I hate to love you, Mr CEO - 2

Angelica

My world seems to be crashing that I am in front of this asshole dealing terms. I hate to see his face. I loathe his guts of challenging me. He is a devil under the pretext of an archangel. A teasing smile on his perfectly carved features "so are you ready to sign the deal Angel?"

I grunt my teeth and scream looking at him in disdain "don't call me that". I point to him with my fierce persona. He doesn't seem to be phased a least bit as he shakes his head running a hand on his thoroughly gelled hair. Getting up from his comfortable leather seat he circles the table and stands a few inches away from me. I could smell his completely masculine musk and lemon cologne which was awakening the amative thoughts, I thought never existed in my personality. Putting a check on every nerve within me I counter him with my red blazing eyes "What do you want?"

He gives me his signature smirk which eventually converts into a deride. "You already know what for are you here Angel." My anger keeps increasing with every passing second at his way of addressing me.

I stand in front of him with scornful eyes. "I am not going to work for you, Augustus Martin. So stop dreaming that I will fall at your feet for mercy. I am ready to work as a stripper at a night club if that is the last chance I get to repay you off the debt of my father but I will never work for you." I declare with my head held high.

He moves forward and looks at me with dreamy eyes. Tucking a strand behind my ear he gazes at me with a look I couldn't fathom and whispers "Fiesty. If only you knew my Angel..." I step aback avoiding his touch with my bitter eyes aiming his. Poking his chest with my forefinger I face him bluntly and mark "you will be the last person on the globe that I would approach if the earth ever falls empty of humans."

His mocking smile was back on his lips. "Let us see if you could succeed in escaping me Angel." He looks down to me standing erect with his hands inside his pant pockets. The nerve of this Adonis. Wait Angelica, control your emotions. You are again falling for the devil. My sanity tries to teach me. "Try all you want, I will make sure nobody employs you except me." He speaks to me emanating his dominating yet electrifying demeanor.

Why do l always fall for his charms? I shriek inwardly with my hands in fists and stomp away from his irksome but tantalizing presence not before gazing at him for one last time.

Looking back was a blunder I made. I did not miss the dejection in his optics which

instantly arose a pang to my chest. Ignoring my grieving heart I face him straight and firm. "I accept your challenge Mr. Augustus Martin. If ever I accept your job, I will sign the deal. I will work for you for the next two consecutive years without a hitch but in the peroration you will be the person landing on your knees begging me for repose." I dare him equally.

Augustus Martin, you just did the biggest mistake of your life on threatening me not to find a job. Welcome to hell on earth, courtesy by Angelica Evans.

Flashback

Angelica

I got up from the bed with the intruding rays of sunlight peeping through the old window curtains. The beige color on the passé walls of the bedroom was scraping out leaving the screens lifeless. I open the closet adjacent to the window which never fails to give me a screeching sound while unlocked reminding me of the absolute poverty we are living in.

I rub my orbs to rid the sleep out my optics and pull out my frayed uniform from the closet. Last night I noticed it lost a few of its buttons because of over use. Getting a new one is beyond my mom's financial capacity. I will have to pull on with the present one for a few more months until I get my merit cum means scholarship.

Looking at the vintage clock hung on one of the fading walls, I realize I was going to be late to school if I don't do my chores faster. I don't wish to invoke the black eye of my principal. My hands work in a hurry as I take a needle and thread to start stitching my tattered uniform.

After amending my outfit, I neatly place it on my bed and get ready for a quick shower. Coming out of the washroom I dress myself and tie my chestnut hair into a neat pony.

I reach the kitchen where I always find my mom preparing breakfast for me with a cheerful smile on her face. Her smile never faltered even in our darkest period. She has always been my cheer leader in my most ill-lit days.

I share a special relationship with my mom. We are more like friends gossiping about everything under the sun starting from the current affairs to my friend's crush over a boy in our class. Though I am almost nine years old with just a month ahead to celebrate my birthday my mom still reads bedtime stories for me.

But today the ambience felt different. The house felt dark and gloomy. My mom was no longer working in the kitchen. Yesterday night she fell more sick than usual. Mom had been taking treatment for her cough since more than two years from a hospital nearby. She felt a relief after taking the initial medication but subsequently her sickness returned. Her eyes felt no longer lively like before though her bright smile never wavered.

She continued to work as the waitress in one of the night clubs nearby. She did three jobs a day and sometimes worked overtime to sponsor my education. Her health kept on deteriorating over the passage of time but she did not quit going to work just to fund my education and to fill in the dishes on our dining table.

My dad was never a part of our family. My mom left him when I was an infant learning about his mafia connections and till date he never made an attempt to contact us. My mom hardly spoke anything about him and I did not initiate the conversation as I understood him as a grey area of her past.

Recently around two months back my mom had to quit two of her jobs because of her growing illness. Her employers no longer required her. Her applications were turned down when she applied for new jobs.

Our pending bills were supposed to be rising but luckily my mom's past employer was generous enough to support us. He transferred a huge sum of money to my mom's account which has been taking care of the medical cum household expenses.

An alarm raised in my mind when I did not see my mom in the kitchen. I rush to her room in panic. Opening the door I find her in the washroom vomiting. A smile was back on her rims as soon as she notices me. "I am sorry princess I could not make breakfast for you as I overslept today." She quickly masks her dim face with a sparkling twinkle adorning her pale dry lips. I wasn't an immature toddler unable to grasp the situation. My mom was hiding her sickness to jaunt me up which she had been doing since the beginning.

She opens the closet and takes out some dollars from her purse. "Buy something to eat at the nearby café and go to school." She tells me with lively smile on her worn out face but I did not miss the blood stain on the corner of her lip when she was handing me the cash. Was she vomiting blood?

I did not know what to do. My life felt empty and gloomy all of a sudden. I was going to step out of the room as I did not want her to see my tears. My mother always taught me to be tough. She always up skilled me to never lose the positivity in life but today I was letting my weakness win over me. I did not want her to see me fall. I did not want her to see me break down in front of her but the fate had something else to offer us.

I hear her cough ones again and I turn back to comfort her just to meet her welling eyes. She was going breathless with each passing moment because of the endless cough. I reach her and move my hand slowly on her back to ease her of her suffering. After some time her coughing subsides and she pats the place besides her putting a hand on her chest to arrest the growing pain in her heart.

Looking into my eyes she understands everything like a mother indeed that she is. She wipes away my tears and shakes her head disapproving my thinning persona. Pulling out an envelope hidden under her pillow she reveals the picture of a young man. After a few seconds she starts to speak about the man she never spoke about.

Princess this is the picture of your dad. I swaggered of my abilities and thought I would never require him but I think the day had already arrived." She sighs in defeat but continues. "He was not a bad man to his family. He loved and cared for us. He adored you so much. He gave us an affluent living and always kept us safe and happy. But I could not accept him after I learnt about the veracity." She stopped for a while taking a staggered breath to recoup off the pensive state.

He hid the truth from me. Indulging himself in many illegal businesses, he killed a lot innocent people to win bread and butter for us. He was a mafia leader. Guilt consumed me. I felt I was leading a life of pleasure constructed on the tomb of many innocent lives. I couldn't accept him any more in my life. Though he pleaded me to stay, I left him taking a promise that he would never re-enter our lives. Till date he had been keeping his promise but I know he had always been behind watching us like a shadow in caring and protecting us.

Digesting everything my mom just reveled about our family I went to the kitchen to get her a glass of water. Emptying the glass she started speaking ones again. "Princess I don't think I am going to live for long...." I couldn't let my mom speak any further as her words were tearing me to bits. Putting my finger on her lips she forces my hand down to her lap and continues to speak. "I already talked to your dad about everything. Within a short time he will be reaching us."

What did my mom speak to dad?

Angelica

Flashback Continues.

I wasn't able to believe the words my mom just spoke. She unexpectedly starts speaking about a man who was never discussed nor present in our lives till a while ago. I am still surprised unable to understand why this man suddenly becomes so significant and important in our life?

I hate his recreant nature and loathe admitting him as my father. He betrayed me and my mom and left us like a prey to this cruel world without turning a leap in our thick and thin times. Why does mom still believe in him to take care of us? Why does she still love him in spite of everything he did to us? There are so many questions flocking in my mind. As she was about to speak further about the crook the door bell takes a ring.

I walk inside our tiny living room to reach the entrance. Opening our creaking front door I meet the forest green eyes of a tall beardy man who was looking at me with so much affection if I was not mistaken. Something about this man feels too familiar.

He kneels down in front of me to match my height and inquires in his polite tone "I understand this as the house of Mrs Margaret Evans. Can I get inside my tiny princess?" A slender smile was apparent on his lips. I nod my head and move aside so that he can enter inside the house.

He steps into our bitsy living hall and looks around the scraping walls of our old flat. His vision then directs to our almost tattered furnishings. Our living room hosted a puny bit of furniture comprised of two worn out chairs and an old time center table which is almost ran shackled. "Your house looks compact yet comfortable." He comments but I did not miss the teeny bit of soreness on his voice.

I ask him to take a seat and hand him a glass of water. He sips the water in the glass and asks in his endearing voice. "Which class are you in Angel?" So this annoying intruder even knows my name. "I am in my grade four. Now if you could stop interrogating me I can inform my mom about a guest's arrival in our house." I answer him in acrimony getting irritated by his boundless nosiness.

I could see a flash of hurt in his eyes yet he complies with my statement. After I inform my mom about him he follows me to the bedroom. No sooner he goes inside my mom's eyes glisten in happiness. To my surprise she slowly eases herself from her lying form and embraces him.

He kisses her head and looks at her with so much fondness and hurt in his eyes. I felt myself an alien in facing their intimate state. As I decide to leave the uncomfortable atmosphere, I hear my mom call me. "Princess come here and meet your dad Mr Robert Evans."

I was bewildered by my mom's abrupt declaration and looked at her sojourner in disgruntlement. My dissatisfaction doesn't go unnoticed by him yet he bends himself and tries to lift me in his arms with a gentle smile on his lips. Involuntarily my legs move back avoiding his touch and I observe a tinge of disappointment in his eyes. He immediately conceals it with a slim smile and extends his hand forward for a shake. My eyes shift to his hand contemplating on the thoughts of accepting his invitation when I hear my mom's voice. "Princess go to your dad." She tells me in her fragile voice.

Unable to turn down my mom's request, I extend my hand forward to hold his and repent the next moment my skin made contact with his. His hands linger in place for a moment but I was quick to avoid the feel in bringing my hand back. A flash of discontentment was immediately visible in his green eyes but this time my mom took a grasp of it.

Princess I failed as a mom in connecting your dad in our life. Like I told you earlier he loves you so much and never failed in caring for us though we were away from him. You have to amend your abhorrent feelings towards him and accept him as your father." Her last words were commanding though she seldom uses that voice especially towards me.

So with everything going down the hill this vexatious interrupter had also succeeded in developing quarrels between me and my mom.

Now I not only hate my father, I averse his relation in my life.

Angelica

After saying those grating words to me, my mom struggles in her breathe. Within moments she began to pulsate immensely. Mom was never harsh and she was hurting herself for being sharp to me.

Robert wipes the sweat out of mom's face taking out a clean white handkerchief from his pant pocket. He hands her a glass of water picking up from the nearby table and urges her to stay calm. My mom welcomes his concern and after a few moments her breathe stabilizes.

My hands begin to tremble seeing my mom's agitated state. At that moment I declare to myself that I accept whatever my mom tells me to do though I detest Robert with my entire being. I can't see my mom suffer because of me. She slowly reaches Robert's hand and their eyes meet with a dim smile on each other's face.

My mom starts to speak ones again to him in her weakening voice. "Robert I have failed you as your wife but you were always there beside me to support us like an invisible Angel. I left you with arrogance that I could manage everything of my own but depended on you in every path I stepped." She cries hugging him. "I am sorry I couldn't hold you in a respectable position in the eyes of our only daughter. I not only failed you but also our daughter as a mom."

Robert holds her firmly to his chest but doesn't speak a word. Holding back his tears he draws soothing circles on my mom's back and then whispers. "I excused you long back Margaret and I promise you I will take care of our daughter no matter she accepts me as her father or not."

After a few seconds my mom's moments stop. Holding her a few inches away dad perceives her and then the tears which he held since a while freely fall like a never ending rain. He looks at me with his dejected eyes and whispers "princess your mom is no more."

I run to my mom as tears well my eyes and circle my arms around her. I was not ready to accept what Robert said moments ago. "Mom, please open your eyes." I cry. "I promise to stay strong just as you want me to be. I will be a good girl and never disobey you and dad." I wail holding my mother. But she doesn't move. My dad reaches me to console but I distance myself from him and burst into a yowl.

...................

Wake and funeral of my mom were performed. Many guests gathered to express their heartfelt condolences. My mom held a special place in every one's heart being a kind and generous woman.

A few days later as promised to her I pack my stuff and get ready to leave to Robert's place. "Princess are you ready? The car is waiting outside." I hear him say and move to the entrance to find a white limo waiting for us. Looking at the scoring rich vehicle I understand he must be really loaded but who cares.

Two men dressed in black suits follow me with my luggage in their hands. One of them opens the back door for me to sit and the other transfers the luggage into the trunk. A few seconds later Robert comes out of the house and instructs something to one of the person with the black coat.

He opens the door on the other side and sits beside me. His securities lock the entrance and the engine of the car starts. I look back for one last time at our little home holding my tears where I and my mom spent the best days of our life.

After a few minutes we enter the private area of the airport on the backyard. On the plane were written in big bold letters 'The Evans'. My dad is a wealthy billionaire and manages a chopper of his own. Yet my mom had to work three jobs to support us for two meals a day. What a pity! I give a sarcastic smile to myself. The more I am coming to know about my dad the greater is my growing aversion towards him.

Bringing me out of the reverie he speaks to me in his overly velvety voice. "Princess get inside the chopper." I give him the dirtiest glare I can and sit inside one of the aristocratic extremely comfortable seats. He sits opposite to me and opens his laptop to work.

A few seconds later the announcement was made that we will be reaching New York in another five hours from now. So he lives in New York. I detest even his presence beside me so it is obvious I would never ask where he lives. A lady comes to us with a gentle smile on her face as soon as our plane begins to move. She asks us what we would like to have for our breakfast and my dad lists her with all the details of our menu in a language I don't understand. I had never been to rich homes and aristocratic places. I wonder what he had ordered for us and hope that tastes good as I am starving already.

As though hearing my inner voice he speaks with a soft smile plastered on his face "princess I have ordered everything you love. Orange juice, chicken sandwiches and your most favorite chocolate pancakes." My eyes go wide in surprise. How does he know my preferences?

Soon our breakfast arrived and I consume the food happily relishing every bit of it. This was the first time I was boarding a flight. My mom couldn't even afford a bus for us. A flight was a far way costlier transport for our living standard. We used to walk to all our destinations. On the contrary my father is freaking opulent that he could afford a private chopper yet never turned back even to look at us.

What a calculative delinquent that he is. I hate his guts to abandon my mom though she was foolish to leave him instead of leading an affluent life.

Angelica

After I savour a flavouring breakfast to my satisfaction my stomach was full within a few minutes. The plane slowly began to pick up its speed and seconds later we were high in the sky. As this was the first time I was flying I was starting to feel slightly anxious. I had a phobia towards flights right since my childhood but was never exposed to such a fear as me and my mom were a family always below the poverty line barely able to meet our ends.

With the passage of time I begin to feel more nervous and start perspiring. I did not want Robert to know my weakness and so I turned my face to the window with my hands trembling, covered between my knees. But unfortunately he seems to have already noted it. Within a second I was brought into an encapsulation of protective arms holding me to a hard chest. So, this is how a child is been taken care by a father? The feeling felt foreign to me as I was never bestowed to experience fatherly affection. Yet the blissful moment brought an unveiling delectation in my heart. After years of starving warmth I felt myself ones again as an infant lying completely shielded in the arms of my father. The sensation was anomalous, entirely strange, still it was ironically pleasurable.

"Princess, you are going to be okay. I hire the best pilots around the globe. There is nothing for you to fear." Robert murmurs to me making soothing circles on my back latching me to his warm chest. He looked at my tearing eyes and wiped the liquid away with his fingers. Though I hated my dad for abandoning me and mom yet for this moment I want to forget everything and stay cocooned in his arms. Running his hands on my back he succeeds to calm me down. My eyelids drop automatically and my body unwillingly begins to accept his gentleness.

*******

Opening my eyes with the intruding rays of light peeping from the window curtains I look around and notice I was in a girl's bedroom. Probably it was his daughter's bedroom which she was generous enough to share with me. The foreign feeling brought a pit in my stomach with which I was not ready to come to terms. 'He' left my mom long back. He probably remarried and has a daughter. I wasn't prepared to share 'him' though it was the dumbest statement that could have ever been made. Angelica, why do you keep dreaming and expect too much?

The room was extortionately decorated and screamed opulent designed in a princess theme which was my most favourite. The curtains were light pink embellished in a forest design. On the other side was a comforter with teddy bears placed on it in different sizes. The bed I was sleeping had a big golden crown as its headboard complementing the idea. A purple bed sheet covered the mattress with prints of fairies holding magic wands. Towards one corner was a huge reading table made of African black wood and the other corner had a massive doll house my best-loved part.

Staying with my mom, I couldn't lead a rich life style but I was a big fan of Barbie. With the little money my mom saved, she often brought me Barbie and Betty dolls. After I finish my homework I often play with my dolls which are my dearest past time.

After taking some more time hogging the blankets, I rid myself out of sleep and feel the need to pee. I look around the room finally to trace a washroom. It was equally expensive and beautiful with lavish bathroom fittings and even a Jacuzzi. I complete my chores when I hear a muffled sound from the bedroom. Looking over I find an elderly lady smiling at me warmly. She was holding some clothes in her hands. Placing them on the bed she tells me in her motherly voice "Little madam, sir is waiting for you at the dining table. After you finish dressing up, you can come down and have your breakfast with him.

I take a relaxing bath setting the required temperature and filling my tub with bubbles. After the shower I look at the dress placed on the bed with a towel draped around my body. It was a beautiful yellow summer frock with red polka dots on it. Getting ready I go down the stairs to meet dad whose eyes were stationed reading the newspaper in his hands.

Noting me occupy one of the dining chairs he diverts his eyes from the paper and looks at me with a gentle smile. I greet him as a form of courtesy though nothing can change my aversion for him for betraying me and my mom. "Princess did you have a pleasant sleep?" He asks me tenderly. I nod my head to his answer and start to eat the mouth watering breakfast of bacon, fried eggs, toast and pancakes placed on the table. Watching me for a while with his guarding eyes he asks me further. "Did you like your room?" I turn my eyes from the palatial plate looking at him wonder struck. "Was that my room?" My voice almost in a whisper unable to believe the words he just spoke. He simply nods with a tender smile on his face. My lips slightly part. A slow grin was casually taking its place changing into a wide smile. "I like it very much." I answer him with a bright smile. My eyes still gleaming in happiness like shining stars in the sky. . "I am glad you like it. I know you are a huge fan of Barbie and princesses. So I got your room decorated in your favourite core." He speaks to me in a voice filled with affection.

Angelica, don't fall for him. He is using all his grace to make you melt just like your mom did.... years ago.

Few minutes later after I almost finish my breakfast he begins to speak ones again "princess tomorrow will be the first day of your school. Get ready tomorrow by 8'o clock. I will be dropping you at school and then be going to my office."

Hush Baby! It's just tomorrow that I am even joining a school. He is cool and damn impressive in everything he administers. No wonder my mother fell for his charms.