Rachel settled on the sofa beside George and watched as he ate from a plate of fried turkey. Her mind drifted over to when she first showed up here, she couldn’t believe six months had passed by already. George had been good to her, so good to her and she loved him dearly.
“Why are you smiling and looking at me like that?” George asked, staring at her in wonder.
Rachel blinked and laughed “Well, I didn’t know you were so appealing. Even when you are eating, you look very enticing”
George paused as he felt his cheeks become warm. He chuckled softly.
“Are you blushing, Mr George Scott?” Rachel said, her words slightly muffled by her laughter.
“Of course not…” George denied instantly even though he felt his cheeks get warmer. He laughed and looked away, focusing on his food instead. After a minute, he asked, curiosity getting him “Ho-how appealing do I look?”
Rachel grinned and winked at him “Very very very appealing. 110%”
George felt like his head would blow up. He leaned down and kissed her cheek, trying his best not to pull her close and rip her clothes away. He could feel his ‘growing desire’ through his trouser.
Clearing his throat slightly, he pulled back, smiled and focused on his fried turkey “I see. I’ll make sure I continue to maintain this level of hotness”
Rachel chuckled. As she watched him eat, her mind drifted over to James Scott, his stepbrother. She had not seen him recently, she wondered if he was doing okay. It suddenly occurred to her that she had never heard George talk about him, not even for once.
Glancing over at George, she asked “When last did you see James? I have not seen him around recently.”
George paused and frowned “I’m not really sure, he probably went for a short business program. I think I remember hearing someone say that”
Rachel noticed the way his tone ‘changed’ when she mentioned his stepbrother, James. Even the frown on his face made it clear that there was a barrier between both of them. She wondered if something more had happened between them beyond the enmity between their mothers.
“Do you hate James?” Rachel asked as she fixed her gaze on his face. She knew that George had been through a lot but at the same time, she felt so sorry for James too. He was caught up in the middle of all this and yet, he didn’t want to have anything to do with the company. He never wanted George’s place.
“Not at all. Why would I hate him?”
“I don’t know…” Rachel answered, passing a napkin to him so he clean his washed hands. “… both of you seem distant. I have not seen both of talking to each other since I’ve been living here. Isn’t that enough proof that there is a barrier between both of you?”
George sighed. “It’s a long story. I chose to stay away years ago in order to protect myself and my mother and it has become a habit I can’t shake off anymore.”
“Protect yourself from who?” Rachel frowned, obviously confused.
“Judith.”
“What?” Rachel hissed, annoyed all of a sudden. Why did it always have to be that woman? How long had she tortured and tormented George? “She has no power here. What were you protecting yourself from?”
George chuckled and turned to look at her. “It’s a silly story actually. I was still young and fearful back then. I think I was just ten years old. James saw me as his brother and always wanted to play with me. We had a free mind back then. Nobody was competing with anybody. But one day…”
Rachel’s eyes widened in anticipation “Go on, I’m all ears”
“Judith beat up James mercilessly and I overheard her yelling at him to stay away from me. She told him that he was far better than me and had to act ‘better’. She threatened him that if he ever played with me again, she would kill me an-”
“What? Rachel shrieked, not believing what she just heard. “You mean she told little James that she would kill his brother if he played with you again? She’s absolutely crazy, ugh!!!”
George smiled sadly, remembering those sad memories, when it started dawning on him that this family wasn’t a ‘simple’ family. “Yea, she also made sure to remind me constantly that my father loved James more than me and soon, he would kick my mother out of this house. She always loved seeing the fear in my eyes, especially when she threatened to kill my mother if I tried to get close to her son.”
“Oh my goodness” Rachel covered her mouth with her hand. Judith was a psycho, she had lost her mind completely.
“Since then, the relationship between I and James grew sour. I don’t know what he is thinking but he probably wants this company too. He probably wants to take my place, just like his mother. Staying away is for my own good”
“George, no. James is nothing like that…” Rachel muttered firmly, hoping she could convince him of how the poor boy was suffering alone, in silence. “… I have had a chance to talk to him. He doesn’t seem interested in this company at all. I really think Judith tried hard to poison his mind over the years but it didn’t work”
“Really? I don’t believe that. He could be pretending, acting like he isn’t interested.”
“I don’t think he is pretending. He always looks distant, like he is daydreaming about being somewhere else.” Rachel insisted as she explained further “I think he wants to travel the world instead of leading this company. Judith knows that but she is trying to hold him back because she needs him to become the CEO so that she can get what she really wants. Your mother’s position”
George nodded in approval. “That makes sense. I always thought he was on his mother’s side. I guess I was wrong”
“Yes. After all this, you need to find some time to settle things with James. He is not after what you have, okay?”
“Sure. I’ll keep that in mind” George responded in agreement.
Rachel lifted her hand and with her fingers, she traced the scar marks on his face gently “What exactly happened back then? How did this happen?”
George knew she was referring to the fire accident that scarred him. He sighed and whispered “It has been so long. I remember I was returning from my first official conference meeting as the new CEO of Imperial Hub Limited. It was just two months after I took up the role. All I remember is as I was driving back, I noticed that my car was heating up so much, but I thought it was just the heat from the sunlight. Before I knew what was happening, the engine of the car exploded and it went up in flames…”
Rachel continued tracing the scars on his face as they talked “Did you notice anything strange when you first entered the car, not when you were coming back?”
George frowned slightly, trying to recall memories from over five years ago “Well, the memory isn’t really clear anymore. But I remember that the car made a strange noise as I was driving to the conference. I was so excited about my new role as the CEO that I didn’t come down to check what was causing that sound”
Rachel retrieved her hand and smiled sadly at George “You must have gone through a lot back then. The ridicule and mockery from people, all of that”
George shrugged and sighed “it has been so long. I have survived. At least you love me just like that”
Rachel laughed “Of course I do. I remember seeing a news article about that weird nickname they gave you back then. What was it again?” She paused, trying to remember the name he was called when his pictures went viral back then.
“The ugly billionaire”
“Yes, that was it” Rachel whispered and rolled her eyes in irritation “That was so terrible. People can be really mean”
“Do you have a nickname? Regardless of who gave you the nickname?” George asked
“No, I don’t. The only person that had one was my father. Some people called him the ‘marketing genius’, some called him the ‘marketing brain’.” Rachel answered, grinning as she remembered how her father would smile when she called him those names.
“That’s a cool nickname. Makes so much sense”
“Yes. What about you?” Rachel asked, fixing her gaze on him “Did you have another nickname? Or does anyone in your family have a nickname?”
George chuckled softly “Hmm. I don’t think so. Nobody has a nickname over here. We don’t really joke around with each other.”
“Oh, I see. So w-”
“Wait a minute…” George muttered instantly “I think I remember my father has a nickname.”
“Really?”
George shook his head “I don’t really hear people calling him by that name again. It has been a while.”
“Okay. So what is it?”
“It sounds funny. Besides, it’s a very silly nickname” George laughed
“Just say it like that. Let’s laugh about it” Rachel replied, smiling at him. She was ready to laugh over it if it was as silly as George said.
“Are you sure you want to hear it?”
“Of course!”
“The Jaguar. That used to be his nickname” George muttered, looking at her.
Rachel felt her body freeze.