Meeting Mr. Mogul: A Billionaire Contemporary Romance (29 page)

After William ushered us to our seats in the field box as he had promised, he left us for a moment as he went to greet the friend who gave him the ticket. I turned my gaze on William as he walked towards his friend. He looked almost identical to him, wearing an expensive suit. He was a foot shorter than William with dark brown hair styled neatly. I watched their mouths move as they talked in hushed tones.

“So, what did you do to the man to have him do all of this?” my father quietly asked a few minutes after William left us.

“What? I didn’t do anything… I think…” I replied as I stared at him in disbelief. But then, I looked away when I remembered the kiss William and I shared yesterday morning. I could feel my cheeks suddenly heat up from the memory.

“Did you apologize for yesterday?” he asked sternly, ignoring my blush.

“Why does it have to be me who has to apologize? He was the one who crossed the line,” I replied in defense, annoyed that my own father was siding with him.

In reply, my father looked at me blankly. He kept that expression until I gave in and sighed in defeat. “Okay. Fine,” I concluded with resignation.

I stood up from my comfortable seat and stomped my foot with much emphasis that I didn’t like what I was about to do. My father watched me in amusement and chuckled at my reaction. I was about to take a step towards the door when I staggered back as I bumped into someone. I was about to apologize but halted my words at the man’s familiar voice.

“I’m sorry. You shouldn’t walk out like that, you know,” William stated smugly.

“Well, I was about to make sure if these seats are for real and not you pranking me into believing that you actually got these seats,” I countered in a dead tone. My plan on apologizing had evaporated. Who would want to apologize to a person that has this kind of high-and-mighty attitude?

I faintly heard my father’s cough in disapproval as I saw his head shake in disbelief in my peripheral vision. I didn’t waver and continued to stare William down.

“If you are trying to say thank you, you could have done it with a little less bitter face.” William grinned cheekily after a few seconds while he kept his eyes on me. I can’t believe he brushed off my mood.

I sneered at him as I turned away, ending that conversation. I slowly sat down on my seat beside my father while William took the empty seat on my left. When we’ve finally settled down, I realized that we had the same seating arrangement when we were in the car and I didn’t like it. Would it be weird to ask my dad to change seats with me?

With a sneaky glance towards my father on my right, I gave him a silent signal to change seats with me. But my father’s mind was somewhere else. His eyes were fixed on the huge baseball field in front of us. For a second, I swear the fire in his eyes was palpable. Now, I’m doomed to be seated in this chair until the end of the game.

During the short breaks when the teams would switch from pitching to batting, I casually talked with my father so that I wouldn’t have to converse much with William. And when we did talk, it was on an unpleasant note. William asked me which team I would be cheering for and the answer I had given him made his face turn sour. We both bickered from time to time about the team each of us was supporting because somehow in his mind, he thought that his team was going to win. From a realistic standing point, the team I was cheering for was winning without breaking much sweat—exaggeration intended.

The game was about to end and much to my dismay, my team was on the verge of losing. We were screaming at the top of our lungs as we cheered and shouted for the last pitch. William and I were on the edge of our seats as we watched the ball getting hit on the ninth inning. I was so absorbed by the game that mentally I was praying for them to get a home run.

“Yeah!” I yelled in exultation as the ball flew high up towards the far end of the field as the batter ran through the bases. “We won! We won! Home run!” I screamed as I jumped out of my seat and fist pumped the air above me.

Beside me, I heard the sweet laugh of my father as he eyed me with amusement. On my left, William looked defeated yet the smile on his lips showed that he wasn’t too disappointed.

As we slowly made our way back to the car, I was still hyped up from the game as I talked about the game with my father. I had forgotten about everything that had happened. This was supposed to be about my father but why do I feel like he did this for me?

After talking to my dad, I glanced towards William. When I found the space beside me empty, I was slightly disoriented. I stopped dead in my tracks as I turned around, scanning the crowded hallway for William.

“Who are you looking for?” his deep voice suddenly whispered behind me.

I jumped in surprise as I turned around at the sound of his voice. William sniggered at my reaction and continued to look at me in amusement.

“I was looking for your losing face,” I replied in playful annoyance, my good mood hadn’t died down.

“You like looking at me?” he asked with a smirk, his voice teasing.

My eyebrows scrunched up together at his question, as my face slowly heat up. “No! I was looking for you to thank you for today. But, now, I think I’ll change my mind.”

  “I was only joking, Andy. Why do you always take things to heart?”

“I know that was a joke,” I muttered shyly as I felt the stupidity of what I just said. I don’t know why I feel so bothered with this man.

“Come on. They’re probably looking for us now,” William changed the subject with a defeated sigh as he turned towards the direction of the car.

I didn’t give him a reply and followed closely behind him. I didn’t notice that they left without us. When we reached the car, my father was already inside while Mark started the car. As I entered the car, sitting in the middle again, my father looked at me with a question in his eyes. I knew he was asking me if I apologized and thanked William for today. I turned away from his gaze, giving him my reply. I heard his faint sigh again. I think he will be sighing a lot if we were going to have this topic about William and me.

The drive to my father’s hospital was silent and agonizingly long. I was left again to my thoughts as both men beside me looked out the window. And here I thought I was having a blast a few minutes ago. I knew it was my fault that both men aren’t talking to me. So I had to gather my confidence and talk to either of them. My first choice is quite obvious already.

“How are you, Dad?” I asked, my voice ringing in the silent, confined space.

My father turned towards me with his eyebrow raised. He knew for sure what I was trying to do. “Today’s good,” he replied softly. “Oh! I almost forgot…” he started, pausing as he leaned forward to look over at William. “Thank you for today, son. I had a great time watching a baseball game live. Plus, the bunker seat was just a cherry on top.”

“No problem, Mr. Peterson. I’m glad that you enjoyed it,” William replied and returned his enthusiasm with a smile.

I peered at my father and William as they made the exchange. I quickly looked away when my eyes lingered longer as William smiled. On my left, my father lightly nudged me, which made me glance back at him. He stared at me for a second and looked at William and back at me again. I squinted my eyes at him and looked away. I didn’t dare myself to look back at either side of me.

“My daughter says her thanks, too,” my father suddenly said, making me whip my head animatedly at his direction.

“Uhm…” William softly replied beside me, hardening my gaze on my dad.

When my father finally looked at me, I mouthed to him
“What are you doing?”
To which he replied by giving me a side-eye. My lips thinned into a grim line as I continued to stare him. The end of his lips suddenly twitched as he saw my expression.

“Don’t be stubborn, peanut,” he whispered to me before he went back to looking out the window.

I stayed silent after that and didn’t bother striking up a conversation with either of them. My father thanking William on my behalf made me feel like I was indebted to him and it irked me to no end. Talking to anyone at this point is no longer an option.

The car pulled up in front of the hospital and I’ve never felt more relieved. I started to breathe normally as we got out of the car. I didn’t notice William getting out with us until my father talked to him.

“Thank you again for today, son. Now, I think I can die peacefully… well, no, wait, I still can’t. I need to see my daughter settle down first.”

“Well, I can assure you she will be in good hands, Mr. Peterson,” William replied with a small shy smile.

“What are you two talking about?” I asked in confusion.

“Nothing, peanut,” my father replied with a secret smile. “I’ll be heading up now. You two can go ahead and enjoy the rest of the day while I take my rest,” he added as he slowly made his way towards the entrance of the hospital.

“Wait… What?” I asked, confused by his words. I caught up with him and lightly grabbed my father’s arm. “I’m staying here for the rest of the day... right?” I started yet trailed off into a question, unsure by my father’s words.

He leaned down towards my ear as he cupped the other side of my face. “William asked me if he can take you out after the game. I already gave him my consent,” he whispered.

I took a step away from him, putting a distance between us. “Why would you do that without telling me anything?” I asked, slightly annoyed at that sudden information.

“He hasn’t asked you yet?” he asked, confused by my reaction. “I though he asked you when we planned to separate after the game.”

“You two planned all of this? How could you? You know that I…” I started, my annoyance growing into anger.

“Don’t tell me you don’t like him, peanut. Terry already told me.”

“When did Terry tell you all of these things anyway?”

“I was worried about you after you walked out, so I called him. He visited last night after he came by your place and told me everything.”

“I can’t believe you two are gossiping about me. I’m not going on a date with him,” I added with more volume.

“Who said you are going on a date? I only agreed that he can take you out for dinner,” he asked, eyeing me with confusion.

“Dad,” I paused and sighed. “A dinner between two people of the opposite sex, which doesn’t involve business or other formal things, is a date. Don’t pretend you don’t know this,” I continued monotonously.

“Andy…”

“Uhm… excuse me,” someone behind me interrupted.

I turned around and was about to tell the person off until my eyes landed at the man’s stern face. I gaped at him for a second before I gathered enough courage to say something, but he beat me to it.

“Andy, do you have anywhere else to go today?” he asked casually, though his voice was deeper and smoother than usual.

“No,” I replied softly, knowing what was going to happen next from my father’s tip off a few moments ago.

William paused for a second as he rubbed the back of his neck with his right hand. From the way he was shifting his weight and fidgeting badly, he’s awfully nervous. I don’t get why he’s being nervous after what happened between us.

“Go ahead, son. Ask her already,” my father interrupted impatiently as he walked up to William and patted his arm in comfort. “You kids have fun. Take care of my baby girl, William,” he added as he quickly walked away from us towards the elevator.

My eyes followed my father’s every step while my mouth hung wide open. I can’t believe he just gave him permission to take me out on a date. My father had never done such a thing to my past suitors – not that William is in the same league as them.

“Your dad is a very enthusiastic man,” he stated with a chuckle after my father was out of our line of sight.

I turned towards him wearily. “Yeah. He’s like that when he likes someone. I’m so sorry about his comfortable approach on you.”

“Don’t be. I like it that calls me son,” he admitted without shame as his lips twitched into a grin.

“Don’t let it get to your head. The moment you do something wrong, he’ll start calling you ‘that prick’.” I chuckled at a memory of how he handled my ex’s.

“Thank you for warning me ahead of time,” he smiled in reply, his anxiety gone. “Do you want to go to this really lovely pastry shop? It’s only a few blocks from the apartment,” he added smoothly.

I studied his expression for a second as I tried to read the atmosphere. “You’re not giving up, are you?”

“I’m known to be stubborn…”

“If you’re paying, I’ll come. But let me warn you, I really like sweets,” I admitted with a chortle as I walked ahead of him towards the waiting black SUV outside.

It was as short drive to the pastry shop. The car stopped in front of a restaurant that resembled a posh Parisian restaurant. At the entrance there was a podium made of redwood where a maître d’ welcomed us. The tinted glass wall bricks and clear glass door made it look perfectly chic. He lied. This was definitely not a pastry shop. Since I was hungry, I let it slide and allowed him to take me inside to eat. There was a nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach as we entered the restaurant but I tried to shake it off. What am I doing?