More Than A Business Deal - Chapter #8 - Free To Read

I did not go back to see Dad after I had walked out due to anger. I made sure Agnes, the maid in charge of Dad kept me updated about his health. Even though I was mad, I was still scared of anything happening while I wasn’t there.

I was currently lying on my bed where I had been since I walked out of Dad’s room. I was starving because I had been too angry to eat anything yesterday and now I was suffering as a result of my poor decisions.

The movie I had been watching now seemed uninteresting as I remembered that I would be getting married to a man that I had never seen. I tossed my phone to the side and rolled on my back, so I was staring at the star-decorated ceiling above me.

"Marriage may not be one of the things that I had obsessed about or knew what I wanted when it came to the topic, but it still didn’t mean that I wanted to marry just anyone.

I was considering being single for the rest of my life and just adopting a kid or two so I wouldn’t end up alone but now that was out of the door.

I had spent all night searching for everything I could find about the man who was going to become my husband. One thing I couldn’t deny was that the man was all shades of handsome.

Atticus Hayland was not a public person but the few pictures and videos I had seen of him had me in awe. I had not gotten a good look at him at the museum. But his handsome face and attractive aura weren’t still enough to make me want to marry him.

The media painted him as a business guru who had conquered every sector of the business world he entered. He was tagged as a formidable partner and the worst enemy you would want to make.

I even saw some articles that claimed he may be involved with the mafia but they were just based on speculations so I couldn’t hold it against him, but I hope he wasn’t involved with crimes.

I knew there was a high possibility that I was going to end up miserable because there were so many articles on him with different women and one said he may be engaged.

If he accepted Dad’s offer but already had a woman who had his ring, I would be a mistress with the title of a wife and I wasn’t sure my pride would allow me to stay as such.

If the wedding happened, I was not expecting him to worship me or shower me with love, but I at least expected to be respected. I knew it would be difficult, but I was not going to allow anyone to treat me badly because my so-called would-be husband was a man who loved to go around with different women.

I was also the daughter of a billionaire, and I would not be treated as lesser.

I was scared. Scared that I may be treated like trash by him and the people around him and I would not be able to do anything. I’ve seen things in movies and the news.

I was scared of how I would live my life as an orphan. I would be alone without anyone to turn to for help or advice. I was beginning to regret my decision to live my life without friends because I was about to be lonely.

I let out a sigh for the hundredth time in less than ten minutes. Thinking about the whole thing was pretty exhausting. I wonder when I would get to meet him, that is if I was going to get to do that.

There was a knock on the door, and it startled me out of my thoughts.

“Come in,” I called to the person. Everyone had let me be after the incident with my Dad and I was certain it was Duke who told them to let me be.

It was Duke and I sat up in worry. With Dad’s condition, Duke’s presence could either mean good or bad news and I hoped it was for the latter.

“I think you have sulked enough, young mistress” Duke said with a firm voice as he came to stand in front of the bed.

Sulked.

That was the word he was going to use to address me worrying over the fact that I was getting married to a stranger.

He just went from my second most liked person to the last of my nonexistent list.

“Really, Duke? Sulking?” I sat up on my bed to give him a disapproving glare.

“Do you expect me to just happily accept the fact that Dad is going to marry me off to a stranger just because he is worried?” I couldn’t believe my ears.

Duke was someone who practically raised me along with Dad so I was hoping he would be the one to understand me the most but it seems I was wrong.

“You are getting it all wrong. You have to see things from his point of view. If you…” He tried explaining but I held up my hand to stop him.

“Don’t try explaining it to me because I won’t ever see it from his perspective. I already agreed to do it. Isn’t that more important than my choice or happiness?”

I cast my gaze away from him and looked up to blink away the tears that were threatening to fall. I hated that I was crying a lot lately. This was not me.

I could not be this gullible. How was I supposed to convince anyone that I could take care of myself if I bawled my eyes out at every single moment or every word uttered to me?


“I understand how you feel but you may thank your dad for this” Duke said in a soft voice.

I didn’t even bother to reply to him anymore because I already told him not to try to make me understand things from my dad’s point of view because I would not do it.

When he saw I was not going to say anything, he continued.

“You should go see your dad before Atticus arrives. He has not been able to sleep properly because he is worried and he is not happy that you are angry with him. Please go to him and assure him you are fine so he can rest properly. You better than anyone should know better than to let him worry in his state”

I knew a warning when I heard one and I was also aware that Duke would not mind gettin some of the guards to haul me to Dad’s room if he thought it would make him better.


“I would go see him later before….. Did you just say Atticus was coming over?” I yelled with wife eyes as I registered his previous statement.


“Yes, I did. He would be arriving in the next four hours. He has to go over the documents again and sign them in front of your dad and his lawyers.”

I became dizzy immediately. It was happening so fast. Dad was in obviously a hurry and my heart squeezed painfully in my chest when I thought about why he was in such a hurry.

Seeing things in motion like this was a painful reminder that I had such little time with Dad.

Suddenly, all my anger washed away and I felt like a fool. I couldn’t believe I was so angry that I was not spending my dad’s last moment with him.

How bad could it be to get married just because Dad said so? He had done so much for me and I was acting like a bitch just because of a little thing such as marriage? Sure, marriage was a big deal but Dad had done bigger things.

I threw my blankets at myself and rushed down the bed.


“Oh God, I’ve been such a fool. I should be with Dad but I am here sulking like the spoiled brat I am”

As I wore my flats and hurried past Duke, he grabbed my hand pulling me to a stop before I could dash out the door.

“Hold on, young mistress, you are getting it wrong once again” He pulled me back and made me sit down back on my bed.

He looked at me with those sad eyes again and I hated the pity that was swirling in them.

“Duke, why are you keeping me here? I have spent too much time away from Dad. I should go” I made a move to stand up but he placed his hands on my shoulders and pushed me down again.

“You need to pull yourself together. Your thoughts always run wild and you always act on impulse. You can’t keep acting like this especially if you are to be married to someone like him.”

“I don’t understand what you mean. I just realized my mistakes and I want to make them right as soon as I can. How is that acting irrational?”

“You are willing to take the blame for everything because you think it would avoid trouble but that won’t solve the problem. You have to know it’s okay to be angry at your dad for marrying you out but at the same time, you are a businessman’s daughter so you should also think of the reason why you have to do it. Do you want your father’s company to go under?”

“Of course not. What kind of question is that?”

“Do you think you can properly manage the company because you studied business administration?”

That question felt like a slap to me. It was like he was telling me I wasted four years of my life reading business administration. He seemed to have figured out what I was thinking because he let out a grunt of frustration.

“This is what I am talking about. You only hear what you want and you never really listen to what others say. That is a bad thing”

“I don’t know what you want me to hear from a clear question, Duke”

“I asked if you thought you would be able to handle the company just because you read business. It’s a yes or no question. If you think you can, I will convince your father to cancel the marriage and hand over the company to you”

It was embarrassing to be sat down and told you were foolish. Duke may be quoting it in sweet words but if you remove the icing, that was basically what he was saying.

“No, I would not be able to manage it”

“Now why do you think you would not be able to manage it?”

I was about to snap at him once again but the warning look he gave me had me checking myself. Duke can sometimes manage to look really scary.

“Because even though I read business administration, I know nothing about construction, which is what the company does. I could learn but this is not the time for anyone to start teaching me anything”

It seemed as though I finally got something right because Duke smiled and the man rarely smiled but it’s baffling that he had to smile at me admitting my defeat.

“And why do you think this is not the time to start teaching you anything?”

“Since Dad is sick, the board of directors and the shareholders would be going crazy about who the next CEO will be and no shareholder would trust their money with someone like me who knows nothing about the business which would make them pull out their money, and as a result of this the company will crumble before I even get to exercise my poor management skills”

“You see that I am not trying to humiliate you or anything like that. I just want you to know that as much as you want to protect your father’s legacy, you cannot do that directly now but you can do that through Atticus.”

I could finally see what he and Dad were trying to get me to understand but hell would freeze over before I admit I was wrong.

“But it doesn’t mean I have to be happy about getting married” I grumbled under my breathe.

“Yes, it doesn’t mean you can’t be angry. Now get in between those sheets and get some sleep. I would not let you see your father in such a terrible state. It would make him worry more”

“What do you mean? I slept well”

“Are you really going to play that game with me?” He gave me a knowing look

“Okay, okay… I’ll sleep”

Duke made sure I was tucked in as if I were a baby before leaving my room.

I felt a bit better but not completely. I had no choice but to do whatever to make sure the company was safe.