9. Trick

Chapter 9

Trick

"Mom, you can't act arbitrarily like that." Beck immediately protested. Lucy smiled in a very arrogant way.

"What can't I do? This company is mine."

Beck snorted, he was at a loss for words because the fact was that the company belonged to his mother.

"Honey, wait outside," Beck said to Sophie. Sophie nodded weakly and with her face down left the room accompanied by a cynical look from Lucy.

"Starting Monday, Vanilla will be your secretary," Lucy said, sounding cold, but firm.

Beck was surprised to hear his mother's words. "Mom, don't joke." The man furrowed his eyebrows until they almost met.

"Vanilla is your fiancée, wouldn't it be nice if you were together all day?" Lucy approached her son and patted Beck's shoulder, gently and lovingly.

"Mom...."

"What's so hard about accepting your arranged marriage? Besides, you've known each other since childhood."

"I don't love Vanilla, Mom. I only consider her a sister." Beck leaned his back on the back of the chair.

"I don't accept another girl as a daughter-in-law in our family, Beck," Lucy said firmly. She moved and sat on the chair across Beck's desk.

"Mom, Vanilla left me, four years, Mom. She never even called me during that time."

Lucy looked at her son. "Beck, it's your own fault," she said coldly.

"What's my fault? I gave her a choice at that time and we also agreed. But, Vanilla still left."

Lucy swallowed her saliva. "You don't understand yourself, you don't want to lose Vanilla but you always push her to leave you."

"She wanted me to break up with Sophie, I left to break up with Sophie at that time like Vanilla wanted," Beck said.

Lucy laughed dryly. "You can lie to me with your words, Beck. But, Vanilla is not stupid. God save her from your lies."

Beck frowned again, his expression clearly changed.

"You almost made her lose her future. Beck, remember my words. You will regret it later if you continue to reject Vanilla, remember my words." Lucy got up from her seat, the woman looked at Beck with a warning look. Lucy stepped out of Beck's office. But, just before she reached for the doorknob the woman stopped. "Beck, if you continue to reject Vanilla, I regret to say this, please leave this company, and we'll see if your lover still accepts you as your lover?"

Beck's jaw tightened hearing his mother's words, he rose from his seat. "Mom, Sophie is not that kind of girl, she sincerely loves me."

"By using your credit card whose bill even reaches tens of thousands of dollars in one month? Honey, you are blinded by her innocent face." Lucy pulled the doorknob, walking gracefully followed by Beck who knew what his mother would do.

Lucy stopped right in front of the table where Sophie was sitting. She observed Sophie with a cold gaze.

"You, why are you still here? Didn't you hear me earlier? You've been fired." Lucy's voice sounded loud and firm so that it could be heard by everyone in the cubicles right across from where Sophie usually sat.

"Oh, the car that Beck bought, consider it as your payment for sleeping with my son all this time. But, the credit card that you used, I ask you to return it. Right now!" Lucy said making everyone in the cubicle want to eavesdrop even more as if they got the hottest gossip material.

Lucy's eyes looked full of absolute victory because Sophie could only keep quiet for a thousand words. "And attention to all, starting Monday there will be a new secretary here, she is Beck's fiancée, you must respect her as you respect me. And you, Beck, I give you one month to make a decision." Lucy increasingly filtered her voice. Telling loudly that Vanilla would replace Sophie.

With trembling hands Sophie held out the credit card she took from her wallet then handed it to Lucy who accepted it with a sneer. The woman turned it over then put it in her bag and walked away leaving the place without saying anything.

So, Beck entered his room without saying anything making Sophie's face look bright red. The girl's tears flooded her face, feeling as if she was slapped in front of all the employees in the company, there was no longer the arrogant Sophie who every day arrogantly walked past the group of employees who stared at her with sneering looks at her.

Her life seemed to stop at that moment because without further ado or covering up anything the employees at her workplace gossiped about her, they even seemed to deliberately filter their voices. Not only did she feel slapped by Lucy's words, she also felt slapped because Beck did nothing to defend her in front of the employees who witnessed how Lucy treated her.

Sophie got up from her seat, while bowing she dared to enter Beck's office. "Beck," she sighed softly.

Beck who was wearing his suit ignored her. "Go home, we'll talk later."

***

"Oh my God. Nick, you don't have to bother like this," said Xaviera. The woman stared at all the dishes on the table that were being prepared by Nick's employees.

Nick smiled. "I've been made food by your daughter too often. So, once in a while I want to invite you all to eat at my restaurant. But, it's clearly impossible, right?"

That day Nick deliberately instructed the best chef at one of his hotel restaurants to prepare food to be sent to Vanilla Bakery so that all employees could have lunch together without disturbing their work time.

"You're too much, Nick. I don't think you have any debt." Vanilla who was helping one of Nick's restaurant employees prepare the dishes on the edge of the table opened her voice.

"Of course you shouldn't think I owe you because I'll keep coming here every afternoon," Nick said jokingly.

"Not after my restaurant opens, you have to pay at the cashier after eating," Vanilla said with a chuckle.

"Look at your daughter, she set me up with the intention of making me her customer," Nick said while looking at Xaviera with a pleading look.

Xaviera looked at Nick, her gaze full of affection. "Next time you have to be careful," she said. The woman's lips curved into a smile that looked very sincere.

"I'll," Nick said, he looked at Vanilla who seemed to be enjoying whatever she was doing in the kitchen.

Two weeks with Vanilla, he had never heard the girl complain. Lunch was warm with all the employees of Vanilla Bakery, Xaviera even instructed to close the shop for thirty minutes so that employees could enjoy the dishes that had been prepared on the table together.

"Aren't you going back to work?" Vanilla asked Nick who had just spoken to someone on the phone after lunch was over.

They had finished lunch, the employees had returned to work. Vanilla started opening her laptop to continue designing the menu book for her restaurant which had reached 70% preparation.

"I think I want to apply to be one of your employees here," said Nick who suddenly took a seat next to Vanilla who was holding her laptop. The man leaned comfortably on the back of the sofa in Vanilla's office located in the prospective restaurant building. Vanilla grinned.

"My shop's income for one month is not enough to pay you."

"I don't need your salary," Nick said softly. He gently touched the ends of Vanilla's hair that fell on her back. Vanilla ignored Nick, the girl intended to concentrate on her laptop screen.

However, when she felt Nick's touch on her hair, she felt something different. Her body tensed, the blood flowing in her body also seemed to be warmer than usual, also her heart was beating abnormally fast, and what was even more annoying, she felt like jumping into the arms of the man behind her.

Vanilla tried to organize her thoughts that were starting to run wild, fortunately her mother had stood in front of her and kept her from wild thoughts about Nick.

"Come with me for a moment," Xaviera said to Vanilla.

Seeing Xaviera's serious expression, Vanilla frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Come on." Xaviera gave her daughter a sign to follow her.

Vanilla put down the laptop on her lap. The girl followed her mother who was heading to her office.

"Beck is inside," Xaviera said softly.

"Beck?"

Xaviera just nodded as she pushed the door of her office and immediately delivered Beck who was standing with his back to the door while putting both of his palms in his pants pockets.

"Beck..." Vanilla greeted without any suspicion after Xaviera left them.

Beck turned around, the man stared at Vanilla with an angry look. "Do you think your trick can separate me and Sophie?"

he asked directly. Vanilla furrowed her eyebrows. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't pretend to be innocent, you are smart, huh?" Beck narrowed one eye.

"Beck... I don't understand."

Beck smiled sarcastically. "Are you having trouble finding a job?"

Vanilla increasingly did not understand what Beck was talking about.

"Can you speak clearly, Beck?"

To be continued...