Chapter 58
Angel Leffman
I haven't spoken to Sofia for two days. That woman is so stubborn! When she told me that she was not going to answer my calls, she meant it. Incredible!
I walked around the Andrew and Leffman workshop to see the progress and see Diether concentrating on a certain model.
"Ah, here's the man from the new collection." I greet him, and he immediately covers the sketch.
"Hello, Angel. I have orders, so I'm not going to show this to you. Don't insist."
"Yes, I know. Don't worry, I know my wife, and it's better not to disobey her, but is it wrong to be curious? How are you preparing?"
"Well, I'm still a bit nervous, although Sofia helped me with certain touch-ups. She has good ideas, by the way."
I remember the design that I showed her and the adjustments that she made to it. I wonder what she did with it.
"Yes, she has excellent ideas, but she is quite busy. Come on, man. Let go of your nerves; you're great at your job, and we've already presented projects to the board before." I gripped his shoulder to show support. "Yes, but they were your designs."
"And yours too; don't look down on yourself. Diet."
"Yes, but you bore the responsibility as design director; now I have to do it."
"Well, it's time to move up. Sofia has good judgment, and if she chose you, it is because she knows you can do it, and I agree, 100 percent, with the decision she made."
"I hope I don't disappoint you all, although Sofia is happy with the work we have done."
"There you have it, so don't worry; if she gave you the signal to set up the presentation, it's because she likes it, so have some confidence."
"Thank you, Angel. I must admit that I miss having you working here."
"Yes, me too. But I guess it's for the better because my inspiration is on the floor."
"Problems at home?"
"Sofia. When she gets angry, she is not the nicest person in the world, and she is making me pay dearly for it. Something tells me that it's not even the beginning." I shared and shook my head. Diether chuckled. "What did you do to make her upset?"
"Let's just say that we both have a difficult character and if one does not give in, we end up in a war. This time, no one gave in, and I paid the price, but I must admit that it is my fault."
"It's always our fault, even when it's not; remember that," he advised, and I laughed.
"Yes, I know. I'll leave you to continue with your work while I continue walking around."
When I get back to my office, Tamara informs me that someone wants to see me.
"Good afternoon." Neo greeted me.
"Neo, finally," I breathed, and I ushered him into my office. Neo is the man I have as an investigator for my personal affairs, and when I have to let Harry rest, the poor guy is going to sue me sooner or later. "I'll take your presence as a sign that you have news." "That's right, I already have the information you asked for," he replied, handing me a folder. "That contains everything she has done in the past five years and in the last few days."
"Thanks; I appreciate it." I paid him, and he left.
I feel a bit relaxed today because everything is starting to get clearer.
"What's with the happy face?" Harry noticed as he entered my office.
"Nothing. It just feels like everything is starting to make sense."
"Did you see the news? They won't stop talking about Elisa's engagement; others don't understand what happened to her, and the latest one today is that they broke off the engagement hours after it was discovered. It was said that she was not worthy to be a member of the family." "The press must be destroying her." I guessed without feeling any sympathy for Elisa because she deserves it.
"Not only in the press but in the club too, people keep judging her for her possible infidelity to the Arab."
"As long as they don't mention me, it doesn't affect me. She should have seen that coming."
"Have you talked to her about the baby?"
"No, she is avoiding me, and I don't want to get close either, not to mention the way things are going. I don't want my name to appear as the reason for the breakup of her engagement." "Well, in a sense, you are the reason. Thanks to you, the poor guy found out that his girlfriend is not so pure and innocent. I mean, to invent that she's a r**e victim?"
"Who knows if it's true, but with her fame, who is going to believe her? Her parents are the ones who must not be having a good time."
"You said it. They say that Mrs. Dalton has not appeared at the club or in any public place, her father isn't any better, and her brother is the only one who shows her face without explanations."
"It's sad to believe that they thought they had a worthy and respectable daughter, only to find out that she is the exact opposite."
"By the way, the favors of the professors and classmates have been disclosed. They went to ask them, and the faculty filed a lawsuit." He clicked his tongue and narrowed his eyes at me. "Don't tell me," he trailed off in suspicion. "Did you have anything to do with that?" "Maybe, maybe not," I replied with a grin, and we both laughed. "I might or might not have given them a name or two, which could be the reason for her failed engagement."
"Didn't you say that you weren't going to expose her to the public and that you were only going to show her that you knew the truth?"
"I change my mind. She deserves that and more. Because of her, I made Sofia suffer, and what I did to her does not make up for these five years in any way. I still haven't discovered who helped her with the photos and what she gained from them. Most importantly, the paternity of her baby."
"I don't think she's going to tell you that it wasn't yours. She's not going to risk it."
"It's a possibility, but if I have to push her to the limit to get her to tell me, I will. I have to go; can you take care of the company for a few days?"
Harry frowned. "Days? Where are you going?"
"To close a deal and solve a problem, I'm leaving you in charge of everything. Call me only if it's urgent, and don't bother me for something stupid." "Yes, I'll take care of it, but..." I didn't let him finish and closed the door behind me.
"Tamara, I'll be gone for a few days, and I'm leaving Harry in charge along with Diether; if any problem arises, let them know; I have to resolve some issues."
I went home and fixed a few things for both companies. After that, I called the airport to arrange a ticket for me and took the earliest flight. After hours of leaving everything arranged and preparing, I am on my way back to solve what is keeping me up at night.
It took a few hours of travel until I finally reached the hotel restaurant to see the most beautiful woman I'd ever laid eyes on. having breakfast with a man.
"Good morning, may I sit?" I didn't wait for them to answer and sat beside the table. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Angel Leffman." I introduced myself to the gentleman who dared to have breakfast with my wife.
"Mattias Moreau." The man introduced himself, and he offered his hand even when he looked confused.
"I went to your room, but they told me you were here my love," I told Sofia with a smile, but she only sent me a glare.
"I was not expecting you here."
"I know. I wanted to give you a surprise." I told her and turned to Mattias. "My wife is an expert at sneaking away, so I need to look for her."
Mattias chuckled and agreed. "I thought she'd only be like that in business."
"No, but I always find her anyway. After all, we've been doing this for five years-ouch!" I exclaimed when she kicked me under the table.
"We're in a work meeting, honey," Sofia told me with a warning. "I'm sorry about this, Mattias; my husband loves to give me surprises."
"Oh, don't worry; in this country, love is something that flourishes."
"I agree with you," I interrupted them. "Nothing is better than France for romance. Now, can I have breakfast with you or should I wait for you in the room?"
"Don't worry, you can eat with us; I don't think she would agree seeing as you came all the way here to look for this beautiful lady," Mattias said, and it made me like the man.
"Thank you, Mattias. Love, this gentleman is much nicer than you told me he was."
"Has she told you about me?" Mattias asked in surprise.
"Just the basics-nothing to exaggerate, but I assure you that they are all positive." I joked, and we both laughed.Property © NôvelDrama.Org.
"You see, my wife is a humble person, and she does not like people knowing that she is a great designer." I am saying this in favor of Sofia because I know that the man is one of the partners of the company with which she is closing a fashion contract. "That's what I thought as well, but that is just crazy, 'no? Everyone should know who is the creator of such beauty," Mattias said in his thick French accent.
"I told her the same thing, but she doesn't want to, and we have to respect that. You wouldn't want to make her angry, believe me."
Mattias laughed, and the negative feeling I felt for him vanished.
"Well, we were talking about the first products to export and have a parade to show our brand and products," Sofia interrupts us.
I stayed silent and just listened to her do business, like the expert she is. I love her. She is perfect, even bad-tempered, and I am the biggest idiot for not realizing that Elisa lied to me all this time. How do I get this woman to forgive me? Because she's not going to do it with bouquets of flowers and pretty words.
"Angel!" Sofia called me, pulling me back to reality to see them looking at me. "They asked you a question."
"Ah, Mattias, I'm sorry. I was just enthralled watching and listening to my wife's intelligence. I'm sorry, it's something I can't help. What was it that you're telling me?" Sofia kicked me again, and I just smiled. "I must have looked like a fool."
"No, not at all! With such a brilliant woman, I would be the same." He winked at me, and I smiled.
"And she's mine," I emphasized. Don't go too far, Frenchie. "So, what was it?"
"I was saying that it would be silly for you to use your wife's products because some men don't use their partners' brands."
"I already explained to him that you are very picky about clothes," Sofia answered ahead of me with an awkward laugh.
"Yes, I am, but I do use my wife's brand since she remembered that gentlemen exist and decided to launch a line for us."
That was two and a half years ago. Sofia looked stunned and looked at me in surprise, but she was skeptical at the same time. "Thank God she remembered us."
"Do you use her brand?" I asked Mattias, and I could feel Sofia's eyes on me. Maybe she didn't expect that I would wear her clothes, but yes, she is beautiful, even if you don't know it.
"Not all, because they have only distributed very few here, between handbags and some sports clothing."
"Ah, but you must wear the gala clothes, Mattias. The jackets are my favorite. I have them all, and the boxers are also comfortable. You know how essential it is for a man."
"Of course, nothing can bother us down there."
"Exactly, I highly recommend it to you. There are also accessories. They are good quality and have a masculine look."
"I imagine you have early access to every new piece of clothing Sofia creates, like the jackets, right?" Mattias wondered.
"It doesn't surprise me that you think so, but no. My wife is strict about that. And only after she launches a product do I have the luxury of purchasing her clothes, not before."
"He cannot have privileges, Mattias; he must be on equal terms with others," Sofia explained herself.
"And I take it that he is the inspiration for his masculine designs?"
That's a good question, and I almost kissed his bald head. We both looked at Sofia while waiting for an answer.
"Of course... in some parts. It's just that when I create a design, I think about everyone because each one of us has different tastes." She almost stuttered, and I still found her so pretty. "So do we agree to launch the brand at the end of the month?" "Why at the end of the month?" I asked because it'd clash with the presentation of Andrew and Leffman.
"Angel!" Sofia called my name to stop me.
"Sofi, the contract is already closed, right?" I asked, and Mattias confirmed. "Then you can launch at the end of the week or the next so that people will know that it is already in stores in France."
"Angel, we still need to plan the event and bring the merchandise here, and that takes time."
"Sofi, it seems that the gentleman is an expert on the subject and must have a place to hold these events. Advertising can be done in a week, plus something tells me that you know how to instill information very well. We can bring the products in two days, and you would only need the essentials so that people already see what you offer. Thus, orders will begin until the end of the month when they arrive."
Mattias hummed under his breath. "That is actually not a bad idea. You can place orders before all the products arrive. We can get the models by making a couple of calls, and I have the place."
"See? Mattias here doesn't waste time."
"Thanks, I think we can do it next week; what do you think?" Sofia reluctantly agreed, and she looked like she wanted to kill me right then and there. "Perfect! Then I'm going to the company so they can start advertising and square everything." Mattias gets up from the table, and we copy him. "Angel, it was a pleasure meeting you. Sofia, I hope to see you at the event soon."
Once he's gone, I feel a pinch on my shoulder. "Ouch, stop doing that!"
"Are you insane?! Why do you have to involve yourself in my business? Who said you could give your opinion?!"
"Because it was only logical. Let's see, why are you going to wait until the end of the month when you're already here? The faster you launch, the better. Moreover, at the end of this month, you already have a prior commitment to our company."
"Is that what worries you? That I am not going to comply with the company's presentation? Well, that was already prepared, and now you are going to make me run to do everything," Sofia said, miserable with a groan.
"I didn't do it for that reason. I know that you won't neglect your duty at the company, but we are already in France; we can take advantage of the week, and I can help you with everything you need."
"And who told you that I need your help? In fact, what are you even doing here? Didn't you understand that I don't want to see you? Can't you just leave me alone?!"
"Well, it turns out that I am just as stubborn as you. Besides, for the sake of our employees, I needed to take some time."
"Couldn't you go somewhere else where I'm not?"
"I preferred to come to the place where the person responsible for my bad mood is, so I can put myself in a good mood." I grinned at her, and she just glared at me.
"You are the most unbearable being I have ever met in my life, Angel Leffman!"
"Oh, I already know that. Now finish your breakfast because we have a lot of work to do."
"We have? You and I have nothing." She sneered, her beautiful face scrunched up in annoyance.
"I don't think so, darling. In addition to being married, we have to plan an event. Now tell me, who should we call to order everything you need? You can tell Isaac to divulge the information. After all, you are good at it."
"You just had to come and ruin my trip, right? You don't want to see me in peace and quiet!"
"I am not here to bother you or ruin your trip. I want to make you happy, and since you didn't come back and won't answer my calls, I decided to visit you."
"Go make your dear and beloved Elisa happy and stop bothering me! Angel Leffman, I will only say this once; go back where you came from because I don't want to see you here."
"My love, I can give you everything you want, but that. First, because I am a man of my word and I already said that I was going to help you put on the event. What is Mattias going to think of me if I go and leave you stranded with all this? No, and most importantly, I am here to conquer you."
"You're going to have to do more than that for me to forgive you. What made you think I wanted to forgive you in the first place? Do whatever you want to do because I don't want you in my life. You know what? Stay if you want to stay, but just don't get in my way."
She looked upset and angry when she left, and I sighed. This is going to be more difficult than I thought. Well, Angel Leffman, it's your turn to do the chasing.
Damn, why did I have to fall in love with the most complicated woman in the world?