Chapter two
1213 Words
Lexie POV
I took a cab and rushed towards the office of De lac company. The head office of the Salvatore group of companies with mixed feelings. Hope Agatha did not bail on him like she usually did.
Agatha was his second personal assistant, while I was his first. Although Mr Alberto Salvatore preferred me to her.
According to him, she was a lazy t**t. The only reason he retained her was because she was his friend’s daughter.
Immediately, the cab stopped me, and I rushed into the office. I made sure I put on a smile.
Nobody knew that my boyfriend was getting married today.
I knocked on his door twice and entered. A doctor was sitting opposite him with his full concentration on the MacBook he was using.
I cleared my throat. “Sir, you called me,” I said, alerting him of my presence.
He raised his head to look at me with a smile. “Oh, Lexie. You came early. Please sit down,” he said, gesturing to me to sit beside the doctor.
I sat beside him and waited till he finished before he turned his attention to me.
“Meet Doctor Henry. A renowned neurosurgeon. He has won the Harper Avery award for three consecutive years,” he said.
I immediately assumed that he was a client. I stood up and stretched forward my hand to his own.
“Is a pleasure to meet your Doctor Henry. You are welcome to the De lac company. Please state what you are interested in purchasing from us,” I said as I brought out my phone to type his order.
A smile tugged his lips as he took my hand shake. “She is really a dedicated staff member,” he told my boss.
I looked at my boss and then at him. What were they trying to say? “Lexie, sit down. He is not here as a client. He is here to help you,” my boss supplied.
I raised my eyebrow. Help? I asked myself. “I talked to him about your mother's illness and he has agreed to take her in for his clinical trial”
My eyes widened with surprise. Oh my God, does he mean that my mother is going to get better?
Then the thought crept into my mind stopping my brief joy. Clinical trials were expensive and I did not have enough money for a clinical trial.
I swallowed hard and smiled at my boss. “Thank you sir, but clinical trials are really expensive and I don’t have such money" I replied in a low voice.
Maybe I would get a loan from the bank, but I didn't even have any collateral. Not a house, not a car. Nothing.
My boss smiled. “I know Lexie. That is why I have decided to take up the responsibility. I would be the one paying for the treatment,” he informed me.
My mouth fell open as a gasp escaped it.
A surge of excitement ran through my body. Mr Alberto Salvatore had always treated me like his own daughter and I respected him for this, but I never expected him to be this generous.
Tears of joy welled up in my eyes. “Thank you sir, thank you sir” I chanted.
He nodded, his smile growing wilder.
Then the excitement stopped. My heart sank into my chest as I remembered that my mother’s condition has grown worse.
What if she has passed the stage of clinical trials? Sensing my fear, my boss asked, “Lexie, is anything wrong?”
I shook my head “Sir, I am very happy about this opportunity but I think it is late. I mean, my mother’s doctor said she had gotten worse. She might not even have a year to live,” I explained as my eyes moved from my boss to the man sitting beside me.
“Alex Baker, my fifth successful clinical trials patient, had the worst Alzheimer’s case recorded in the whole world, but he is out there living with his wife after I treated him,” Doctor Henry explained with pride.
I heaved a sigh of relief. That means that was a glimpse of hope for me and my siblings reuniting with my mother and she might actually live a longer life.
He stood up and shook his hands with my boss. He dropped a sticky note containing his email address before me.
“Email me with all her details and her doctor’s contact,” he instructed.
I nodded. “Thank you, doctor,” I said, beaming with a smile as I watched him leave.
Immediately the door closed, my boss cleared his throat, bringing my attention back to him.
“Lexie, I want to ask you for a favour. If you can’t do it, just say you won’t be able to do it and I will not force you. I will still continue with your mother’s treatment,” he said.
I nodded with a smile. “I would do anything for you sir,” I replied.
He was going to save my mother. I owed him my life and everything.
“Anything?” He asked with a raised eyebrow. I nodded.
“I want you to marry my son,” he said.
My stomach twisted with a strange emotion. My eyes widened with shock.
“What?”
He nodded. “I want you to get married to my son,” he repeated.
I tightened my grip on my bag until my hands grew pale. This can’t be true. He would never ask me to marry a man who I did not know.
I have never seen his son. I think they did not have the best father and son relationship and from what I heard; he was a huge flirt.
“Sir.. Sir, I don't even know him. Why me?” I asked, my voice trembling with unnamed emotions. Maybe it was anger or pain.
He nodded. “I know, Lexie, but you are the best wife for him. I need someone to be on his side when I am gone,” he said.
I furrowed my eyebrows. “Gone? Where are you going” I asked.
He took in a deep, shaky breath, his eyes gradually turning red. “I was diagnosed with leukaemia. I don’t think I have much time left,” he disclosed.
Sharp pain bottle around my chest. He was the only fatherly figure I had. I can’t be losing both siblings at the same time.
I heaved a sigh. “Okay. I will do it”
A smile crept into his face, showing his white perfect teeth. He opened his arms for me to give him a hug.
I stood up and ran to hug him. “Thank you,” he mumbled many times against my ear. I felt something wet touch my shoulders. Only then did I recognize that he was crying.
After a while, he pulled me out of the hug.
“I will call him right now. He will be on his way. You can wait at your office,” he said with a smile.
His eyes were still tear stained. I nodded and left the office, waiting for his call.
- Writer
