NICK's POV
"America?", he asked with a confused tone.
I raised my eyebrows at him and nodded. My eyes fell on Reign's pencil resting beside my hand. I touched it and started to fiddle with it as my mind started redrawing our little eye contact during the conference. It wasn't for even a split second but I can't fade it. Just thinking about that moment races my heart.
"I assume you know Reign Adams." I spoke. I was still fiddling with the pencil unconsciously, my eyes seemed to have stuck on it with a train of thoughts that included only her. Rafael is smart, he has an eidetic memory and he knows everybody.
"The new CEO of the Adams' hotels from New York, David Adams daughter? yes." He seconded and I met his gaze.
The look on Rafael's face suddenly changed, seemed like he remembered something. He scrunched his eyebrows. "Is this regarding the gunshot?", he asked sitting straight.
I leaned back into my chair and let out a sigh. I placed the pencil back to it's place.
"That... and she has been attacked repeatedly since then..." I don't understand why she didn't tell anyone sooner. I don't know what's going on in her mind but things like this shouldn't be kept away. I thought I read her, I knew her but I was wrong altogether it seems.
"That gunshot happened merely... 6 months ago and you say she has been attacked repeatedly since then?"
"Yes."
He hummed looking down as he traced his index finger on the big scar on his face. He does that when he's thinking and he hums a lot which gets annoying after a while.
"I see..."
He looked up at me with a little curiosity flickering in his eyes.
"So when should I fly to New York? I will have to meet her." He said pulling himself to the edge of the chair.
"No. You cannot see her." I snapped and he gave me a puzzled look. I quickly & completely became alert that if Reign finds out my private investigator is sniffing around then she might hate me more.
"She can't know there's a detective snooping around. She'll get worried." I told him.
He hummed again.
"Okay... but I will have to have a chat with her in future, nobody will know better about the attacks than her."
"Yes, of course." I agreed.
"So... how much do you know her?", he asked me.
I raised one eyebrow at him.
"Are you suspecting me, Mattos?", I couldn't believe him.
He let out a soft chuckle as he looked down and up at me again.
"No, Sir. I'm just collecting information."
"But I might get to you at some point if I have to...", he said.
I threw my hand out gesturing do whatever you want.
"I just want the person behind this."
He gave a nod.
"So does she have any nemesis? Anyone she has done wrong?", he asked resting his elbows on the chair hand rests.
"No", I said without giving any thought, like a reflex. Reign would never hurt anyone with or without purpose. She's not like that.
But she hurt you.
He looked down.
"Hmm..."
He really thinks that much or he's just slow at processing things?
"Any business rival?"
"Bad past relationships?"
Only one person that came to my mind.
"Xavier King..."
"She was dating Xavier King during college." I tell him. He must be knowing him.
"What happened between them?", he asked.
"He cheated on her." I stated.
"I see..."
"You don't know Xavier King?", I asked him. It was strange to know that he doesn't know who Xavier King is. I don't know much about him either but he is pretty famous, that's what Reign told me.
He scratched his chin stubble with his thumb.
"That name...", he squinted his eyes. "... it rings a bell but I cannot remember...", he said shaking his head side to side in negation.
"Did she date anyone after him? You know, like his friend or someone?"
"No, she hasn't dated anyone since then..."
"But he cheated on her. Why would he seek revenge if he did bad to her?", I ask him as it didn't fit well with me. Xavier was the partner in fault in their relationship because of his infidelity.
"There could be many reasons, Sir." he relaxed back into the chair as he tapped the hand rests with his fingers.
"If I'm not wrong, Alexander? He's a Hollywood actor and he's her brother right?", he asked. Alexander is pretty known in South America.
"Is she close to him?"
When Reign and I were in good terms, talking terms rather, she would always mention Alexander. Those two are close, they share a good sibling bond unlike me and my siblings. And after talking to Alex today I certainly know that he cares about Reign a lot.
"Yes, apparently. Why?"
"He should know precise information about her life if I start investigating. I cannot walk on the wrong path to the truth. That will only prolong the process."
"You will get to interrogate Reign soon." I reassure him. As a detective it must be bothering him for not getting a chance to talk to the victim.
"But as of now fly to New York today and meet Alexander."
"He will fill you in and help you with everything regarding Reign. He'll give you access to everything."
"And call me anytime, anywhere if you find out anything. Do not hesitate to call me at any hour."
He nodded and gave me a sincere look.
I leaned forward and bore dead into his eyes.
"And none of the information should get out, Rafael. Nothing of it. It should only be between you, me and Alexander. Not even Reign."
He nodded.
"I will get to the bottom of this case in no time, Mister Silva." Saying that he stood up.
"My assistant will make all the arrangements for you. Everything you need will be provided to you."
I stood up from my chair and he gave his hand to me, shaking it firmly I let go.
"Why don't I accompany you to the lobby? I'm heading down anyway." I say buttoning my suit button. He gave me a smile and we left the office.
We stepped into the elevator.
I don't like small talks but I thought of initiating one with Rafael.
"How is Natalie?", I asked about his girlfriend. I remember him telling me about his lover a long time ago.
He glanced at me as he pressed the button to the ground floor.
"Natalia?"
"She left me a year ago." He said.
Should've kept my mouth shut. Small talks isn't my strongest suit. I shouldn't have brought it up at all.
"I'm sorry, man."
"Oh no, it's okay. She said my job was risky."
"Actually, I got shot in the leg two years ago and I was bedridden for a long time. She looked after me but then she asked me to leave this job." He said looking down as he patted his right thigh lightly.
"I couldn't. I love solving cases." He shook his head.
Why is everyone's hearts getting broken? It's like a spree.
"You'll find someone better." I gave him a small smile.
"Fingers crossed." He chuckled and crossed his fingers.
"You know, it has almost been six or seven years since I worked for you." He changed the topic.
"Really?", I chuckled. I hired Rafael a long time ago to find out about Adriana. I wasn't at all delighted to put a private investigator behind the woman I had feelings for but she left me no choice. I had to take major steps.
"Speaking of which, I know you do not wish to know but Adri—"
I raised my hand.
"—Rafael." I cut him before he could finish his sentence. I knew what he was going to talk about and I didn't want to hear about her.
I looked at him.
"I really don't wish to know...", I told him sternly. Nothing about her.
He nodded.
"I understand, Sir. My apologies."
After a few moments full of silence, the elevator came to a halt and we stepped out towards the lobby.
As soon as I stepped out of the elevator the staff people went quiet. They go quiet seeing my presence and do their work with full attention. This is happening since the day I became the head of the brand.
They thought I was a spoiled kid who will take the Silva name down. Somewhere I felt that the staff wasn't taking me seriously so I made some drastic changes on the first day as the CEO. I fired a load of low efficiency staff and made some new strict rules. Since then, nothing has been the same. They're all scared of me and I like it that way.
I threw my gaze around seeing if I could spot her but I didn't and I looked back at Rafael. "Miss Rodriguez will send you your tickets and everything you need in an hour."
"Just find out the person behind this..."
"Don't worry, Mister Silva. You can trust me." He extended his hand towards me and I shook his hand firmly.
"I won't disappoint you." He said and turned around to leave. As soon as Mattos left I could again breathe fresh and odourless air. He should really quit his habit now. I turned around to go look for Nathan when I spotted him coming towards me with a file in his hand.
As he neared me, I opened my mouth to ask where Reign was but he answered before I could question.
"Miss Adams is with Miss Rodriguez having lunch." He said as soon as he stopped before me.
Damn.
"I wasn't going to ask that?", I said, which came out more like a question.
"I've practically raised you, Master Nicholas. I know what goes in your mind." He smiled.
Looking down at my feet I scratched my forehead with the tip of my thumb and my index finger. I cannot hide anything from this man.
"Okay...", I mumbled.
I looked back at the old man.
"After lunch, drop her off safely at the mansion."
"Yes. Alright."
"And send Bianca immediately to my office once Reign leaves."
"Mattos will be going to New York tonight, Bianca has to make sure he gets everything he needs there. That would be her responsibility."
Nathan's forehead creased more.
"Are you sure we can trust her?"
"I've read her in these few months... she's loyal."
Bianca is smart but she's not cunning. She has a clean heart, I can tell by her actions and the way she speaks. She wouldn't even think of crossing me or betraying her job. She's a good person.
"If you say so..."
Nathan looked at the black file in his hand. Actually, he was holding two files.
"Oh and yes, I've got the list of all the invitations that have to be sent out tomorrow for the party..."
He extended one file to me.
"...and here's the list of guests you have to call personally."
I took the file from his hand and I let out a frustrated groan. I hate this part.
"You have to do it since your father is not here."
I opened it and roamed my eyes all over it.
"Yeah, yeah." There were like 100 names.
And my eyes stopped on that one name.
"Margaret is on the list too." Nathan said.
Why did he put her name in the list? Probably because Papa isn't here. Good way of tricking me.
"I can see that...", I say still staring at the paper before me.
I cocked my head up at him.
"You very well know, she's not going to attend, right?"
He didn't speak for a moment. He knows she's not going to come, he's just trying to make me talk to her.
"Sadly yes, but it's your duty to invite your mother." He spoke.
I stifled an eye roll.
"A family member doesn't need to be invited, Nathan." I say to him sternly. What kind of a family member needs to be invited for their own family party. She's the woman of the house. She can make it all well in a second if she wants to but she won't. She won't let go.
"You have to."
I let out a wry chuckle. My father has been staying away from his own kids because of her.
I looked down at the file.
"No." I shut it close.
"Promise me you will call her." He asked for
my word. I never give false hopes to people, I never promise and I don't rely on other's promises as well.
"I don't keep promises and I most certainly can't promise you this one." I said shoving the file back into his hands.
"I'll be in my office." Saying that I turned around to leave.
After I went to my office, Miss Rodriguez joined in. I took her into confidence and made her understand everything about Reign's situation. I hope she gets how serious this matter is and takes her responsibility well.
Later, I talked to Alexander and briefed him about Mattos.
_____
Next few days went by like a breeze, I got caught up with lots of pending work. Since I didn't attend work for a whole month, things lined up before me. I was assuming that I'd be distracted since Reign was in Rio but that didn't happen. Although I had her on my mind, I spent two days calling and inviting important people to the Jóia's 80th anniversary party. Only a few close friends were left to be called.
Papa was still in Caracas and he wasn't in touch with me all the time. I was a little scared for him but he is capable of looking after himself. He should be back before the party. Planning the party is already a huge headache and being the main host would definitely bring death to me.
Reign has been staying in my house for 4 days now and I don't know how she's keeping up. As far as I've known her she's a family person and she hasn't stayed away from her family for so long. Georgina or Jacqueline, she at least had someone with her all the time. Now staying away in a foreign country, in someone else's house during such a critical time must be very daunting for her.
The mansion has many entertainment areas to keep her occupied but that's not all. The mansion misses the feeling of a home. It never felt like home since Mum left.
Maria is with Reign all the time, she keeps Nathan updated about her and Nathan gives all
that information to me. Today morning, Reign was telling Maria how much she was missing home and wanted to go back as soon as possible. She got homesick very quickly than I thought. She's already going through enough and now she's alone. I can't see her sad.
I wanted to do something for her so I called her best friend. Jacqueline is her only close friend, she's like her sister, maybe she could come here to stay for a few days.
I adamantly wanted Jacqueline to come for Reign here so I made sure there were no obstacles. Nathan found about the marketing company she was working for in Orlando. He called there and talked to the head of that branch beforehand, letting them know that Jacqueline will be flying to Rio for some days. As I thought, they had no problem with it and granted her leave.
Next thing he did was, called our hotel Laguna's head executive which was in Orlando itself and made them send a big basket of treats to Jacqueline in her office right then with many tickets to Rio for the next consecutive days. Nathan did all this and now he was sitting before me while I dialled Jacqueline cell phone number.
"Hello?", She spoke boldly. This girl has both, charm and confidence.
"Hello, Jacqueline. This is Nicholas speaking." I say brightly.
"As in Nicholas Silva?", she asked with a slight confused tone.
"Yes."
"I was just confirming." She chuckled.
"I couldn't think why you'd call me."
"Anyway, how are you?", she asked politely.
"I'm great." I lied.
I hate small talks, I'm not good at them either. I was waiting to jump on the point.
"How are you doing?", I had to follow the social obligation.
"Just fine." She let out a huff. "Caught up with lots of work."
"That must be exhausting." I said and met Nathan's gaze. He was looking at me.
"It is... I can't wait to go back to New York..." She ended that sentence with indecipherable tone.
"Speaking of New York, how is Reign?", she asked.
"Wait, is that why you called me? Is she okay?", her tone stiffened, filled with panic.
If Reign wouldn't have kept things away from her family, they wouldn't have gotten this worried for petty things.
"Reign is fine." I tell her.
"Where are you?"
"I'm in my office. Why?", her tone was full of anxiousness.
I decided to speak what I was intending to.
"I suppose, you've received the basket."
"I did... just now."
"You sent this?", she sounded surprised.
"Uh-huh. There are many things in here... most of them are chocolates." I had no idea what Jacqueline liked. Reign may have mentioned about her friend's likings but I must've chosen to ignore them. As Reign is a chocolate lover I thought Jacqueline must be too, so I told Nathan to send her chocolates.
"I hope you like chocolates."
"Unfortunately, I'm more of a sour candy person."
"Ah, that's bad. I should've known."
"You both don't talk about me. I'm hurt."
I chuckled.
"I will keep that in mind for the next time I send you gifts."
"Yes, gifts... why did you send me a gift?"
"Look inside the basket."
"Wait..."
I heard shuffling of papers and plastic wraps.
"There... there's an envelope here."
"Open it."
"It's thick. Did you send me cash or what? Are you trying to buy me?", she laughed and then stopped abruptly.
"God, here are like 20 tickets to Rio."
"And they all have my name on it. What's going on, Nicholas?"
"I want you to come to Rio. Reign is getting very homesick." I said.
"You want me to fly to Rio? Because Reign is getting homesick? Dude, you sent..."
".... 10 tickets. Wait, First class tickets. Because Reign is getting homesick?", she was in awe. Her voice went high pitch.
"This is legit, the most romantic thing I've ever seen in my life." She said.
I chose to ignore what Jacqueline said. I'm not doing this to prove my love for Reign or anything. I didn't even think this would be romantic. I really care about her and I can't see her sad.
"So, when will you fly out?", I asked.
She didn't speak for a moment. Did she hung up?
"I can't.", came her reply.
"Why?"
"I would but my boss—",
"— don't worry about her. I already talked to her. She's granted you leave for how much ever time you want."
"You just have to pick a day."
She went silent again.
"I want to come but I can't."
"Why?", I stood up from my chair.
"Tell me whatever it is, I'll find a way out." I said and I meant it. Whatever it takes to keep Reign happy.
"No, there is no problem as such."
"There are some other reasons I can't talk about." She extended.
"I hope you're not in any kind of trouble. You can tell me if you are, Jacqueline. I will surely help you and find your way out of it." I say earnestly. I started pacing behind my desk.
"It's really sweet of you to... do all of this for Reign but I know that girl. She needs to be alone right now, to know what's best for her."
She's not coming.
"I'm sure you have your reasons but she's alone, she needs someone to be with her. Someone she's close to... Jacqueline and I cannot think of anyone else but you."
"I'm not saying no because I don't want to. I'm not coming for... her."
"I know... you know her better but consider coming here only for a day or two."
"I can't. I hope you understand, Nicholas."
"I want only the best for her..."
I turned my chair around and sat in it, disheartened.
"Okay... I understand."
I raked my fingers through my hair.
"Also, this was not the only reason why I called..."
"There's a party this weekend at Jóia in Rio and you're invited. Since you're Reign's family and she is my business partner, you have to be there."
"I have sent the invitation, you should get it by tomorrow."
"That's really nice...", she said.
"Reign would feel better if you came." I still tried.
"I won't lie to you, Nicholas."
"Fair enough." I shrugged.
Lie
It reminded me of something.
"Could you do me a favour and please don't tell Reign about this call."
She chuckled softly.
"I'll try not to..."
"Thanks."
"Thank you for this basket."
"Make it even by showing up at the party."
She laughed.
______
Who stans Jacqueline and Nick's friendship?
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