eye to eye. The end of his lips twitched upward. I stood frozen outside the opened car door.

“What? You look like you’ve seen a ghost?” he asked teasingly as his frail voice chuckled.

“Dad? Wha—what are you doing…?” I asked as I choked on my words in shock.

“William here called me early this morning for an invitation to a baseball game. How could I refuse to watch it live and in a bunker suite, right?” he replied. His face broke into a genuine smile.

“I was merely asking him if he wanted to come. He told me yesterday he was a fan and a friend had given me tickets. And, he told me you had to come,” William stated behind me, his voice somehow lacked its usual authoritative tone.

“When did you plan this?” I slowly turned to face William. My voice was low as emotions tried to punch their way through my guarded façade.

“Last night. And I finally decided to just wing it this morning…” he admitted softly as he turned his face away from my gaze.

“Well… Uhm… thank you…” I stated awkwardly, my voice lacking sincerity.

“Right, then, let’s go. The game will start in an hour or so,” he interjected, breaking our moment of awkwardness.

He lightly nudged my arm towards the car, making me roll my eyes at him. As I got in beside my dad, I heard his faint chuckle. I can’t help but smile at the sound of his delight. At this moment, I had no idea where this so-called “friendship” is going. If you asked me, I would probably freak myself out with my answer.

The car ride to the game was slightly cramped. I was wedged between my father and William. Though the car was huge and there was enough legroom, being seated between two full-grown men was not at all comfortable in any way. I was mostly leaning away from William while not crushing my father on my other side.

Somehow, on the way there, I felt William slightly twist himself on the side, giving me more room to breathe. I quickly stole a glance in his direction and found him looking out of the window. I looked at him for a moment longer, enough for me to see a small smile escape his guarded lips. I glanced away from him and turned to my other side, where my father was doing the same thing but his eyes were gleaming with happiness.

My dad laughed as he shook his head in amusement. I couldn’t help but let out a small squeal of excitement when we finally reached our destination. William suddenly looked at me. He was startled at my reaction but he laughed it off like my father.

“Are you ready?” William asked his face broke out into a huge grin.

I eyed him for a second as my eyes tried to remember his rare smile while my heart tried to calm itself down. “Ready as I’ll ever be,” I replied gleefully, my enthusiasm breaking my entire hard exterior.

Beside me, my father smiled at my enthusiasm as he gestured for William to get out of the car. I didn’t notice that the two men in front had already gotten out as they opened the door for us. I didn’t think twice and followed William after he got out while my father exited on the other side of the car.

In that moment, I had forgotten what happened in the past few hours—how I treated William so begrudgingly and how he constantly kept invading my privacy. Why can’t he just give up? And why can’t I get away from him?