The Billionaire's web of deception

CHAPTER ONE "Good afternoon, ma'am. Are you Miss Eloise?” A young man dressed in a corporate suit asked Eloise as she opened her door. She noticed he was holding a brown envelope with her name on it as she scanned him. He wasn't a regular delivery or mailman. This one was special. "Yes, that's most definitely me. How can I help you?” she asked him in her secretary tone, her eyebrows furrowed in curiosity. It was 7:15 a.m., and she was on her way out of the house to work. “My name is Constable Williams, and I have a summons for you to appear in court," the constable said, handing Eloise the document he was holding. Eloise raised an eyebrow in disbelief as she took the document from him and began opening it. “Last I checked, I'm a citizen who hasn't committed any crime that would need a court hearing. So, what is this about?" Eloise said as she opened the document. "You are being sued by your company for swindling funds," the constable replied. "You need to appear in court on the date and time given in the document. I need to take my leave now.” Eloise was stunned as she watched the young man walk away from her doorstep. “Swindling of funds? Is Mr. Robert kidding me? If he suspected me of a crime, he should've asked me first before calling for a court hearing.” Eloise mumbled to herself as she stared at the documents before her. There must have been a mistake somewhere, and she needed to speak to Mr. Robert. He most definitely did not think that she was stealing from him after working diligently with him for two years. She locked her door, put the documents back into the brown envelope, and began walking to the huge mansion that stood in front of her. She was leaving earlier than usual because she didn't want Mr. Robert to give her a lift, something he now did to annoy her. “I need to meet Mr. Robert,” she told the bouncer who stood at the door. He winked at her and let her in, while she smirked at him. "Good morning, sir." She greeted as she walked into the sitting room, surprised to see him all dressed up for work. “Eloise! What a pleasant surprise this early in the morning. Do you need a lift?" he asked sarcastically, knowing how much she hated being asked that. Eloise ignored his sarcasm and instead thrust the documents in his face. “I've been summoned for a court hearing by the company," she said simply. Mr. Robert stared at her and then at the documents in mock surprise. “Oh, that? The statistics from last month's sales show some money is missing,” Mr. Robert said, heading to his long-standing mirror to knot his tie. Eloise followed him. "Sir! Some money is missing, and I'm being accused of that?” she asked him, trying her best to keep her voice low knowing she was speaking to her boss. Mr. Robert looked at her through the mirror and let out a sly smile. “Trust me, Eloise. This is not an accusation. The board of directors had a meeting on this, and it was concluded that the last person who had access to those funds was you. And you know the rules—I had no hand in it, and there was nothing I could do.” "But you know this is impossible. I can never steal from you, Mr. Robert. You know that, don't you?” Eloise asked as the tears that had been threatening their downpour began to streak down her face. “What I know and think doesn't matter, Eloise. The board has the final say.” Mr. Robert said, reaching for his tie again. "But you are the CEO. You can make and annul. It is your company. Is there really nothing you can do to help me? Maybe call for another deeper investigation into the matter and—” Eloise was cut off by Mr. Robert. "There is nothing—nothing—that I can do to help you, Eloise. Just find a lawyer and try to prove your innocence, okay?” Mr. Robert screamed as he turned to face her. "Please, sir, you know I can barely pay for my part-time tuition fees, let alone pay for a lawyer. Why won't you help me? What can I do?” Eloise asked as she stared at her boss in tears. She couldn't believe why he was so hard-hearted towards her. She had worked with him for a while now, and he was acting as if she was a stranger asking for an impossible favor. “Sir? Can you at least say something?" she asked again, but Mr. Robert just kept staring at his reflection in the mirror as he put his hair in place. Eloise stood for a while, and when she realized he wasn't ready to respond to her or give her a listening ear, she sighed deeply. “I'll see you in the office, sir." She said and turned to walk away. “Hold up, Eloise! Not too fast. Come and help me knot my tie.” Mr. Robert said, and Eloise turned to stare at him as if he had lost his mind. “What?" she asked in surprise. “Come and help me with my tie, then I'll listen to you," Mr. Robert said. Eloise stared at him for a while before dropping her bag and the document on the table. She walked up to him, her gaze fixed on his expressionless face to discern his thoughts, but his face showed nothing. She held his tie in her hands very slowly and began knotting it for him as he stared into her face. Her eyes focused on the tie as she refused to meet his eyes. Suddenly, she felt his hands come up to her waist, and he dragged her closer to his body. “Mr. Robert….” She began to resist reluctantly. "Shhh. I'll consider covering this up for you on one condition.” He began as his fingers walked their way up to her face and then to her lips. “Wha… what… what condition?” Eloise stammered, suddenly aware of how close his body was to hers. “Marry me.”