Chapter 36
Celine’s POV
I am in awe of how beautiful this penthouse is. I have never been here before, even though I knew about the penthouse when I was here. Bryan hides out here whenever he wants to be alone and he doesn’t want to work from home.
The massive bed makes me wish I can just lay in it and sleep for hours. I haven’t slept in a bed for days now and I am craving a comfy bed like this.
The floor-to-ceiling windows, showing the view of the city, makes me gasp. No wonder Bryan loves coming here. This place is full of comfort. The air here is different compared to the house downstairs.
The L-shaped sofa here is bigger, more fluffy, and has beautiful designs. The marble floor is comforting to the legs as I walk in with Jason in my arms.
Bryan turns back and I trudge behind him in silence. Jason begins to play with my hair giggling to himself.
I was wondering why Bryan requested of me when Camilla burst into my room immediately after I entered to take a short nap.
I wonder why he is asking me to join him and Jason here of all places. I kept thinking of the reason but I got no answers.
Bryan is strange and unpredictable. How can he humiliate me in front of everyone out there when he wanted to take Jason from me and now he is asking me to come.
What for?
“Jason wanted you to be around”, he says, as if reading my mind. He takes a look at me and I nod.
He walks further into the house, making my mouth drop open in amazement. This place is beautiful. When I can take it no longer, I let it out, “Wow!”
He throws me a cold glare and I shut my mouth immediately.
He stops in his tracks and turns to me, stretching his arms towards me to take Jason. “Since your mommy is here, baby, let’s go watch a movie.”
Jason looks confuse as he stares at me before glancing back at Bryan whose face turns red in anger. I decide to help him out.
“Do you want to watch cartoons?” I ask him and he nods intermittently. “Go with daddy.”
Without hesitation, he allows Bryan to take him and I smile.
“Go sit there”, He points to a far settee and I turn to go sit. I am happy I can still watch them from where he asked me to sit and also because I will have the opportunity to admire the penthouse more without Bryan noticing anything.
I keep darting my eyes from one end of the house to the other, wishing for the impossible. I wonder who cleans this area of the house because of how sparkling it looks.
The chilly atmosphere is making me think about taking a short nap while father and son watch a cartoon. I am sure I will be awake before they are done.
I am about to lay carefully on the settee when I see Jason snapping his head back to look for me.
“Mommy, come!” He screams, grinning excitedly.
He wants me to come but I can’t since Bryan wants me seated here. Besides, I am not interested in watching a movie with them, all I want to do is sleep.
Jason beckons for me again with the same vigor and excitement. Before I can shake my head, I hear Bryan’s loud exhalation and he utters softly. “Come.”
I rise immediately and walk to join them on the sofa. Jason’s smile widens and he taps the space beside him for me to sit in. I flop to the seat and lean my back on the chair, looking at the screen of the TV but my mind is miles away.
Sitting absentmindedly, I begin to feel sleepy again. I am about to doze off when Bryan’s phone begins to buzz. I turn to look at him and I catch him watching me. I look away, feeling embarrassed for almost dozing off.
Jason is so engrossed in the movie to notice anything, even when his father stands up to answer the call. He saunters to the settee I was sitting on earlier and picks up the call.
I try not to eavesdrop but I am curious, so I can’t help. I am hoping it will be a call from work so he can leave Jason and me here, I will have the opportunity to realize my fantasy of sleeping on a large bed like this while Jason watches the cartoon all day.
“I thought you would be coming to the house”, I hear him say before silence ensues. I try not to turn, making it look like I am engrossed just like Jason.
I can’t believe Bryan and I are sitting on the same sofa. It looks unreal but I know it is real. I don’t want to be overwhelmed by the thought because Jason’s involvement is the reason for this.
If he wasn’t insisting that I come here, I wouldn’t be here. Bryan will never stoop so low to call me here and apologize for his behaviors as I thought he would.
I wonder why I think Bryan will apologize. I have never seen him apologize to anyone even when I was his secretary. He is a type of human who believes he is always right.
“Eric is behind this?” I hear him ask the person from the other end, making me more curious to know what is happening. He sounds pissed at the information and he is asking the question to be sure he heard right.
“I knew it!” He clenches his fist. I can see him from my peripheral view. “The auditors are in the company already. I haven’t gotten a response yet. I don’t want to call the Chief Financial Officer yet, I want to wait till tomorrow to get everything solved. I trust him to do the right thing by providing the auditors with all they would need to do their job.”
“I fired him already”, he comments. “Such a motherfu***er.” He curses. I turn to Jason to see if he is hearing his father but he isn’t. His attention is still on the TV.
Is something wrong with the company? Is he having issues with the company’s account since auditors are involved? Who is Eric?
I have never heard of that name before and I wonder who he is. I know what this company means to Bryan and how much effort he has exerted into making the foundation of the company this strong.
Is someone cheating him? Is he in some sort of trouble? Is that why he didn’t go to work today?
He rounds up the call and comes back to the sofa. He sits in and watches the TV with folded arms. He is looking toward the TV but I know his attention isn’t here. He has a sad and angry look on his face and I wish I can help him. But I can’t say anything because none of my efforts are appreciated in this house.
With my degree in Business Administration, I believe I can help figure out a way to deal with whatever problem he is going through if only he can tell me what it is.
I was Bryan’s secretary when I was in my last year at the university and I had plans to resign when I graduate so I can join the company that asked me to come and become their Administrator. I felt it was better than the position of a secretary I was doing in Bryan’s company but it never happened.
My grandmother needed to be operated on and I ended up in Bryan’s home. I graduated two months after my marriage to him but I couldn’t go for the job because Bryan didn’t want the public to know of our marriage.
After debating on what to do for a while and seeing his angry look, I decide to speak up, not for his sake but Jason’s sake. I won’t let what he is doing get into my head and stop me from extending a helping hand when I can.
“Bryan”, I call and quickly bite my lips. I have forgotten about his warnings for me not to call his name again. He glares at me harshly and I almost shut up.Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.
“Sorry, boss”, I chuckle nervously.
“Erhhmmm”, I scratch my hair in apprehension, hoping the dandruff in my hair won’t fall off and Bryan won’t send me out because of that.
“I heard your conversation, I wasn’t eavesdropping. I just heard and I want to help out.”
As if I am not talking to him, he stares back at the TV and I purse my lips together. I shouldn’t have talked.
I want to speak up again so he won’t think I am invading his privacy or poking nosing in his affairs. We have a thing in common and that is Jason. I am doing this because of Jason and not because Bryan deserves it.
“Bryan.. boss..”
“Shut the f*** up”, he yells and I squirm in my seat, before shutting my mouth and sitting still in my seat. Jason did not notice anything and I am glad. I sit quietly blaming myself for not minding my business.
An awkward silence falls over us, taking over the comforting silence of earlier.
Before I can think deeply about the troubles Bryan is faced with that he isn’t ready to share with me, I begin to doze off again.
Within minutes, sleep eludes me.