The Heiress's Harem (A Possessive Reverse Harem Story)

14. Boundaries

"Donovan?" 

The bark-brown haired man stepped back in surprise. 

"L-L-Lhea!" Donovan stammered; his grey irises darting around quickly. "F-Fancy meeting you here!"

Lhea raised a brow, "Um, same here I guess," she replied. 'I swear...he was definitely following us.'

Andrew, who was about to leave the two sensed something off and turned around, much to the taller male's annoyance.

"Is everything alright?" the redhead asked. Donovan clicked his tongue softly and shook his head, holding on to Lhea's shoulders. 

"No, no. Everything's fine here, Carlson. Besides, I don't see how someone like you could be of any assistance to Lhea here," Donovan said, his spite bleeding through his words, not so subtly. 

Andrew raised an eyebrow, slightly taken aback by Donovan's behaviour. "Very well then, I'll get going since you don't seem to want me around," Andrew said and turned around while taking out his phone to call a driver over. 

"I'll see you around!" Lhea called out quickly, only to be interrupted when Donovan muttered something under his breath. Confused, Lhea pulled herself from her friend's grasp on her shoulders.

"What was that, Don?" she asked with her arms crossed over her chest. Donovan grumbled silently.

"I don't see why you have to be so friendly with him after that incident at the party..." he said. 

Lhea sighed; she should have expected this. It would be surprising to see her getting along with someone who basically humiliated her at her own birthday party. But maybe it was that she was too soft, she couldn't just hold an eternal grudge over someone who had a good- at the very least decent explanation of why he did what he did. 

"Andrew has his reasons...we all do," she said and continued walking down the path without a word. She was still trying to convince herself Donovan was not stalking her; after all, he's her best friend! Why should he have to follow her when they have a mutual trust between them? It wouldn't make sense at all. 

~*~*~*~

Later that evening while she was reading over a business assignment from her father, a situation scenario to see how well she would handle business problems as future chairwoman, she decided to consult Louis. Her butler as always, was sitting at a small table in a corner, sipping tea while tapping away at his laptop. He was organising schedules and reviewing suggestions from other staff of the Harrison household. 

Lhea took in a deep breath  and put the paper down on the table. "Um, Louis?"

"Yes, Miss Harrison?" the butler replied, looking up from his pile of work.

"I-I'd like you to look into a little something for me... Something I'd prefer if you do it discreetly. If it's too difficult you don't have to, though!" she quickly added in.

Louis shook his head, "Nothing is ever too difficult for me to accomplish, Miss. Now, what is your request?"

Lhea's eyes darkened for a brief moment, "I need you to keep an eye on Donovan," she paused and continued, "I know it's ridiculous, I mean, he is our friend and all...but there's something about him that unsettles me and I don't think he'd tell me the truth."

Louis cocked his head to the side in curiosity, "And why may that be?"

Lhea thought back to the earlier events that afternoon and slowly she spoke, "I think, I think he might be stalking me..." she said in a low whisper.

Louis's expression hardened and his eyes clouded over, "I'll do my best, M'lady." 

Lhea was taken aback for a moment. Louis had never referred to her as 'M'lady' before, and it was almost unnerving to see his sudden change in mood. She quickly let out a nervous laugh, "Of-of course you don't have  to take it too far. He is our friend after all."

Louis only hummed in response, his mind going into darker thoughts.

~*~*~*~

After Louis exited Lhea's room, he headed straight to his own. His breathing was growing ragged as he mulled over Lhea's words; 'he might be stalking me'. The nerve of Donovan, Louis was more than furious at the man's actions. As a butler and self-assigned bodyguard it was in his interests to make sure Lhea feels safe, and for someone so close  to her to make her feel threatened? Unacceptable.

Louis flung open the door to his room and once he made sure he was alone, he dialed a familiar number. 

"Hello? I'd like to ask a small favour of you. You know Donovan Orchids? Yes, the secretary's son. I want you to keep him in check for me, will you?" Louis paused, and took in a deep breath.

"You're asking for a lot aren't you? Very well. You can expect the money in your bank account by tonight. Also, don't hurt him too much. He still needs to look...presentable for his meetings."

With that, he ended the call and headed to the shower, but not before he made sure the door had been locked. Can't have Donovan sneaking into his room again after that night after all.

Oh, how he hated that man's guts. Causing his dear, dear Lhea to feel unsafe, in her own house of all places! His grip on the shower knob tightened. If murder was legal, he would have committed it in a blink of an eye. But alas, he has to keep Lhea's trust in him. Perhaps he could use this situation to his advantage? Especially now that Donovan has had reduced Lhea's trust in him, it'd be a perfect chance for him to become Lhea's sole protector. 

Louis could care less about the other guys, it didn't seem like they were too interested just yet. If they do start pining her affections however, well, he'll just have to find a way to deal with them won't he?

Oh, if only Louis knew how wrong his estimations were.

~*~*~*~

The next morning felt tenser for some reason Lhea could not explain. It just felt...off, especially with the way Louis greeted her; as if he just did something he shouldn't have. But that was ridiculous, none of the people she knew would do anything illegal, would they? It would be a huge blow to the Harrison reputation if anyone caught wind of any illegal matters. Media could be ruthless when they wanted to.

While having breakfast in her room, Lhea updated her Instagram account with a picture of her breakfast. Most of her posts had to do with food and fashion, a luxury she took for granted, especially when the ingredients and products were all high-end items. She still put out the occasional promo code for her followers to use however.

"Hmm...should I host another giveaway I wonder," she muttered to herself as she checked her follower count. She wasn't the most popular Instagram star, she barely posted her face as it is, but she still had garnered a loyal fan base. While she was deep in thought, a message from an unknown number popped up.

'Hello. This is Matthew, from the party the other day? I got your number from your brother when we ran into each other. Nice kid he is. I was wondering if we could meet up sometime today? I'd like for us to know each other better after the whole...marriage-engagement thing.'

Lhea sighed, right... she almost forgot about the whole agreement for each man to have a chance to woo her. She really didn't want to deal with this however. She just wanted to focus on her business studies and prepare herself to take over as chairwoman when the event arises. But of course, her father already approved so she had no choice but to go along with it. Shrugging her shoulders, she typed a reply. 

'Sure. When and where do you wanna meet up?" 

******

A/N: Hiya! I finally updated after a long time of a writer's block. Still kinda do honestly. I'm not entirely sure how I want the story to go and if anything's making sense anymore. But I am trying, so I'm sorry for any plot holes that you could find. Anyhow, hopefully I can update more frequently... highly unlikely, but hey! An update's an update right?

Welp, as always, feedback is greatly appreciated, and don't forget to vote! Thank you for your support as always! ^ ^