THE BILLIONAIRE BRIDE

CHAPTER FIVE

“Tell me that didn’t just happen!”

Her best friend was there in a flash, alerting a dazed Sarah and bringing her back to reality. She glanced at her friend and then at the glass of the bakery, realizing that everyone present had been a spectator to the event that had just taken place. No one had moved.

“What happened? Because even I am still in awe.”

“Micheal Reginald just ordered Johannes to hire you!”

“But he can’t do that. Or can he?” This time around, she needed to ask questions. Maybe he could. His commanding aura suggested as much.

“Oh yes, he can! And as a matter of fact, he did! Johannes has been on his dancing shoes since then.”

Still perplexed, trying to make sense of it all, Sarah asked, “Who is he?”

“He is Micheal Reginald, the first son and heir to the Reginald empire. No one ever dares to go against Micheal’s word; in fact, no one dares to go against a Reginald. People always fight to be in their favor. You do a favor for one, and they all feel indebted to you.”

“They? There’s more than one?” Sarah asked.

“Yes! And all of them are scorching hot! Micheal is the first of five brothers, and then there’s their sister, who is as beautiful as the brothers themselves. When they walk around together, people just stare at them. Their family is a total celebrity, known for their looks and their amassed wealth from numerous businesses, including investments in international banking and owning one of the top-class hotels in the world. In fact, one of the brothers is known for his badass car designs! Can you believe that? Sometimes I wonder how they can be so perfect,” Catherine said with so much enthusiasm. “Everyone knows them,” she finished.

“Everyone except me. I don’t know them, and I’d like it to stay that way.”

“With what just happened, I doubt that’s ever going to be possible,” Catherine responded, with a blush almost rising.

“That’s what I keep pondering about…. why would he take an interest in me? Getting provoked over a damn coat,” she hissed.

“Well, that I don’t know. But that’s new. The Reginald’s don’t take interest in anybody. I’ve lived in their territory since I was seven. They know me; they know my name, but they’ve never really taken an interest in me.”

“Why would that be? And what’s this thing about territory that you keep mentioning?”

“I’ll tell you all about that later. For now, Johannes is waiting inside to see you,” she said, ushering her in. Just before Sarah re-entered the bakery, she heard her best friend’s voice echo with so much excitement behind her.

“I can’t believe he claimed you! Micheal Reginald claimed you! And that too, in front of everyone! I won’t be able to get this off my mind for the next few weeks,” she giggled coyly. But Sarah didn’t respond to that. She had many things bothering her, and the discussion with Johannesburg James, Catherine’s cousin, was one of them.

As they entered the bakery, everyone turned to stare at her. Apparently, she had become like the main character in a performance. The eyes. The stares. The attention. She was on the verge of turning and running to a faraway land where no one could recognize her. This was all because of him. She hissed.

“Hey Jo, this is my best friend, Sarah, the one I told you about,” Catherine said, in an attempt to do a brief introduction between her and her cousin.

“Yes, Catherine, don’t you think I know that already? We all do. Come with me, Sarah, let’s get the formalities done with.”

He started for a door ahead that Sarah assumed to be his office and indicated for her to follow him. Once inside the office, he offered her a seat.

“Make yourself comfortable,” he said. “I’ll get you an application form to fill out, but that’s just because I need your details, just for formality’s sake.”

Once he was back and settled in the settee across from her, he asked the question she had almost been expecting and preparing for.

“Tell me, how is it that you know Mr. Reginald?”

At that point, Sarah thought that lying and fabricating a story about how she knew the commanding and bossy Micheal Reginald might actually be necessary to get the job. But to what end? She was never good at lying, let alone fabricating a story for people to believe. She wasn’t even someone who could be found within his circle, so how then could she say she had met him?

“To be honest, I only just met him today. Before then, I’d never set eyes on him,” she finally said, finding her voice. “But I can assure you, I’ll work very hard, and you’ll never regret hiring me. Please, I need this job.” She added.

Her entire body trembled. Now that she had disassociated herself from the bossy fellow, she doubted if Catherine’s cousin would ever give her the job.

“How is that possible?” Johannesburg asked in bewilderment. “He claimed you right in front of everyone, and you say you’ve never met him before today? He commanded that I take care of you. He requested a favor from me. Do you know what that means to me, or even to my bakery? So how can you tell me that you don’t know him?”

She was getting almost desperate. She needed this job. God knows she did. She watched as Johannesburg laid his hands flat on the table and leaned towards her with a piercing gaze.

“Why would Mr. Reginald take an interest in you? Does he know your family?” he repeated the same question he had asked but this time in a different manner.

“I give you my word. I’ve never seen him, nor do I know him. I really don’t understand why he took an interest in me or why he even requested a favor from you on my behalf. I don’t even know why he gave me his coat or acted the way he did. I swear to you.”

“What did he say to you when he took you aside? We all saw you both get too close for people who just met.

The statement made color rise to her cheeks a little, but she responded abruptly.

“He commanded that I get some food to eat with the money he placed in his coat pocket and laid emphasis that I shouldn’t give his coat away—that he was quite fond of it. That was all, nothing more. I think he was just being kind.”

“The Reginald’s don’t do anything without a reason and are definitely not kind to strangers. He demanded a favor from me. He asked that I take care of you, and that I’ll do. You’re hired. Fill out the application form with the necessary information, and I’ll get you some fresh-baked bread out of the oven. You look famished.”

She was elated. If she hadn’t been in an office, she definitely would have screamed with joy. She got the job. She was hired, and she was getting food too!

As she put her details on the form, she decided she was going to put the entire incident that occurred earlier with that bossy fellow behind her. Yes, that’s what she would forever refer to him as……bossy. She would not spend a penny of the money he gave her, but she would wear his coat because she had no choice. She had given hers away, and she didn’t have any money to purchase a new one. She would wear his coat until she figured out how to return it to him.

She filled out the form, leaving almost everything blank. She only filled in the necessary spaces; her name and her social insurance number. That was it. Those were the only pieces of information she could safely put out there.