Chapter 5

ZESA RUSSO

            After explaining myself to the protesters, I went home. Today was extremely stressful for me. As I watched the news, I couldn’t stop thinking about what the protesters had said and their anger toward me for closing down Techya Bio without giving them a heads-up. It was not my first time shutting down a subsidiary, but this one went south. Perhaps I did not do a good enough job with this one. I needed to fix this mess because the workers were right. They had families looking up to them for survival, and it was wrong of me to dismiss them like that.

My phone rang, forcing me back into reality. I swiped my thumb across my screen to pick up after reducing the volume of the television.

“You asked me to call you when I’m ready to sign the contract.”

Ah… Nina Meyers.

“Are you ready to sign it? Can you really give up Levi?”

“Money is more important than love. You should know that. You’re a businesswoman. Did you make Techya a global company by choosing love every time?”

I ignored her question. “The contract is ready. Come to my place.” I hung up and placed my phone on the spot beside me. Finally, I would have him all to myself. But if after three months and his feelings did not change, it would mean he really doesn’t like me and Nina won’t be the one to blame. No one would be.

I went into our room to get the contract. When I returned to the living room, Levi came into the house. What perfect timing. I placed the contract on the center table and went to him. He forced a smile. He never smiled around me.

“How was your meeting?” I asked, taking off his suit jacket for him.

“It was okay.” He gave me a once over. “Did you go to work?”

I nodded. “Had to meet some workers.”

“That means you know about the people who protested in front of the building.”

“Very well.” I bit the inside of my cheek. “They thrashed my new car.”

I could see him try to stop himself from smiling. He was smiling at my misfortune. I turned away from him and went to sit down. In a few minutes, it would be my turn to smile. “Nina is coming over.” In announced, crossing my legs. “She’s ready to sign the contract.”

His smile disappeared as quickly as it came. “You really mean this, don’t you?”

I held his eyes. “When do I ever joke about things like this?”

He placed both hands on the backrest of the sofa. “You know I don’t love—”

“Shh.” I told him, shaking my head slightly, “As long as three months are not over, you love me with every fiber of your being. Besides, Nina has shown you what type of woman she is. So, why on earth are you hell bent on going to her?”

“Let me make something clear to you. It’s a pity Nina chose money over me, but I assure you I can never fall in love with you even if you try.”

I stood up. “Time will tell, Levi. I’ve waited thirteen years for you to come to me. I can wait three more months. However, if three months are over and your feelings for me remain the same, I’ll let you go. For good.”

Without speaking another word or showing him how much his words hurt me, I went into my study. Right from when I was a teenager, I always busied myself to take my mind off the things that hurt me. Especially when my parents died. It felt as though my world was crumbling. Yes, they left a growing Techya to me and my little sister, Malena, but it was not enough. I needed their advice, their love, and their support.

Despite that, I went to school while keeping the company in check. There were many people who opposed having a teenager become the CEO, so I strived to make sure they never got a chance to say shit about me. When it was time for Malena to go to college, she said she wanted to travel out of the country. I let her go, and I had not seen her for about four years now. We still spoke to each other at least twice in a month.

It was during that time that my feelings for Levi became stronger. Whenever I needed someone to talk to, a shoulder to lean on, he was always there for me. Everything changed when I confessed my feelings to him. He began distancing himself from me until it turned to hatred. I never understood why.

So, just like before, I buried myself in my work. I only came out of the study when I heard Nina’s voice. She was here. I joined her and Levi in the living room. It appeared they were talking about something serious, only to stop when they saw me. I couldn’t care less. I sat across from her. She wore minimal makeup with blue jeans and a white shirt.

“Here it is.” I slid the contract across the table.

She picked it up and opened it. After reading through it, she brought out a pen from her purse. I could see the heartache on Levi’s face when Nina’s pen hovered over the paper. She looked between me and Levi. I thought she had changed her mind about signing it. I expected her to drop her pen and walk out but instead; she signed it, trading the man who loved her for fifty million.

“There, I’ve signed it.”

I took the contract from her with a smile. “I see that. Send me your bank details. Expect the money in an hour.”

She stood up, her eyes on Levi. “It was nice while it lasted, but I have a future ahead of me.”

She grabbed her bag and made her way to the door. I watched Levi come to his feet. When he tried to go to her, I held onto his wrist. He faced me. There was wetness in his eyes. I reached for his face and wiped a tear that fell. He threw off my hand, grabbed his suit jacket, and left.

            Hours went by as I waited for him to come back home. It was almost 12p.m. and he still wasn’t home. Worried something had happened to him, I tried calling Marie. She would probably know where he was since she had eyes on him. As I dialed her number, a drunk Levi came in, staggering like a tree in the wind. His hair was a mess and the smell of alcohol rolling off of him was strong.

“Where have you been?” I asked, going to him. To my surprise, he cupped my face in his hands, gazing into my eyes with pain in his eyes.

“Do you have any idea how much I loved you?”

A sprout of hope grew in my heart at his words. Were his actual feelings coming to light because he was drunk? Did he actually have feelings for me and was only pretending to not like me? If it was so, I would get him drunk every day just to hear him speak with honesty.

“You’re drunk, Levi. You should get some rest.” I advised, trying to remove his hands from both sides of my face.

“Do you know how much it hurts?”

I did not want him to stop talking. I wanted to hear more.

“Nina…”

My heart fell. He was talking about her. It was never about me. I could barely process my thoughts because his lips came into contact with mine, warm and soft. My lips parted slightly, allowing his tongue to slip inside. An arm found my waist, and he pulled me closer, pressing our bodies together heatedly, and our breathing heavy. His fingers carded through my hair, warmth blossoming in my chest.

However, I had to stop him when I felt his hands slip into my clothes. He was drunk. I couldn’t give myself to him, knowing fully well he would despise me the next morning. I placed my hands on his chest, pushing him back slightly.

“You probably won’t remember this tomorrow, but,” I tiptoed to kiss him. “I love you, Levi. I really hope you change your mind about me before the end of the three months.”

He smiled at me before passing out, his heavy weight sending us both to the ground. I could only lay him down on the couch, since going up the stairs would be a lot of work. After covering his body with a blanket, I sat down and watched him sleep. I touched my lips. He’d kissed me even though he had Nina in mind. Our very first kiss happened, but he might not remember it tomorrow. And if he did, he would hate me more.

“What am I going to do with you?”

<>_<>

            When I woke up the following morning, Levi was no longer on the couch. I got up from the floor and stretched my body before going into our room to see if he was there. As expected, he was getting ready to leave.

“Good morning.” He greeted, fixing his tie.

I studied his facial expressions. It was either he did not remember what happened last night or he was pretending to not recall. “How do you feel? Does your head hurt?”

“A little, but I’ll be fine soon.”

“Okay. Wait a little so I can make breakfast if you’re not in a rush.”

“Alright.”

I frowned. He was being too calm. He was not avoiding me, which meant he did not remember what happened. Why did I even care? Did I want him to remember kissing me like his life depended on it? I spun around and left the room. It took me some minutes to prepare breakfast for him. I was in no mood to eat. While he ate, I went up to brush my teeth and shower. By the time I was done, he was ready to leave.

“The party is today, right?” he inquired.

“Yes.”

“I’ll be home early.” He pulled me close and kissed my forehead. “I’m doing what I have to.”

I was regretting making such a deal with him. The things he did only made me love him more and, to him, it made him hate me more. As much as I wished to ask him if he remembered the kiss, I decided against him. What good would it do me if he despised me more?

His phone rang, and he answered. “Hello?” his eyebrows furrowed after some seconds. “Is that so?” he looked at me. “I understand. Tell him to not worry about it.” After hanging up, he said, “Looks like I don’t have to go out today. What do you want to do today?”

Although it saddened me he remembered nothing from the previous night, I managed a small smile. “Let’s go shopping.”

            Today, I found out Levi wasn’t a fan of shopping. Perhaps it’s because it was me. Yet he followed me around, alongside the two workers in the store. I was VVIP after all. One of the workers, a dark-haired female around my age, led us to the bag section. She pointed to a brown checkered Gucci bag. I had a weakness for branded products like Louis Vuitton, YSL, and Gucci, and this woman knew it.

“This beauty came in yesterday.” She told me, carefully getting the bag for me to take a look at it. Once it was in my hands, she asked. “Do you like it?”

I considered. The size was perfect and the neutral color enticed me but I already had something similar to it. I didn’t think there was need for it.

“There’s only three of it in the world.” She informed, studying my face.

That did it for me. “I’ll take it.”

Next, we went to the clothes section. Just like a couple did, I picked out a couple of dresses and went to change after which I showed them to Levi for his opinion. The first dress was a pink one shoulder drawstring ruched high slit dress. It was chic and sexy and highlighted my curves. I stood in front of him, hands on my waist.

“What do you think?”

He leaned back, eyes scrutinizing my outfit. “It fits like a glove, but I feel it’ll be better in blue. Blue always looks good on you.”

My heart did a mini flip. I refused to believe what my ears heard was true. “Blue looks good on me?”

He nodded. “Yes. Especially that blue suit you wore to my office one time. It brought out your eyes.”

I was too stunned to speak. He actually paid attention to me to know that a particular color looked good on me. What he just said gave me a little hope, and I liked it. I wanted to believe we were getting somewhere.

He shifted his attention to the woman. “Do you have this in blue?”

“We do, sir. I’ll go get it.”

While she went to get the dress, I tried on another dress. A black and white color block crisscross halter high slit dress. It gave me party vibes. Levi approved of the dress. The woman came in, holding a blue dress. I took it from her and changed. When I came out, she gasped.

“Blue looks good on you, ma’am.” She faced Levi, smiling. “You have an excellent eye, sir. She looks exquisite.”

Levi held me in his gaze. “She does.”

If someone out there was listening to my heartbeat, they would think I just ran miles judging from the rapid beating of my heart. Then I remembered he was acting the way he was because of the deal. He didn’t mean it. A bit down, I tried the last dress. This one, I liked very much. A black, off the shoulder glitter layered sheer mesh party dress. The mesh covered one shoulder in a ruffle pattern and at the bottom of the dress; it was layered and had glitter on it. I loved it. I found a dress for the event tonight. It was chic and glamorous. Just like me.

“This is perfect.” He told me, nodding in approval.

“I’ll wear this later tonight.”

He stood up and came to me. “You should.”