CEO's Cat Lady [Complete]

Chapter 15

"Where have you been, my dear grandson?" An imposing old lady asked as soon as Trevor entered the arched doorway of their ancestral home in Rizal. This was where he was going to when he first met Amy on the road.

"I attended an important errand, grandmother." Trevor answered the old lady who was sitting on her rocking chair while a cat was dozing off in her lap. Her grandmother's frail appearance did not diminish the sharp look she had in her eyes, giving everyone the impression that she was still alert enough as the respected matriarch of the Schwarz clan.

The woman did not say anything for awhile as she gazed down at the cat in her lap. It was the cat that Amy found in the parking lot of their main hotel weeks ago. Trevor knew to stay put as his grandmother was still not finished addressing him.

"Does this errand have anything to do with the Ledesma girl?" The old woman leveled her astute eyes to Trevor's own impassive ones.

"Yes, grandmother."

A tight smile formed in the old lady's wizened face, while his grandson silently stood in front of him. She motioned Trevor to come closer, which the hotel heir did, and patted his hand briefly and affectionately.

"I'm glad to hear that, Trevor, darling," the old woman looked into Trevor's eyes. "You are doing our family company a very nice service. I hope this liaison with the Ledesmas will turn into a success. We're lucky that we are the first ones to discover her existence amid the confusing rumors about her family. We should take advantage of this."

Trevor did not reply nor react, and after a moment of silence, he gently put away his grandmother's hand, saying: "I'll be retiring to my office, grandmother. It has been a long day."

The Schwarz matriarch graciously nodded and smiled. She watched his grandson's tall frame walk away, his steps silent and contained. He truly took after her late husband, and that just filled her with pride. The future of Snowdrop Hotel looked bright with Trevor at the helm.

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Amy had just finished eating her dinner and she was currently observing Beerus sink his claws in her upholstered couch in the living room. She bought the bald cat a scratching post, but it seemed like he didn't take any interest in it, not when there was her furniture that he could always destroy. "God of Destruction," indeed. However, her mind was actually very far away from worrying about the poor couch, as she replayed her… bizarre conversation with Trevor Schwarz earlier.

"I needed his permission so that I could propose marriage to you."

Amy just blinked at Trevor when she heard his words.

"I-I'm sorry. Come again?" Her hand stopped rubbing the cat's belly as she stared at the hotel heir with a crease on her forehead.

"I told your brother that I want to marry you," he repeated.

Amy continued to stare at Trevor in confusion, until finally, she blurted out, "Yer shitting me, right?"

Trevor side-glanced her briefly before he turned his gaze in front of him, staring into nothing as he answered her. "I'm not."

Amy was trying to read the man's actions to try to discern if the man was just trying to bullshit her. This was her training as a Psychology graduate and as a Human Resource officer, and she came to the conclusion that it did seem that he was being truthful.

"Uhmm, why would you do that?" Amy couldn't hide her perplexed expression as she asked Trevor in utter confusion.

This time, Trevor swiveled to face her, his intense but always impassive eyes boring into hers. "I think I like you," he said.

"I… I don't know to say, Mr. Schwarz… but that's honestly hard to believe in. I mean, do you really expect me to believe you when we have just met, for like, three times? Come on…"

The hotel heir shrugged, as if her doubt didn't bother him as much. "That's okay. It doesn't matter. I'm ready to prove it to you, like what I told your brother."

Amy was honestly not sure was to think about what Trevor Schwarz told her. It was hard to believe that he allegedly "liked" her, because just the thought was ridiculous. She knew that she wasn't an especially attractive woman, so she already discarded that factor. Besides, for someone like Trevor Schwarz, it was just too unbelievable to think that there wouldn't be more attractive women to be after him, and if she were to be compared to them, she knew that she would immediately lose.

She couldn't also say that it was because they knew each other very well. After all, if she only met him three times: in the middle of the road, that day he went to the company and the meeting at Snowdrop, and today, at the animal shelter. If she really thought hard about it, Amy had a suspicion that Trevor's interest in her revolved around her being a Ledesma. It actually made sense, since during the meeting at the hotel, the said man expressed curiosity regarding the subject more than anything else.

Amy's musings were interrupted when her phone suddenly rang. She immediately looked down and saw Trevor's number. After a big sigh, she answered it.

"Hello, Mr. Schwarz. We've just met earlier… why the sudden call?"

"Call me Trevor."

"What?"

"Call me Trevor," the hotel heir repeated, an implicit command could be felt in his flat voice.

Amy sighed. "Alright, Trevor. Now, what?"

"What are you doing right now… Amy?" Amy didn't know if it was her, but it sounded like his voice suddenly became husky.

"Nothing much. Just laying around with my cat." Amy decided to answer him properly. "Why did you call again?"

"To get to know you. Have you already forgotten what we talked about earlier?"

Amy clucked her tongue in annoyance. This Trevor Schwarz really had some arrogant streak in him. "Of course not. Are you implying that I have short-term memory loss? Who am I, Dory from Finding Nemo?"

She heard some low rumble coming from the other line. It seemed like the guy was even laughing at her. "No. You're more like Grumpy Cat, with that attitude. And since you seem to not be doing much anyway, talk to me."

Amy raised her eyebrow, even if she knew Trevor wouldn't see it. "Wow. The way you're ordering me right now, you probably have so much free time."

"Oh, I do. I specifically allotted this time so that we could talk over the phone. So talk to me."

"But what if I'm busy? How sure are you that I have time to chat with you?" Amy asked him with a challenge in her voice.

"If you were truly busy, you would have put down this phone already. But you haven't yet, so surely, you are not busy," Trevor pointed out.

Damn, he had point. Still, she was kind of pissed with his over 9000 level of arrogance. "Nah. I don't wanna talk to you though."

"What if I tell you it's about the cat I just got? You see, I'm kind of clueless on how to make this old grumpy lady eat the food I set out for her."

The mere mention of the cat was enough to make Amy forget the annoyance she felt and she was easily sucked into a lengthy conversation with Trevor regarding caring about cats. Later on, she did not notice it that they weren't talking about cats anymore, nor the fact that they have been on the phone for three hours straight already. As strange as it was, somehow, Trevor Schwarz's cold, impassive voice did not bore her at all, and even with his demeanor, she found out that he was a good conversationalist, very witty and willing to challenge her to give her strongest opinions about various subjects. She would admit that she found his approach very different since she mostly had to tread carefully around others, especially with her family.

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Vance was early that Monday. After all, he couldn't f**k up this interview, especially in such a well-respected corporation. He still didn't know whoever passed his resume to the HR department of this company, but he sure as hell ain't complaining.

"Mr. Tercera?" A pretty young woman came out in the waiting area where there were other applicants lining up.

Vance eagerly raised his hand, complete with a charming smile in his face. However, the woman barely looked at him as she told him to follow her inside the interview room. The cold gesture did not dampen his spirits at all, not when there was this big prospect in front of him.

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Here she was, in the spacious powder room in the building that her brother owned. She was due to meet him for the briefing at 8 AM, but she was already here an hour before so that she would be ready. However, it seemed like her lack of enough sleep last night didn't prepare her enough. Her head was pounding really bad and there was bile lodged in her esophagus that she just needed to expel out… and out she did.

Good thing it was still early because she wouldn't attract attention with all the vomiting she was doing. When she finished, she saw that it was nothing but saliva. She stopped eating pineapples at night before she went to sleep so that this thing wouldn't happen again. She was totally blaming Trevor for keeping her up until 2 AM last night, thus, making her lose sleep.

She almost jumped out from where she was standing at when one cubicle opened, revealing an older woman, most likely an employee of her brother. Apparently, there was someone inside the powder room aside from herself. The older woman seemed sweet and even smiled at her, which Amy responded to as nice as she could.

"Good morning. Wow, that sounded nasty. How far along are you?" She asked Amy.

Amy just blinked at the question, because she wasn't sure she understood what the woman was trying to ask her. "I-I'm sorry?"

"Oh. I used to have them morning sickness when I was pregnant with all of my three kids. Don't worry… they get better as you go far along your pregnancy," the woman said while patting her shoulder in sympathy.

The insinuation shocked Amy and she was sure she had gone pale for a brief while. "I'm not pregnant, Ma'am," she said silently.

Surprise took over the older woman's expression, then an understanding look replaced it. "Dear, you probably don't know it yet. To be sure, why don't you take a pregnancy test? They're available at any drugstore."

Amy couldn't help the worry flooding her face, and it did not escape the woman's notice. She patted her shoulder comfortingly again. "It's nothing to worry about. The procedure is very easy to follow. I'll be going now, take care!"

She couldn't even do the same properly because her mind was already running with countless possibilities. It couldn't be… Well, she took a morning after pill after that incident at the resort. Could it really be?

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Vance finally finished the interview, but unlike his confidence before he went in, it was the opposite this time. For one, it seemed like the HR officer who interviewed him was not at all impressed in him, as if he didn't even deserve to set foot inside this posh building. Were all HR officers really jerks like Ms. Amy had been? As if to add insult to his wound, the HR officer even made a snide remark about him using his connections with the Ledesmas to get positions.

He honestly couldn't agree with that. After all, he didn't know anyone in this building, so it was just unfair of the HR officer to accuse him of that. He was tempted to fire back but he refrained himself. After all, like what Chris told him, it was because of his mouth that he got into trouble.

He was walking out of the HR department when an announcement came ringing out in the intercom of the entire building. It was saying that everyone should get into the lobby as someone important would be introduced.

Every employee came filing out, and since he was still in the premises of the building, he had no choice but to follow them too in the lobby. As everyone waited there, two figures came out in the balcony, shushing everyone who was chatting to each other, and making them look up. It was the famous CEO of the Ledesma conglomerate, and Vance knew him because he wrote an article about him once in their newspaper. But it was when his eyes zeroed in on the petite lady beside the CEO that he did a double-take.

The girl was very much familiar to him… since it was none other than his b***h of a former boss… Ms. Amy. What was she doing up there with Mr. Arthur Ledesma? The situation was different with the people around them, since they were lowly muttering around him, as it seemed like they didn't know who the girl was. They shut up again when the CEO spoke up, his authoritative voice booming out.

"I gathered you today because I'd like to introduce someone who would join the company as an integral part of our organization. I present to you, my sister, Amethyst Ledesma. I hope you would show her the same respect that you are giving me, as your CEO."

As loud chatter broke up around him, the opposite happened to Vance. Ms. Amy… the uptight, boring HR Head of Onyx Publishing… is the sister of Arthur Ledesma?