My CEO Bestie And Me

Chapter 7

Ben chuckled first over the phone, knowing he had been asking Lerisa out, yet she didn’t want to accept him.

She was the first woman who had ever rejected his advances, and he was determined to have her by force, whether she liked him or not. He believed that, with time, she would fall in love with him too.

He replied, "Does it matter how I got your number, Lerisa? The truth is that I want to hear your voice. I've been searching for your mobile number for a while and finally got it from somewhere else."

"Where?" Lerisa asked, frowning and not wanting to have anything to do with Ben.

She knew that Ben came from a wealthy family; he wasn't the firstborn, but he owned a hotel and was doing quite well at his age, despite being the same age as Anthony.

"Why are you calling me?" Lerisa asked.

"Chill, babe. Why do you sound so pissed off? Yesterday, I noticed you looked sad, and that made me really worried about you. I couldn't sleep well last night, which is why I'm calling now—to see how you're doing."

Lerisa apologized, "I'm so sorry about that. So why are you calling me now?" She repeated her question, feeling inclined to end the call, but she didn’t want to be rude.

Ben replied, "I just want to know how you're doing. Tell me, how are you?"

"I'm fine now. Thank you for calling me," Lerisa said.

"Don't mention it. I'm glad to hear your voice and to know that you're fine. Can we see each other later, hang out somewhere nice, and chill? It will help you feel better and calm your nerves."

"No," Lerisa quickly responded, telling him, "I'm sorry. I can't hang out with you today."

"Why?" Ben asked, trying not to sound annoyed by her rejection.

"Nothing, Ben. Honestly, I just don't want to hang out with you." Lerisa didn’t know how best to tell Ben that she wasn't interested in him.

She had told him countless times that she wasn't interested in being his girlfriend, yet Ben didn’t want to listen to her.

He said, "I can understand how you're feeling, Lerisa, but just give me a chance. Let me prove my love to you. Let's hang out first, even if it's just once."

Lerisa replied, "Okay, but probably not today."

"Why? But you don't work on Saturdays, do you?"

"No, but I have somewhere to be, and I need to go now. Goodbye, and take care of yourself." Lerisa quickly hung up the phone on Ben, sighed deeply, dropped her phone back on the bed, and went to search for a gown to wear while shopping.

She wasted time searching for a simple gown until she finally picked out a red dress. She laid it on the bed and then went into the bathroom to take a bath. After stepping out, she dried her body and applied lemon cream.

Lerisa had a fair complexion and was careful with her cream. She wore the wine gown and brown sandals, then combed her long blonde hair. After neatly packing it into a bun, she glanced at her reflection in the room mirror.

She wasn't the type of lady to apply makeup to her face; she admired her natural looks. The red gown had a V-shaped neckline.

She picked up her phone and car key, placed them in her red purse, and finally walked out of her room, all set to go shopping.

Lerisa wanted to purchase a new dress for Anthony Gregson's 30th birthday celebration. She wanted to look fresh, even though she knew Anthony wouldn’t acknowledge her, seeing her only as a sister.

Lerisa knew that Anthony came from a Christian family like hers and that his birthday celebration would be a simple affair at his family home, as his parents wouldn’t support him celebrating in a hotel.

They still treated Anthony like a child and would reprimand him, despite him being a grown man at 30 years old.

Lerisa shut her room door and stepped out into the corridor, ready to leave her family home for the mall.

She walked into the living room but didn’t see her mother there. She walked back into the corridor, went to her mother's room, and knocked on the door to inform her that she was leaving for the mall.

Lerisa stood knocking at her mother’s door, not hearing a response. She frowned, gently pushed the door open, carefully peeked in, and saw her mother sleeping peacefully on the bed.

Sighing, Lerisa quietly closed the door, stepped out, and met her father and Anthony's father standing outside in their compound.

"Good morning, Father. Good morning, sir," Lerisa greeted the two men.

Mr. Joshua smiled back at Lerisa before responding to her greeting. "Good morning, Lerisa. How are you today?" he asked.

"I'm fine, sir," Lerisa replied.

"That's good to hear. Thank you for taking over your father's position in the company. I can see your help and progress in assisting Anthony manage the company affairs very well," Mr. Joshua Gregson praised Lerisa.

He was wearing a brown shirt and black trousers with black slippers. He was a 62-year-old black man.

Lerisa replied, "Thank you, sir. It's my pleasure to work with Anthony too."

"That's good. I hope you're attending the birthday celebration tonight at our home."

"Yes, sir. Anthony already invited me," Lerisa said, meeting Mr. Joshua Gregson's intense gaze.

He smiled again and replied, "That's good to hear. Mr. Fred Jonah, I have to start heading home now. We will meet again on Monday to discuss the outcome of the meeting with the chiefs and landowners."

"That’s alright. I will be looking forward to the results," Mr. Fred replied as he escorted his friend toward the compound gate.

Lerisa turned to her father and said, "Dad, I'm leaving the house now to go shopping."

"Okay, Lerisa, but don’t stay out too long. Is your mother in the house?" Mr. Fred asked as Mr. Joshua exited their house gate and left the compound.

"Yes, Father," Lerisa replied.

"Okay, go quickly and be back on time." Mr. Fred walked back into the house, and Lerisa approached the gate, pulling it open since their gateman wasn’t around.

She thought about hiring another trusted gateman to manage the gate for them, considering her fair salary at LH Group.

After she drove her car out of the compound, Lerisa stepped out to lock the gate and then got back into her car, before driving off to exit the street and enter the main road.