Chapter 16
Bryan’s POV
Delicious sweet sensation spread through me with a wide grin on my face. I can’t believe my plan worked so easily and I now have Celine at my mercy.
I can’t wait to see how crunched up her face would be when I start my revenge on her. She deserves it. And I won’t hesitate to punish her.
I didn’t want to have anything to do with her ever again but Jason brought us back together. Instead of letting go and avoiding my presence, she keeps coming back with the claim of wanting her son.
I am going to use this to my advantage and teach her a lesson she would never forget. I don’t forgive people so easily, probably because of the way I was brought up. I have trust issues right from childhood but I trusted Celine.
I guess this is why I am hurt. I am hurt because I chose to trust her of all people and she betrayed me, making me regret why I gave her my trust in the first place.
She looked helpless when she came to me for help and I didn’t know how or when it happened, but I trusted her.
Even though I was against having her in my house before now, thinking about everything now is making me excited. I am going to satisfy Jason by having his mother close by and also having to deal with her daily.
She is going to regret ever crossing my paths. Most importantly, she is going to regret why she came back when I allowed her to disappear into thin air.
I enter my office with a smile teasing my lips and as I sit comfortably on the swivel chair, I realize it is time for Jason to know me as his father.
Now that his requests have been granted, he is going to love me. This is the reason why I have to keep Celine close at hand. She is not entirely useless.
I didn’t realize I have been sitting in my chair for more than 30 minutes, doing absolutely nothing but thinking about what I would do to Celine and also about Jason, until my phone begins to ring, jerking me out of my thoughts.
I lean closer to my desk to take a peek at the phone as my dad’s name show on the screen. Without hesitation, I pick up the call.
“Dad?”
“How are you?” My dad’s deep, rich voice booms into the phone, reminding me of how long we have seen each other.
He spends most of his time away from here, even when my mom is here. My dad doesn’t call except when we need to speak about something important.
He is my mentor and business counselor. Now that I am hearing his voice, I begin to wonder when he will let go of the Mafia world he is so much immersed in.
This was the reason why he gave me his company when he returned but he isn’t saying anything about retiring from the world he has influenced me and my mother into.
This is a world that demands so much. It takes my dad’s time, making him less available for us; my mother and me, even though my mom goes with him to places almost all the time.
While growing up, I had to learn to deal with shits myself. My parents were too busy to give me that training. I was taught how to wrestle by my father but we never ended the wrestling.
Someone else took over but the first day dad and I wrestled, I won him and I can still see the smile of pride on his face.
“Bryan”, he calls me again, jerking me out of my reverie.
“Dad, I am doing fine. How are you too?”
“I’m great”, he answers and falls silent. His silence signifies something and I hope it’s not bad news.
“How is mom?” I ask him in curiosity. Mother and I spoke last night but I want to know if she is fine.
“She is good”, he responds. “Do you know Eric is in New York?” He finally asks.
I arch my brows in confusion. Who is Eric?
“Who is Eric?” I demand from him, wondering if he is someone I know or if he is a friend or enemy.
“Charleston’s son”, he answers and I lean forward sharply.
“Charleston?” Charles is dead and I thought his son died too. “Isn’t he dead?”
“Eric is not dead, he is alive and there in New York. Be careful because he has his eyes on you, understand?”
I nod as if he is seeing me. “Ok.”
“He is there as someone else with a new identity. His new name is Paxton”, he informs me and a sense of urgency hits me. The first thing I think of is Jason. My son needs to be protected.
“Thank you, dad”, I hang up immediately before picking up the landline to call someone.
****
Celine’s POV
With mixed feelings, I saunter to Paxton’s door and knock. I don’t know what to think about accepting the job of a nanny in Bryan’s mansion. I have a feeling Bryan is doing this to punish me.
How can I be a nanny for my son?
I don’t know if I should accept the offer or not. But I feel it is better than not having to see my son for more than a day. I can’t bear it.
I will rather endure whatever punishment he wants to give to me so I can be with my son than stay here alone in the house living miserably.
I might end up committing suicide one day If Jason doesn’t come back to me. He is my source of inspiration and I know I will be fine if he is with me.
If this is what it takes to be with my son, I am going to tolerate whatever shit he throws at me. I guess this is the sacrifice I have to make for my son as a mother. Jason wants and needs me. I need to be there for him.
When I remember Bryan’s warning for me not to think I am coming back as his wife but as his son’s nanny, I shut my eyes.
He is making it sound like Jason is his alone.
I get to Paxton’s door and knock immediately. I hear a faint come in and I push the door open.
He is sitting on a sofa with his laptop on his lap. He raises his head to look at me. I stand at the door, expecting him to invite me fully in but he isn’t saying anything.
The silly question he asked me last night comes rushing back and I shake my head at the thought.
How can I be in love with someone who hates me? Even if I love him, his hatred towards me is enough to dissolve my love for him. Bryan doesn’t deserve to be loved.
“How are you?” He asks me, examining me from head to toe.
I smile and walk further inside. He closed his laptop and smiled at me. “I am fine.”
He arches his brows suddenly. “You look happy, any good news?”
I shake my head and sit beside him.
“No good news? You look happy. Have you gotten a job?”Têxt belongs to NôvelDrama.Org.
I stare at him for a while before shifting my gaze to the laptop. I wonder what kind of job he is involved in. Can’t I work with him?
“Celine”, he shakes my shoulder calmly, jerking me out of my reverie.
“I got a job”, I announce finally.
“Really?” His face breaks into a smile and he looks ready to embrace me. “How did you manage to get a job within a short time?”
I shrug. I don’t know what he will think of my job or whether he will approve of it when he gets to know who the boss is.
This will be the second time Bryan will be my boss. He is a hard man to please and working for him years ago was so hard that I almost resigned but I didn’t because of the help I needed from him, without knowing things would turn out this way.
“I guess I was lucky”, I grin. He looks at me with amazement and after a while, he opens his arms and I hug him.
As soon as he releases me from the hug, he asks with a curious look on his face.
“What type of job is it? Is the pay good? Do you like the job?”
Giving his questions some thoughts, I realize I don’t like the job but I am only accepting because of what is involved. About the pay, I know it will be good.
“The pay is good”, I nod with confidence. I have no idea if this confidence is coming from the fact that I know how Bryan treats his employees well financially. He doesn’t deprive them of their salaries and I guess the same thing applies to me.
Even though he shouts and fights me all the time for being clumsy when I was his secretary, he never deduct anything from my salary unlike in my former place of work.
Any little act of mistake will have a reflection on that month’s salary. I was frustrated with the work but I had no choice because I needed the money.
“What type of job is it? What does it entail?” He demands again, shifting in his seat and waiting patiently for me to tell him what it is about.
My job entails taking care of my son for his father and getting paid for it. It doesn’t look like a big deal but I know it will be a big deal to Paxton.
Even though I am having doubts about it, I still want to give it a try and see how it turns out. If things don’t work out well, I will find a way to get my son out of his house myself.
“It’s a nanny job”, I inform him, watching his face for signs of disapproval. His face is devoid of emotions at first but suddenly, it turns into a frown.
“A nanny?” I nod.
I offer to explain further. “Bryan is my boss. He asked me to come live as a nanny for Jason.”
His expression turns into a rage immediately and he jerks back, exclaiming loudly.
“What the hell!”