Chapter Seven – A Shocking Revelation
1580 Words
Marina’s POV
After that encounter at the park, I didn’t wait a minute more and headed straight to the shop. My heart pounded in my chest at the close call. Was the creature waiting to pounce on me in broad daylight? Maybe it had escaped from the core forested area and wandered into the human habitat! A shudder went down my spine even at the thought of facing the massive creature again!
Camila returned with a smile and our lunch. “My treat, Marina! Guess what we’re celebrating?” I gave her a blank look, unable to relate to her exuberance. With nothing good happening in our lives, how could she be so excited all the time?
“Bankruptcy, maybe!” I shrugged, focusing back on the online portal. Strangely, I couldn’t concentrate on anything after the incident. The beast and his swirling golden obsidian eyes were all I could think of. They had me under a spell! The eyes resembled that of my golden-eyed savior, but I knew I was hallucinating! Maybe my financial situation was taking a toll on my mental health.
Camila groaned and pushed my lunch parcel towards me. “No, silly! I’ve found a quaint little shop a few miles away. The owner is a sweet old lady who wants to rent a portion of her ground floor to us. It opens onto the main road, yet the rent isn’t much, Marina. The only problem is she wants a lump sum deposit. We just have to manage that from somewhere.”
I closed my laptop and turned to face her. “From where? All I have are the diamond earrings my granny gave my mom and then me. They’re not up for sale!”
Camila looked crestfallen and bit into her burger absent-mindedly. I tucked into my burger, thinking about what she told me. The place sounded nice if only we could get some money to clear the rent and the security deposit.
The phone buzzed, and Camila rushed to get it. After a minute, she came back to me in a dazed state. “What happened? Who was it?” She sat down with her hand on her heaving chest as if to calm her heartbeats! I groaned at her melodrama!
“Arian Freling! They have an important event today at their resort. Some important guests are coming over. So he wants us to put up some floral arrangements for them! Can we go now, Marina?” I blinked at her, feeling more confused than ever before.
“Are you sure he called us? We have a huge amount of rent overdue.” I didn’t tell her about the car repair charges and the tulips! I didn’t want to face the man in case I erupted at the sight of him!
“He wants us to go over now. What are you waiting for? We can make more money out of this.” Camila finished her food and jumped up, ready to accompany me. I dragged my body up and trudged towards the resort opposite with an over-enthusiastic Camila hot on my heels. The guard saluted at us with a grin, making me suspicious. Why were they so over-excited? Who was coming over? What was I missing here?
“Did he mention who all would be there?” Camila shrugged, racing ahead of me, eager to meet her crush. Didn’t she realize what a player he was? Why else would he fix my car for free and send me red tulips not once but twice?
“I have no idea. We can find out when we meet him.” I followed reluctantly all the way to his office. It was creepy that Camila knew the way so well as if she had come here many times before. She opened the door and peered in while I stayed outside.
“Oh, he isn’t in his office. Wait, I’ll ask at the reception,” said a flustered Camila.
“Maybe he’s at the venue.”
She asked a staff member passing by and he directed us to the banquet hall. Just as I thought!
“Let’s go. Can’t you rush?” I groaned at her exuberance.
“I’m saving my energy. You can rush. No one’s stopping you.” She rushed and disappeared while I asked a hotel staff for directions to the banquet hall. Why did I even tag along if they only needed Camila? I reached the banquet hall only to see Camila and Arian Freling engaged in a passionate lip-lock!
“So this was the urgency!” I grunted with disgust before turning around to leave. They sprang apart and Camila stammered incoherently, looking guilty.
“Hello, Marina! I was waiting for you.” I turned to face the filthy player.
“Were you?” I couldn’t hide the hatred in my tone. I hated such men! How could Camila fall for him so easily? I should warn her before she fell prey to his evil intentions.
“Yes. The mayor of Bellefonte, Ed Hillsboro, and his wife Diane just booked this hall for an informal family event. So we have five hours to decorate this place. You can coordinate with our in-house event manager, Jenny Clinton, and supply the floral arrangements for the event.”
“Fine. Do we only decorate the banquet hall or the resort main entrance, too?” He gave me a confused look.
“I’m not sure about that. Wait, I’ll summon Jenny.” Camila stood by my side, but I ignored her. Arian was busy on a phone call when a middle-aged woman clad in a pant suit walked in. She smiled at me and came forward to introduce herself.
“Hi! I’m Jenny Clinton! You’re Marina, the one who created those red tulip arrangements, right?” I caught her hand for a brief shake.
“Yes. Nice to meet you, Ms. Clinton.”
“Did Arian brief you about the event scheduled for later?” I nodded, and she explained the theme she was planning.
“The main palette is lavender, but we will interweave various shades of it with white. I want you to use lavender-shaded flowers with lots of greens. You can summon your workers here and get to work.”
It took us almost an hour to get the flowers we needed. Two workers arrived from the shop and I set to get the job done. Arian had left, and I sent Camila away to look after the shop. Knowing I was disappointed in her, she left without an argument.
For the next few hours, we concentrated on the task at hand. Jenny was quite a gossip queen, and I loved the easy banter as we worked together. The decorations turned out beautiful, and even Arian couldn’t help but admire our handiwork when he returned.
“Keep it up, ladies! I’m sure boss would love it too.” He left with a chuckle, but I was immediately on high alert. Boss? Who? Adonis Feyrer or the Mayor?
“Who’s the boss?” I knew it was a dumb question, but I had to ensure. I wanted to meet Mr. Feyrer badly and plead my cause. If I lived up to his expectations with the decorations today, would he agree to meet me?
“Mr. Feyrer, who else? He’ll come down any moment now.” My heart raced with apprehension as I mentally practiced my dialogue with him. Our work was almost over in the banquet hall when Jenny announced her plans to decorate the foyer, corridor, and main entrance!
“I’ll need more flowers, Jenny!”
“I already asked Arian to order more. I’ll check up on him. In the meantime, why don’t you start with the main entrance? Your workers can wrap up the decorations here. I’ll join you in a jiffy.” After she left, I instructed my staff and rushed towards the entrance. There wasn’t a moment to lose. The guests would arrive in forty minutes and I had to wrap up beforehand.
More flowers arrived, and I made the floral arrangements in the same color combinations as before.
“Where should I put this up, Ma’am?” asked the hotel worker, helping me. I instructed them simultaneously. The sun was about to set and I hurried before Mr. Feyrer arrived. We completed the work in record time, and the workers cleaned up the area. The venue was now ready for their special event.
I inspected my work for the last time, giving the finishing touches around when a fleet of cars entered the resort complex. Standing in front of the banquet hall with Jenny, I could clearly see the guests alight.
“The mayor is here with his wife and guests!” I nodded, watching Arian and the hotel staff welcoming them.
However, my gaze focused on the familiar Land Rover that arrived last. I knew who it belonged to. My golden-eyed savior!
“Oh! Sir is here! I’ll get going!” gasped Jenny while I blinked in disbelief to see my golden-eyed savior emerge from the Land Rover. My breath got stuck in my throat at the sight of him clad in a black formal suit. Who was he? I didn’t want to think about the obvious, as the hotel staff treated him as God. Jenny rushed towards him nervously, and my head reeled as realization struck me.
My golden-eyed savior was none other than Adonis Feyrer!
- Writer
