Chapter 6

Arthur

“Boss!”

The door barged open, and James walked in, in a rush. I frowned at his behavior.

“Boss, did you see what is going on?” He pointed to the tablet with him. Anything that could make James so anxious is worth worrying over. I beckoned for him to hand the tablet to me, and he did.

“Arthur Wilder and Carly Harrington are the trending topics of today. Both powerful CEOs are suddenly tied down by an engagement, and this is causing uproar in the business world. Thou…”

My brows furrowed the more I looked.

“From your expression, it seems you know nothing of these. This couldn’t be fake news as major news stations are carrying it.”

Carly couldn’t agree to an engagement when she had never accepted my proposal to work together. It was confusing as to why there was suddenly news on this. I rubbed my hair, confused with each moment.

“Why aren’t you saying anything, boss? Do you know of this? If they are spreading false news, it’s better to deal with it now before it causes damage.”

I didn’t bother answering him. I took out my phone and dialed my grandfather. He was the only one I could think of capable of doing such. But only he couldn’t decide, which means someone from Carly's side had agreed to it.

“Hello, my dear grandson,” His voice rang out, filled with excitement.

“Grandfather, what did you do this time?”

“What do you mean by what I did? You should learn to be straightforward, son. This old man can no longer guess,”

I took a deep sigh, knowing what he was up to, “My engagement to Carly Harrington, you are responsible for it?”

He chuckled. The sound of him moving around resonated through the line. “While it’s a good match, you should have told me that you and Carly once had something, then I would have fixed your engagement a long time ago, instead of you fooling around. And also, now that you are engaged, let go of that girl called Olivia or whatever!”

His words came out too fast, and my brows furrowed. How did he know Carly and me once had something? It was just between us two, and Carly wasn’t one to talk.

“Grandfather,” I called slowly, still processing my thoughts. “ How did you get to know this?”

“Mr Trevor, Carly’s father, came to me. He pleaded with me that Carly liked you and you both had a thing years ago. I was surprised at first, but I knew both of you attended the same school, as my boys had once reported you had been close to a girl, and I never thought to check who. Now, everything is perfect, and I don’t have to worry about you anymore. It’s a good thing that such lady has love for you, you should be thankful.”

I jerked my head back, the strong urge to rub my eyes came, and I did. This isn’t right. Carly never had a crush on me, it was the other way around, be it years ago or now.

He continued. “Now that your engagement is around the corner, you should take time off to rekindle old feelings. Hmm, I’ve to go to the garden now so I can’t spend more time with you.”  He ended the call.

“What did he say?” James asked immediately, his eyes curious as he looked at me.

“It was grandfather,”

 I didn’t know how to feel. Never in my dreams did I expect this.  The event of few days ago flashed in my eyes. After a long time of wanting to meet Lylah again, that day at the parking lot was the first time I saw her fully. She looked tired. I knew she had cried before putting on her makeup. She always had that look, and I was glad that it didn’t change. But what I wasn’t expecting was the look she gave me when she saw me. 

Terror, fear, and pain graced her beautiful eyes before she turned and ran inside her car, driving off immediately. Those looks have haunted me, knowing it was directed at me. But why? I couldn’t place my hands on the reason. She couldn’t possibly still hate me for that night.

“But why would Ms Carly agree to it? I thought she blacklisted our company as they always refuse to work with us and….” His eyes suddenly widen. “Could that be the reason why the M&M project is under consideration? Usually, they reject it immediately. Wow, boss. Congratulations!” His voice suddenly turned cheerful.

I paid no heed to him as I got lost in my thoughts. I needed to know the reason she had agreed to it. The girl who would never agree back then couldn’t suddenly change her mind to spend her life with me.

“Call her company, I want to meet her.”

“Who?”

I glared at him, and he laughed awkwardly.

“Oh, Ms Carly. “

He picked up his phone and dialed it. The phone rang.

“This is N&R call line. Please tell me your request,” A female voice sounded from the line. James looked at me, and I gave him a look to continue.

“I’m calling from cordisR top desk. The CEO would like to meet with Ms Carly.”

“Oh,” The voice spoke in realization. “Please hold on a minute, let me inform the top desk, please stay on the line for that.”

The line grew silent, and we waited.

“Oh, sorry for the delay. I’m sorry again to inform you that Ms Carly is busy at the moment, so she can’t be reached. If there is an important message, I could help you deliver it.”

It wasn’t that she couldn’t be reached. She must have been too shocked and decided not to speak to me, but I was tired of waiting for her to reach out. From now on, I was going to take the lead.

I waved my hand for James to hand over the phone.

“Tell her, I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“What! I mean, she isn’t available and….”

I ended the call. “Get the car ready,”

James looked at me, surprised, but he knew not to question me. He nodded and left the room.