26
Chapter Twenty Six
“Want to talk about what happened with your father yesterday?” Lucas asked two hours later as he set a plate of breakfast in front of Amanda. They had already taken a shower and he insisted on making her breakfast before he drove her to her place.
“What did I say last night?”
“Something about him thinking you’re not good enough for the company.”
“Oh.”
“It must have been serious if you went drinking like that, right?”
Amanda lifted the mug of coffee he had made her and blew across the surface. “He’s putting Rebecca in charge at the company.”
“What?”
She shrugged. “It’s what it is.”
“He’s not giving her his shares, is he?”
She shook her head. “Fortunately, no. But I have no idea what to expect from him anymore.” She lifted her gaze to him, quirking an eyebrow. “You know too much about me by now, but I don’t think I know anything about you.”
“Really? I was thinking you had me figured out pretty well. Especially over the last couple days.”
“I don’t—” She chuckled as she caught on to what he was referring to. “Stop joking. I’m serious. Tell me something I don’t know.”
“What do you want to know?”
Her eyes roamed the boat. “Let’s begin with this boat. You mentioned that it was a gift from your Mum, trying to win you over. What’s the story behind that?”
“After high school, I left for the States to study. I didn’t come back home for two years. She bought me the boat to convince me to stay and not go back.”
“You spent two years away before coming for a visit? No wonder she made the move. You must have missed your family.”
He shrugged. “Not really.”
Amanda’s brow lifted. “No?”
“I was eager to leave, and I never looked forward to coming back. She was afraid I would decide to settle over there.”
“She must have missed you.”
“I doubt that. She has always been more concerned about losing leverage to Dad, and that’s where I come in. Growing up, I was her favourite. Maybe because my sisters have always leaned towards my Dad’s side, unlike me. She was scared of losing the only person she had on her team in case things got ugly with the corporation. But as I grew older, I didn’t feel as close to her. I didn’t understand her choices as far as being with Dad went. I thought she deserved better, but she did nothing when she could. So I got mad at her. I’m not someone who sits around and takes shit, so I couldn’t understand why she let him walk all over her when she didn’t have to take it.” He sighed heavily, his grey eyes lifting to meet hers. “Once, they had this ugly fight and I asked her why she didn’t leave him. She told me that once I grew older, I would understand her choices. I’m twenty eight now and I still don’t.”
Amanda reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze. She could see in his eyes how much he had wanted things to turn out better with his mother. “How’s your relationship now?”
“Same old, I guess. She still thinks she can convince me to get into the family business, but I’ve made it clear I’m not choosing the path she took. We still prioritize different things.”
Amanda’s brow creased. “Wait. You don’t intend on getting into Eson Corp?”
“Never desired it.”
“So, what are you going to be doing after your contract with us is over?”
“Travel.”
“What, on your boat?”
“Partly.”
She stared at him, non-comprehending for several seconds. “Are you serious?”
“Yes.” He chuckled. “What’s that look?”
“Lucas Erikson, on-demand CEO, wants to leave the boardroom behind and see the world?”
“Exactly.”
“But you’re so good at what you do. I thought this was your passion.”
“Don’t get me wrong, I love it. But I never want to have the kind of life where the obsession to get ahead of everyone and everything takes over every other part of my life. That’s a luxury I cannot afford if I get into Eson Corp.”
Amanda smiled. “I guess there’s more to you than meets the eye.”
He winked. “You just need to look a little closer.”
She laughed and came to her feet. “Let’s get going or we’ll both be late for work.”
“Don’t sweat it, you can take the day off if you want.”
“Acting like the boss now, are you?”
“Our positions could switch at any time. I’d better take advantage when I have the upper hand.”
“Smart man.”
“I’m just happy we’re past the phase where you wanted to fire me as soon as you got your hands on the majority shares.”
“Don’t rest easy yet,” she teased.
“I don’t dare.”
***
“Amanda Lemaiyan Caught on Camera, Wasted: Is Everyone’s Favourite Heiress Unstable?”
Amanda placed the tablet on the table and massaged her temples with her fingers. “I had no idea I still had some paparazzi following me around.”
Below the headline was a picture taken at the bar she went to the previous night. Tyra was nowhere to be seen. Amanda figured the photo was taken when her friend went to the bathroom.
Whoever took the photo got a great shot—as far as their intentions were involved. She was gripping her liquor in hand, the other fisted in her curls while she stared forlornly at the counter. The perfect picture of frustration.
“Appears so,” Cara said, picking the tablet. “The public has responded, and the common verdict is that you’re still reeling from the breakup. They think Nancy’s claims yesterday opened up old wounds.”
“So in short, I’m the object of half the country’s pity and judgement, once again.” She sighed. “Dad’s probably thinking that he made the right decision yesterday. I possibly couldn’t look any more unreliable.”
“But you know that’s not true.”
“Right now, honestly, I don’t think anything could faze me any further. Rebecca is in charge now. It doesn’t matter how good I look.”
“She’ll not be coming around here, will she?”
“As much as she’d love to lord over us, she has managerial duties elsewhere. But when she does show up for those board meetings, I have a feeling we’ll all bleed.”
“Hopefully everything goes back to normal sooner. So, I’m meeting with PR to take care of this photo. It’s only been minutes since it was posted.”
Amanda waved her on. “You do that. I’m not looking forward to being the new face of memes depicting utter frustration.”
“On it, boss.”
With Cara gone, Amanda relaxed back into her seat. It was only ten o’clock in the morning and the day was already going to shit. Hopefully it didn’t have more unpleasant surprises for her.
When Amanda walked back to her office at lunch hour after a meeting with the design team, Cara pointed to her desk phone. “He has been calling all noon.”
She came to a halt. “Who?”
“Samuel.”
Amanda’s stomach dropped. “What?”
“Claims he has something important to say.”
Amanda reached for her office door. “I have nothing to say to him.”
Just as she pushed the door open, Cara’s phone started ringing.
“That’s him. Said he won’t stop calling until I connect him through to you.”
“Let him keep calling,” she decided before disappearing into her office.
Hours after ignoring her ex-fiancé’s call, Amanda was still thinking about it. Why would he call her? Was it about the clip she released the previous day? Or, did he want to rub more salt on the wound, like Nancy had attempted? When she broke their engagement, they went their separate ways and that was it. She blocked his number after the one time he called while she was on vacation. If he had ever tried contacting her again on phone, she’d never know. But he had never sent any emails either.
She worked on ideas for the upcoming collection all afternoon and barely noticed as the hours wore on and evening came. By the time she left her office, it was close to seven o’clock, with no one else around.
An hour later, she was headed up to her apartment, looking forward to the Chinese takeaway she had gotten on the way, a warm shower, and a good sleep.
But, the moment she stepped out of the elevator, every positive thought in her mind fled. Standing in front of her door was Samuel Ocen, the one man she’d wished to never meet again.
