Ex?
1686 Words
Dashiell
“Mr Vanderbilt” Candace opened the door slightly, poking her head inside.
My eyelashes swept up, darting my eyes in her direction. “Hi Candace”
Tucking the strands of hair that fell on her face behind her ear, she folded her hands behind her back. “He is here.”
I raised a brow in confusion. “Who is here? My best friend?” The mere thought of him being here at the moment caused a bright smile to crease my face.
She shook her head. “No sir….. your brother, Theo”
All of a sudden, the smile on my face soon disappeared, shooting her a glare. “ I thought I commanded that no one should know that I am back in the country? How does Theo…..”
Before I could complete my words, the door sprang open, and Theo burst in. “Brother!” He smirked.
Anger surged through my veins, leaning in the swivel chair, waving my hands at Candace dismissively.
“What are you doing here?”I jerked forward.
Theo shrugged as his shoulders slumped. “Coming to see my brother! How could you not tell me that you were back in the country?” He ran his eyes around the office.
Folding his hands behind him, he strolled towards me. His presence depicted impunity and each step he took toward me was calculated while I clenched my fist, ready to bury my fist in the jerk’s face if he attempted to act funny.
With that condescending aura that swirled around him, he stood before me with that damned sly smile.
How I despised him.
With his shadow lingering over me, he grinned. “Baby brother…. Dashiell”
I scoffed, matching his stare. “Cut the bullshit, what are you here for”
“I should be asking you that, Dashiell. You are here because you want to please grandfather right by getting in the good books of Mr Everest”
He continued. “That land is mine so if that is the reason why you are here, then you should return to the States. Looking over the business from there has been easy for you”
I clambered up, sauntering in his direction. “You seem threatened by me,”
Theo smirked, staring at me condescendingly. “What gives you the impression that I feel threatened by you? I have done everything to impress Mr. Everest, and as soon as I get that deal, Grandfather becomes impressed! I become the owner of the land, becoming the next potential billionaire….”
I smiled back at him in a way that kind of made him feel uneasy. “Good luck!”
He tilted his head to the left. “You had better not have anything up your sleeves. I am the older brother so I would rule over you”
I shrugged. “Whatever you deem fit”
He tilted his head to the left, staring at me like he was confused. “Okay, I would take your word for it!”
“Bye,” He burst out in a peal of laughter that depicted triumph as he strolled towards the door before turning to look at me with a smirk.
As soon as the door slammed shut, I couldn’t help but click my tongue in my mouth, not because of his threats but because he had no idea about what was going to hit him soon.
“Fool!”
He might have been able to please Mr Everest but with the card that I was about to pull, he would surely lose to me! — Like Always.
Fiona Everest was the key to getting what I wanted.
“Fiona Everest” I mouthed.
Fiona was the granddaughter of Mr Everest, one of the prominent Billionaires in the country but his favorite granddaughter went missing three years ago after she went hiking.
But, the amazing news was that I found her already. Even though she wasn’t Fiona, she shared a striking resemblance with her.
Standing outside the restaurant that night, while watching Ines through the glass windows, the only name that came to mind was Fiona.
But after digging into her background, I found out that she wasn’t Fiona but a mere look alike but it doesn’t matter.
She doesn’t have to be the real Fiona Everest, I would make her Fiona.
But where was she? Because since that night at the bar, she hasn’t contacted me yet.
“Wait, does she plan on rejecting my offer despite knowing that her sister’s life is at risk” I muttered to myself, glancing at the clock.
Biting the corner of my lower lips in anger as my fingers balled into fists, I couldn’t help but wonder if she had no plans of accepting my offer!
Now that I thought about it, it was absurd for me to just ask her to marry me but I needed her as much as she needed me.
As I walked back to my seat, the door swung open.
“Ines” I muttered underneath my breath, turning in the direction of the door only to spot Candace.
She scratched her head. “Hmmm, sir. A woman named Ines is here”
I couldn’t believe my ears as a smile stretched on my lips. “Send her in!”
Within microseconds, my heart slammed against my ribcage as soon as Ines walked in with her head lowered.
I clambered up, muttering. “Fiona”
As soon as her eyes met mine, waves of electricity jolted down my spine because obviously, I was smitten with the fact that my plans were going to work and hot because of her.
Clearing my throat. “I thought that you were not going to come?”
She raised her head, glaring at me menacingly in a way that took me aback. “I am here because of the offer. I am also at a crossroads at the moment and right now, this is the only way that I can save myself”
I sat back on the chair, gesturing for her to sit.
“I am comfortable standing up but before I accept your offer, why do you want to marry me”
I stared intently at her, before tossing a picture at her.
Glancing back and forth between my face and the picture. “How does this answer my question”
“It answers a whole lot” I responded.
Slowly, she bent slightly, reaching her hands for the picture.
As soon as her eyes landed on the picture, her brows tugged together in confusion as she glanced at me. “What does this mean? Don’t tell me that you doctored my face”
I scoffed. “I am not that jobless to do that”
“Anyways that is Fiona Everest, the first granddaughter of William Everest. No one knows much about her except for those close to her family and she doesn’t have any media appearances…..”
Before I could complete my statement, Ines burst into a peal of hysterical laughter. “Is this a sort of joke?”
“This is my freaking face!….. you did this to prove a point”
I shook my head. “It is hard to believe but with time, you would believe me. For the main time and until this becomes a win-win case, we both have to get married, and you become Fiona! I win, you win, we go our separate ways!”
She laughed again. “I can’t believe that I came for this scam! Mr Dash….., your cheap games wouldn’t work. This is just a waste of time”
She was about to leave when I stretched my phone to her. “Because I said she has no social media presence doesn’t mean that she has none”
“Search for her name on Imedia I have been friends with her for years”
Glaring at me indecisively, she finally reached her hands for my phone and when she scrolled through the pictures of Fiona on my phone, her eyes kept widening with every passing second.
She almost yelled, pulling her hair frustratedly. “This is not real!”
“It is real. Without beating around the bush, you have to sign a contract of confidentiality between you and me. Everything would last until I get what I want and you inherit Fiona’s properties”
Ines turned to look at me with her jaw dropped. “What!”
“She is worth a billion dollars, she has a lot of investments, name it all. You would get all of this if…..”
Ines interrupted. “Wait, in all of this where is Fiona”
“Her grandfather thinks she is still missing but those close to him know that she is dead. I would tell you things about Fiona, that should get you started”
I shook my head vehemently. “I am sorry but I can’t do it, what if she comes back?”
Now she was testing my patience as I banged my fist on the table in a way that caused her to flinch. “I told you that she is dead! How can the dead come back to life?”
After minutes of thinking things over, Ines finally accepted my offer.
“I would do it”
“Good?”
“I have gone through your family background and your school history, you have no issues of any sort so that wouldn’t cause a problem in the future nor would it serve as a hindrance to my goals,” I said while she nodded.
“I hope that you have no dirty past with any ex”
She soon went mute and it looked more like her mind wandered off. Somehow, I might have run a background check on her but I left her relationship life out of it.
“Ines” I called, jolting her out of her thoughts.
With a tentative smile, she responded. “Ex? What do you mean by an ex when I have never dated anyone.”
- Writer
