Whatever It Takes

Chapter 21

I caught Carlisle just in time before the elevator shaft opened. He was smirking at me when he saw me running towards him.

"Why didn't you wait for me?" I asked him like a child while I stepped inside the elevator.

"I want to see how agile you are in your new outfit." He was laughing lowly.

"That's not nice. I am wearing high heeled shoes and you made me run." I was pouting my lips. Carlisle suddenly pushed me back against the elevator wall.

"The real reason why I left the room was because I did not want to break my promise. Do you know how ravishing you look? Do you have any idea how much I want to undress you?" He almost said growling while he lustfully looked me in my eyes. I panted again. Every time Carlisle said something like this it made me catch my breath. I simply closed my eyes because I couldn't handle his gazes anymore. I felt that he put his briefcase bag down.

Carlisle wrapped his hands around my waist and pressed his muscular body to mine when the elevator door opened.

"Some other time, Princess." He said gently as he loosened his grip then put a smack on my lips. He stepped out of the elevator as he took his briefcase and I followed fanning my face with my hand.

We went to the hotel's restaurant near the lobby. A mid- aged attendant assisted us until we were seated in our table.

"The usual. Make it two." Carlisle spoke to the man in hotel uniform dismissing him quickly.

"Are you always here?" I narrowed my eyebrows as I asked him. He nodded.

"This is a nice place. The hotel's design doesn't look like American anymore. It looks European." I said.

"Be specific, which country does it remind you of?" He asked me.

"I haven't been overseas but I think the elegance says it's France." I shyly told him.

"Correct. At least you know your basics. " He said smiling at me.

"You need to see as much places so you'd learn more. If you want to be a successful interior designer, knowing about history and connecting them to what's hip and modern will always give you an advantage." He continued.

"That's not easy for me. I need to get  double job to earn for school project." I answered. He just looked at me.

"Yesterday at brunch, you were asking lots of questions about me. Is it possible if I ask you, too?" I said.

"All right, I guess that's fair." He answered.

"Tell me about your family?" I uttered. He made a little frown.

"My parents were divorced. My paternal grandmother did not approved of my mother. My dad couldn't live without his mother's financial support. The only thing my dad could afford when they were together was the house at Barnaby Woods. After some years of fighting almost everyday, they separated. I was left with my mother because I was only three. My grandmother made sure my custody would be transferred to my dad so she made sure of it. So anyways, I grew up with my aristocratic grandmother in England." He said very casually.

"I'm sorry to hear that. So no other siblings? How's your parents now? And your grandmother?" I asked.

"No. I'm the only child. My dad has been whoring around blaming himself for a failed marriage and being financially incapacitated until he died three years ago. My mother never dated another guy until after my dad died and she met that cousin of a duke. About my grandmother, she is still alive trying to orchestrate me things my dad failed her to achieve." He answered with a blank face.

"Your parents must have loved each other but were caught in a complicated situation." I commented.

"Oh Adriana, love has nothing to do with their failed marriage. Believe me that love is only temporary. When problem arises, people go back to their old habits or give up and then love simply fades. Relationship is all about getting what you want. That's why I never commit myself into one. Companionship is all I want. It makes things simple. Commitment tends to make people create expectations. And we all know that expectations when not met lead to disappointments." He bitterly chuckled.

"Love is not temporary. It does exist." I said firmly.

"I did not say it did not exist. It exists but it fades in time. For example, I love the food here, so I keep on ordering the usual when I come here, until the time I get tired of it and order another." He said.

"So if you get tired of someone, after sometime, you drop them?" I asked starting to get a negative feeling.

"It's not like that, Adriana. You're young so I understand that you're still very idealistic. But life doesn't work the way you want it especially when you have no wealth and power." He said.

Our food came and we started to eat. The food he ordered were really tasty, no wonder he kept on coming back. No matter how delicious it is, one day, he will get tired and eat another thing. I was silent most of the time. I still couldn't believe of what he says. So if he gets tired of me, he'd just leave me? I was somehow disheartened with that thought.

"You dislike my opinion about love and relationship, I see." Carlisle suddenly said after eating a portion of his dessert. I looked at him and tried to fathom his thoughts. His face was almost expressionless.

"W- why did you choose me to work for you?" I finally asked.

"Well, you seem bright, hardworking, and willing to learn. You have this demeanor of making things far." He answered. I nodded and decided to pay attention to the molten lava chocolate cake in front of me. I did not want to hear his personal beliefs anymore because it saddened me.

"Of course, I happened to find you very alluring. And as I said a while ago upstairs, I like you very much." He added. My heart beat hard against my chest. I shouldn't be feeling this way.

"T-thank you." I replied timidly.

"For a beautiful woman like you Princess, you should be used to getting compliments from other people." He mentioned. I never actually believed I was beautiful but the way Carlisle said it was a different story.

"Before I forgot, I got you another present." Carlisle took a small box from his left pocket and put it in front of me.

"You already gave me a lot of present today." I said while trying to push the small colored turquoise box with a white ribbon.

"It's yours." Carlisle said in a commanding tone.

"Thank you." I simply said. This man had been showering me gifts. I took the small box and opened it. I was in astonishment when I saw a pair or pearl earrings with a small four- petal flower on the top of each pearl.

"You should wear them now." Carlisle said. It sounded more of a command than a suggestion. My hands were trembling as I took the earrings and started to wear them. I glanced at the label inside the box and read Tiffany & Co. How much does it cost now?

"They look good on you." Carlisle told me with a smile.

"Thank you but please, no more shopping for me for the next three weeks. I may not be able to afford what you gave me but I am very aware of their price. I don't want you to spend this much for me." I hesitatingly told him. He frowned at me.

"You are really different from everyone that I went out with. But if I started to make you feel uncomfortable, then all right, no more gifts." He said. Hearing him said that was a relief.