Mr Grumpy's Assistant

Chapter Eight:Recollecting the past.

'Finally" Estella muttered as she arrived at the Jenner Mansion. She got out of her car and entered into her house. As soon as she was inside, her mother rushed to greet her.

"Sweetie!" Her mother exclaimed

"Hey mom" Estella mumbled and made a beeline for the stairs.

"Hey wait, not so fast" Her mother said grabbing her.

"How was your first day? How's your boss like?" She asked

Estella did not want to discuss about her day to her mom but she knew that her mother would find out eventually. "My day was hectic mom. My boss just so happens to be the same arrogant man I crashed into". She sighed "He hates me and wants to use this job as a way of getting back at me". Estella said her shoulders slumping forward.

Mrs Jenner's face fell "What did he ask you to do?" She asked between clenched teeth. Estella sighed. This was why she didn't want to tell her mother. She would get angry at herself for getting her a job there. She was probably going to blame herself and Estella did not want that.

Estella shrugged and said "Nothing that I couldn't handle". Estella didn't want her mother to worry. She wanted to make her mother think she was unaffected by Xander.

"Oh sweetie, I'm so sorry. I'm going to have a word with your boss. How can you treat you like that?”

"Mom, honestly, it's not that serious. You wanted me to learn and become responsible and what better way to do so than with such a boss".

"Alright Estella" Mrs Jenner said. "Go freshen up and come back downstairs to have dinner.

"Okay mom" Estella said with a nod as she went upstairs.

After she was gone, she said to herself with a frown. "This is not good. I didn't plan for this to happen. Xander and Estella no way. Senior Xander lied to me. I have to do something about this. If it was up to me, I would never allow them to meet again". She proceeded to her study to call Senior Xander. "Damn that contract" She muttered.

After Estella had dinner, she went straight into her room and jumped on her bed. Today was a tiring day for her. She met the world's biggest jerk and she has to work for him.

"Ugh! I'm so unlucky". She was about to fall asleep when her phone rang. She picked up her phone and saw an unknown number calling her. She just got this number a few days ago and only a few people had it so who could it be? She answered the call "Hello, who is this?" She asked.

"It's your boss. Be at the office by Seven thirty" He plainly said. With that, Xander hanged up.

Estella raised her body and sat upright on the bed "The fuck... Is he joking?!" She exclaimed".

"What kind of nonsense is this? He's my boss doesn't mean he can order me like that. Ugh! I feel like killing him" Estella said with flaring nostrils.

"Is he always like this to everyone?" She asked herself. "I need to find out about him".

****

After Xander spoke to Estella, a maid came inside his room to inform him that someone was waiting for him downstairs. He went downstairs to see the person. It was a man and the man was Spencer Amos, Xander's right hand man and Chief of Security .

He dismissed all the servants in his house "That's enough for today. You can go"

"Have you gotten the information?" Xander asked Spencer when they were alone.

"Yes sir, I have found out about her sir" Spencer said handing Xander an envelope.

Xander picked up his phone and dialed a number. After ringing a few times, someone answered "Get over here. You have ten minutes" Xander commanded and hanged up the phone.

Exactly ten minutes after, the door bell rang. Xander opened the door and Andrew entered his house.

"Listen here Xander, because we are neighbors doesn't mean you can call me whenever you like. It's late and I have a meeting tomorrow and if I'm not mistaken, so do you. So then why did you call me so late at night" Andrew asked annoyed that Xander had woken him up from his sleep.

"You can go now Spencer and I'll be expecting a report on how far your search for Fionna is going". Xander said ignoring Andrew.

After Spencer left, Xander turned and walked toward his office. Andrew followed Xander sensing that something was wrong. He could only assume that it had something to do with Fionna.

After entering the room, Xander sat on his chair while Andrew sat opposite him. He noticed the envelope in Xander's hand "What's in the envelope? Does it have anything to do with Fionna?". He asked gently, His voice filled with concern. He knew how the matter brought back bad memories for both of them mostly Xander.

"No Andrew. It's about Estella" Xander answered.

"Estella? What about her?" Andrew asked.

"This envelope contains information about her and I knew you'd be interested". Xander answered plainly.

"Wow!" Andrew exclaimed. "My brother knows me so well. You may pretend to be heartless, but I know you love me so much and cannot do anything without me. You need me by your side for everything. So why do you pretend to hate me?"

"Shut up!" Xander ordered. "Do you ever stop talking? It's nothing as such I do not love you. So don't overrate your importance in my life".

"Yeah right" Andrew scoffed "Oh please, I know you love me".

"No I don't" replied Xander

"Yes you do"

"No I don't"

"Yes you... "

"Enough!" Xander snapped. He started to open the brown envelope which contained all the information about Estella. He read about Estella's background.

"She was born on the thirteenth of October 1998 which makes her twenty two years old. It states that she's the only child of well known cosmetics couple "Daniel Jenner and Sofia Jenner". "Her father died five years ago due to an heart attack"

"Oh yeah, Remember it was in the news?" Andrew asked.

Xander remembered it. Daniel had died five years ago. His grandfather attended the burial ceremony.

"But what's shocking is that there wasn't any mention of Estella. Even when her father died, She wasn't at the burial. Andrew said.

"What do you mean?" Asked Xander confused.

"People always knew that The Jenners had a daughter but they hid her from the Public due to unknown reasons". Andrew said and continued "There were different rumors going around. Some said that the girl had a fatal accident and her face was disfigured, others speculated that the girl was handicapped and that the Jenners were ashamed of her which is why they kept her hidden. No one knows how she looks like. She has lived her whole life in secret. Strange doesn't it?".

"It does seem strange. Why would they choose to hide their daughter?".

Xander continued reading the information in his hand.

"Looks like I'm going to give Spencer a raise. He managed to find out something about her. Looks like The Jenners forgot to hide this detail".

"What is it?" Andrew asked eagerly.

"It's says here that she attended a boarding school during her high school years under the name Ella".

"Before then, she had been homeschooled. It says here that after High school, she left Asteria which happened to be right after her father's death.

"But why did she leave Asteria?" Xander asked.

"Maybe because of her father's death" Andrew replied.

"Hmm, Maybe". Xander rested his back against the chair while reading the information in his hands.

He could sense that there was something wrong somewhere. 'But where' he asked himself. Why would The Jenners hide their daughter?. Even if she had an accident and was scarred, The Jenners are one the most respectable and wealthy families in Asteria. They would be able to afford treatment for their daughter. Why hide her.

"From the looks of, it seems the rumors were wrong. She isn't handicapped and She looks fine. Xander said

"Maybe they had work done on her face which is why they could send her to high school. Only the Jenners' can tell us the truth" Andrew said.

Xander said nothing more. He looked at the information in his hand again before folding it and putting back in the envelope. He started talking again "I'm curious about The Jenners".

"Don't raise your hopes up. The Jenners are very influential people just like us. If they don't want something to get out, then it's not getting out. You of all people should understand that". Andrew said.

Xander said nothing but he would make sure he finds out about The Jenners.

Seeing Xander's expression, Andrew decided to change the subject. "How far has Spencer gotten in search for Fionna".

After Andrew asked this, Xander's face became colder than before. "Still nothing Andrew. It's like she doesn't want to be found and I can't really blame her. My father ruined her life. I wish I could see her again just to tell her how sorry I am that I couldn't anything.

Andrew gritted his teeth. He hated when Xander blamed himself for his father's crimes. He was too young to realize what his father was doing "How many times have I told you to stop this? . Are you crazy? It's not your fault. The next time you say this, I'll smack you in the head".

"So what are you going to do about Estella?"

Xander raised his head and smiled at Andrew, a smile Andrew recognized as pure evil. "I'll be sure to make her stay beautiful".

****

"Alright, I'll check them right now. Thank you". Estella hanged up the phone and proceeded to check her laptop. She had called her mother's right hand man to find out about Xander. She was pleased to get the results a few hours after she had requested for it.

'Wow, they're good' she said to herself.

She started going through Xander's profile. Xander's father was said to be dead. He was supposed to take over the business from Xander Gallgher senior his father and Xander's grandfather when he suddenly died. Xander was raised alongside Andrew by his grandfather and his mother Samantha Gallgher.

He was the best in his class and he graduated with honors. 'Hmm looks like he's smart' she muttered.

Estella continued reading "He is a successful CEO and the most feared in Asteria because he doesn't hesitate to destroy anyone who crosses his path. People call him The handsome Devil..

"Handsome Devil" Estella scoffed. ' He's a devil alright but handsome yeah right'. She remembered the incident in the office and how close he was to her. "He is rather handsome" She unconsciously said.

"No!" She snapped and hit herself for having such a thought "He's the biggest jerk on earth and you'll have to put up with him for a year. He is also arrogant and has no respect for women". She stressed to remind herself not to make the mistake she made over five years ago.

She continued reading "He has no love life and has not been spotted with any woman. He has rejected countless women and refuses to be romantically involved with them. He has no friends except for his brother Andrew... "

"Wow that's shocking" she mumbled to herself.

Estella yawned and it made her realize how tired she was. She looked at the time and cursed "s**t, it's already midnight and I have to wake up early". She closed her laptop, placed it aside and went to bed. Sleep came to her immediately as she had expected.

****

"Mummy, please don't leave me" A girl was crying on top of her lungs. "I promise I won't play with him again but don't leave me alone mummy. The bad uncle will beat me up"

"Why does that girl look so familiar?". Estella wondered, "Could it be... "

Estella's eyes fluttered open and she realized she was dreaming. She sat up in her bed and rubbed her eyes. The usual scene of her room became visible as her eyes adjusted.

"What kind of a dream was that?" She asked herself. Her head was pounding. She touched her temples and closed her eyes. She felt like her head was about to explode.

What was happening to her? She had never felt like this before. She immediately had a vision of a little girl running from someone and crying for someone to help her. "But who is she and why am I seeing this?" The pain subsided a little and Estella looked at the clock. "s**t! it's already six thirty. I'm going to be late for work" She dragged herself out of bed and had a quick shower. After she was done, she picked out what to wear. She settled for a blue blouse and a black shirt and heels to match the whole look. She tied her hair into her signature ponytail.

She wasn't still feeling well as she went downstairs to have breakfast. "Where's mom" she asked one of the helpers. "She went out early for some important work ma'am" answered the helper.

"Alright, Please inform Tony to get the car ready and tell him he's driving me to the office".

"Alright ma'am".

Estella tried to eat breakfast but had no appetite as she was still feeling weak. She checked the time and saw it was six fifty five. s**t it would take her at least twenty minutes to reach the office. "I really have to get a place close to the office" She muttered as she ran out of the house.

****

"Senior Xander, this was not in our agreement. You never told me that Estella would be Xander's personal assistant. Xander has no right to treat her like his slave" Mrs Jenner complained.

She had called him yesterday and asked him to meet her at her spot this morning. She had to find out a way to make Estella stop working for Xander otherwise the secret she has been trying so hard to keep would get exposed. "This was a bad idea" she thought. How could she have let Senior Xander talk her into it.

"I have no say in the matter Sofia. We should let them handle it like adults. Xander may be arrogant, but I have raised him up well and unlike his father, he wouldn't cross his limits.

Sofia's heart skipped a beat on hearing Senior Xander mention his son. 'That monster' she thought.

"I don't want Estella to work for Xander anymore. She said plainly.

Senior Xander was not surprised. He had anticipated that Sofia would try to do this and he would not let her get in the way of Xander and Estella.

"You cannot make that decision Sofia. Remember the deal we made fifteen years ago. If you break it, I won't hesitate to destroy your relationship with Estella" Senior Xander threatened.

Mrs Sofia cringed on hearing Senior Xander threaten her "You wouldn't dare"

"Oh in fact, I would. You've made your fear cloud your judgment and in doing so, Estella could not have a normal life".

"Your son ruined Estella's life. That monster is the reason why my daughter had to live this way. So don't go around blaming me. I'm correcting your son's mistakes. If you had raised your son well, then he wouldn't have turned into the monster we knew". Sofia yelled. She was seething with rage. How dare he threaten her. No one dared to go against her.

Sofia's words stung Senior Xander. She was right. It was his mistake. He couldn't raise his son properly but he would ensure to rectify that mistake and he would not let anyone get in the way. "You're right. It's my mistake but it's time to make everything right.

"If you continue acting this way, then I'll reveal the truth to Xander and Estella"

"No matter how you stop try and stop Estella from finding out the truth, it will always come out in the end"

Senior Xander stood up to leave but before he did,he said "Estella would be hurt by the truth but it will shatter her more if she learns about you. Don't make any absurd decisions" And with with, he left Sofia

"Ahhh, she yelled in frustration. "Estella cannot find out about the truth and I'll make sure of it by any means necessary.

****

"Here we are Miss Estella” said Tony as they arrived at Estella's office. Estella was still feeling unwell. "That nightmare must be the cause of this but why?" She asked.

"Miss Estella, are you okay?" Tony asked interrupting Estella's thoughts.

"Yes, I'm okay". She replied. She looked out the window and realized they had reached her office. She looked at her phone and saw that it was seven forty five. Great, she was late which meant that she would have to listen to Mr Grumpy's complaints. First her nightmare and now this. Her luck must be running out.

"I'll call you when I'm done so you can pick me up" She told Tony as she got out of the car.

She entered into the building and proceeded to Xander's private elevator. As she did, she saw the same receptionist from the day before smirking at her "looks like Someone's late again" she snorted. Estella ignored her as she had better things to worry about like Xanders.

"Please let him not be in his office" She prayed. If he is in his office, he would be able go see her coming late not that it make any difference. He already knew she was late. But still!

The elevator doors opened and Estella rushed out. She saw Kenzie and asked her "Is Mr Gallgher in his office?”.

"He isn't in there but.... " Estella didn't wait for Kenzie to finish her sentence. She quickly rushed to her office.

As she entered into her office, She saw someone no rather a man sitting in the chair opposite hers. But who was that? As she got closer, it dawned on her that Xander was the one sitting on the chair.

"s**t" she cursed silently.

"Looks like the boss has finally arrived". Said Xander in a calm voice but Estella knew that this was the calm before the storm.