009

He turned and his gaze landed on Valerie, his secretary. He wondered how long he had been standing in his office and recalling his last time with Disha.

His workers had already started coming and that was probably why he met Valerie in front of his office.

"Any problem, Valerie?" he asked

"Not really sir. it's just that you haven't been at work for three days now and I just found you here, looking lost. Is everything alright with you sir?" she asked with a concerned look.

"I'm okay , Valerie. Get the cleaner to clear this desk "

"She's not yet at work. But I can help clear everything for you, sir " she offered, praying in her mind that he would allow her to clear the office.

She wondered why her boss hadn't been able to notice her unwavering likeness for him.

"Fine then. Go ahead " . Valerie had never asked to clean his office in place of the cleaner.

Today that she offered to , he was a bit impressed and allowed her .

He sat on the sofa bed there in the office while Valerie came in with the materials for cleaning.

She started with picking up some of the papers on the floor and sorting out the important ones from the ones that are already torn and useless.

While doing that ,she kept stealing glances at Ray who seemed to be busy with his phone.

When she was done with clearing the desk, she started mopping the floor .

She purposely started from where the sofa-bed was. Bending low, she stylishly pulled up her skirt and positioned herself in a way that Ray would surely catch a glimpse of her thighs.

Just as she drew closer to the sofa bed , Ray quickly stood up , startled.

"Shit! The hell !" he yelled at no one in particular, staring at his phone.

"What's the problem, sir? "

"Is something wrong?" Valerie asked.

She had come to work and was surprised to see Ray's office open. She walked close and met him standing and glancing around his office. His face looked pale , and another expression she couldn't place her hand on.

He didn't notice her presence for like five minutes until she tapped him.

Now he was yelling.

"Sir, is anything the problem?"

He stuttered, wondering how he could explain the situation.

"Disha's number on my phone....I'm trying to dial it and it keeps saying that the number is no longer in use. Meaning, I can't contact her at all " .

Valerie smiled slightly, but remembering that Disha is the reason why her boss is so worked up, her countenance changed back to normal.

"But sir, you can visit her by the end of today. "

Ray glared at her, that she almost got scared.

And yelling again, came his next words;

"She's gone. My dad has sent her to an undisclosed country to separate us. "

Valerie almost leaped in joy.

The fact that the country is "undisclosed " added to her inner joy, but she kept calm on her face.

That means she now had time to make Ray fall for her and she would never be distracted or stopped by anyone.

Ray stared back at her and jerked her out of her train of thoughts.

"Sir...erm..., what if Disha also agreed to leave the country because she doesn't love you anymore? Lovers are meant to fight for each other's love right? But she immediately allowed your father's decision influence her too "

Ray's gaze turned dark and cold. The thought of the possibility of that hit him and anger built up in him already. They got intimate just a day before she left and she didn't bother to tell him what her father had said to her.

Valerie, on seeing the effect her words had on her boss, wanted to speak more when she heard him say "Get out of my office, Valerie! " .

His tone was filled with anger and sadness, so Valerie simply left.

Ray slumped into the arm chair in frustration.

Disha would never do that. Although he knew she didn't truly love him with all her heart, at least they were about to build the love before his father disrupted it.

"Draco!!" he growled, hitting his hand on the arm of the chair.

********

Lorna's POV :

I'd already begun to prepare for the practical I had the next two days . Dave had called me for us to work together via telegram, but I didn't want to learn online. He was beginning to act too clingy, always calling me as if I was the only one in the group with him . It was annoying!

I was trying ,successfully though, to forget the moments I had with the stranger, taking it as a mistake and one that would never repeat itself again. I swore never to tell anyone about it.

The next day, I was still busy studying when my mom came into my room . She had been so busy with sales since noon the previous day. When she came back at night, I'd already slept off. In the morning, I woke up to see a note she kept on the cushion in the living room, stating that she had made breakfast and lunch for me and that she might be back before dinner time.

I ate breakfast, blueberry muffins and did some chores . I tried not to ever spare any time for thoughts because obviously, the thought of my first sex or rather one nightstand would keep popping up in my head while I'm trying to forget it.

I ate lunch for almost an hour after eating breakfast and continued studying.

True to Mom's words, she came back before dinner and met me studying.

"Still studying honey?" she asked , sitting on the edge of my bed.

"Good evening, mom. And yes, I'm still studying . Although, I'll get a good sleep tonight so that I can be able to pass my practical solutions tomorrow ".

"I'm glad, my dear. Did you make dinner?"

Indeed, I didn't remember that I would make dinner that night. I was so engrossed in my books and my research that I forgot about it.

"No mom. I...I honestly didn't remember...i.."

"It's fine, baby. It's okay that you didn't make dinner because I bought grilled fish and burgers for us to eat ". she interrupted my stuttering .

I was more than happy, it'd been a long time since I ate burgers. I hugged my mom as she handed over my part of the food to me.

"Now, guess what?" she quizzed , I could see the excitement in her voice.

I tried to guess what could be making her happy and then I blurted;

"Mr Draco has decided to let go of this matter?" . Mom frowned immediately.

Wasn't that a good guess, I wondered.

"That's even impossible for him to do. Well, the good news is that the money is now up to twenty million dollars! "

Oh my!

"How , When?" I asked in excitement.

"I bumped into an old friend this morning and for the sake of old times, he willingly gave me ten million dollars. Isn't it exciting?" .

My countenance fell immediately. First, because it is a man. Second , this could be another uncle Draco in the making. How would someone willingly give out that amount to an old friend he met just today?

As if reading my thoughts, Mom calmed my nerves and said ;

"He was a close friend of mine that people almost thought we would eventually get married . However, he left the country and we lost contact. He is even married with a son who is even married as well . I told him about my ordeal, excluding the matters we have at hand and he gave me the money also as his own condolence on the death of your father. That's it. "

I digested the whole information but it still made no sense. I kept having the feeling that trouble would soon come up from this.

However, I didn't voice it out and I rejoiced with my mother. She packed the money into the same bag we've been keeping others and we dived into dinner.

Mom was so excited over the fact that the money was increased and she would soon pay off Draco , forgetting that he gave us time to do that.

What my mother and I didn't realize was that that night marked the week that Draco gave us to pay back the money!