CHAPTER 17
Rachel edged closer to the end of the open hallway and waved at Sophia who stood in front of the massive villa, looking confused. Clearly, the villa had too many hallways and Sophia couldn’t find her way. Rachel had asked George if he could help her friend enter the villa easily by instructing the bodyguards to give her access. He had done that.
Sophia ran to where she was and they hugged each other tightly. She pulled back and slowly moved her gaze over Rachel “You are glowing more since the last time I saw you. I can see they are treating you well.”
“Of course” Rachel answered “It’s good to see you again. Let’s go inside”
“Lord, have mercy” Sophia gasped in wonder when they stepped into the sitting room in George’s villa. “Lord, have mercy” she repeated again, making Rachel to burst in laughter.
“It’s amazing, right?” Rachel smiled at her
“Are you kidding me?” Sophia stepped forward, moving around the sitting room, her eyes filled with wonder and awe. “It’s magnificent. It’s terrific. It’s everything. It’s -”
“Alright. I get it.” Rachel rolled her eyes playfully
“Is this your side of the villa?”
“Oh no, it’s George’s side. We live together”
“I see…” Sophia grinned mischievously “… is that all you guys do together?”
Rachel glanced at her, raising one eyebrow “We eat together too”
“Is. That. All.?” Sophia pressed on, with a silly smirk on her face.
Rachel rolled her eyes. This lady was unbelievable, ever ready to tease her. She shifted her gaze away from Sophia, who wouldn’t allow her to rest if she told her all the things that had happened between her and George. How was she supposed to tell Sophia that she had kissed George and gone partially naked in front of him, and not just that, but he had touched her breasts too? How was she supposed to tell Sophia that she still fantasized about him finishing what he started on her body? Sophia would think she was crazy.
“We share a bed” Rachel whispered. When she saw Sophia’s eyes get wider, she quickly added “without doing anything. We have our sides, it’s a huge bed.”
“Really?” Sophia narrowed her eyes, peering at her in a are-you-telling-me-the-truth way.
“Yes, I was in a hurry so I didn’t notice the part of the contract that states we have to share a room for one year. But so far, he has been cooperating”
“Alright. If you say so” Sophia said, still looking at her with those narrowed eyes, making Rachel uncomfortable.
“So, how is work?” Rachel asked, trying to change the conversation. “Has your workload reduced?”
“Hmm, can’t really say for now. I still have a lot of work to do this week. But it has been fine though, you know I love my job.”
Rachel laughed “Of course, I know that”
“About your father’s case…” Sophia switched on her phone and scrolled through it “… I’ve been able to convince my boss not to give me any new client by the end of this month. I should be done with my current clients on the 25th of this month. By then, I’ll have enough time to investigate your father’s case by myself”
“That’s fine. Is there anything I need to do?”
“Not yet. If there is, I’ll let you know” Sophia smiled at her “About the encrypted file, it’s a nine letter code just so you know. And beyond that, you need to be careful. As time goes by, the management team of this company is going to discover that someone hacked into their database to retrieve this file. All of this will alert the mastermind behind all this. It will be good if you lay low-key for now, if anything like that comes up, act like you don’t know anything.”
“Sure, I know that” Rachel replied and tilted her head “Something that has also been on my mind is the fact that I’m going to need a lot of money to go against whoever the real culprit is. From everything you’ve shown me so far, it means the person behind everything is really in this company. Even the lowest ranked board member in this company earns a lot of money. It’s so easy to bribe the police when you have a lot. What if I lose this case even after I get the evidence? I’m just scared.”
“It’s alright. You’ll be fine, when we get there, we’ll cross that road.” Sophia responded firmly “what we need to do now is face the first obstacle which is the encrypted file. That’s what matters right now.”
George was passing by the sitting room and heard voices, he walked closer and peeped inside. Rachel saw him and introduced her friend “George, this is Sophia, my very good friend.”
George stretched out his hand and they exchanged a handshake “It’s nice meeting you, Sophia”
“You too, Mr George”
“Are you a detective?” George asked and Sophia glanced at him, surprised.
“Yes. How did you know that?”
“Through Rachel..” George replied, he looked at the clock hanging on the wall “… I have a meeting to attend. It’s nice meeting you once again, I’ll head out now”
“You told him about this?” Sophia asked Rachel when George left the villa. “Why would you do that?”
“No I didn’t tell him by myself” Rachel whispered, shaking her head in defense. “He overheard our last conversation on the phone and I had to explain. He knows I married him because of my father’s case”
“No way, really?” Sophia frowned at Rachel “you were so careless with that call”
“I know. I didn’t mean to. It won’t happen again”
Sophia paused for a while, her eyes were distant like she was thinking hard about something. “Is there a problem?” Rachel asked, concerned about her sudden mood swing.
“You have to be careful around him…” Sophia cautioned her “Three months is a short time to really know someone. He -”
“He’s not like that. He’s different, really” Rachel interrupted her and focused on defending George “He’s kind and warm. He treats me with respect, he treats people well….
She rambled on and on about George, completely unaware of what she was doing. As she talked, she smiled warmly and her eyes danced with hidden feelings. Sophia observed her quietly as she spoke.
“You like him” Sophia voiced out, her face wrinkling in a frown.
“No, I don’t” Rachel replied, her cheeks heating up from embarrassment.
“I’m not asking you a question, Rachel” Sophia responded firmly “I’m saying an obvious fact. You like him”
“No…” Rachel whispered quietly, she wasn’t even sure. Did she like him? How long did it take to like someone?
“Rachel, you like him. Your eyes light up when you talk about him. Did you see the way you smiled when he walked in?” Sophia moved closer to Rachel “How did this happen? You’re supposed to leave here in nine months’ time. What are you going to do now?”
“I don’t know….” Rachel’s eyes welled with tears. She liked George, she cared about him a lot. But that was never part of her plan from the start. “… I don’t know how it happened”
“As a detective, one thing I know is that everybody involved in your father’s case is a suspect.” Sophia muttered as she rubbed Rachel’s back “Including George. He is a suspect, the same applies to his family. You can’t trust anybody yet”
Rachel nodded silently, too overwhelmed to talk. Sophia was right.
“I accept that you developed feelings for him without realizing it. I’m not here to scold you, you’re not a child. Any decision you choose to make at the end is up to you as long as you’re ready to bear the consequences. Okay?”
“I understand. I’ll think about everything you’ve said” Rachel smiled at her and they chatted on till it was time for Sophia to leave.
Rachel headed back to George’s villa after escorting Sophia to the gate. She desperately wanted to believe that George would be innocent at the end along with his family.
Because if things turned out differently, she wouldn’t be able to take it. She had made a promise to her father that he would get his freedom no matter who the real culprit was.
And she would keep her promise.