Billionaire’s Lost Angel

Lotus had been sitting in her office for the better part of the afternoon, her mind wandering and her concentration lacking. She had a lot on her plate at the moment; work was piling up and deadlines were approaching fast. She knew she needed to get her head back in the game, but the last thing she needed was Peter disrupting her peace. She wasn’t even expecting him, he had been acting like she didn’t exist for a very long time now and now she was getting used to it despite the pang of hurt she felt every time he did it. It made her sad that the second time she gave herself to a man she ended up getting hurt again, the second time and she hoped this time it would be her last when she had figured out how to get away from him.

Just as she had hoped for some quiet and solitude, the door opened, and Peter walked in, despite being uninvited and unwanted. She looked up and gave him a disapproving glare, but before she could say anything, he spoke up.

“Lotus, we need to talk. It’s important.”

She wondered what in the world they wanted to talk about. This was a behavior he kept repeating that made her go berserk. He was now resorting to shameless means to get her attention. Not that he would utilize her attention or even want to talk things out with her and maybe mend their fallen relationship. The last time he formed a fake rule forcing her to attend the conference party with him under his company name instead of her own in the company of Davis. But she guessed he was jealous of seeing her with Davis, but she wondered why he was jealous anyway. He hated her and wanted nothing to do with her anymore.

“I don’t want to see you, Peter. You’re just going to dredge up old memories and cause more trouble for me.” Her hair fell across her face, forming a curtain, shielding her face from his glare.

“But this is about Davis. I don’t think he’s who you think he is.” He said surprised.

Lotus rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. “What do you mean? Davis is one of the most trustworthy and dependable people I know. He is nothing but a dealer in my company but he has proven himself worthy of my trust and relationship, and I am sure he would break that after a while due to nothing.”  Her gaze pointed at him as she said those words. She was openly accusing him and she knew it. Not only that, she was comparing him with Davis. If there was one thing she knew about Peter was that he hated comparison with anyone, talkless of someone connected to his ‘wife’.

“I’ve been keeping an eye on him. He’s been acting strange, meeting up with some shady characters at night. I think he may be involved in something illegal.” He pressed on desperately, looking for means to make Lotus see reasons why he wanted her to be away from him. Maybe he was being selfish or maybe not. His men had reported their findings on Davus and his movements and he found it unsettling but he didn’t say anything so as not to raise any suspicions.

Lotus stood up, furious. “How dare you make such an accusation? Davis is my company’s new director, and I trust him implicitly. You have no right to interfere in my business.”

Peter stepped closer, trying to reason with her. “I’m not trying to interfere, Lotus. I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“Get hurt? You’re one to talk to, Peter. You put me through so much pain and heartache. I’ve endured enough of your madness, and I won’t let you do this to me again.”

Without giving him another word, Lotus grabbed him by the arm and ushered him out of her office, slamming the door shut behind him. She slumped back in her chair, trying to compose herself. She couldn’t let Peter’s accusations get to her, but the thought ate away at her.

Just as she had settled down and started to focus on work once more, the door to her office burst open again. This time, it was Davis,  with a bouquet of flowers in hand.

“Lotus, I know we’ve been busy with work lately, but I thought I’d surprise you and take you out for dinner tonight. What do you say?”

Lotus was taken aback but couldn’t refuse the offer. She didn’t want to make him feel bad, maybe she should also clear things up with him in the dinner they were going to.”Sure, why not? Let me freshen up, and we’ll go.”

They left the office, hand in hand, and drove to a nearby restaurant. Over dinner, they talked about everything but work, and Lotus couldn’t help but be charmed by Davis’s charisma. But just as she thought the evening couldn’t get any better, Davis said something that made her stomach turn.

“I hope you don’t mind me saying this, Lotus, but I have to tell you that I like you. A lot.”

Lotus felt trapped. She didn’t know how to respond to the situation. Davis was a partner to her, and she didn’t want to ruin the friendship they had built. She was cool having him as a confidant when she needed someone to talk to and when she needed saving. He was like the best friend she never had and she was not going to let their friendship go down the drain.

“Uh, Davis, I don’t know what to say.” She started cautiously.

“I understand if you don’t feel the same way, but I just wanted to be honest with you. I hope this doesn’t change things between us.”

Before Lotus could reply, her phone rang. It was her driver, telling her that he was outside, waiting to take her back to the office.

“Sorry, Davis, I have to go. Work calls. Thanks for a lovely evening.”

With that, Lotus got up and made her way out of the restaurant, leaving Davis sitting at the table, confused and hurt.

As she drove back to the office, Lotus couldn’t help but feel regretful. She had liked Davis as a friend, but she couldn’t let her emotions cloud her judgment. Her mind went back to Peter’s accusations, and she knew she needed to investigate the matter further. She couldn’t let her business suffer. And in as much as she didn’t want to believe him she felt that he wasn’t that desperate.

As she stepped back into her office, she knew there was a long night ahead of her. She needed to get her head back in the game, put her emotions aside, and focus on what was important. It was the only way to stay ahead and hide her feelings for him.

Peter paced back and forth in his office, his frustration and jealousy evident in his every move. He couldn’t help but think of Davis and Lotus together, and it made his blood boil. The funny thing was that she didn’t believe him, she just thought that he was probably giving her a fake story. He felt really shameful, he was her husband and he ended up breaking her heart consistently not only her but also their children. Guilt swelled in his chest, but it soon turned to anger as he glared hard at the wall.

He turned to his, Elvis, who was seated calmly on the couch, watching him intently.

“I can’t stand seeing them together. It’s driving me crazy,” Peter ranted. “I tried warning her about what the men got from their search but she didn’t believe me.”

Elvis raised an eyebrow. “Do expect her to believe you?”

“Yes.. why not?”

“Oh, my goodness Peter. Sometimes I wonder how you manage this multimillionaire company.” Elvis facepalmed. “You’ve ignored her for a very long time, giving her weird signals. She is hurt to the extent that she had to send the kids away, do you know the pain a mother goes through to see her kids separated from her? You think it’s all on a bed of roses?”Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

“Shit. I have messed up.” Peter sat down on his chair, his hands on his face. But it wasn’t his fault entirely, he wanted to protect her. He knew what Sheila was capable of doing and he couldn’t risk Lotus being hurt a second time.

“You know what you have to do, Peter. You have to claim back what’s yours before it’s too late.”

“It’s not that simple. Lotus hates me. She wouldn’t want anything to do with me again.”

Elvis let out a sigh. “Well, you’ll never know until you try. You can’t keep living your life in envy and regret. You have to take action.”

Peter looked at Elvis with gratitude but he knew he was going to take no action. Sheila was everywhere, she would have her ways of getting to know about the conversation and that was the power she had over him. Just because of a god-damned video. It sounded so absurd but it was the truth. The video could ruin Lotus and make sure that the career and everything she had ever worked for was crumbling on the ground. And from what he guessed Sheila would do when she found out that he wasn’t to go against her agreement, he knew that she would use it against him, she would palace all pieces of evidence to him and if that is done he was sure that Lotus would never forgive him.

—

As Elvis left Peter’s office, his mind was reeling with thoughts. He had been friends with Peter for so long and it felt so strange and weird to see Peter act like a coward. He knew it had something to do with her but he didn’t know where to put his accusation on. What exactly could she have on him that held him so bound?

He bumped into Sheila, A growl escaped his lips as he eyed her warily.

“What are you doing to keep Peter away from Lotus? I’ll find out, and I’ll destroy you,” Elvis warned her. He didn’t know how but he wanted to help his friend. Peter became a shadow of himself and he knew it wouldn’t be long before it got out of hand.

Sheila scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Please, Elvis. Your threats mean nothing to me. I’m just doing my job and getting what I want. I am not a coward. If you want to talk about destroying someone, look at yourself, don’t cross my path or I’ll destroy you.”

Elvis’s jaw tightened as Sheila walked away, leaving him deep in thought. He couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was going on behind the scenes, something that he wasn’t aware of. He knew he had to find out what it was, for the sake of his friend Peter.

As he walked back to his own office, he called Peter’s assistant and asked for a meeting with Lotus. He needed to see her, to talk to her, to find out what was going on between her and Davis. He needed to make sure that Peter’s plan to win her back wasn’t a lost cause. At least that he as the least he could do for Peter, trying to be the mediator between the both of them.

But as he sat in his office, pondering his next move, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease. He knew that there was more to the situation than met the eye, and he wasn’t sure he was ready to uncover it all. If Peter’s message was true and sincere that meant that Davis would be a potential threat to both sides, but exactly could he want?

One thing was for sure, though; he’d do whatever it takes to protect his friend. He just hoped he wouldn’t have to pay too high a price for it.