Her Corporate Takedown: Entangled with a Billionaire

*CHAPTER 14: SWEET INDULGENCE*

My mind stopped racing after I got out of the shower. It was hard, but at last, I recovered from the maelstrom of thoughts induced by the destructive emotional expressions during lunch.

Reflecting on it now with a clear mind, I was very happy that I did not become swept up in their wave of confessions. It would have given Andrei exactly what he wanted. No matter what his circumstances were, he would never let me leave him if I told him those feelings. Telling him my feelings would also place me at a clear disadvantage, especially if I wanted to get out of any crazy situation later. Having realized this, withholding any sort of confession is the strongest card I have right now. The only question is, for how long can I play that card?

Meanwhile, Ari checked Leiya's room and she heard her in the shower. She went downstairs to Andrei, who was sitting in the living room while working on his laptop. Ari walked over to him and leaned over the back of the sofa and started giving him a shoulder massage.

"Are you upset?" she asked him.

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, the plan was to get her to confirm your feelings for you before you talked to her tonight, not that you told me anything about that plan," she replied.

"But you still went along with it, for my sake." He smiled as he looked up at her face, visibly twisting in anguish.

"I went along with it because I wanted her to deny her feelings and quickly make you return to your senses."

"I think you said that out loud by mistake," Andrei replied calmly.

"No, I didn't," she whispered into his right ear as she leaned over slowly.

"I don't get why you are dragging her into this. You should have had your teen romance when you had the chance - ten years ago. Now, it's time to be responsible and be more aware of your position. That includes the people you choose as romantic partners."

Ari slowly rose up and walked back to the stairs. Andrei sighed softly while removing his glasses and resting them on the laptop.

"That’s the same thing you all wanted from me ten years ago, wasn't it?" he said while leaning his head back to rest on the top of the sofa. "I don't care about that nonsense anymore."

Since I was going to meet Andrei again later, I decided to wear something a bit more stylish than loungewear. I kept things simple; I put on a grey t-shirt and a fitted black pants. At 5:30, I went downstairs. The afternoon sun was glaring outside but you would hardly notice as all the window blinds were drawn and even the blinds to the patio were not open. The reason for that must have been because this was supposed to be a secret hideout.

I began to feel nervous while going down the stairs. A part of me was afraid to hear Andrei's story. What if I ended up getting involved with some seriously dangerous people? I doubt that I would be able to simply walk away as though I never heard anything. The more I tried not to worry about it, the worse I felt.

I made it to the kitchen, where I found Andrei standing by the counter with a knife. He was slicing into a chocolate cake. It was one of the most beautiful cakes I've ever seen. The slice revealed a rich dark velvety texture, interlaced with a creamy caramel filling. The slice was adorned with a vibrant golden-like chocolate icing and white and brown chocolate flakes. My mouth began watering with the desire to eat it whole, but I pretended it was just like any other dessert as I approached Andrei.

"Where did you get that cake?" I asked him, while trying my hardest to remain calm.

"I baked it yesterday," he replied.

"You baked it?!" I asked in astonishment. "It looks like a professional made it."

"Well, I'm glad to receive such high praise from you. I hope you'll like the taste of it too."

"Honestly, I'm dying to try it."

'I know you are,' he thought to himself, as he saw how desperately she was trying to hold herself back from grabbing the cake out of his hand.

"Here, have some." He gave me a plate with a hefty serving of cake. I sat at the table and immediately dug in. With just one bite of the cake, I couldn't help putting the fork down and bringing my hands up to my cheeks as I savoured the first bite of this scrumptious cake.

"It's so good. I still can't believe you made this. Were you telling the truth?"

I'll let him have this win since it was so delicious; it was fluffy yet each bite was rich and heavy. It immediately made my list of top ten cakes I've ever had.

"Is it that hard to believe? I really did make it. Isn't it much nicer to have a chocolate cake to celebrate your new job instead of to get over a break up?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked him, confused.

"Don't you remember? Last Friday you had plans to get a chocolate cake after sushi, right?"

That made me jump back in my chair. "How in the world did you know that?!" I may have posted a lot about going to sushi restaurants but I never posted about loving chocolate cake.

"But you did love eating chocolate cake at school," he said, smiling. "Besides, before you went to the restaurant, you stopped by the bakery on the first floor and looked at the cakes. So if you were going to buy a cake, I was sure it would be a chocolate cake."

At this point, I wasn't even surprised anymore, yet I still stared at him for a couple seconds in amazement. Then I continued indulging in the cake with a big smile on my face.

I treated myself to two large slices of the cake Andrei baked. He also had a slice of cake and put the rest in the fridge. He said I could have more anytime I wanted and teased me about baking a cake every day since I looked like I wanted to eat that entire cake now - he wasn't lying though.

After we finished the cake and put away the dishes, my anxiety returned for fear of the next item on today's agenda - learning his secrets. I followed him upstairs to the second floor, to a small room where three computers were set up, a small sofa set in the middle of the room and a bar table against the wall facing the door. A laptop was on the small coffee table and Andrei sat in front of it on the double seater. He asked me to sit beside him. As he turned on the laptop, he began to tell me his story.

"Do you remember my full name in junior high?" he asked.

"Yea. It was Andrei Jansen."

"That's right." He paused, then he looked over at me, who was sitting to his right. "Everything I am about to tell you is 100% of the utmost absolutely confidential information. And I mean, you could ruin lives and countries with this kind of knowledge."

The knots in my stomach began to form again.

"You probably had thoughts of simply walking away if it didn't suit your tastes, but there is no such option." He continued, "right now is your last chance to back out, if you don't want to get involved."

"Can I find out the truth about Michelle, Daniel and Saffil while still being able to walk away?" I already knew the answer, but I wanted to make sure I clarified all my options.

"You can't. Even if you heard the truth about them from someone else who is involved, it would definitely be someone who would hurt you rather than protect you."

"So you're saying that you can protect me?"

"I can. That's why I wanted to be the first one to tell you, if you were to get involved."

"Does your protection come with the terms that I have to marry you?"

His silence wasn't reassuring.

"While I am hopeful, I won't force you to do anything against your will," he said a few seconds later. "That would be the best outcome, though, for your sake especially."

"What does that mean?" I asked, even more perplexed.

"You'll understand when I get into the details," he replied.

"Well then, please begin."

"I'll take that as your consent then."

He reached for a large black case that was also on the table beside the laptop. He took out what looked like a large tablet and positioned himself closer to me on the already small sofa. I so badly wanted to get up from beside him but it looked as though he was going to show me something.

He asked me to go through some documents with him on the tablet.

"We're going to start the official signing of your real contract."

"Contract? Won't I be doing that next week?"

"Yes, that is a different contract - for working at Bolster. This contract is to work for me personally."

"I'm working for you? Why am I just hearing about this?" I was utterly confused.

"You didn't think that I could simply tell you all those secrets for free, did you?"

"Well-"

"I also have a marriage certificate application, if you prefer that instead. It's either that or this contract?"

The silence that followed involved minutes of deliberation accompanied by the writhing and twisting of all my facial muscles, which thoroughly expressed the agony I was feeling at the moment. All the while, Andrei just sat beside me watching with his left elbow resting on his knee and while his left hand supported his chin, and he held the tablet in his right hand half way between giving it to me and putting it on the table.

"You seem to be struggling with this decision, but from the moment you hear what I have to say, you will be involved in this world. If you sign this contract, at least you will be under the protection of my family and that is the best situation you could ask for."

"I will be under the protection of your family, but I won't be treated as your property or your slave or abused or anything like that, right?"

"What are you talking about? No you won't and there's nothing like that in the contract. If you sign this I can talk about myself without worry and help you to deal with Michelle. You won't become anyone's slave."

"Fine," I said, followed by a sigh of relief. "I will sign the contract. Get rid of that marriage application please."

"I'll leave that for another day then."

"Once I sign this, you'll start talking, right?"

He took my fingerprints and I placed my signature on the contract. The file automatically filled in my signature in 20 other fields. I would have liked to know the details but contracts are tiring to read. In the end, I had to place my trust in him, but I felt like I signed my life away. I really hope that I won't come to regret this decision later.

When we were finished, he placed the tablet down and returned to his original position on the sofa, against the left arm of the two-seater. He rested his right hand on the back of the sofa as he turned to face me. The room felt more spacious and I felt like I could breathe again.

Finally, I was going to hear the truth behind everything that was going on. The knot in my stomach worsened by the minute as I anxiously awaited an explanation of why my life had been toyed with by my best friends.