37
The car pulls to a halt inside a large garage that is filled with cars of different brands. The driver sways off his seatbelt, pulls out the key from the ignition and steps down from the car.
He walks over to the passenger side and opens the car door for Melanie while holding onto the handle.
He stretches out his palm to her and helps her down without her tripping on her heel.
“Thank you!” Melanie smiled, and she halted as soon as she stepped down from the car. She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear as she waits keenly for the driver to lock the car so he can take the lead.
Not like she knows where they’re heading anyways.
“This way please.” The driver says, walking towards the front door of the drop-dead gorgeous house that’s likely to fit thousands of people.
Walking behind the driver, Melanie roams her gaze around the house and she loves what she’s seeing.
There is a pool at the right angle of the building, the blue water calls out to her and she wonders if they all love water like her boss. Mr Gordon did love watching the waterfall in his mansion.
Every night? Perhaps.
She moves her gaze from the pool and they land on the exterior of the house. The entire house was made of glass which left her to wonder how loaded the Gordons were.
“I’ll escort you inside ma’am!” A female voice says pulling her attention.
Melanie snaps her head forward, only to see a lady who’s likely to be her age mate. The lady bows slightly to her.
Melanie shot the lady a winsome smile.
“Alright, I’ll be heading back from here.” The driver says and Melanie nods her head in reply.
“Please, come with me.” The lady says, turning around and starting to walk back inside the house.
Melanie trailed quietly behind the lady. Her heels make a loud noise as they hit the glass floor.
Unlike her boss’s mansion that’s always in serenity, this place is entirely different from her boss’s mansion. Here, as they walk different maids walk them by with their constant bows to her.
They keep on walking until they get to the elevator. The lady press the open button and it crept open.
They both get in and the lady presses the button. There comes a beep from the elevator as the door closes, taking them to the first floor.
The elevator stops moving and the door opens for them. Melanie stared at the lady, querying her with her look as if the lady didn’t make any attempt to step out of the elevator.
“Please go, he’s waiting for you.” She smiles with a slight bow.
“But I…”
The door close, interrupting her speech. Melanie stands dejected on her spot, not knowing if she should proceed or not.
“Welcome, he’s waiting at the rooftop for you.” A Butler says to her and she nods her head like she knew where to go.Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.
“Alright!” She blurts. The butler smiles and walks away from her sight.
It’s a mistake to call her boss’s house a big house. You can get lost for years in this mansion and no one would know you were there.
Melanie sighs. She take the route that the guy came from and she smile to see a step that would likely lead to the rooftop.
“I regret putting on heels.” She hissed as she ascend the stairs.
By the time she gets to the rooftop, the shadow has already covered the sky. The night stars have started to emerge from the sky. Which beautifies the rooftop.
There were blue lights at every corner of the rooftop. Melanie moves forward to meet her boss’s uncle, cladding in a pair of black-washed trousers, and a royal blue shirt over a grey inner top.
Melanie moves towards the table and bows her head slightly.
“Thanks for inviting me over, sir.” She says with a heavy heart.
She hears the man chuckles lightly and she lifts her head to see the man laughing at her silliness.
“Please drop the formality and call me Drew. Calling me sir would make me feel old. I’m just a boy.” He groans and Melanie smiles at his free spirit.
“Nice to meet you, Drew.” She smiles shyly.
“Please to meet you too. Please, have your seat.” The man says, stretching his hand forward to the chair across him.
Melanie prays from her heart, as she heaves a sigh of relief when she’s finally able to sit her butt down.
Melanie looks around and there’s no maid anywhere, she wonders why it’s like that.
“Please help yourself with something,” Drew says, he points at the table for Melanie to eat anything she wants from the table.
Taking a good look at the content on the table, Melanie wonders if the food is made for just the two of them.
On the same table, there is grilled chicken that was rolled into chilli powder.
Steak, pork chops that look a hell lot spicy, meatloaf, baked fish that looks enticing, pasta, tacos, stew and vegetable stir-fry.
Melanie moves her hands to fetch a plate to put a grilled chicken. She is further surprised to see another type of food on the other side.
Bread, coleslaw, side salad, corn on the cob, macaroni and cheese, rice, and mashed potatoes.
Melanie unconsciously laughs at how much these people love to waste food.
She helps herself to macaroni and grilled chicken.
“I wanted to invite you and your beau before. But having known that he must be pretty busy at the office, with the new boost in the treaty, I had to invite only you.” Drew smiles as he speaks of his nephew.
Melanie nods her head in response, not knowing how to react at that moment.
“Are you a university graduate?” Drew suddenly asks, Melanie didn’t see the question coming which makes her choke on her food.
Drew offers her bottled water from the table and she thanked him before gulping it down her throat.
“Sorry,” Drew says, Melanie nods her head, drying the tears that are threatening to fall from her face with the back of her hand.
“Yes, I’m a university graduate.” She clears her throat. “I graduated from the state university four years ago, and it has been hell to secure a job.” Her voice saddens me while saying the last part.
“So sorry about that,” Drew says, giving her a worried look.
“It’s alright.” she smiles shyly, already getting a bit comfortable with this man.
“Can I ask you why you were not able to secure a job?” Drew asks, he picks a glass of wine and gulps half of the content down his throat.
“Something happened during my final year at the University, it made me lose my mind and I was devastated that I could barely concentrate on my studies. My grade was very poor that no organisation want to hire me as their cleaner, talk more of hiring me as their manager that I had always dreamed of.” She smiles, cutting the chicken with the knife before shoving it in her mouth with the cutlery.
Drew sighs, he watches the lady in his front keenly as she fights back the tears that have been threatening to fall since the man called.
“Were you a bright student before the incident?” Drew mapped out his brows together.
The corner of Melanie’s mouth swooped in a smirk.
“I was the brightest student in my department and everyone else can testify to that.” she rolled her eyes and Drew smiled at how fast her expression changed.
“What did you study at the University?” Drew asks, picking a sliced apple from the plate and shoving it inside his mouth.
“Business management.” She expounds loudly, followed by a little grin from her.
“That’s cool,” Drew drinks from the wine. “What do you think about working as a manager at one of Gordon’s firms?” He asks gently.
Melanie widen her eyes in shock.
“It would be an honour.” She grins.
“Then you’ll resume work tomorrow if you promise me 89% of good work,” Drew says, sounding so serious.
Okay, Alfred was right, this man doesn’t joke with work.
“89%, sir I can do better than that.” Melanie gasped and the man smiled, hoping she would do better as she said.
“I can assure you that, sir.” Melanie smiles.
Drew waves his hand in the air. “That’s okay for now,” He chuckles. “Let’s talk about you and my son,” Drew says and Melanie felt her hands hitch.
‘Why now? Why must I have to lie again to this man? I’ve already lied once about being his nephew’s fiancee. Will I have to lie here again?’
She groans inwardly. Her heart makes an unusual beat as she stares at Drew.
“Alright, let’s… Let’s talk about him.” She hitches her neck nervously.
“How did you guys meet?” Drew asks, not taking his eyes off Melanie, his eyes on her make her shake nervously in her seat.
“We… I… I was…”
“If it’s that embarrassing, leave that part I’m not a pervert.” Drew jokes which makes Melanie laugh at what he’s thinking.
She’s not laughing because she’s embarrassed about what he said, she laughed because the man put her in a tight corner which left her worried, and he’s still the same man that bought her from the awkwardness.
“What do you know about Alfred, your beau?” Drew changes the question and Melanie heaves a sigh of relief, knowing this one is not as hard as the previous one.
But, what did she know about him? Did she know much about him?
“I think I know what he’s passing through and what he’s like.” Melanie shrugs her shoulder at the thought.
“Do you not know what happened to his first wife?” Drew asks curiously.
“Are you not curious to know why he’s a single dad?” Drew inquire with a slight frown.
Melanie’s head snaps at him at the mention of her boss’s first wife.
“Is it still not of your concern to know how his first wife died?” Drew scoffs, seeing how confessed Melanie seems on the chair.
Is Melanie truly curious to know all that? She’s not dating her boss so should she bother to know? Is it fair to dig into her boss’s privacy?
Those are the questions that keep crossing her mind, but slowly, Melanie gulps down the lump that forms in her throat and asks.
“What happened to his first wife?” She let out the question she never wishes to ask. Not anyone, not even her boss. But here she is, digging into her boss’s privacy like a curious cat.
What Andrew says next sweeps her off her feet. She couldn’t control her emotions after hearing the ugly truth about her boss.
“What?!” She gasps in horror.