Chapter 21 – Adverse Effects
“What do you mean Paige withdrew? He was happy with the photos.” Peering over my glasses, I look up to Donnie who is standing just outside my cubicle, his arms stretched at the wooden frame with his head popping out from the edges.
“I know. He seemed pretty content with the outcome. Just don’t know what went wrong.”
I think I know.
Frowning upon the idea of who might be behind this propaganda, I stretch my legs under my desk, and gather them a few seconds after altogether to aid me stand on my feet. I think I need to go to the lavatory and bury inside its solid wall my frustration over being involved with a man so selfish and evil.
Donnie trails behind me saying something about Ross never ever going to sign a deal with new businesses like Beetz. The other day, all was good; well, not until I slapped Hunter on the face, everything just turned upside down again. If this is his way to get even on me, then, he’s actually doing me the favor of hating him more.
Then I pause, my legs freeze, the moment my ears catch Donnie mention Colin’s name. Right! I almost forgot how Hunter beat the man out of his life.
“What about Colin?”
“I heard his agents booked him a flight to New York right after he was discharged yesterday. Still a mystery on who beat the poor guy outside Calum’s.”
As for me, I think it is good for Colin to be away. New Jersey is not just the right place for him this time. Hunter can always harm the man. To avoid such situation to ever occur again, it’s best for Colin to stay away from here—from me. There are far better things Hunter can take away from him, for instance, his job. And I can never forgive myself if it’s on my account that he’ll lose the best job in the world per Ray’s opinion.
“But Colin’s well now, is he?” I can only ask about his well being.
Donnie nods his head, and answers, “Just a few ice bags on the face and he’ll recover. Poor man. Do you think some wayward teens did this to Colin?”
“Maybe,” I say although I know what really happened.
“It seems that it will take long before Colin comes back to Jersey.”
If I were Colin, I will opt to stay away from Hunter’s territory to save what are precious to me. But I have to appear like I don’t know anything about anything so I tell Donnie, “What makes you say that?”
“His agents pulled him out from the projects he signed up in the city. It appears that Colin will have to wait for New York Fashion Week to be visible again.”
Perhaps Hunter will have to do with this. He could have threatened the man so that he will be forced to leave. Why are Hunter’s abilities now a question? He’s long proven how he can cause chaos into one’s life.
Ray picked me up at five in the afternoon. When I came back home yesterday from Hunter’s office in Trenton, Ray was already with George and Sarah at the living room, waiting for me. I had to explain to them in full details what happened because if I did not I knew I was not going to be allowed to sleep. Dad was calm as usual when he learned I was at Hunter’s place but Mom was furious. She even scolded me for not even making an effort of calling them the night I was with my workmates at Calum’s. She said that if I was too drunk to go home by myself, she could have gone to Calum’s and take me home by cab. Mom never really likes Hunter Stone, and she was appalled to receive a call from him, more so telling her I slept with the man she least likes. Of course, I had to clear things with them about Hunter’s statement. I told them nothing but the truth—that I slept alone in his room, that nothing happened between us, that I was too drunk to even have myself engage to such activity.
“You were too drunk to even remember,” comments Ray while twirling his spaghetti with his fork. “Something might have happened, you know.”
Since today is his first day at Hunter’s new publishing house, Ray brought me to an Italian restaurant just ten minutes away from my office.
“You are not helping!”
“Frankly speaking, Angel, if you want to get over with Damien soon, Hunter might just be the right man to help you with that,” he says. “Colin just ran away like a chicken, so you are left with the best man, Hunter Stone.”
“What are you talking about?” My eyes are focused on organizing the contacts of the new phone I just bought. I am not going to wait for Hunter to buy me a new one because he will never get a chance to go near me—ever.
“What I am trying to say is Hunter might help you get over with Damien. He seems to be the romantic type.”
Where on earth did he get the concept of Hunter Stone being the romantic type? Does Ray actually see that I have to shelve a few dollars for a new phone because Hunter destroyed mine? Where is the romance there? More so, he can’t even get his acts straight for being a true gentleman by paying his dues. And besides it came straight from his mouth that he does not do that thing. What he does well is negotiations and not romance. If I were to find Damien’s replacement, might as well look for someone who knows how to love. Hunter Stone just does not fit the bill.
“Hunter wants me because he needs someone who will not fall for him,” I say.
“You know what, if the job is to be Stone’s girlfriend and it can give me lots of money, I will not hesitate to take it. I know deep within me that it’s just business.”
The matter is I am not the kind of girl who goes for money over love. Even if I once had the chance of it out of desperation, I manage to keep my integrity intact by not doing it again. Hell I could have sold myself to Damien if I were that kind of woman, but realization and guilt dawned on me instantly, and it saved me from eternal damnation. I could only thank myself now for being rational, and I would not allow myself to make that one mistake.
He adds, “And it’s not like there is a potential for you to fall in love with him, is there?” His eyebrow arched. “Are you afraid that that might actually happen that is why you are hell bent in disapproval of him?”
My jaw drops at the boldness of Ray to even think of such ridiculous notion. How am I afraid of Hunter Stone when all I feel for him is complete detestation?
“What exactly is your point, Ray?”
“Angel.” He puts down his fork and then picks up a piece of napkin from the canister in the middle of the table and cleans his hands with it. “I’m not playing devil’s act here but this is going to be marriage of convenience. Imagine the life you will have. You will not anymore worry about loans and your father’s medical expenses. Hunter Stone’s going to provide you everything you will need. And I don’t think the marriage is going to be forever. I bet he’s going to divorce you the moment he got his hands on the family business.”
“Did Hunter put you on this to convince me?” I could not think of any other reason for Ray to be this adamant about taking in the man’s offer. He was unerringly like this before when he kept on feeding me with Damien stuffs. And unfortunately, Ray was triumphant with his matchmaking skills. He devised with his broom and magic cauldron a potion that had me change my mind about the man. And clearly, he is doing the same thing with me now with Stone.
One thing I know is that Hunter Stone is Ray’s boss now. He could have gripped my friend by his neck so that he could a make a puppet out of him.
“What did he do to you?” I am more worried for Ray than for myself. If Stone could easily cause havoc in my life, then he can with the lives of the people I care most.
“Relax, Angel.” He smiles. “Hunter did not pay me for this. I am just telling you what I have in mind. But of course I make really out-of-this-world decisions, hence I know you will not follow them. It’s just my opinion and what I deem is most appropriate at this time of your life.”
I thought he was serious about it.
Nonetheless, I disagree with Ray. I don’t think accepting Hunter’s offer is the most appropriate thing to do. I would rather work day and night, 24/7, than allow myself to submit to the evil he is.
Now when I had a day to think about why I was upset with Hunter, I realize I am not really mad at his thought of me as someone who is bereft of the ability to lose my heart to the process called love. Everyone can call me a cold-hearted robot because I know I am really good at hiding my feelings—take Damien for example. I was so good at concealing my feelings for him that I almost did not recognize it was already there. If he had not come to me and confess that he fell head over heels in love with me, I would have not known of my own feelings too. But this case is different. I know from the start that there’s no way in this world I am going for another death sentence. I have set my mind to stay away from Hunter Stone even if there was a chance for me to fall real hard again. I am not going to play innocent and stupid here anymore. I am so done with that. It’s time to make this simple confession.
When Hunter revealed the reason to me, I was upset because I was expecting something else. Who would not think of it if the guy has always been constantly consistent running after you, doing these impossible acts just to get your attention even if you are in the middle of grieving for some other man who chose to break your heart? Okay, so I was led to believe that Hunter Stone was indeed serious, that his sole purpose for having only me as his pretend girlfriend was more than just the contract. Maybe he was not the man I forced myself to know and believe. That finally after my failed relationship with Damien, there’s a man who was going to take the job of making me happy again and believe in the power of love. Although I kept myself grounded on the evident truth most of the time that what he was after were my services. Ninety-nine percent of my brain knew about that, and that I compelled myself to hate the man because I knew there was no way I was right about him. However, this remaining one percent of wild guess and intuition sits at the core of my brain, and from time to time I am tempted to take a look at it and wonder again. The one percent is a fiction, I thought, and yet it brought me to a state of disorder when Hunter told me I am the perfect robot for his plan.
I was upset because I expected more.
I was upset because I have displayed once again my feebleness.
I don’t think that I like the man. No, I don’t. I don’t even think I fell for him because of the conjured one percent. Just the idea that someone was there ready to take you and give the world to you while you are lamenting the loss of one love was so much of a convenience; it made my heart at ease.
But not anymore now. I think I have grown so much in such little time, and I am tired of always being disappointed.
I should have not let this tiny insufferable thought work on me. I can only laugh at myself now.
When we were done, we left the restaurant immediately. Mom will stay with the Thompsons till nine tonight for overtime babysitting, so I have to be home early to make dinner for Dad. Ray says he wanted me to come with him for another celebratory dinner with his work mates, but I simply cannot.
I poke on Ray for spending so much before he even receives his first pay. But Ray does not care. He thinks it’s good luck, and he seems to be really enjoying his new work place. If only it is not Hunter’s company, I would have tried my luck in there.
While we are crossing the streets with paper bags of Italian bread and dressing, one black car races down the street, which left me and Ray glued on the ground for a while. With death only an inch away from us, I feel Ray grips on my hand and yanks me out of from the near death experience. We both plunge to the ground.
The car stops in front of us, and Ray quickly gets up with his face all fired up. His got scratches all over his arms but he does not seem to care for now.
“Hey!” he yells.
“Ray?” I try to pull him away from the car when the door’s windscreen slides down. One man with dark glasses peers through the window and shows off a daunting smile.
“Do you think you own the road?” tells off the fuming Ray.
However, it seems to me that the sloppy driver is not even an inch scared of Ray that he just shrugs his shoulders and shifts his gaze from us to the empty seat next to him. Then, while I try to calm Ray down, the sloppy driver gets back to us by flinging a medium-sized paper box towards our direction, and speeds away to our dismay.
“That jerk!” mumbles Ray while he dusts off his coat and pants.
But what caught my attention now is the presence of the paper box. I bend down on my knees and pick it up with both my hands.
Ray cuts in, “Don’t touch that! We don’t know what could be in there.”
“It’s for me.” The words slipping out of my mouth so naturally as I read my pretend name on it: Angel Grant, written in black bold capital letters.
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A/N: Hi everyone! I have decided to post three chapters for everyone to read because I will be away from Wattpad for quite a time. Things just got a little hectic for me, and I am honestly starting to get exhausted in writing (sorry). It's not that I am losing the passion to write, it is still there but a lot of stuffs came up, and I have to begin prioritizing more important things. I will be back soon, hopefully with the same vigor and enthusiasm. Do not worry about the story. I know what's going to happen, so please trust me. Damien will be back for sure, however it is still top secret when and how he will return. As for Hunter and Angel, these two is in the rocky stage of getting to know each other--very unusual relationship they have there, but honestly I find them really cute.
Anyway, thank you for the undying support. I hope that when I come back, you'll still be there to read Chapter 22. See you soon, lovelies!
Love lots,
CordeliaLarkspur