Damsel in Distress The Bet

chapter 5

Lenexa POV

They were both quiet when I walked into the room, so I passed by my assistant and the man without saying anything. When I got to my office, I called my PA and said simply, “Let him in.”

The door was opened, and he came in. I continued typing without lifting my head from the keyboard and said, “Take your seat.”

“It's good to see you again, Mr.….” I turned to face him, so he could tell me his name.

“I'm Carter Humphrey,” he said nervously.

I said, “Nice to meet you, Mr. Humphrey. My name is Lenexa Alexander, and I believe we have a business to discuss. Can we begin?” while addressing him squarely.

“My daughter is the only thing I have, and it hurts to watch her in so much misery, so I'm pleading with you to let me pay in a year, Miss Alexander.” He said, gazing down at his feet. “Please, ma'am, I will pay you in a year because of my error”

“It's not a thousand dollars we're talking about here; you said that yourself. I gave you time to reconsider what you said, but you held firm. You've got to be kidding, Mr. Humphrey, what are you going to give me?” I replied, furrowing my brows. While maintaining a neutral expression, even though I was already irritated.

I stopped him mid-sentence when he said, “I can give you something else, like my house or my car…”

“Carter, you must sign this document stating that your daughter will live with me for a year, even if I sell your house it won't be up to half of that”. I stated this while handing him the brown file.

“What?” he sputtered after looking through the file. “I'm afraid I can't”.

“Mr. Humphrey, think of this as a lucky break; by having your daughter stay with me for a year, you'll save a lot of money, I will make you pay painfully if you don't sign this document”.

Although he took his time signing the documents and giving them to me, he eventually did.

“I will be over in six hours, and don't you dare escape or leave the country or town. I have my men watching you,” I warned him. He got up and walked away silently.

There was a knock at my door, and I invited the person inside because it was Arden who had information about the girl. Arden gave me the file, which I then looked through.

Katie, a 22-year-old, recently graduated from college but was unable to secure employment. A writer, she is. Carter, her father, has been gambling for four years now, I thought as I read it. I'm done with this.

“I appreciate you, Arden. Call Maria to get the guest room ready”.

Arden exited my office with the words, “Ok, boss.” Today wasn't particularly busy. All I did was go over a few documents, sign them, and give them to my PA while keeping the ones I needed to keep before leaving the office.

When I first arrived at their cottage, I questioned how they managed to make a living in such a location after he lost his job as a result of his extensive gambling. Without my knock, he opened the door, and when I was about to urge him to go collect his daughter, she emerged with her luggage.

“Hmm, I see you are done packing and ready for me. It's good working with you, Mr. Humphrey, let's go.” A woman emerged from a different door and said, “Baby, are you done packing? We have to leave. They will be here at any moment”.

They, therefore, intend to depart. I was so enraged, but I still gave them a blank expression when I said, “Mr. Humphrey, I told you, you can't run away,” even though he was already trembling like a leaf and his daughter was sobbing.

“I would never let them leave, I didn't know they both had plans to go”.

I had to sit and cross my legs as the daughter begged her mother to intervene before the lady said, “Can we all just sit down and talk about this? You wouldn't want me to involve the cops, would you?” I had to think, “Is this woman threatening me with the cops? She doesn't know who I am.”

She remained silent as Katie continued to sob and beg her mother for assistance. “I own the cops; I'm sure you don't know who I am, and your husband signed the deal already, it was his wish he wasn't forced into doing anything,” I said.

“Mom, tell her I'm not going anywhere with her,” but she said nothing. Her father tried to converse with her while he was hugging her.

He tried to give her a bear hug and said, “Baby, it's just for a year, and I promise you, you'll be back home.” She shoved him away.

She exclaimed, sobbing bitterly, “Don't you dare touch me, you are not my father; a father wouldn't use his child to gamble.” “Mom, don't just stand there mute, do something.”

There was nothing the mother could do at this point, in my opinion, and she didn't want her daughter to think of her as a failure.

I had to leave since I got sick of the small talk. I only muttered “Let's go” before getting up and walking out, certain that my bodyguard knew what to do. Furthermore, I got into my car and sat down as I watched Arden put her on his shoulder to get into the car. As her parents silently observed, she continued to thrash around and hit Arden.

The mother eventually mouthed, “I love you,” while the father bent his head in shame without turning to gaze at his daughter. She was placed in the seat next to mine in the car, and when the door was secured, she started banging on the window and the seat. I sat silently and watched her, knowing full well that eventually she would tire and stop.