Part 9

Lia's POV

I entered a vast lobby. Despite my nervousness, I could not help but admire the infrastructure. Unfortunately, I did not remember how long I stood admiring the area when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"May I help you, ma'am? You had not responded when I called you,"

The security person asked politely.

Get a grip, Lia. Don't make the situation further worse.

"Pardon me. I have an appointment scheduled with Mr. Lucian Alastair."

"Your name, please."

"Adelia Wentworth"

After what seemed like an eternity of shuffling of papers, "Yes, madam. Can I get your ID card?"

What, how many levels of checking I need to go through. After a series of questions, a photograph, and some checking, I finally got a go.

"Please take first left and press the top floor in the middle elevator. Thank you."

I smiled my thanks and moved towards the left.

**********************

Security POV

I dialed Mr. Witherlow's number.

"James." I heard the same snapping voice.

"Good morning, sir. It is the security person Hunter here. Miss

Wentworth has arrived, and I have done as you have instructed. She is reaching the elevators now."

"Thanks, Hunter. Make sure no one reaches the executive floor for the next 2 hours."

"Yes, sir."

Why the hell did Mr. Witherlow ask me to do these unnecessary checks. Something is fishy.

******************************

James POV

"Miss Wentworth is on the way," I informed Luc once I switched on my phone.

"And the security?"

"Did the same as instructed."

"Good." James nodded curtly.

"Can I know why?"

"The elongated protocols and questions at the security will either confuse her or irritate her. It will make her emotionally unstable. It makes us easy to convince her."

"I hope you are correct, Luc."

Then we waited for the knock at the door.

**************************

Lia's POV

How come there are so many floors in this building. Do they have that many employees? How big is his company?

And what with those security processes. It was worse than entering the President's office. I felt the short research I did on Lucian Alastair is not enough. I could see the door written 'Lucian Alastair, CEO & President'. Suddenly the path looked so long for me. Finally, finally, I reached the door after what looked like an eternity. I was scared to touch the doorknob as if the metal was blazing hot.

Come on, Lia. You can do it. Just explain your situation, get your possessions and leave. Just as simple as that. I raised my hand to knock on the door before losing my newfound courage.

I got startled by the voice that asked me to enter. I counted from 10 to 1 to control my panic attack. However, all my newfound bravery got evaporated once I saw the dark eyes. It captured and arrested me. I came out of my trance when I heard someone cleared their throat. My cheeks blushed red when they both caught me staring. But who is the other one? But why should I bother? Let me concentrate on the crux of the problem.

I then observed the details of the room. It was spacious, painted majorly painted in various shades of Grey. The end of the room holds the desk with comfy chairs. The back wall is decorated in grey marble. One side of the entire room has a glass wall with partitioned closed shades. I hope the view should be extraordinary. One end of the room had a small meeting table with four chairs. There were two doors: the washroom and God knows what the other one is. The other end of the room had six comfy sofas with a coffee table in the middle. I saw Lucian Alastair and the other one seated in those sofas. Once again, I saw them catching me looking around.

"Good Morning Mr. Alastair. I am Adelia Wentworth."

"Yes, Miss. Wentworth. Please have a seat. "He said with a smirk. I had a creepy feeling that he is thinking about our previous meeting.

*************

Luc's POV

We heard a knock a couple of minutes after the call from the security guard. Once I asked to enter the room, I saw her taking reluctant steps inside. Purposely I saw on the end of the room, but she immediately turned towards me as if she felt my presence before seeing. I saw the dark brown eyes widened in fear, and did I saw fascination. I did not know how long we were staring at each other until I heard James clearing his throat. James was smiling at us, and his smile broadened, seeing both of us blushing.

I immediately wiped all the emotions from my face and asked him to leave us alone. Then I turned to saw her looking around the office. Is she estimating my worth? Nope, I did not see her eyes calculating but mere admiring the interior. Again I saw her red creeping on her cheeks when we caught her staring around. I should say, I was impressed by the way she changed to a professional demeanor in an instant.

She came near with a slight nod. "Good Morning Mr. Alastair. I am Adelia Wentworth."

Did she think that I would not have identified her? But not a bad start. I could not help thinking about the last time.

"Yes, Miss. Wentworth. Please have a seat. "I showed her a sofa with a smirk. So far, so good.

I saw her fidgeting after seated. I understood she is battling herself on how to start. It was cute. As much as I liked to see that, I want to cut to chase.

"Miss. Wentworth, could you explain what happened on Thursday?" I knew that I had hit the target as I saw her eyes narrowed at me.

******************

Lia's POV:

Oh, the nerve of the man. Was he playing with me? I glared at him and then realized that Thursday was not a planned meeting, and I did not know how much confusion got raised. So, for the benefit of the doubt, I decided to explain myself.

"Mr. Alastair, my father is Gerald Wentworth, running Worth Manufacturers. We are supplying the Gearbox for you for more than ten years. We understood that you are looking for new suppliers this year. I tried to contact you for the past two weeks to understand if there were any issues with our products to check on other suppliers. Hence I decided to meet you on Thursday to explain about our products."

I stopped, not knowing how to proceed. Upon my silence, he raised an eyebrow but kept silent for a minute. God, this guy is trying to play with me.

"How do you know that I was in that suite on that day? Don't say you read somewhere. I generally don't disclose my whereabouts."

Sometimes truth is the best thing to say.

"I got a piece of information about you being in Mandarin on Thursday at 8 pm. I decided to use this opportunity to meet you. None of my family is involved in this."

"How you got the information?"

"I am sorry, Mr. Alastair. It was an innocent gossip from my friend, and I intend to use the information. However, I don't want some good soul to suffer because of my intentions."

I should say, the glint in his eyes told that he was impressed.

"But your confession will not erase the havoc caused personally and in public, especially when my next movie is about to start. So why should I not cancel the deal with Worth Industries once for all?"

I could sense the anger boiling in his words. Canceling the deal is not good for dad now. How can I stop it? Oh God, the guilt will eat me alive.

"But.. But..."

"Not to mention about my parents' reaction. So I think this will not be a bad decision after all."

I saw him smiling at me like a predator smiling at its prey. I felt as if all the doors had closed.

But that did not stop me from my bitter words, "You like me begging. Don't you?"

**************

Luc's POV

"You like me begging. Don't you?" She asked bitterly to me.

I would like her to beg me but in a different place and different way. This was not the time to talk about that.

"No, not begging. But I have a proposition for you. The unexpected turn of the event after Thursday made me make some decisions. My parents were upset about the incident. I need them to have peace of mind in their old days."

"I can explain to your parents. I will tell you that it was only a business meeting, and it got misunderstood."

"In a Suite? With me, half-naked, and you dressed in my shirt?" I asked in an amused tone.

She was silent, understanding the enormity of the situation.

"What do you want me to do?"

Finally, the ball is rolling towards the court.

"Marry Me."

Her eyes widened and then glazed in confusion.

"I am sorry, I think I did not hear correctly. Did you asked me to marry you?"

"Indeed, your hearing is perfect, Miss. Wentworth. Yes, I have asked to marry you."

"Why?"

"The news about us have created unexpected disturbances in my family and my film career. Regarding my publicity, my Manager will deal with it. But counting on the recent incidents in my home, I cannot risk my parents' health. So I have informed you that the girl in the photograph is my girlfriend. "I saw her got stilled with shock. I did not know why I was sharing this with her.

"But why me? The photographs did not show my face, and you could have used this for your advantage."

Clever, but not smart enough.

"This is a mutual Win-Win agreement. I know that Worth Manufacturers need this contract very badly. Your father will get this contract by this marriage, and my parents will be happy that their son had got a family. But this marriage will not be announced public till my current movie is released. I don't want to deviate the publicity of the movie on the wrong track. If this marriage news leaks out, the whole deal will be off."

I knew this was a crap reason. I did not want this marriage to be public because this marriage would be mainly to satisfy my mom and dad. But after a year, if I found her to be like other females, I did not want any divorce complications.

"What about my close friends and family?"

"I can understand that you cannot hide your marriage from your close circle. But it is in your hands that the news is not leaked out from them."

I saw her thinking deeply. However, I still had a nagging feeling that she was not convinced still. So I decided to use my last shot.

"Miss. Wentworth, if you think that you can escape easily. Please understand that there are not only photographs you saw in the media. But also some photographs which show your face. I can very well leak them to the media to disclose the identity of my Mystery Girl. And I can cancel the contract with Worth Industries. My reputation has already shaken, but I do not have anything more to lose. So think and decide wisely."

I felt a pang of pity to target her in all directions, but I did not have a choice. Finally, after what seemed to eternity, she looked at me.

"Can I think about this?"

"Yes, you can. Today is Saturday. You have 24 hours to answer me. I expect you to answer by tomorrow 10 am again here in my office. I have already drafted the agreement between us. Read it. You can refer to any lawyer if you want. I will not be waiting for your answer, not more than 11:00 am tomorrow."

I stood up, indicating that the meeting is over. She, too, stood and picked up the document. She reached for the door and turned back, and smiled at me. Her eyes glint with mischief.

"I think you would have already guessed my answer, but I need to verify this agreement between us. And by the way, I have also informed my mom that you are my boyfriend." With that, she left.

She said WHAT?????