Isabella
“After you,” He said like a gentleman.
“Thank you,” I responded and rushed to grab my bag ignoring my crazy thoughts.
“You’re set?” He asked and I swear I could see a hint of excitement in his eyes.
“I’m sorry,” I felt bad, my voice cracked and I could feel this lumps in my throat as I said that…
“I have plans already,” I said rejecting his offer
“Oh,”
That was all he said, those were the only words that came off his mouth after I rejected having lunch with him.
“Maybe we reschedule,” My face suddenly squeezed to form a smile, as I rushed out to the elevator feeling the intense air around us.
“Why did that feel so wrong?”
Why did it feel like I did something bad? Why did I feel guilty I said no?
*
I arrived at the restaurant, not that it was my plan but I was two minutes late. I took in a deep breath and pushed the door open when I noticed him sitting close to the window.
“Good afternoon sir,” I was nervous, my body was shaking but not visibly.
“Isabella,” his face lit up, and it calmed my nerves a little.
“Please sit down,”
“Thank you,” I watched him remove his glasses from his eyes while I got comfortable.
“I’m so sorry to have kept you waiting,” I explain, counting my words, before I’ll say the wrong thing.
“It’s all good. Good thing you’re here,” He smiled and signaled the waitress to bring us a bottle of wine.
“How’s Tristan?” He glanced at me, and I almost choked on the drink I was having.
“He’s fine,” I cautiously cleaned my mouth with a napkin, while I passed him a smile.
“You’re his assistant, right?” I nodded to his question wondering where this conversation was going.
“And you are married to him now.” He said that more like a statement than a question, so I didn’t know how to respond but just stare at him.
“Lily disappears, and you popped up,” I felt the air change.
“And you became his bride-wife,” He corrected and looked seemingly at me, so very calculated.
“Yes,” That might not be the right answer at the moment, but I said it.
“And all of this happened coincidentally? Lily’s disappearance, and you suddenly show up? ” He paused and I could feel the seat getting hot.
Was this a setup? Did he find out? What do I do?
“So all of that had nothing to do with you, Miss. Colin,” He said it more like he already knew.
“What do I say? I had to be very careful with my words else this might go South for me,” I thought carefully batting my lashes.
“No, it wasn’t just a coincidence,” I said and drained my face void of any fear or regret. I had to deal with him confidently, and his next response was only going to determine what he knew and how much he knew.
“Impressive. You aren’t denying it,” He sipped this wine, while I relaxed on the chair staring at him.
“I didn’t plan on hiding it for long,” I faked a smile.
“What do you want? Money? Fame?” He had gotten serious, and the crease lines on his forehead told me I had to be careful.
“Be married to Tristan,” He laughed and looked at me like I was insane.
Yes, perhaps I am. It sounded insane to me also.
“With the footage of you dragging her from her room,” I gulped..
“You will end up in jail for kidnapping,” I almost lost my breath. I didn’t know how I was holding up this composure, this demeanor like I didn’t care but inside I was freaking out and almost losing it
“Was this the end?”
“So? What’s it going to be?” He smiled.
“Leave with the money like none of this happened, or go to jail like it all happened?” He said and I was terrified, completely shaken
You know the saying ‘fake it till you make it’s”. I don’t know if it was applicable here, but I was going to fake it anyway.
“Like I said, I want to be married to Tristan,” My voice was calm, didn’t sound shaken by his threats.
“Then you leave me with no..”
“Before you go on with the threats, I’m doing you one hell of a favor here, “I cut him off
“Tristan didn’t want to be married to her else he would have been devastated trying to find her. But your grandson has been trying to get on my good side since I became his wife,” He shifted uncomfortably, and I could tell I hit on the right nerve
Did I just make that up and actually be right? I thought happily.
“So what is it going to be?” I said and released the breath I was holding slowly.
“Are you trying to take the company? Did you get paid to ruin his life?” There was a hint of fear in that serious tone.
“That’s…”
“I’ll pay you half a million dollars to leave him, Tristan,” He said…
“I don’t want your money,” I said
“A million?”
“Whoa! “I exclaimed shocked
“Two million,” I didn’t even bulge
“What would I do with all that money,” I laughed so hard.
“I would be dying anyway?” I said and thought about how weird it was that such an amount was being offered to me the moment I wouldn’t get to live to enjoy it.
“What?” He looked utterly confused.
“The universe must be crazy,” I thought and sniffed in while I tried to stop myself from crying.
“Two million dollars?” I said
“That’s a lot of money,” I added and thought about how much that money would help my mom and brother.
“I like your offer,” I said but didn’t sound excited at all.
“So we have a deal?” He said
“I guess we do,” I took a sip of wine, trying to look excited about it.
“So do you leave in a year? Or you file a divorce or something?” He asked
“I’ll be gone in five months,” I tried to humor myself.
“It will be like I never existed, completely gone,” I raised my wine glass and smiled at him. He hesitated for a moment before smiling back at me.
“Where is Lily Allen?” He asked
“Safe, I promise,” I tell him, though he doubted my words, I didn’t care if he believed me or not.
“Do you still want to have lunch?” He asked, his eyes quizzical
“Yes, I do” I smile brightly, happy we had closed the other conversations.
“Let’s order then?” He shrugged his shoulder.
“Sure thing,” I said and called on the waitress.
“So where are you from?” He asked immediately the waitress left with our order and I looked at him suspiciously…
“Was this any part of the deal?” I question boldly.
“No no, completely outside that,” He stated
“Let’s just say I want to know who my granddaughter-in-law is, ”
“Oh,” I smiled at the way he put it, and we both ended off laughing.
“So, …” I started off the conversation, even after our meals arrived. We talked and laughed for a while, discussing the food, our favorite weather, and even the finance world. It was exciting, and I enjoyed every bit of it. But of course, it had to come to an end.
“We should do this again? Probably we play chess?” He said as I walked him to his car.
“Yes, some other time,” I said and watched him get him.
“Thank you Isabella, but I’ll be watching,” He said. It didn’t feel like just a thank you, it felt more, more than being just appreciated in his eyes, it was like I had earned his respect, and that gladdened my heart.
“Goodbye grandfather,” I smiled at him and waved as I watched his car drive off…
The walk back to the office was short and I enjoyed the wind on my skin all through the moment. I got into the elevator and arrived at my desk, only to be immediately called upon by the Devil.
“Where have you been?” He yelled immediately after I got into his office.
“Lunch break?” It came out more like a question than a response.
“It’s 2:30 pm, lunch break was over thirty minutes ago,” I gasped and immediately checked out my phone, to find out that was true.
“I must have lost track of time,” I said trying to organize my thoughts together.
“A married woman? You just happened to lose track of time?” He questioned, and I looked at him taken aback.
“What are you Insinuating?” My stance was clear.
Was he trying to blame me for something? Or was he trying to call me names?
“You’re the one giving me ideas,” He lashed out and threw his hands frustrated.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I scoffed and turned around to leave. His hands ran through his hair confused.
“You know I was starting to feel bad for standing you up for lunch today, but with this I think I made a good decision after all,” I walked away ignoring his calls.
“Isabella” He called out again…