THE PAYMENT

CHAPTER 3: Her Options

When the service vehicle left, Quen led Myrrh to his as good as new Lamborghini Veneno. The side mirror was already replaced with a new one.

It was raining a little outside. So he had suggested that they got inside his car.

When they were already seated at the front seats of his luxurious car, he didn't start the engine but instead started talking. "I'm already aware of your current financial status, and I know that you will not be able to pay me back until the end of this month. I also know that you were rushing to get to the hospital that day you unknowingly hit this car because your mother had another heart attack. Why did you not tell me? Did you think I am a man with no mercy?"

How did he know? She then responded, “The damage to your car was all my fault and I should be held responsible. I didn't tell you because I don't want you to think that I am making excuses just to have a way out of it," and then she admitted, "And yes! I will not be able to pay you until the end of this month. But I also agreed that I accept any mode of payment you would decide on if I cannot pay."

He acknowledged it, "Yeah, about it. The mode of payment I wanted does not involve money. It's a bit more personal."

She felt more nervous but she was also curious, so she voiced out what was on her mind, "How personal?"

He expounded, "I want you to accompany me as my regular date in all the social functions I need to attend to until the end of the year. You do not have to worry about your outfits for these social functions. I will take care of such."

She was puzzled and so she asked, "Why me? You can just date somebody else, a lady of the same stature as yours."

His answer was, "I like you and you owe me. So will you agree or not?"

He likes me! Oh gosh! Is he actually hitting on me? But then he also says that I owe him, which is very much true. She tried to compose herself and then asked him, "What will happen if I do not agree?"

I must do this. It could be the only way for her to agree. He hated to do it but in order for her to agree he said, "I can ask your father to pay for the cost of damages?"

Is this some kind of an emotional blackmail?! He definitely got me there! She blurted out, "That is a very big NO!"

He felt that it was working so he continued further and gave her another option, "Or I can have part ownership of your company? We can be business partners and I can invest more on your company." If she didn’t agree on my first proposal then with this third one, we will still a reason to interact more in the future.

He got me again on this! He is not playing it fair. Why is he doing this to me? She burst out, "No way!"

Then he reiterated, "The easiest way is my initial proposal. It will not cost you any money but just some of your time."

She explained her side, "I have always lived a very private life, sir…"

Het cut in, "Just call me Quen."

So now he wants us to be on first name basis?! She continued, "Okay, Quen. As I said I have always lived a very private life despite my mother's fame. You are a very famous person. My privacy would diminish if I agree to be your regular date whenever you attend social functions."

He reminded her, "Then you can choose from the other two options."

But I don’t like those two other options. I cannot involve my father on this. It will only anger his wife even more. I also cannot allow you to be my business partner. I want my independence when it comes to my business endeavors. Why do you have to involve them on the other options? She decided to question him, "Why can you not just allow me to pay you back in installment basis? I do not bother my father with my personal issues. And I do not like a business partner. I have managed all by myself for four years already."

She seems to be getting upset already. I don’t want to use your weaknesses against you but that is the only way I can think of for you to angry on dating me. I heard that you had never entertained any suitor since you moved in here to Davou. He reiterated then to her, "You have to choose from the options I gave at some point. You have until the end of this month to decide." 

"I already come to a decision," she definitely did not want her father to know about the incident and more so pay for her fault. Moreover, she did not want someone to interfere with her business affairs.

In his mind – Will she agree already?

So she voiced out her only remaining option, "I will already agree to be your regular date in all your social functions until the end of this year." Did you really just agree? You might regret this!

Yes! He rejoiced from within and commented, "Now we are talking," then he divulged, "Your first task will be this weekend. I will be the best man to the wedding of my best friend to my ex-girlfriend. We will have to board my private yacht tonight to get to a private beach vacation home in Las Palmas, Kebu. You may now call all the people you need to call to look after your business endeavors and your Mom while we are away for the weekend."

He seems to have carefully planned on everything. How can he be sure that I will agree? He seems to have studied my weaknesses. She had managed to ask, "Will you not even allow me to pack some of my personal stuff?"

He started the engine and stirred the wheel, "They are all taken care of, already. You always have your phone, laptop and tablet in that big bag of yours anyway. Such will do. Please fasten your seatbelt, princess."

Did he just call me princess? Is it some kind of term of endearment? She did fasten her seatbelt then speak her mind frankly but calmly, "It seems like you have carefully planned on everything. How sure are you that I will agree in this mode of payment?"

He also responded with calmness, "Let us just say I that always get what I want, princess."

Princess?! He repeated it. Why is she using this pet name on me? Setting aside such, even if the billionaire inventor got his way, she did not feel angry at all. She had her fault. Fake dating was all he was asking for anyway. And he seemed to be a gentleman. He even rescued her from her father's angry wife. Yeah! Why are you not angry? Even if that accident on his car was your fault, don’t forget the fact that you are physically attracted to this man. Yeah, he seems like he is a gentleman and he also rescued you from your father’s angry wife but he is still a man, a man that could possibly be your doom. He might just be like your ex-boyfriend, a perfect gentleman at first but a p*****t for real.   

She had set aside her thoughts for a while and then started calling Matilda. There was no point arguing with him, and she already agreed. It was already too late to back out.

Her conversation with Matilda went like this...

The caregiver answered her call, "Yes, Miss Myrrh?"

"Yeah, Matilda. I will be away for the weekend to deal with some work and personal stuff. I am in transit as of the moment. Just notify me if something came up with Mom's condition," she had instructed.

"Duly noted, Miss Myrrh. What will I tell your Mom if she asked about your whereabouts?"

"Kindly tell her I will be attending a wedding in Kebu," she said.

"Okay, Miss Myrrh. Have a safe trip."

"Thanks. Bye."

Then she called Paula next.

Paula replied, "Paula speaking, ma'am."

She talked, "Yeah, Paula. Sorry to call you in this very late hour. We just finished up at the Ibañez Mansion and I need to leave immediately to attend a wedding in Kebu over the weekend. As usual, I need you to take charge of the business while I am away and notify me immediately if any problem arises."

"You can count on me, ma'am," Paula acknowledged it.

"Thank you very much, Paula. That's all. Bye," she concluded their conversation.

Quen felt her sense of respect in talking to her mother’s caregiver and her employee. Such had made him admire her even more. He then spoke out to inform her, "Harry is the name of the groom while Sabria is his bride. We will be travelling by water for three hours. You will have your own personal cabin in my yacht equipped with toiletries and your own personal wardrobe."

She acknowledged it, "Okay," then asked, "How often do you attend social functions if I may ask?"

He replied, "My chief-of-staff, Louie, will give you all the schedules. You already met him a few days ago. We will travel with him and my bodyguard, Silas. The two of them will always be with us whenever we attend these social functions. One thing more, you need to give your passport to Louie so that he can process your visa on all those other countries we need to travel to in attending some of these social functions."

She was shocked that she blurted, "What?!"

"Yes, you heard it right, princess. Anyway, it is not your first time to travel. You had been to Paris, France when you studied culinary arts, and I am sure you have accompanied your mother in some of her travels abroad," he answered.

Surprisingly, she asked him, "How did you know?"

He answered in all honesty, "I had asked for a comprehensive background check on you, princess. Do you honestly think I will allow you to be my regular date on all of the future social functions that I have to attend to without knowing all your whereabouts first? I know that you are a well-educated young lady. After finishing a degree in business administration and accountancy as c*m Laude and the age of twenty, you flew to Paris to study culinary arts then you returned to take your CPA exams and nailed it as one of the top-notchers. Then your grandmother died. You inherited a large parcel of land, accessed the funds your father had provided for you since birth, and established your own restaurant which is now a multi-million business enterprise. Plus you just finish all the academic requirements in your MBA and your graduation will be at the end of this month. To top it all, you are a lady of good integrity."

She asked, "What do all these things have to do with me being your regular date?"

He answered, "You know your way into business so you will not get lost in any conversation with my business colleagues. You are smart, pretty, and a great conversationalist. Only few upper class young ladies have a business mind like yours. Most of them are focused on shopping, getting pretty, and chilling out. And if some of them work, they definitely did not start at the bottom. And they could just be classified into three – the brilliant ones, the average ones, and the senseless ones."

She had another question, "What would your folks say once they found out about this?"

He told her, "Nobody would know that you are just dating me as a mode of payment. Nobody knows except the two of us. Nobody else should know. We will just tell everyone that we agreed to date exclusively and see what it will lead to. As simple as that."

She asked further, "What else am I expected as your fake regular date?"

He assured her, "I would be a perfect gentleman if that is what you are worried about. But there would be some holding hands, body contact, hugs, and short kisses. And should you want more, I definitely would not say no."

Her cheeks blushed even redder. And then the car stopped. They already reached the parking lot to his residence near the harbor.

Quen's bodyguard opened the door for her. Quen gave Silas the car key then put his hand around her waist and guided her as they walked on the boardwalk going to his yacht while Silas drove and parked the Lamborghini Veneno to the lower back area of the yacht along with two BMW cars.

After the formal introductions with his two employees, Quen escorted her to the lower deck. He led her to her cabin room.

He said, "This would be your cabin room. There are four bedrooms in this yacht, a galley area, a dining area, and two lounge areas. We will spend the night here and just go to the private beach vacation home in the morning by car. A luggage for our stay there is already packed. The closet already has some clothes you can choose from, more towels and more bed linens. Sleep well, princess."

He already left so Myrrh checked the closet. She was so surprised with what she saw. There were a number of nighties with robes and a number of underwear sets all of Victoria's Secret brands. There were also a number of swimsuits all in Tommy Hilfiger brands along with cover ups. There were also several casual tops, shorts and pants all in high end brands. There were also a selection of perfumes, a selection of cosmetics and other beauty products, and a selection of, handkerchiefs, sunglasses and wide brimmed hats. There were also slippers, flats, and loafers of high end brands too.

She chose a nightie to wear and proceeded to the luxurious bathroom with bath tub, shower cubicle, toilet and sink areas. There were complete feminine toiletries inside it just as he mentioned.

After freshening herself up, she got her laptop from her big handbag and googled Juan Enrique Ibañez VI. She was so surprised with what she discovered.

Quen had his pre-school to collegiate education from Athenaeum de Missi University. He finished business administration as Summa c*m Laude at the age of twenty. While working for the family business, he had made a technical invention for watercraft navigation. From then on, he left the family business and established i Industries, which became a multi-billion technology firm. When he decided to go on a sabbatical leave five years ago to enrich his technical skills, he left the management of i Industries to his maternal cousin, Pippa Montenegro. He still maintained full ownership of his firm. He was also the sole inventor of the aircraft and watercraft technologies his firm had been manufacturing for clients. During his sabbatical leave, he took special courses/trainings in aircraft and watercraft design, engineering and maintenance. During such time, he had also designed his own private helicopter, own private yacht, and own private plane. He continued inventing more and had those all patented.

Most of technologies he had invented and developed through the years had been adapted by other airlines and shipping lines around the world thus making him earn more and more. He just earned his MBA from Oxford University. There were no particular persons stated in his romantic relationships except for him being seen once in a while with socialites, ramp models and celebrities in the country, in USA and in UK.

She was kind of regretting already agreeing on the mode of payment he wanted. He said that he likes me a while ago. What does he mean by that? Well, he also mentioned about my educational qualification. He even enumerated my qualities that make me fit the bill of being his regular date. He pointed out that I am smart, pretty and good conversationalist. Could they be the only reasons? Is it possible that he is also physical attracted to me? Oh gosh! If he does, then I am doomed. Let this be just a business arrangement for him, please. I cannot be fully entangled with a man like him. This is all your fault, Reina Myrrh Javier! You agreed to the mode of payment he wants and now you feel like backing out. You are well-aware of your physical attraction towards him and you still agreed. You are playing with fire! You must control yourself. You cannot commit the same mistakes your elders did. Marriage first before s*x. Bear that in mind. You cannot get pregnant out of wedlock. And the surest way for such is abstinence. If he turns out to be like your ex-boyfriend then apply those self-defense moves you had learned in the past.

Meanwhile, Quen was thinking – Yes, I succeeded on making her agree to what I want. But why can I not still read through her mind? How can I also win her over? She seems to be not too trusting. Does she hate me for using her weaknesses just to make her bend to my will? I really like her a lot. How will I be able to stop myself from kissing those beautiful pouty lips of hers? If I want to earn her trust then I should prove to her that I can control my physical attraction towards hers. Perhaps she is just too self-guarded coz she didn’t want the faith of her grandmother and her mother to be her faith as well. Then I must prove to her until the end of the year that I am a man that he can fully trust. I will protect her from all those people who bully her. Just because she is an illegitimate child, it doesn’t that people can just look down on her. She is a beautiful lady inside and out, a lady very well suited to be my wife. I must be very patient with her. I cannot just rush her into what I like.