Celine paced impatiently in her room. She was in deep thoughts. She had played her seduction card. She had left Damien wanting and craving for her. Now she was at a cross road.
Should she walk back to his house?
No, that would be too strange. If she was going to maintain the façade she was carrying. That move would be too calculative to pass as a natural coincidence again. He might smell out her dirty plans and reject her for good.
But staying away for too long wasn’t helping her either.
What if he forgot about her? What if her seduction wasn’t good enough? What if he got furious the moment she walked out of his house?
“God please help your daughter. What do I do?” She wondered to herself as she kept pacing about. She needed this to work. It was her only option. She hadn’t thought of a plan B. Marrying Damien Culhane was the only way she thought of getting the money. If it went down the drain like shit, she would be in great dilemma.
What would she tell John?
That psychopath would only be excited that she wasn’t able to get the money. Because it will mean, she had to give her body to him.
The thoughts of given her body to deranged serial killer brought goosebumps upon her skin. There was just no way she would sit still and watch that happen. She wasn’t going to sit around and allow John have his crazy hands on her body.
She had to get Damien Culhane to marry her.
To do that, she had to find another way to waltz back into his life and make it look natural. The guy already couldn’t resist her, which was a miracle.
If till the end of the week, Damien didn’t come searching for her, she would have to meet up with him somehow. Maybe walk into his office?
“Celine, dinner is ready!” Her aunt called from the kitchen, bringing her out of her thoughts.
“Be right there!” She screamed back louder than necessary. She knew her aunt would complain about it, but she did it anyway. Sometimes she enjoyed riling the woman up a bit.
Grateful for the break, she dashed out of her room and went to the kitchen where her aunt was already seated.
“Celine, what have I told you about keeping your voice low while you are in the house?” Elizabeth began, giving her a stern look.
“Aunt you will live a very long life, nothing will happen to you,” Celine retorted smiling.
“Sometimes you forget my age totally. All the shouts you make is not good for my health.” Elizabeth dished spaghetti in a plate and handed it over to her niece.
“Aunt, nothing will happen to you okay?” Celine replied getting serious. She took the plate from Elizabeth and placed it in front of her.
“I don’t want to ever lose you Aunt. I want you to live long enough to see my children and their children too!” She clasped her hand together in excitement and the sound made Elizabeth jump.
“Celine!” She warned holding her heart.
“Sorry.” Celine mouthed and they both giggled into their meal.
After the meal, Celine collected their plates and moved to the small wash zinc they had to begin scrubbing them.
“You have been very distant lately. How is your intent search on getting Damien going?”
“Well, he hasn’t called me, so you can start rejoicing,” Celine said, her shoulders slumping in defeat.
Maybe her aunt was right, this was a crazy thing to even imagine. What was she thinking, that the billionaire was suddenly going to stop his life and search for her like the prince in Cinderella’s story?
At least Cinderella was smart enough to leave a shoe behind. She left nothing. No shoes, no phone number, no address, nothing! How stupid of her!
“Don’t tell me you have fallen for the guy?” Her aunt gasped. She walked to her to look at her face, so she could read her expressions correctly.
“No aunt, no. I haven’t fallen for him,” Celine said making a face.
She closed her eyes and imagined his face in front of her. His thick eyebrows that were so perfectly trimmed and that stubble she liked in men. She had to admit falling for him would be easy.
Damien was handsome and all but she wasn’t planning on falling for him. That would be disastrous and she didn’t plan on venturing into that lane for now. Maybe when they got married and she got her revenge done, she would consider it then.
She prayed her aunt would just let the matter be and speak to her about the latest news or one of her brightest students in class.
But luck was never on her side.
“Why are you all quiet and thoughtful lately then?” Elizabeth inquired further.
“I am just worried that he hasn’t made another move since the last time,” Celine said sighing.
Celine rinsed out the last of the plates and cleaned her hands on the apron hanging on the racks above her head.
“Isn’t that what you wanted?” Elizabeth’s brow rose in confusion. Sometimes she found youths of today too complicated, including her niece.
“Yes it was.” Celine held unto the kitchen counter and looked at her aunt, who kept following her around trying to get answers from her.
“So why are you worried then?”
“It has been too long and I am starting to think he has forgotten me aunt.” There were worry lines on her face as she spoke.
The matter was really a difficult one. Elizabeth thought it was merely about she getting the money from Damien, but this was beyond that. Celine’s life was on the line. If she didn’t get John the twenty million dollars, he would never agree to negotiate the deal nor go for another bargain. It will either be her death or his arrest. But her selfishness won’t let her get him arrested, so it would definitely be her death.
“Celine, is there something you are not telling me. You are starting to get pale!” Elizabeth said getting alarmed.
Why did I have to be so readable?
Celine face palmed herself.
“No aunt, of course there is nothing. I have told you everything.”
She gave her aunt a toothy smile but the older woman didn’t smile, she stared into her face trying to decipher the truth from her.
Celine’s phone suddenly rang. Saving her from her aunt’s scrutinizing gaze.
She took it out from her pockets and checked the caller. When she noticed it was an unknown number her heart skipped a beat.
Finally! She sang with excitement in her head.
“Hello?” She responded, getting out of the kitchen as fast as she could.
If this was Damien, she didn’t want her aunt getting the raw gist. She had been filtering a lot of information so far and she wanted it to remain that way.
“Hello miss Feyet, this is Lucas Smith,” the caller said.
The name rang a bell in her head but she couldn’t put a finger on it. Yet, she was disappointed. This wasn’t who she thought it was.
“Hello, how may I help you sir?” She said, her disappointment evident in her voice.
“I am calling on behalf of the Culhane group of companies-”
Her heart skipped a beat at the mention of the name ‘Culhane’. Was it the same Culhane as in Damien Culhane?
“We are in need of a personal assistant for Damien and I saw your profile through one of my followers, a certain Olivia-”
Oh! yes it had to be her Damien!
Lucas Smith was one of the richest social media personalities and he was also Damien Culhane’s best friend! Olivia was obsessed with all of them.
Now she knew why the name sounded familiar.
“You have a degree in statistics and business administration, you fit the job description perfectly-”
The point of the call was finally getting to her. This Lucas was saying he wanted her to be Damien’s personal assistant, that was huge.
“We will love for you to come to the office to discuss about your payment and working hours.” Lucas voice was confident and firm. He knew his best friend’s mental health depended on this one conversation.
Celine jumped in excitement.
She wanted to hastily say yes to the offer but then she remembered her plan. She wanted this to look as normal as possible. That meant she couldn’t just accept this so easily. Squaring her shoulders, she cleared her throat before speaking.
“I am sorry Mr Lucas, but I never applied for this position and I already have a job,” she said. She swallowed her giggles, making her voice as professional as possible.
Lucas was quiet for good two minutes and Celine started biting her fingers in anticipation. Did she do too much? Did he leave?
“I learnt you presently teach in a daycare, which to the best of my knowledge gives you a pay that isn’t enough for you to take care of yourself and comfortably make some savings. Why not come to the office and listen to the offer, if the figures aren’t good enough you can always walk away. I promise to personally take care of all the inconveniences this offer might bring,” Lucas finally said.