The night before:
“Liam.” Haylee entered his room without permission, while he was working on his computer, his busy eyes shuttling between the screen and the keypad as he rapidly typed something.
“LIAM!” Haylee yelled when he didn’t respond.
“I heard you the first time.” He said, not averting his gaze.
“I wanted to make an offer.” She seated herself on the edge of the bed.
“Blurt it out.”
“You see, I have a degree in business management.” She studied his face carefully to gauge his probable reactions.
“You’re making no sense Hayles.”
“I’m making all the sense in the world, brother. Listen to me. I can handle your place for a few days, can’t I?”
“What do you mean?” Liam furrowed his eyebrows and stared at his sister, demanding an explanation.
“That you should go to New York.”
“Faith’s coming here already!” he laughed.
“Liam! Why can’t you be the bigger person for once? Go there, surprise her! She will probably fall in love with you all over again. What better way to end a fight?”
Lima looked at her and then threw his head back, thinking the matter over deeply. Maybe Haylee was right.
“But I can’t trust you with all my work. There are over forty companies you will be responsible for. Including T3, which is the busiest of all.”
“I can do it for two days. Please, just go.” Haylee begged him.
“I’m lucky to have a sister like you. You’re a bitch, but I love you.” Liam hugged her.
“I knew you would agree!” Haylee cheerfully cried. “Go and meet her! Trust me, she’ll be overwhelmed!”
*
*
*
Faith gaped at the sight in front of her in sheer shock. She was having a hard time believing that Liam was standing in front of her door.
“Pinch me.” She said to Liam, an expression of shock still on her pretty face.
“Okay.” He shrugged and pinched her on the arm.
“Aaahhh.” She squeaked. “You’re really here? You’re really here!”
“Yeah, I guess so.” He smirked.
“You’re here!” Her eyes welled up again and she covered her mouth, while Liam rolled his eyes at how very emotionally sensitive she was.
She looked at Liam. He was dressed perfectly from head to toe. A black hoodie, blue jeans, shades and his signature dimpled smile. Then Faith looked at her reflection in his shades.. She looked like a hung over drunkard, who hadn’t combed her hair in days. What a beautiful combination.
“Aren’t you going to invite me in?”
“Of course!” She jumped forward and hugged him. She didn’t care that her mother was watching, she was way too happy to.
“I believe we haven’t met yet.” Cecilia Connor smiled and walked towards them, removing her apron and looking at her daughter’s man excitedly. “You sure have a great taste, honey.” She winked to Faith.
Faith was pleasantly surprised at how well her mom was taking this. She had expected her to be over protective when she would first meet Liam. Probably, she thought that if he was willing enough to take Faith home, he probably loved her a lot.
“Look at what a handsome young man we have here.” She gushed, while Liam smiled and kept his gaze down, as his cheeks turned red.
“This is mom.” Faith introduced them. “Dad is at his office right now, but he’ll be very happy to see you. And that is my partner in crime right there.” She waved over to Logan.
Logan and Liam exchanged awkward glances and nodded. Typical guys. Cadbury ran up to Liam, and surprisingly, wagged his tail on seeing him. Everybody was surprised; he never took well to strangers. Liam knelt down and cupped his face, as he tousled his fur. Cadbury seemed to like him already.
Liam was invited inside with much warmth, and Faith’s mom gave him absolute royal treatment. Not because he was the country’s richest person, but because he was the first man in his daughter’s life and she had a somewhat good opinion of him. She made breakfast for all of them, and the way they ate at the table together made Liam miss his mom and Haylee. He and Logan talked, albeit not too much. The kind of instant bonding that Haylee and Faith had shared was lacking in their case. However, they didn’t think badly of one another.
“Mrs. Connor. I wanted to ask you permission for something.” Liam asked Faith’s mom politely.
“Yes dear, go right ahead.” She smiled.
“Would it be okay if I offered her a job at T3?” Liam casually tapped the table as he dug his spoon into his food.
“You would do that?” Logan and his mother exclaimed together.
“Really?” Faith asked, a smile on her face.
“Yeah. You love fashion, don’t you? I thought you could cover stories on those topics.”
“Oh my God!” Faith almost pulled at her hair in excitement. “You mean celebrity fashion?”
“Yeah, what else would it be?” he rolled his eyes.
“Oh my God! I’ll do it I’ll do it I’ll just do it!” Faith wiggled from side to side. “I was going to send in so many job resumes in a few days. I don’t even have to worry now.”
“I think she could do that job well, but the headquarters are in LA right?” Cecilia frowned.
“Mom, I’d have to move out anyway. LA or another corner in New York. I’ll still; be living apart from you.”
“Well, you are an adult.” She smiled. “You are free to make your decisions. I think your dad won’t mind.”
“No, he won’t.” Logan shook his head. “So we’re both moving out now.”
The atmosphere turned nostalgic, and Faith and her mother put on sad expressions. Logan and Liam on the other hands, awkwardly looked at each other as they couldn’t bring themselves to an almost crying state.
“Also, there’s one place I’d like to take Faith to before she starts working.” Liam looked at each one of them one by one.
“Take her wherever. You don’t need to ask.” Cecilia was convinced that this guy was not wrong for her little girl. She could tell that he cared about Faith. She smiled and picked up the dishes before putting them in the sink.
Faith directed Liam to their tiny guest room. When he placed his stuff on a desk and took off his hoodie, she stared at the t-shirt underneath which clung to his body.
“Somebody looks hot.” She teased him.
“And somebody not.” He winked.
Faith looked at herself again. Yeah, he was definitely right about that. “So.” She began. “Where are you taking me?”
“Oh, you know, a month later when you’re done with college and can finally join T3. Right before that.”
“Yeah, but where?”
“That’s a surprise.” He opened his laptop and placed it on the bed. He fiddled with it, before his phone rang and he walked over to the window for a better reception.
Faith jumped on to the bed and turned his laptop towards herself. His email inbox was open. Liam never really minded when she checked his personal stuff, so she kept on reading the messages until a particular one caught her eye. She clicked on it to view the entire message.
Mr. Armstrong,
Thank you for choosing us. Your suite has been booked for two people in the upcoming month on 20th December 2014. We heartily hope you enjoy our services as much as we enjoy having you here. Please visit soon, Paris awaits you! Thank you!
Team La Cielle
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