Chapter 134: Countdown
Love Slave to the Mafia Boss's Passion
"Welcomeâ¦" the boss said in greeting before he smiled at me.
"Helloâ¦" I said softly.
"Why are we here?" Hayden asked, cutting to the chase.
"I wanted to talk to Malissa and youâre just her driver," the boss replied with a laugh.
He seemed to be in a good mood today. Hayden didnât find his joke funny, but I thought that it was a good attempt. We took our seat on the long sofa opposite the boss. Hayden sat next to me.
"I told you just now that I wanted to talk to Malissa, right? So, why are you still here, Hayden?" the boss asked.
"You want me to leave?" Hayden asked in annoyance.
"Yes. Leaveâ¦" the boss spat.
The two men stared at each other down. Seriously, these two father and son just never seemed to get along at all. I wondered what these two were like when Haydenâs elder brother was around. Did they get along better as a trio than as a duo?
Hayden squeezed my hand softly as he looked closely at me. I could see the worry in his blue eyes but I felt quite fine with being left alone with the boss. Actually, there were somethings that I wanted to say to the boss without having Hayden in the room as well.
"Itâs fineâ¦" I whispered to him softly before smiling reassuringly at him.
"Ok. Iâll be waiting just outsideâ¦" Hayden said before he gave my hand one final encouraging squeeze.
I watched as Hayden got up and headed for the door. The door opened and Hayden disappeared through it before the door closed again. Satisfied that Hayden was now gone, the boss turned his full attention on me.
"How have you been?" the boss asked, it was the same question as always.
"Iâm fine. Weâre both doing okâ¦I guessâ¦" I replied.
"I see. The contract is coming to an end soonâ¦" the boss said.
I knew that to be true, so I just nodded. I was right, the boss wanted to talk to me because the contract was coming to an end. We only have five days left and not much is going to change between us at this point. Hayden did say that he wanted us to act normal until the contract came to an end.
Although that meant that we could continue the way we were, that also meant that he was fine with everything coming to an end.
He never talked about continuing our relationship beyond the contract expiry date. Neither did he talk about wanting something more of our relationship. Now that I come to think about it, his mind was still unchanged regarding Amelia. Although, I still couldnât understand that. Now I sort of understood the bossâs frustration at his sonâs stubbornness.
Maybe if I ask Hayden directly about it, he would tell me why he wanted to marry Amelia so badly.
"Yes, thereâs only five days leftâ¦" I said.
"So, youâve been counting down the daysâ¦" the boss said with a little amused laugh.
Yes, I have but now I got more and more scared as the number slowly decreased. One day soon, the number would drop to zero. I didnât know what the boss wanted to say but I knew what I wanted to tell him.
"It might sound out of place for me to say this butâ¦I feel honestly thankful for everything that youâve done for me and my grandmother. Thank you for covering her medical bills and making sure that she receives nothing but the best treatment and care. I truly appreciate what youâve done for us," I said, meaning every word.
"What are you going to do from now on?" the boss asked.
"Ummâ¦" I wasnât sureâ¦
Well, I still donât have a job and no way to pay for her hospital bills if thatâs what heâs talking about. That was another issue that I havenât figured out yet. Perhaps, if her condition is stable enough, I can move her to take care of her at homeâ¦
"What do you plan to do with your life after this contract expires?" the boss asked again.
Honestly, Iâve been so worried about the contract coming to an end that I havenâ thought about what I wanted to do after that. I was probably scared of the changes that would come with the contractâs expiryâ¦especially concerning Haydenâ¦
"Iâm honestly not sure yet. I havenât really put in enough thought into it," I replied honestly.
"You donât have to worry about your grandmother. Iâm more than happy to cover for her expensesâ¦until she wonât be needing it anymoreâ¦" the boss said as if he could read my mind.
"Ohâ¦thank you. I know itâs strange for me to say this butâ¦Iâm sorry that I couldnât give you anything in return. Iâm not marrying Hayden, and, in the end, I couldnât do anything to convince him to take over as the next head of Torex. Iâm sorryâ¦" I said, feeling quite guilty although he was the one who started all of this and not me.
"I wouldnât be too sure about thatâ¦" the boss said before chuckling a little.
"Excuse me?" I said, not quite following what he had just said.
"You may not realize it yet, but I think precisely because of you, Hayden will take over Torex," the boss said, and his eyes twinkled at me.
He seemed quite satisfied with the outcome and I had a feeling that he knew something that I didnât. Either that or he simply saw the world very differently from how I saw it.
"I donât think that he wouldâ¦" I replied, feeling slightly confused.
"Why do you say that?" the boss asked.
Well, because Hayden told me quite clearly that he didnât want toâ¦
"He told me that he hates this jobâ¦" I replied as I reflected back on the moment that Hayden had told me that.
"Is that so? Is that why you didnât want to convince him to do it?" the boss asked knowingly.
I just nodded silently. Thatâs right. It just felt wrong to talk Hayden into something that he didnât want to do. Well, it wasnât like I thought that I could have convinced him to take over Torex no matter how hard I tried which was why I couldnât understand what the boss meant about Hayden taking over. Did Hayden have a sudden change of heart?
--To be continuedâ¦