5: A Tete-a-tete Supper With My Boss

The President paid for the dress and left fleetingly along with Ann, back to the car.

He turns back into the highway and accelerated.

"Thanks," Ann sudden said to him, but he remained silent.

Only then, she throw a glance at him and saw a dark scowling expression on his face.

Instantaneously, Ann instinct told her to keep her thanks to herself, after all, that's his answer since he refused to reply back.

\*\*\*

When they get to his choice of restaurant -- a posh restaurant, it was already 9pm at the moment.

At this kind of late hour, Ann wasn't scared that she wasn't home, since his presence seems to have subdued her fear and made her feel secured. But not for that long. Soon everything would come to an end.

As she followed him upstairs to have their diner and entered into the dining hall. The place was empty of people, only a waiter stood waiting for them right there.

It's seems like he had reserved the whole place just to have a peaceful supper with her. His more of her type. Ann enjoys serene dinner like this.

How do he knows her preference?

They sat vis-a-vis at the table and their meal was served by two other waiter that joined the standby as they filled the round table with different dishes, dessert, savoury, cutlery, paper towels and red wine.

Ann just loved the settings, arrangement and fashion of the diner. It reminded her of years back, when she was in the state. Diner party had always been the best event and no other events would take it place of loveliness in her heart.

They started dining as cutlery chattering on the glass plates.

"So, why do you came back from the state, after your father's funeral was over?" He began abruptly.

What? Did she missed heard him?

Ann gape at him, numb with shock, that she almost spit out the food in her mouth, but ended up choking as she grabbed the glass of wine close by and drank hastily.

She placed it back on the table, likewise he had paused, casting a percipient look at her.

Ann eyes blinked with incredulity at him.

"How do you know that?"

"Rumours. And who doesn't know your father? His distinguished for his great wealth. Trish Ltd wasn't even a match for his successful establishment," He stated the fact.

And at once, Ann began to realise the exact reason of his benignity towards her.

No wonder he was being so kind on her. He might had even felt pity on her, knowing everything that had happened to her? If he knows about her futile return to my motherland, he must had known everything concerning her already, by now.

Ann's face was being overshadowed with thoughts, as he detected.

The president gaze fell back down, slowly on his meal before him, as he cut the mutton on his plate gently with a knife, supported by a fork.

"You haven't answered my question yet," He said calmly and unhurried.

"Hmm…I don't think even I had an answer to that question. But I can say, It's because of my schooling, though, that's not an excuse I missed my own father funeral. Back then, I was what one would call, foolish and overzealous." Ann tried to sound honest.

"But. By chance do you know my father?" She continued to eat.

He took time to answer that question.

"Yes," The tone in his voice sudden changes, "We were somewhat close."

"Really?"

"His a shareholder of Trish,"

Ann's eyes even went more widen it revealed lot of surprises.

"Pardon me?"

"None of your siblings knew about it. He had personally told me to protect that particular share. For you," He purposely separated the two last word from the rest of the other sentences,"For you," just to provoke Ann to excitement.

Apparently, Ann was floored when she heard the position of a shareholder and for her.

He took his glass of red wine and swirled the drink in his goblet, gazing firm at her again, with an unreadable expression.

"My father did that?"

"Your father is a very good man, that had done a lot of stunning things for me, I wouldn't forget to repay his kindness. And I owe him a favour before he died, but that favour would be forwarded to his legitimate daughter. Moreover it's a secret."

Ann wasn't listening anymore as there were a lot of exciting stronger thoughts already running on her mind, trying to bring about how luck had sudden shone on her.

Does this mean that her misery are over?

She really can't wait to taste freedom and explore in abundant of a brighter future from years back.

No more shadow man in her life, cause with such position, when she sells her own share, which would be worth more to travel abroad, he would never find her again. Or moreover if she was to remain in this country, she we employes as much bodyguards to protect herself from him.

The president raised the goblet to his lips and sips his drink, raising an eyebrows above the goblet, gazing at her with his dark eyes.

"Does this means that, I'm a shareholder of Trish?"

He put down the goblet on the table, "Of course. By tomorrow at the board meeting I want you present. It's a perfect timing to introduce you to the management."

"..." Words ceased to come out of Ann's mouth as she had an unexpressed excitement on her face that later turned into a grin.

"Finally. I'm leaving behind my wretched life. I still can't believe it. Is this a dream?" She was mumbling indistinctly under her breath, but he heard her.

"It's not. But a new beginning of a chaotic nightmare." He uttered with great wry that brought Ann's excitement to halt.

"What do you mean by that?"

He curled his lip in a supercilious smile as Ann noticed something queer about his smile.

"Long time ago, when I was still coming of age, my father would always told me this, anytime I take a step forward towards my studies. For instance, the day I finally got into college, after striving so hard."

"Instead of my father to give me a motivational encouragement. He told me; You've struggled, only to awoken in a new terrible nightmare, miles away from the land of milk and honey, but it's just the beginning."

Ann listened attentively.

"Back then, I didn't really read meaning into that proverb and felt like my father hated me and nothing I did could be able to please him, than my elder brother."

This was the first time she'd heard that the President held an elder brother. She fixed in her observations.

"...but, when I grew up into a full grown man, I realised it's not just a saying, but true. So, don't rejoice yet. The world isn't a place to merriment after achieving something, cause no matter what you achieved in this life we not stop you from facing your fate," The president said to Ann.

Thus, Ann thought that he sounded quite more like a teacher to her. His words made a lot of sense and had a striking point.

Tomorrow is always pregnant and she had been rejoicing in her mind, without thinking of what awaits her if she goes back home? What if she didn't even made it alive, till the board meeting?

The president cast a surreptitious glance at his wrist watch.

"Eat up. We almost used up all the time to chat."

\*\*\*

The diner between Ann and her boss only takes an hour and by 9, they stepped back into the car and drove to Ann's house.

"You're home," He told her what she k

already knew, but Ann started to hesitate while sluggishly unfastening her seat beat.

He sensed her hesitations and asks, "You want me to escort you in?"

Ann shoke her head, looking frightened to leave his sight. Then in returns, she ask for something else.

"Can I spend the night at your place?" Ann sudden uttered with difficulty, but she had to say it.

Instantly, she turns her face to his direction and melt his contemplating look.

"I'm not spending the night at my place, far away. I'm lodging in a hotel." He said to Ann's disappointment, but it didn't discouraged her.

"Perhaps, if you could rent a lodge for me too. I promised to pay you back, soon."

There was a short moment of silence, and then he starts the car and turn around, without slowing down. Since then, Ann had been gazing at him.

The young man seated next to her had a unique way of using silence as an interpretable language.

It's a pity she wasn't going to seduce him anymore, since she had wealth to protect herself now. But, it's still a pity she kind of had a crush on him.

For what seems to be an hour. They got inside an enormous building of one of the most luxury hotel in city.

He booked a room in the president suite for her, almost four other suite away from his.

Ann felt grateful as she joyfully entered her room and fell in love with the interior designing of the luxurious suite. The lighten were bright and the place seems to appear cool. She even brought out her smartphone and took photos of herself for the very first time in the past 5 months of her ordeal.

Later at 11 o'clock, she watched movies and ate chips, tasting how it felt to be free again. For the first time in 5 months Ann also smiled, not just smiled but laughed so loud, enough for her next neighbour to hear her laughter. The movie was humourous and she was totally carried away.

Then, suddenly the lights flick on and off. Before the television went blackout.

As soon as the television went off, Ann was pissed off, cause it was the climax part of the movie when she was stimulated by humour and it had shut down without warning.

At that moment, she begun to lay curses, under her breath, on the hotel management. In just a bit, there was total blackout.

This time, Ann didn't panicked or feel scared, cause she was used to the dark, so she just shambled alongside the walls and found the light switch and turned it on.

The television also automatically went on by itself, as she smile in excitement and turns to go back to watching her movie, then...

"Ah!" Ann screamed at the top of her lungs as she glimpses the silhouette of a young man walking behind the curtain angle.

And, without looking twice, she burst out of the suite to the fifth room and begun to pound on the door with her fist.

Shortly she heard the sound of his stride coming towards the door. Immediately the door was opened, she dashed in panting, urging him to shut the door close quickly. And he closed but didn't shut the door, having a quizzical expression on his face.

"What's it? Who's after you?"

It took a lost of persuading, concern and questioning before Ann was able to utter a word.

"His here for me? The damn shadow_" Her voice trailed off, still trying to catch her breath.

Ann begun to shiver, then sobbing follows.

It was only left for him to figure out the rest of her words, since in this state she wouldn't be able to explain to him.

He supported her to sit down on the bed, while he go get her a glass of water.

When he came back with the glass of water along with some calming pills, he made her drank it and took the glass back from her.

Then, he walked over to the drawer and took his flip phone, putting a call across the hotel manager's line.

The phone rang a few times before it was picked up by the Manager of the hotel.

His conversation between the hotel manager was clear enough for Ann to hear.

"I want you to block all exit out of the hotel immediately. There's an interloper here."

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