Indulging the Billionaire ✔️

2. Consquential choices

/Zander's POV/

He stopped in front of the shelf; his eyebrows quirked at the number of suits arranged neatly, colour coded in front of him. Zander had no meetings today, and his assistant had informed him that he was taking leave the following day. Instead of sitting in the office, he thought it would be ideal for checking up on the orchard. It was the apple picking season, after all.

He pressed the button at the side, which effective shut the suit side of the section and shuffled the wardrobe. It had to be his most snobbish thing in the mansion he called house. His friends are always teasing him about it, but he doesn't care. Luxury was something he could easily afford, so why not take the advantage.

After eyeing the wardrobe for a while, he pulled the white tee along with dark navy blue suspenders. He had his shoes set out on the other side of his closet. It felt like something was missing, but he scraped that thought and decided to just go with it.

If there was one thing, Zander Rizzo prided himself was in his choice. They were often said to be expensive, but that's how he carried himself. After making sure that he looked presentable, Zander stepped out of his bed.

His head was still throbbing from all that Scotch he drank last night. It was not a party, but he was incredibly stressed regarding the sale of the orchard. Everything was finalised, but he could not let it go because that was his gift. The land was given to him by his grandfather, and when he shook on it, he realised the importance. In the beginning, it was just a small patch of land, but with his skills and hard work, he managed to acquire and bought four times the amount of land he got. Minnesota was his home, and the property was his livelihood. The one thing that made him who he is. Rich and successful.

Zander knew about the granite. He was not that stupid. When Nathan did not back away from the offer and was super insistent on buying the same land, it was suspicious. Along with his friends, he managed to do some digging and found out the real value of the property. It was a lot of money, so no wonder that he was being pursued. There was a rumour that Nathan hired someone from the firm, and Zander had to meet the person. The information was from inside, so he did not doubt that someone is going to knock on his door soon.

Elijah, his assistant, sadly had to take care of his tooth appointment, so he took a leave. He would be the first one to know if someone was trying to meet Zander. They have to make an appointment through him. Sometimes people do barge directly in his house under the pretence of being new but talk about business. He got used to those tactics years ago.

Rubbing his forehead, he walked down the stairs and noticed the door was open.

"Mel?" He called out, staring in the direction of the kitchen. The servant cleaning the floor raised his head and greeted him. Zander gave him a nod.

He huffed, "Mel!"

A lady in her fifties rushed out of the kitchen, holding his favourite mug. He took the cup from her hands and rolled his eyes back from the strong smell of green tea mixed with herbs. Zander felt like weeping at the moment because he needed something for his headache.

"You called?"

"Why is the front door open?"

Mel looked over her shoulder and then back at him, "It must be your sister. She's waiting for you in the dining room."

Frowning, he stared at the huge clock. His eyes widened as he noticed the time. What was she doing back so early?

"It's too early. What is she doing back?"

Mel snorted, "Probably want more money."

That's the thing he admired about Mel. She was honest. He did not like people who pretend or lie to his face. Sometimes he thinks that's the only reason he has come to accept Mel as his family because she was honest and also has been his nanny since he was a kid.

He groaned, taking a sip of his tea. "Mel be nice to her."

"I plan to after she stops taking money from you and throwing parties every day."

"She's young" He lamely defended walking toward the dining room. His sister, Ziya, was in college and from what he can tell having the time of her life. She's always visiting him for money because his mother cut her off. There was a valid reason for that, and he should do too, but he wants her to live her life.

"Whatever it's useless arguing with you" Mel muttered and was off to continue with her duties.

Stepping inside the dining room, he noticed that his sister was sat on her chair. For once, she did not look like she drank her weight and was hugging her knees. Her fingers were busy drawing patterns on the table, her head bent in another direction. At that moment, he was reminded that she was young and innocent. Maybe Mel was right. He should convince her to quit drinking and focus on the studies.

He cleared his throat, "Good morning Ziya."

She jumped on her seat, startled at his voice echoing around the dining room.

"Hi..."

"You're up early" He bemused.

"I need to talk to you about something."

He pulled the chair in front of her, "I'm all ears."

"I want some money."

He sighed. Of course, he should have known. Zander always made sure that he credited some bills in her card every month, but she still asked him anyways. Maybe it's time he taught her to handle the finances.

"For what?"

"There's this..." She rolled her bottom lip in between her teeth.

"Yeah?"

"To throw a freshers party."

"Absolutely not."

"What?!" She exclaimed, staring at him wide-eyed.

"You heard me. Clean up your act Ziya. No more parties and focus on your studies. You'll graduate in six months, and what did you learn? Throwing parties?"

"But-"

"No"

"I hate you" She spat and rushed out of the dining room before he could respond. He wishes he could say it was typical Monday for him, but it wasn't.

***

Zander agreed to go along with his best friend Neil for bringing the fertilisers back to the orchard. It had been a while since they both drove around. Unexpectedly the truck was old, and the steering wheel got jammed in the middle of the road. He blamed it on his friend, the minimalist always trying to make it work.

"I'll fix it. Just go and ring Lenon. He must be worried" Zander pushed him and was already retrieving the oil from the glove compartment.

"Be right back!" Neil rushed out of the truck and towards the back of the field. Fortunately for them, they were near Esther's area so no one would bother them. Besides, it was evening so everyone would have already retired to their homes and having dinner with their families.

As he was oiling the edges of the wheel, he was interrupted by someone. Apparently, there was a car behind his truck, and they were on the way to town. He asked the driver to wait for a few minutes, and thankfully, the driver agreed and returned to his car.

A few minutes later, he jumped at the sudden knock on his window. It was followed by a harsh yet angelic sound.

"Excuse me?"

Rolling the window down he set the oil back, not looking at the person and gruffed, "Hello?"

When he turned back to stare at the person, he felt like his breath was knocked out of his chest. She had to be the gorgeous person he had ever seen and trust him; he met many of them. With her thick eyelashes, hazel brown eyes, button nose and plump pink lips, she was a vision. His eyes drifted towards her dark jumpsuit, and he arched his eyebrows. She was travelling from somewhere because no one usually dressed that classy. Not in fields.

She blinked her eyes suddenly, and her lips pressed together. Her nose wrinkled as she waved at the truck. His eyes trained on the expanse of her neck peeking out. Zander never felt blood rush to his ears that quickly and a throb in his groin. When she parted her lips, he felt feral with desire. It was almost crazy how much hold she had over him, and they just met.

"Can you move this- whatever abomination it is out of my way?"

He was offended by that. No one ever comments on his truck and gets away. It was his ride during the summer.

"Excuse me?"

She made a noise, "You heard me the first time. Move this thrash out of the way. I have places to be"

At that, he finally stepped out of the truck, jumping in front of her to which she stepped back. Her arms crossed against her chest, which was enough to push her breast further. He coughed to avoid looking at them.

"Don't you think I have to go back as well?"

She rolled her eyes, "Did I ask? Just move this crap out of my way."

He glared at her. Now she was pushing his buttons. Who did she think she was anyway?

"Do I look like a superman? I was trying to move it before you rudely interrupted"

She threw her head back, dramatically staring at the sky and then gave him a forced smile. Even in anger, she looked pretty.

"Look, darling," She started, her voice high, "I am three hours late and already pissed so if you don't move this there'll be consequences. Do you understand?"

***