Bought Husband

Chapter 3

Innocent Look

SEBASTIAN

I arrived at Williams' company with everyone curiously looking at me. I wonder if they already know that I will marry the owner's granddaughter, which I doubt given the flirtatious stares I was receiving from women and a few men. I went to the top floor, walked out of the elevator, and stopped in front of the office. I knocked and entered when I heard a female voice letting me in. When I entered, I saw Anna behind the desk a tall and slim, pretty young woman with dark blonde hair and green eyes. She scanned me from head to toe with a smile on her face, which made me curious, but I decided to ignore it.

"Good morning, Sebastian. This is Dany, my secretary; she will help you with everything that is needed. You will be in the meeting room through that door," she points to another room with a glass door next to her office. "You have a phone there. Just press number two if you need help."

"Nice to meet you," I held out my hand to Dany, and she took it with a smile.

She then stood up with the same smile, still looking at me.

"Dany," Anna called her secretary, who was still frozen in the same position. "Dany!" She repeated in a louder tone.

She turned to look at her boss while stifling a laugh. "You were saying?"

Anna just shook her head and said, "Please accompany Sebastian and show him the files and everything."

"Yes, of course. If you follow me here, please."

"Thank you," I thanked Anna, who smiled and nodded.

Everyone here is smiling at me, but I am not comfortable reciprocating such kindness. I don't even know if it's real. She and her grandfather are controlling my life as they please. I should be in my office right now, doing my best to keep it afloat until Robert transfers the money to us.

I sat in front of the table and started reviewing the documents when Dany spoke.

"You can reach me if you need anything else."

"Thank you," I replied, and she walked out the main door of the boardroom.

After a couple of hours, I noticed that Dany was with Anna in her office. I walked to the door that connected the two offices and opened it to see them laughing while Anna took off her glasses to massage her nose.

"Excuse me," I interrupted, and they looked at me, but my attention was on Anna, who had an innocent face behind those huge glasses and a cute smile that made me freeze. Something inside me stirred. I shook my head to pull myself out of my daydream.

Dany looked at me and answered. "Yes? Please tell me."

"I need the balance sheets for the last quarter, please."

"Is something wrong?" Anna asks, looking me in the eyes.

"No, I just want to compare a couple of facts."

"All right."

Dany left the office while I headed back to the boardroom. At one point, I saw Anna again, without glasses, looking at some papers on her desk. I was lost in her face, seeing a very young and beautiful face. I don't understand why she is hiding it.

ANNA

We are still waiting for Sebastian to arrive, and Dany is unwilling to leave the office until she sees him.

We heard a knock on the door, and she looked at me with excitement, making me roll my eyes.

He came in looking really handsome, wearing a tailored black suit with a white shirt inside and a black tie. His hair was perfectly combed, but like last time, he didn't look happy at all. It made me wonder if he ever smiles.

Dany was so thrilled that I lost her for a moment until I managed to wake her up from her enchantment, and she helped Sebastian get situated in his temporary office. I thought it was better for him to be close to me, Dany, so he could quickly resolve his doubt.

Halfway through the morning, I lost my secretary, and she was nowhere to be found. I was about to grab my phone to message her when she came barging in with a smile on her face without bothering to knock like she always does when I'm alone.

"Friend, please tell your grandfather that I'm also hopelessly single so he can get me a husband like him." She pointed to the meeting room, looked at me, and frowned. "Why don't you look happy? You should give yourself a chance. He seems like a good guy, and he's the way he wants to be."

"Dany, didn't you notice that he didn't even look at me? I don't think he likes this arranged marriage at all, and he probably thinks I'm the one who organized everything to force him to be with me."

"It makes sense, boss, but you have a year to explain to him that you have nothing to do with it. Friend, don't tell me that you don't want to keep him. Let him get to know you and he'll be fascinated with you; besides, everyone in this building is jealous of you. Rumor has already spread that he's your fiancé."

I looked at her in confusion while leaning my elbow on the desk and touched my forehead. "How did they find out?"

"Sorry! I just couldn't allow the women of this company to look at him with desire and think they had a chance with him. The news that a handsome guy is here is circling around today, and you only bring unattractive men to work here," she explained while wrinkling her nose. "So... I told them that he is yours," she said with a big smile.

I can only laugh and shake my head. Before I could reply, Sebastian interrupted us. Dany and I turned in his direction at the same time. He stared at me for a second but quickly requested some balance sheets from Alany. The two left the office while I continued reviewing the documents, thinking that this marriage was a bad idea.

After a while, Dany entered the meeting room, talked to Sebastian for a moment, then picked up the phone in the meeting room, and my phone rang.

"Boss, can you come here for a moment? Mr. Thompson has a question."

"All right, I'll be there."

I reluctantly got up from the elegant chair. Dany is aware of everything, so she doesn't need me at all. I walked to the meeting room and opened the door to find Dany, who had a mischievous look on her face while Sebastian was checking something on the computer.

"What's going on?"

"Mr. Thompson asked me about the beneficiary of the unnamed account who monthly receives large amounts."

I looked at Dany without understanding why she asked me when she perfectly knew the answer. She winked at me, and I understood that she wanted me to be close to the man in front of us. I rolled my eyes and sighed. I'm not nervous about being close to him; I just realized that he's not interested, but it's a business matter, which I'm good at.

She pulled a chair next to him for me to sit in and saw her sending me teasing smiles before leaving. As soon as she left, Sebastian opened his mouth.

"It's a lot of money."

"Well, yes, but let me explain." I opened a file where all the foundations that depend on Williams Corp. can be found. "The code that appears on the balance sheet is where we combine all the foundations that the corporation manages and the allies we have. We do it to make the accounting work simple and to combine the expenses by the foundations."

"I understand. I notice there are many foundations."

"There are, but the corporation is not the only one that supports them. We have several other companies interested in helping. We also serve as the link that connects companies with foundations."

"Why didn't I know about it?"

"Your company is part of those that support this cause. I'm sure your father just hasn't found the time to tell you. From what I know, you were out of the country for a long time."

"Yeah, that must be it. How did the foundations approach you?"

"My mother has always been fond of helping children, women, and young single mothers. After some time, sick people with low resources needing some expensive procedure or surgery arrived. She found a lot of people who needed help along the way. She figured that she had the means to help and found more people to join and create new foundations. When she and my father died, my grandfather continued the support as well as the other companies."

"And are you involved?"

"Of course. I visit one or two of them every Saturday, and I am in charge of making sure that everything is in order."

A trace of surprise passed lightly across his face, but he was quick to hide it.

"How long were you out of the country?" I asked him out of nowhere.

"Three years. I went to England to finish my postgraduate degree, and I did a master's degree in global economics."

"Why did you finish your degree there?"

"My grandfather lived there. He got sick and he was everything to me, so I moved to be with him and helped him in his fight against his disease. I went between classes and looked after him, then when he got worse, we had to go to the hospital. He passed away when I finished my postgraduate degree, but I stayed a little longer between what I was doing for the master's degree while accepting that he was gone."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's okay. I honor his memory by supporting the companies he left us. I know it's what he would want. What happened to your parents?" He asks me in return.

"They died in a car accident when I was ten years old. I remember them well. My mother was beautiful, and she had the most beautiful smile," I started, and Sebastian smiled. "She was always there for the people who needed her, and my father..." I paused and continued after a deep sigh. "He was a gentleman. A little serious, but he had the sweetest heart. He lived for my mother, doing everything to make her happy. I was his princess, and he always made me smile. They taught me a lot of beautiful things." My eyes clouded with tears threatening to fall, and I smiled.

"I miss them so much." Sebastian used his hand to wipe my tears without permission and caressed my face. "It's been a long time, but I still can't help but wonder what my life would be like if they were still with me."

I don't know why I feel like I can be sincere with him.