14

Chapter 14

It's Sunday and it's a good thing we don't have an office duty for today. I spent the whole morning tending to their garden; pulling out weeds and replanting seedlings in a bigger pot. I also watered Mrs. Preston's orchid collection on their private greenhouse. Richard is giving me the silent treatment today I see. That's good. I don't mind the serenity but I can literally see him observing me at a distance like a hawk watching its prey

It's almost two in the afternoon when the doorbell rang. I opened the door and saw a pretty woman standing outside.

"Good day madam. How can I help you?" I asked her since nobody was scheduled to visit the house today.

"Hi! I'm here to see Richard." she replied. Before I could even ask if she has an appointment, she let herself in. Okay... Is Richard expecting her?

"Excuse me ma'am but I need you to wait in the foyer while I call for Richard."

"Yes but-" I was about to stop her from entering further when Richard intervened.

"It's fine Carl. I'll take it from here."

"Richard!" the woman squealed and jumped like a rabbit to hug him. I heard Richard groan from the sudden weight he has to carry.

"What brings you here?" he asked as he let go of the visitor.

"I heard you're back in town and I wanted to confirm if you will be attending my parent's wedding anniversary tomorrow."

"I just spoke to your father about it. You didn't have to come to our house just to confirm."

"But I wanted to see you. So it's a yes then?"

"Yes. I was planning on going." Richard replied.

What a liar. It's not even on his schedule. The woman screeched again in joy and jumped excitedly. I left the two as they continued their conversation on the lounge and proceeded to the kitchen to prepare some refreshment for our guest. I then noticed the box of pastries that Richard has left untouched on the countertop so I decided to put it on the tray to partner it with the drinks.

I heard laughter as I approach the sunroom. The moment I entered the room, I saw the woman affectionately holding Richard's arm while she's giggling as if he told her a funny joke. I left the tray on the table and went off my way.

An hour has passed before I saw the two come out of the sunroom. I politely smiled at the woman as a way to say goodbye and she decided to approach me.

"By the way, the pastries are delicious. Richard mentioned you got it from a friend." she said.

I looked behind her and saw Richard sulking like a child.

"I can give you his contact details if you want." I offered.

"OMG, yes please! That would be great."

I quickly went to the kitchen and plucked Damien's calling card that he taped on the pastry box. I gave it to the woman and she expressed her gratitude. After a minute more of talking, she finally bid goodbye to Richard.

Once the silence enveloped the room, he nudged my arm lightly and I immediately turned to him. "What?" I asked reflexively in annoyance before I realized that I first broke the silence. This sneaky guy.

"Prepare your best dress tomorrow. We are going to that party." he instructed.

As if I have a choice.

"Fine. What time? I'm going to block your schedule."

"Party starts at nine but we need to be there by eight." he replied.

"Noted. Do you need help with anything? Clothes? Gift? RSVP?"

"Nope. I'm all good." he said and grinned conceitedly as if he won the great war.

===========================

The day at the office passed by awfully boring without much happening. It's afternoon now and I am already in my dress suit waiting for his royal highness Richard to come down the stairs and grace me with his presence. I preoccupied myself by fiddling with my fingers until I heard his footsteps.

I have to admit, he sure knows to dress for an occasion. I always saw him in his office attire but he's looking very dapper in his dark silk suit he's wearing. It might also be because he groomed his hair to perfection that it makes his attractive face more striking.

He handed me a small paper bag and instructed me to open it.

"What's this?" I asked. It might be his obligatory gift to the party but why is he asking me to open it?

"It's for you." he replied.

"Me?" I confirmed.

"Just open the damn package and you'll know."

Fine. I carefully parted the opening of the bag and took out its content which made me more confused.

"A phone?" I questioned. Inside the bag was the latest mobile phone in the market.

"Obviously." Richard scoffed sarcastically.

"Yes we're looking at the same object but why?"

"You must have forgotten that I almost turned to the police because I don't have the means to contact you."

Oh. That. But I can't accept this. It's probably very expensive. Besides, I can afford to buy a cheaper model but decided not to buy one anymore since I can't think of any other reason to buy my own personal phone instead of utilizing the work phones at home. Richard sensed that I was going to decline his gift so he immediately walked away towards the parking area.

"I already saved my number there. If I call you, make sure to answer it." he said.

I have no choice but to put the phone in my pocket.

"By the way, who was that girl yesterday?" I ask while we were on the road.

"And you're curious about the girl because...?"

"I wanted to know who's party are we going to."

"Andrea." he said. I was waiting for him to continue his thoughts but he just literally mentioned the girl's name even when I stared at him frustratingly.

"And?" I asked with mild annoyance. "Who's  Andrea?"

"She's my childhood friend. Don't worry about her too much. She's not going to replace you."

I can't believe this idiot actually misinterpreted my irritation to his ability to completely answer my question to jealousy.

"And what's her family name?"

"Hawthorne."

Ah. The Hawthornes. Mr. Daniel and Mrs. Melinda. One of the closest business partners of the Preston family.

"Did you bring a gift for them?" I'm gonna kill this guy if he didn't.

"Already did. Procurement delivered it earlier to their house."

"Good."

End of conversation. In no time, we have finally reached the venue. The Hawthorne residence is grand and impressive. A display of old money legacy.  We were welcomed by a valet who took over the car and another attendant showed us the way into the opulent property.

I saw Mr. Daniel talking with his fellow business partners in a distance.

"That's the type of crowd you might want to join in the conversation." I said to Richard and discreetly pointed to the group of men with powerful positions.

"Then let's go." he agreed.

"Why? Do you need some babysitting?" I retorted which seemed to offend him. "Look, if you want others to respect you in the office, start by making decisions on your own." I advised.

"Richard! You're here!" Andrea shrieked.

Obviously.

"I told you I'd come." replied Richard. I observed them as they exchange stories with each other like dear old friends. In a rare occurrence, Richard is beaming and looks genuinely happy to engage in a conversation. From what I know, the heiress to the Hawthorne fortune is still studying in the university which means that she is younger than Richard.

And that's when it all makes sense to me! I remember this one time when I was in my room reviewing for our final examination and Richard entered my room out of the blue to ask me a question.

"Would you date someone younger than you?" he asked without even saying some pleasantries.

"What?" I heard his question but I just wanted to know why he suddenly barged into my room with that question like it's an urgent matter.

"Is it possible to like someone younger than you?" he rephrased the question.

"Of course."

"Then would you consider dating someone who is younger than you?"

"I don't know." I shrugged. "I just turned 18 and dating someone younger than me would make me a sex offender."

And when I asked him if he likes someone younger than him, he just walked out of my room apparently not in the mood to talk about his crush. I felt guilty that I answered his serious question with a quip but he chose a bad time to talk about his teenage crush which I though would disappear within a couple of days. Apparently that was not the case.

Andrea's phone rang and she read the message.

"Oh! He's here!" she exclaimed.

Richard asked who while Andrea replied to her texter.

"Your friend!" she replied enthusiastically and I'm confused because she directed her answer to me.

"Me?" I pointed to myself. I don't recall having any friends that would be invited to this party except for Richard.

"Yes!" she confirmed. "Over here!" she called someone's attention and I saw someone carrying a stack of boxes.

"Damien?" I called his name when I recognized who she's pertaining to.

He was as confused as I am.

"Hey!" he acknowledged my presence but then  turned his attention to Andrea. "Where should I put this boxes?"

"You can put it on the long table beside the fountain." she instructed.

He nodded and took a step forward towards the destination but a couple of boxes almost fell from the towering pile of goods he's carrying so I volunteered to help him by taking half of his burden. Andrea praised how delicious the bread she ate yesterday and even invited Damien to stay in the party since 'a friend of Richard is also a friend of hers' which did not amuse Richard in the slightest because his beaming face turned into a frown in an instant.

In the end, we all separated ways. Damien and I put the pastries on the table while Richard and her joined the elite circle. I felt the phone on my pocket vibrate and I fished it out only to see a text message from Richard.

Come to me when you're done.

I replied to his message.

You should learn how to talk with your business partners without a mediation.

Satisfied, I put the phone back in my pocket and  asked Damien how his day was going. Oh I feel that this is going to be a long night.