Billionaire's Love Trap

CHAPTER 3

It was raining hard on that day. They were gathered in the cemetery to Jonathan Ross’s funeral. Jackson Gray stood beside Keith, holding the black umbrella on top of his head. He was shocked to get the news from Keith. He just found out about it this morning.

Keith stayed silent most of the time while staring at his dad’s tombstone. The pain that he felt inside was excruciating. He felt numb. This is even worst than when he lost his mother at a young age.

At least he still had his father back then. But now he’s all alone.

Keith tried his best to be strong, but he finally broke into tears after they all left. He was even surprised he still had tears left.

Jackson patted his back to calm him down. “Keith…” he then stopped himself after seeing him kneeling to the ground. He felt sorry for seeing him breaking like this. Jonathan is one of his best employees. He also felt a huge loss.

*************

A few days later…

Cassandra put on her blazer as she prepared for the job interview today. She didn’t forget to apply a bit of light makeup before heading out of her room. She wasn’t the type of woman who liked to wear makeup, but she had read some articles saying that it could make you appear more professional to the recruiters.

“Cassandra, where are you going so early in the morning?” Her dad stopped her on the stairs, while his eyes down to the big brown envelope on her hands. His dad and mom were having breakfast at the dining table.

“I-I’m going to a job interview…” she said nervously. Her dad’s cold stare sent chills down her spine.

He let out a defeated sigh before he walked towards her. “You’re not going to work anywhere else other than Gray’s Corp.,” he said with a final tone. Cassandra’s eyes widened in protest.

“You can’t do this to me… I’m still going anyway.” This might be the first time she went against her dad’s will. Cassandra avoided him while practically ran towards the door, but her dad was fast to catch her hand.

“Cassandra!?...” He raised his voice, and it shocked her. He never uses this tone on her before. He grabbed her hand harshly before pulling her up to her bedroom.

“You’re grounded until you agree to work in my company.” He said sternly. Cassandra’s eyes started to flood with tears. This just doesn’t make any sense to her.

“You can’t do this to me, dad!? I also have a right to decide my own future!..” she yelled back at him.

He was about to say something in return, but a hand stopped him on his shoulder.

“Jackson…” Her mom interjected from behind them. “Let me talk to her…” she said, and her dad finally relented.

He closed the door behind and left his wife with Cassandra to talk.

The moment he left, Cassandra sobbed on the side of her bed. Her mom slowly hugged her and caressed her back up and down. She rarely cried in front of anyone. She never wanted to be seen as a weak woman. But she could let her guard down in front of her mom.  

“There…there…baby girl. Don’t cry. You might not understand now why he did that.” She spoke softly in her ear. Cassandra hugged her back for a while before she breaks away from her mom.

“He’s always chose everything for me…My major…My school…and now what? Even I have to work at the company that he chose. This isn’t fair!?” she ranted out. Her mom chuckled lowly while wiping the tears from her cheek.

“Don’t you want to know why he did that?” her mom asked her back. Cassandra knitted her eyebrows in confusion before she looked away. Well, she’s getting fed up with his domineering attitude.

“I don’t care…” she spat. Her mom cupped her face and looked straight into her eyes. She smiled at Cassandra thinly before she explains.

“Do you know what happened to Jonathan Ross last week?” Her mom asked, and she nodded at her. “He’s got a heart attack and died? What’s that had to do with this?” Cassandra asked, even more confused. Her mom flashed a smile at her before she patted her head.

“Your dad afraid that he might leave unexpectedly like uncle Jonathan. He had so much to teach you about his company. I hope you can understand now.” she carefully explains to her daughter. Cassandra rolled back her eyes.

“Dad is very healthy mom… He still had a lot of time,” she replied firmly. “Life is a mystery, my dear….You’ll never know what’ll happen next.” Cassandra’s eyes went wide.

“Why’d you say as if you both will leave me soon?...” she asked with a weary voice. “Just think about it, Cassandra…” her mom said before she left her room.

A few hours later…Cassandra was still in the same position near her bed. The maid comes into her bedroom to serve her food. She doesn’t even allow to eat at the dining table! How cruel was that? She’d never been grounded before. Now she knew that it felt suck.

Shoving the tray of food away, she walked towards her bathroom.

She gasped in shock as she saw how dreadful she look. Her mascara was ruined and stained her cheek. Her hair was also in a mess. She angrily grabbed the tissue and started removing her makeup.

She stepped under the shower and turned on the hot water. She didn’t want to work there. At least, not now. Then a crazy idea suddenly popped into her head. If her dad doesn’t let her choose the career she wants, she better get out of this house.  

After she finished taking a bath, she packed a few clothes in her gym bag and hid them in her closet. Her heart is thumping with excitement. This is the first time she tries to survive on her own feet without her parents’ help. This would be fun and challenging.

She put on her regular PJs and pretend that she’s sleeping in her bed. She then heard a series of knocks before the door went open. There’s only a dim light from her bedside lamp, and she curled under her blanket.

She felt the bed dipped before a warm hand softly caressed the side of her cheek. Without a doubt, it was his dad.

“I’m sorry, baby… You can hate me now, but I’ll try my best to not force you into this.” He then leaned forward to kiss her forehead. No matter how much she hated him right now, his kisses still had this calming effect on her. Maybe it was the father’s bond. She instantly knew that she’ll miss him when she left.

I’m sorry too, dad. But let me struggle for a while in this life before I took over the company. Cassandra said to herself. Her dad heaved a deep sigh before he turned off the lamp and left the room. “Good night, Cassandra.” He spoke softly before he closed the door.

Warm tears escape from the corner of her eyes. She started to second-guess her decision to leave this house.

She waited till midnight before she sneaked out of the room. Cassandra felt as if she was in an action movie as she crept through the living room. The house was pitch dark. She barely could see a thing. She accidentally bumped into a vase, and it almost fell to the floor. Holy s**t!

She’s lucky that she was able to catch the antique vase before it fell. Cassandra drew a breath before she proceeds with her plan to escape from this house.

Cassandra jumped off the gate and looked back for one last time. Goodbye, mom and dad. Wait until I’m successful. I’ll be back here.

************

The next morning, Jackson and his wife Brooke had their breakfast in silence. They got into a little bit of argument last night because of the way he treated Cassandra.

“Aren’t you going to say anything to me, Brooke?” he asked as he put his hand on top of hers. “Jackson, I think you’ve gone too far this time. We can let her work elsewhere for one or two years, and when she got tired, she’ll come to your company willingly.” His wife said wisely.

Mr. Gray shook his head. “I’m afraid it was too late to do that, honey.” He said with a serious tone. His wife knitted her eyebrows in confusion. “Why so?” she asked him back.

“Because I just made a will, and I already gave her half of my shares in Gray’s Corp.” the moment he said that, she just felt like she’s being hit by thunder. “W-what did you say? How could you?...” she asked back in disbelief.

“I had made my decision.” He replied calmly.

“But she’s still a child, Jackson. For God’s sake!?” she suddenly snapped at him.

His phone rang, and he gave her a cue to give him a moment. “Yes, I’m coming right now…” he said to the person on the phone. After he ended the call, he went towards his wife and gave her a quick peck.

“I have to go…We’ll talk again tonight.” He said before he left her there. The other shareholders suddenly demand his presence. Something important might came up at the office.

************

As he got there, he could feel the chilling and unusual aura inside the room. It’s not the first time they had meeting together. Still, he always felt like he was entering a lion’s den every time they held a shareholders meeting.  

The person is also the same unless Keith is now representing Jonathan, his dad.

“I’ve told you to take some time off…Are you okay?” he asked Keith with a concerned tone. He knew that Jonathan’s death hit him hard, so he didn’t expect him to show up in the company after just three days.

Keith held a slightly different aura, or maybe he was too tense today because of his obvious lack of sleep? He looked tired. “I’m fine….” Keith said after clearing his throat.

“So what are we going to discuss today?...” Jackson Gray asked, breaking the heavy silence between them. None of them raised a voice. What is this all about? He didn’t come here to waste his time.

Keith suddenly stood up. “Please, Mr. Gray… Let me lead this meeting for today.” He walked towards the glass board. He looked back at Jackson Gray, waiting for his response.

“Yes, you may…” he said, still maintaining his composure. Now it was obvious that they were up to something. Keith’s smile never reached his eyes. He then started to present the budgeting scheme through a slideshow for all the ongoing projects in the company.

“Mr. Gray, According to our last lunch meeting with my…dad.” He paused for a while. He took a deep breath before he continued. “You had informed me about the budget allocation for the ongoing Bali project.” He stated, and Jackson Gray nodded at that.

“Yes, you’re right…As I’ve said before, I was planning to allocate more budget for that particular project.” Keith smiled cynically at him.  

“We object!...” Mr. Brown suddenly interrupted. Jackson Gray then throws him a glare. “My decision is final…” he said in reply. “I also object….” Keith suddenly added, and Mr. Gray turned back at him in disbelief.

“You? Didn’t you say you like the design?..” he asked him, raising an eyebrow. “I’ve changed my mind,” Keith replied curtly. Jackson Gray looked back at the budget spreadsheet, and he just allocates a significant amount of money to his dad’s project.

“So what do you say? We can wait here for the whole day until you agree to this?” Keith asked, slightly smirking. Jackson Gray sat back on his chair and smiled. Thank God he had changed his will last night. He could avoid this kind of situation.

“I’m afraid we have to wait for another shareholder to come and make a decision.” He replied calmly. Keith furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “What do you mean? We’re all gathered here?..” Keith asked him back.

“I just gave half of my shares to my daughter, Cassandra Gray. This meeting is adjourned until we got to hear her decision.” Jackson Gray said, stepping out from the room.