The Crippled Billionaire Is My MATE

CHAPTER 8 – Dad’s Call

Lexi’s POV

A piece of salad lodged in my throat at Chris’s words and I coughed hard. Chris offered me a glass of water and I emptied the entire glass until my throat cleared. Tears pricked my eyes and it took a few seconds for me to resume talking to him.

“What?” I asked.

“Yes, you will be my partner. You have to go as my bodyguard anyway, so why should I pick another girl as my partner when you can be my two-in-one?” Chris replied before finishing his soup.

I lowered myself to the table and leaned forward toward him. “Don’t you care about what I think of your idea, Mr. Chris?”

“Nope, I don’t think so, because this is a part of your job,” he said as if what he had asked me to do was an easy job.

“My job is to protect you, not to escort you to parties.” My hands gripped the table in frustration.

Chris raised his finger to retort at me. “But—”

“Nor is it my job to have lunch with my boss!” I interjected before he could speak. Honestly, I felt proud that I was able to interrupt him for the first time. His privileged billionaire looks vanished and his face turned red.

Is he angry?

“How dare you talk to me like that! I am your boss!” he exclaimed in a stern, commanding tone.

“Oh, did I make you angry? Well, I get angry when you try to control me!” I spat out the venom.

“You will go with me to the cocktail party,” Chris ordered firmly as his eyes narrowed at me. He was showing me his tough side and ordering me in a way that even my dad had never done.

“No, I won’t! I will only do what my bodyguard job entails, so you better find someone else to escort your rich a*s to the party!” My clenched fist slammed against the table.

Chris Stark didn’t utter a word and finished the food before him. Not interested in arguing with him, I did the same. Plus, I was really hungry since Brie was making me hungry lately.

“Are you finished?” Chris asked in a calm voice.

Honestly, it annoyed me that he was talking to me like nothing had just happened between us. He was acting all calm and cool as if we hadn’t just argued.

“Yes,” I replied briefly.

Chris moved away from the table. “Let’s go. I have a busy evening with a lot of work to do.”

“But, you’ll be going back home before eight o’clock, right?” I asked as I slid my hands into my jacket pockets and walked out of the hotel with Chris.

Chris’s forehead furrowed. “I have a lot of work to do, Ms. Lexi, so I think I’ll be at the office until midnight. You will wait for me, right? I will pay you for overtime.”

Eventually, the vehicle arrived to take us back to his office and we got in.

“It’s not a matter of money, Mr. Chris, but my time. Just like everyone else, I also want to go home and relax,” I lied. Obviously, I didn’t tire easily like humans, but I had to find a way to keep my distance from Chris.

“You can take a nap and relax at the office also. I can arrange my lounge room for you,” he said, adjusting himself onto the seat. I didn’t help him sit back on the vehicle seat because I knew if our skins touched again like the last time, I would be doomed. Not to mention that Brie would come out to claim her mate which I never wanted to happen.

“How can I sleep in your bed?” My eyes enlarged and my lips pressed tightly as I looked at Chris. He just observed me before bursting into laughter.

Argh! Once again my mouth f*cked up! It’s the second time today! What is wrong with me?

“Don’t worry, I am not inviting you into my bedroom, Ms. Lexi.” Chris smirked and winked at me.

Phew! Thank God he didn’t take my words seriously. A sense of relief washed over me and I exhaled sharply.

“By the way, where do you live, Ms. Lexi?” Chris raised a question that required me to lie again.

“I live in the company quarters,” I said.

Chris’s eyebrow arched at me. “The company? But, it’s owned by your dad, right? So, why don’t you go home? Where is your home located?”

Oh no, why is he asking me so many questions? Why didn’t he bring his laptop? I could have traveled peacefully.

“No, my parents live out of town and whenever I get a job related to the security firm, I stay at the apartment,” I answered calmly.

He nodded and rubbed the bridge of his sharp, pointy nose before his jaw clenched for a few minutes. Eventually, we reach the office at 1.30 p.m. After being stuck with him in the car, I got bored and fed up with his presence.

“I’ll be right back. I need to go to the restroom,” I informed him as soon as we stepped foot into the lobby.

Chris shook his head. “You can use my cabin restroom.”

Shall I bathe in your cabin too, Mr. Moron Chris?

Every time I tried to walk out of his cabin, he always came up with a reason why I didn’t have to leave his cabin. Even when I wanted to just take a short break from him, he invited me to use his personal restroom and resting lounge for the night. It was driving me insane and torturing me mentally.

“Mr. Chris, please. I’m not trying to run away and leave you here alone. I know I have signed a contract with you, but that doesn’t mean that I have to do everything within your perimeter. I am your bodyguard, not the other way around!” I exclaimed with full force.

Christ looked at me with his widened eyes. He hadn’t expected me to unleash myself at him with such fury, that too in a public place.

“Calm down, Ms. Lexi. I only offered so that you don’t have to use the public restroom that is used by almost a hundred people,” Chris replied as he pushed his wheelchair into the elevator.

My feet refused to step into the elevator with him. “If it’s not an issue for me then you don’t have to unnecessarily concern yourself and create an issue!”

Chris turned around and the elevator doors closed, separating us as we both glared at each other.

“Yeah! You better disappear a*shat!” I mumbled and gritted my teeth.

A few employees looked at me in disbelief, but I just rolled my eyes at them and they went back to their work. Shaking my head, I rushed to the lobby restroom and my mobile phone rang while I was in the stall. It was Dad!

“Yeah, Dad?” I answered the call.

“Lexi, if you are free, I need to talk to you.” His voice was firm and I knew instantly that something was wrong.

“I’m free to talk, Dad. Go ahead,” I said as zipped up my leather pants.

Dad sighed softly over the phone. “Lexi, first of all, I know that you hid something very important that happened. Mr. Stark told me that you saved Chris Stark from getting attacked by an unknown party. Can you tell me why didn’t you tell me about that?”

So, despite my efforts to hide what happened, Mr. Stark called him to describe the entire scenario that happened.

“Dad, I…Ummm…I thought of telling you later. I am sorry, Dad.” My apologetic tone was laced with remorse.

“I asked you so many times if something happened and yet, you told me nothing happened. I need to know why you lied to me, Lexi?” Dad’s Alpha voice made me shiver slightly.

How can I tell him that Chris is my mate and that I lied because I wanted to run away from this bond?

“Dad, I am sorry. I won’t lie to you again,” I said.

“You never lied to me before, Lexi. I can sense that there is something serious behind this lie and that you will tell me soon.” Dad sounded so heartbroken, probably feeling that I had betrayed him.

When I remained silent, stewing in my guilt, Dad continued, “Oh, Lexi, there’s another thing. Did you fight with Chris about going to a cocktail party?”

Now, how the hell did he find out about that? Chris must have contacted Dad. I will kill you for this, Chris! I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists.

“Who told you, Dad? Was it Chris?” I raised my voice as I exited the restroom stall.

“It doesn’t matter who told me, Lexi. Tell me, did you have an argument with him? Don’t you dare lie to me!” Dad warned.

“Yes, I raised my voice at him. But, don’t you want to know why? He does everything according to his will and doesn’t even take a second to ask about my opinion. He is so bossy and such a tyrannical man. I am here to be his bodyguard, Dad, not to escort his crippled a*s to a cocktail party. Plus, you know very well that I don’t like to go to parties or dress up like other girls. I am comfortable in what I like to wear!” I described my point of view and released my anger.

“Listen, Lexi, I know that you are angry and I can understand your situation. Lexi, you know how much money is being pumped into us because of this contract. I am afraid that your stubbornness will bring an end to this contract, and eventually, I would have to pay them the penalty,” Dad started to explain the depth of the situation.

A sharp exhale escaped my mouth. “Dad, I know—”

“No, I am not done yet, Lexi. Please let me finish. If you behave arrogantly and stubbornly like this, we will have to end this. You told me that you want to serve the pack and this is also a way to serve the pack, Lexi. I know that my daughter can face anything because she is so brave, so changing your attire for a day is not a big thing for you, Lexi.” His smooth voice brought tears to my eyes. I looked up immediately to stop them from flowing out of my eyes and down my cheeks.

When I didn’t respond, Dad asked, “Lex, are you there, my sweetheart?”

His soft voice and comforting words made me want to run into his arms and hug him tightly. Only I knew how badly I was struggling with all the mate issues and the burden was overwhelming.

“Yes, Dad. I understand and I won’t disappoint you.” I pressed my lips tightly and looked at myself in the mirror.

“We will talk more about this when you come back to the packhouse, Lexi. I know my daughter can handle anything. I love you,” he said.

“I love you, Dad, and I won’t lie to you again,” I promised with a determined voice.

“See you later, Lexi!” Dad said before ending the call.

After washing my face, I looked in the mirror and let out a long sigh.

Come on, Lexi. You can do anything for the pack. You can do this! But, I still feel disappointed about lying to Dad. Never mind, I will make it up to him.

With a deep breath, I headed back to Chris’s office cabin to find him skimming through the pages of a file.

“Ah, you are back,” he said as if nothing had happened.

Ignore him, Lex!

“I will go with you to the cocktail party!”