My Dearest Sofia (Completed)

Chapter 5

Jonathon just put the phone down when he heard laughter wafting up from downstairs. He had been on the phone with Delnard for almost an hour or so. The Chinese were haggling because they knew who they were doing business with. 

Everyone always tried to get more out of the Elliot cash but despite being extremely wealthy, Jonathon believed in playing fair and doing business with integrity. They could easily afford giving the extra half million the China company was asking but that would not be fair.

He had told Delnard to play hardball with these businessmen and then take a couple of days vacation in Macau. He knew how his friend was always up for an adventure in some different country. He did not worry about him wasting money or doing anything illegal. Delnard had a good head on him which made him a good vice president and friend. Besides, he deserved a little break from dark, brooding and mute best friend.

The tinkle of laughter penetrated his ears again and Jonathon became curious. He had never heard a girl laugh so much and that loudly. Well, at least, not in the circles that his family usually associate with. Most of the young women he knew as heiresses and spoiled usually pretended to be prim and proper when in society but lead totally different lives behind it. 

This laugh however felt really warm, genuine and well- unlady like. It was the laughter he sometimes heard from Ava when she was watching one of her comedy shows when he was a teenage kid. It sounded like it came from the heart but radiated from the diaphragm. 

He put down the phone in his Uncle's office and proceeded down the hallway and down to the curving staircase that lead to the foyer.

Another bout of laughter penetrated the still air around the house, this time it was joined by his uncle's booming laugh and Ava's. What was going on?

He silently descended the steps. Years of martial arts training have made him nimble and stealthy whenever he wanted to be. Ever since the night his father died, Jonathon had immersed himself with various self defense methods to prevent anything like that to happen to him. That was also one of the reasons he did not get a bodyguard. He could take care of himself. 

He paused just outside the dining hall's door and peeked inside it. He saw his uncle seated at the head of the table, his back to the door. Ava was setting up plates for dinner and beside her, helping with the cutlery, her head thrown back, mouth wide open with laughter was a stranger. 

He continued to watch in the shadow as she banged her palm on the table, her shoulders shaking with mirth at what his uncle had said. He even found himself smiling as he heard her snort like some guy who had too much to drink.

He saw her shake her head at the silliness of it all and watched as some tendrils of her black hair escaped from her ponytail. It fell gracefully down the side of her face which made Jonathon want to reach out and swipe away because he wanted to see her completely. 

He frowned and shook his head. Here he was, acting like some schoolboy, spying on people by the door. It made him feel like he was twelve again. He straightened up and pushed the door open, containing his urge to ask his uncle who the loud girl was. 

The sound of the door opening was enough to alert the people in the room that he was there and again, Jonathon marveled at how silence can be practiced and at the same time still have one's presence be felt.

"Ah, Jonathon, come and join us! I'm sorry I wasn't able to meet you when you arrived, son. I had to pick up this charming young lady. Come closer, let me introduce you!" 

Jonathan watched his uncle stand up from the chair, walk over to him and guide him by the shoulders forward. It was silly because he was taller and bigger than his uncle by at least a couple of inches. He decided to let the old man drag him along like he was some awkward teenager. However, he would also let his uncle do all the talking.

Jonathon found himself facing one of the most unusual eyes he had ever seen. He has had his share of  women from different ages and different countries but none had the same intensity, color and emotion as this lady's eyes had. 

He had to blink and decided to mask his momentary shock with a cough. It gave him an excuse to look down and compose himself. He had been fooled by beauty before and he had vowed never to be that gullible again.

He calmed himself and looked up to meet her face. He quickly took in the rest of her despite his intentions of not doing so. Part of him was annoyed because he had allowed himself to be taken in by her face. 

She isn’t really glamorous looking, unlike the women in the upper east side of New York. She lacked the class and grace they had because of their rich upbringing but her skin was alabaster smooth, her mouth just pink and plump enough that a man would stay awake at night just to imagine kissing. 

Her nose was small, not too straight or aristocratic but complemented her face perfectly. Her eyes were jade-like, no- jewels! No, they were the green grassy hills of Ireland and Scotland- No-they were the sea! Again, he marveled at their color.

He decided to look away from her face, still undecided about her eyes and looked down on her attire. There, he could find something to be dismayed about. 

She wore plain clothes that hid just enough of her body to make him wonder if she was a little on the chubby side or if she had one of those thin-wafer like model-esque bodies. She was not that tall, perhaps five foot six or seven? 

He could easily look down on her with his six foot two height. He found himself smirking when he saw how hard she was gripping the utensils. 

So, this lady was his uncle's new plaything... 

He had to hand it to his Uncle for being able to get his hooks on somebody as young and vibrant as this person was. Is she eighteen even?

By this time, Sofia had been working up a temper. 

How dare this conceited jerk ogle her like she was some girl standing on a bar, waiting for a man to pick her up and take her home for the night? She never liked it when guys looked at her as if assessing her worth in body, beauty and weight. 

It was condescending and mean! 

When the tall, egotistical guy with dark chocolate colored hair -she did not catch the color of his eyes because when it met hers, anger started to cloud her vision- looked down to  give her body a once over, she was already seething with anger.

She knew his type. There were guys like him in school and in the restaurants. They thought she was some piece of meat they could ogle, undress with their dirty minds and perhaps take advantage of. They were also men who judged her appearance as if to tell her where she did or did not belong. 

Right now, this jerk was actually trying to tell her with his gaze that he thought she was sorely misplaced in their huge mansion.

Sofia gripped the tightly at the utensils, trying to keep her temper at bay because she did not want to embarrass herself in front of Mr. Elliot, but then, she saw his mouth turn up into a smirk.

It was the last straw. Sofia dumped the utensils on the table, they crashed loudly against the delicate china. She stood up straight, held her head high and snapped at the bastard in front of him, uncaring about making a scene in front of Mr. Elliot.

"If you've had enough of your fill, you pompous ass. I think I'll leave this room before I punch you in the face!" 

And with that, she turned on her heel and marched towards the swinging door that lead into the kitchen. She could not stand another minute in the same room as him.

Ava noticed her red face and her mutterings. "What's wrong with you?”

"Oooh... I am so angry at this guy who came into the dining room. He was looking at me like I was some meat - a cheap meat, for that matter! Argh! I hate guys like him, Ms. Ava. I really do! I've met a lot of jerks in my time at school and I'll be damned if I let one insult me-“

"Calm down, Sofia. My, you have a temper, don't you?" Ava said, shushing her. She offered her a glass of water and then chuckled. "I guess you are referring to Master Jonathon.”

"Master-? Are you kidding me? People still use that to address those above their station?" Sofia asked, the glass of water halfway down from her mouth. 

Ava smiled, her sweet, laugh-lined face lighting up. "Well, most of the staff address the Elliots as master because that has been the tradition every since. These staff are highly trained.”

"And what about you, Miss Ava?”

"I do it because it annoys the boy." She replied with a grin and a wink. 

Sofia found herself relaxing and smiling at Miss Ava Gately. She was introduced as the head of the household staff and have been in the family since Jonathon was a boy of five. 

She was not that old, perhaps a little over fifty? She had this nice, motherly feel in her but as what Sofia had found out in a span of thirty minutes, she was single still and had no family except a few distant cousins in Tulsa.

"Never mind, Jonathon. He is really a sweet, nice boy.”

"Boy? Sweet? Nice?" Sofia echoed with disbelief. So far, what the guy displayed in the dining room was nothing of that sort.

"I call him boy- which annoys him even more than the word Master- because in my eyes, he will always be that young brave Elliot who-“

The door swung open and Mr. Jefferson Elliot came in with an apologetic look on his face. He regarded the two ladies and sighed. "I am sorry for my nephew's rude behavior. Really, I am ashamed enough by his actions and was this close to sending him to his room. But of course, I remembered he is now a man- so that did not work. I just told him to stop being a jerk.”

"Did you tell him to apologize to, Sofia?" Ava asked, her hands on her hips.

 Sofia looked at the head of the house addressing the owner like he was just in the same boat as she was. She had to smile because Ava was not like the other servants who scraped and bowed or bent over backwards to accommodate their "masters". She started to admire the old lady.

"You should know by now, Ava, that you do not actually tell Jonathon what to do." The uncle replied with exasperation. "He excused himself and holed himself up back to the guest room. I'm guessing, George will be down in a few to get him his supper. I have an inkling to disallow it to happen!"

Sofia listened and to her astonishment, Ava shook her head. "No, you are forgetting that things-well, you know-" Sofia found Ava's eyes looking at her and then snapped back to give a meaningful look at the older Elliot. "You might have forgotten how this house-“

"Of course not. I'm sorry. Thank you for reminding me." He cut off the elder lady with a wave of his hand. 

Sofia found the whole thing suspicious. Was there something they did not want her to know? She was about to ask but then she remembered that she was not a guest in this house. She was hired help and it was not in her place to question or go snooping around. 

Well, at least, she would try her best not to be nosy. It would be extremely bad luck if she got fired on the spot for reacting the way she did to the owner. No matter how much he deserved it.

She was surprised though when Mr. Elliot turned to her and began apologizing for his nephew's bad behavior. He chalked it up to the fact that he must have been tired and surprised to see somebody new in the house. He promised to speak to his nephew about it later and make sure that he treated Sofia with utmost respect.

"No, it's fine. You don't have to do that. I- I should know my place in this house, sir." She replied.

"Nonsense! I did not hire you to be house help, Sofia. Truth be told, we have a lot of them here already. I hired you to become Jonathon's secretary and perhaps a joy to this old man's heart. Goodness knows I could use a few laughs and conversation other than old Ava here!”

Sofia wanted to balk at the thought of being the secretary to that conceited brat. But then, she remembered why she took the position in the first place. Yes, she misunderstood the secretarial part but the rest was clear. 

She did not mind spending time with the older Elliot because he was nice, funny and she was learning a lot of tips and advice on life and even a few business hints from him. Who knows, he might even teach her on how to invest money properly! 

Then a thought occurred to her. Would she be able to perhaps take online courses while she was here? Well, it would depend on how demanding the whole job was but- she might be able to make it happen.

Sofia grinned, a plan forming in her mind. "I guess I can learn to adjust, Sir." 

The two older people looked at her. Ava was grinning, happy to hear what she said. Jefferson Elliot raised an eyebrow and then opened his mouth to repeat what he just said earlier. Sofia raised her hand to stop him.

"Really, Mr. Elliot. I understand completely. Out of respect for you, because you have been really kind, I will forget about the whole thing that happened in there. I will be obedient and efficient as any secretary and strive to behave. However, please forgive me in advance, if I cannot help myself one day and slap your nephew silly if he ever insults me again." 

She watched as Ava's grin was slowly turning into a laugh and then Jefferson's shoulders began to shake.

Somewhere upstairs, in the cold, comfortable library. Jonathon looked up from the book he was reading as he listened to the merry laughter that came from the kitchen. Really, for an expensive house, the walls and floors were surely thin.