The main song of this chapter is "End of the beginning" by Djo.
Ezra
I wasn't angry, anxious or annoyed. Simply irritated by the idea of going to a dinner on my father's house which I oh so desperately tried to avoid for the past week.
I would much rather manage the account of our school than attend some rich gathering at his house, where fake pleasantries and smile would be exchanged, hiding the disdain against each other under the cloak of merry disguise.
When I was younger I used to tolerate them by fooling around with the spoiled daughters of businessman my father used to deal with, but that was when I did not know what kind of disgusting and greedy monster lurked behind their prim proper expensive Armani's and Tom Ford's.
The food would be made just to impress the investor, most of it would be dumped untouched, the air would be floating with gossips of housewives, while their husbands would fill their bellies with free liquor.
Alejandro Hernandez was a wolf in the sheep's clothing. One moment he would be smiling and talking with you as if you were old acquaintances but the next he would be plotting a plan to take down your whole empire. I learned it the hard way.
I was merely 19 when I caught him cheating, 20 when he pleaded me not to tell my mother about the whore warming his bed for the past one year claiming that he still loved my mother dearest, 21 when he cheated on her yet again with another one of his business partner.
That was the limit for me. I went up to my mother and confessed her what he did. What he has been doing behind her back for the past 3 years.
Esmeralda Hernandez was a kind and pure hearted woman. She cried and cried the day I told her about his husband's business rendezvous. At first she was in disbelief, then came the denial, utter sadness and heart wrenching cries were next and at last came anger covering the mast of a sad and grieving woman who was still trying to put the pieces of her heart together from her failed together.
I held her in my arms as she sobbed at night. When the nightmares of me abandoning her same as my father kept her up at night, she would cry silently in her pillow thinking that I didn't hear her but I did. And every single night I would wake up and crawl into her bed, hugging her tight and assuring her that I would never leave her as my traitorous father did.
I did it until she stopped crying for him and started building her crumbled life. I was there with her on every step of the day as she found her passion as a florist and I bought her a large nursery which she takes care of everyday.
That was when I started loathing my father. I still do. And I will till my last breath.
I sighed and rubbed a hand over my face. God why can't I just dump it all and remain at home with Bruno my dog, with a glass of red wine in one and remote in another, feet planted on the coffee table while watching 'Law & Order'.
Yeah, nice thoughts.
I was huddled up in my office, piles of paperwork were mounted on my desk, the resumes of new hires, account management of staff, bill to renovate the furniture and stuff and whatnot.
I rubbed my forehead as I could feel an oncoming headache forming inside. When I said that I would prefer paperwork over my father's party was true, however the paperwork itself was so mind-numbing sometimes that my father's gathering seemed to be a little less boring.
Moments like these made me rethink my decision of not hiring an assistance till now, a lot of work would be reduced and these frequent staybacks to complete the work would become a little less frequent.
I sighed for the upteenth time and closed my eyes, laying my head on the cushioned chair. An exhausted exhale escaped my lips along with a yawn. I rubbed my eyes, trying to get the sleep and tiredness vanish from them.
I continued with the paperwork, but then another wave of sleepiness washed over me, that's when I decided to get up and get a fresh cup of coffee from the the lobby. God only knows how much I need it right now.
I stood up from the chair and decided against taking my blazer with me which was currently draped over the back of my chair.
I closed the door of my office behind me and walked towards the coffee machine. The only sound in this rather quiet hallways was of my Oxford's thumping against the floor.
My mind wandered back to that manilla file laying on top of my shelf. It seemed a plain black file but the information which it contained was not for me to know.
At least not yet.
It was sent to me by Dante a few days later by one of his trusted man. That folder contained all the information, bio data, an everything from her birth to her first day of this University.
It was about Amelia.
The decision was impulsive, reckless and not to mention very bad. When I saw those scars littered on her body, how her eyes were casted down as if she was ashamed of them and when she refused to tell us about them? Oh I lost it.
Right fucking then and there.
I didn't know that I wanted to get a whole investigation done on her but Dante called, all I had on my mind was her and her alone.
I didn't regret it when I told him to run a background check on her, but after I cooled down and the reality of my actions came crashing down, I felt a little of guilt but a whole lot of curiosity.
I placed it on my shelf, thinking that tomorrow I would open it, but the tomorrow never came. Because whenever I would inch closer to it, my brain would scream for me to get away from it and not to intrude on her privacy.
As much as I wanted to open it and read every single thing on it about her which I would without doubt read over and over until it was imprinted on my mind as a sacred hymn, but it was wrong of me to do so.
God I was infatuated with her. My mind was plagued with her thoughts.
Whenever I was alone my mind would lead to her and conjure up images of her.
Her smiling brightly.
Her talking spontaneously about what she likes.
The twinkly of happiness in her eyes which shone so vividly.
The last friday when both of us touched her. Though it was nothing too intimate and far from something erotic, it was still imprinted on my mind and was repeating on loop since then.
It wasn't my intention to touch her but when the sounds of quite gasps and soft murmuring came from the class, my interest piqued. I softly opened the door and the sight before me was enough to bring someone on their knees. It shouldn't have been as sensual or erotic but sue me if it was.
There was Nicholas, pressed firmly against Amelia's back, his hand on her small torso and another on the nape of her neck, tilting it slightly upwards to look in her eyes.
If it was some other man touching her this intimately, I am sure I would have lost it, but strangely the sight of him with her aroused me, instead of being appalled or jealous by it. Instead I was drawn towards it.
In that moment they were the moon and I was drawn towards them like a high tide.
I couldn't stop my legs from moving further in the room, nor could I stop my hand from tilting her chin up to meet my eyes.
Her brown eyes, so chocolaty and warm as late summer's evening. It was filled with innocence and vulnerability.
And I sure as hell didn't regret when I called her Good girl.
Cause she was! Damn it, she is.
They way she was so submissive towards me and Nicholas, how she never once failed to oblige my command.
When her back unconsciously arched at my nickname for her, my eyes met Nicholas's. Both of us looked at eachother. A silent agreement passed between us.
Us but never someone else.
Cause no matter how much of obnoxiously perfect and arrogant he was, I know that he is the one who could look after her just as much as me.
I shook my head to get her thoughts out. Upon reaching the machine I took one cup out and placed it on the holder, patiently waiting for the coffee to be prepared.
"so far, how much do you understand and how much you don't...?", a faint voice of someone talking reached my ears.
I frowned and looked into the direction of it, I took my coffee and started walking towards the classroom where the talking was heard from.
It was the same class in which I stumbled across last friday, again the sight of her panting and gasping slightly as our hands travelled across her feathery soft skin appeared in my mind.
The door was already open, the sound of their chatter flowed through the room. I pushed it open a little. She was sitting on her chair in front of him while he was sitting on his chair with his hands perched on the desk.
I leaned against the door's frame, one of my arms loosely in my trousers' pockets and the other holding the cup of coffee. Nicholas was the first one to notice me, he gave me a nod of acknowledgement, his curly hair falling on his face which he removed with a frustrated sigh.
I could never imagine my hair kept this wildly and in this untamed manner, something to do with my OCD, which I have had since my teenage years.
Though I have to agree that this style suited him. Whereas my hair was always slicked back with gel, his were falling on his face every two minutes.
Next I looked over at Amelia, her eyes on the paper but the faint blush covering her cheeks said aloud that she knew that I was here. She must have seen me when I entered but quickly looked away as to not make it obvious.
"How is the tutoring going Ms. Blackwood?", I spoke while raking my eyes up and down her, watching the way her skinny jeans clung to her legs, while the white low cropped t-shirt over it showed her curvaceous figure. Her hair were ties loosely in a low pony, a few wisps of it falling on her cheeks, delicately framing her face.
Could that girl be any more irresistible? The girls I was associated with wore revealing and much more daring clothes which were not even worth of being called clothes as they were literally scraps of material. But the thing is none of them looked appealing as her.
"Great Mr. Hernandez. We were just going over physics. How has your day been?", she said tilting her head at me, a smile playing on her rosy lips.
My own lips quirked up a little at that, when I looked over at Nicholas he too had a small smile on his lips as he looked towards Amelia with a fond expression on his face.
"Great, Ms. Blackwood", I repeated her words, taking a sip of my coffee to prevent her from seeing the smile which was about to bloom on my face.
"You look pretty exhausted. All good?", Nicholas said with bit of concerning look on his face.
"Yeah, it's just that I have been very much busy with all the paperwork of the school. A lot has to be looked over and doing all this without an assistance is very much overloading", I replied while taking another sip of very much needed caffeine.
"Why don't you hire one, sir?", Amelia said confused.
"The process and the interview are too long. And it's not like anyone would come for it seeing as how busy their schedule is", I shrugged off.
"You are thinking about hiring a student", she asked curiously like a little kitten.
"Why? You thinking about coming to the interview?", I played it off with a little smile thought I was internally elated by the idea of her as my assistance.
"Well, what if I did?", she said with a playful smile of her own.
"You are hired".
A/N. I am back!! Yeah I know I have been pretty much MIA, but I was facing writers block and had no idea what to write. But a follower of mine pushed my forward and supported me, so a thank you to her. No need to mention the name cause we both know who it is. Hope you all enjoy this chapter. Comment your thoughts and don't forget to vote.