Chapter 8 Face-To-Face With Julian

Eva's heart began to beat so hard as though it would jump out of her chest when Roy, the chauffeur, took the private road that led to Julian's mega-mansion. 

There were heavily armed security men at the entrance of the road. They waved at them and Roy cleared by the side of the road. One of the security men walked up to them to confirm their identities. James wound down the glass when he saw him coming towards them. 

"No one comes here without his invitation, so what's your name? He asked, pointing at James. 

"I'm James Daniels," James responded. The security man looked at the gadget he was holding and shook his head. 

"Your names, please?" He asked again, fixing his gaze on the gadget. 

"I'm Roy," the chauffeur said. The man shook his head again. He looked steadily at Eva and her mother as though he was wondering why some women are so stubborn. 

"Your names, please!" He said a bit louder. 

"I'm Molly Miles" 

"I'm Eva," 

"Eva, can you drive?" The man asked. James and Eva exchanged glances, wondering why he asked. She nodded her head after some seconds. 

"Okay, you are the only one that is permitted to proceed. Others will wait behind." He said, waiting for their reaction. 

"No, she is not entering there alone. It is either we go with her or we turn around and go back," James said. 

"Fine, you can turn around and go back to wherever you came from," the security man said and began to walk away. 

"No, we are not going back; we must see him today. You have just six days until your wedding and we need to make sure no one interrupts the occasion." Molly said

"I'll be right back," James let out and came down from the car. He walked into the logistics office that was at the entrance of the road. 

"Hi," he waved at the lady that had her eyes fixed on a computer. The lady looked up at him and grinned. 

"Please we are here to see Julian but the logisticians won't pass us." 

"Did he invite you?" The lady asked. 

"No, but he invited my fiancee," James responded. 

"We have a procedure here, sir. We don't care if the invitee is your wife. Once your name is not on our system, no entry for you. You can choose to wait behind or go back home. 

"Is he at home?" James asked. 

"I'm not permitted to answer this, but I'm going to do it. Julian is not available at the moment. He will be here any time from now." The lady responded. 

"Thanks," James said and walked away. 

"Eva, we are going to wait behind. You must see him," Molly said.

Eva shuddered inwardly at the thought of meeting him alone. She leaned on her mother's shoulder, wished James had sat beside her; she would have loved to hold him tight. 

Eva came down from the car to admire the lush vegetation. James moved closer to her and put his arm on her shoulder as they kept admiring the beautiful trees that gave the road a cozy look. 

A disgracefully snazzy custom-made Aston Martin drove in and stopped when it got to where the security men were standing. The glasses were tinted so no one could see the person that was inside.

Eva and James saw the security men pointing at them. Soon one of them began to walk towards them. 

"You can go in now," he said and walked away. 

They exchanged glances and walked towards their car. Roy ignited the engine and drove off immediately. 

There were just four mansions on the street, and none of them had fences. The lush vegetation that surrounded each building provided privacy. Roy did not know where to go, so he cleared the road. 

The custom-made Aston Martin drove into one of the breathtaking mansions. Roy followed the car. 

They pulled behind a football field that looked like a mini stadium. Eva could not come out of the car. However, her mother insisted she must come down. She slowly came out. 

The mega-mansion which unfolded in three levels was extravagantly glamorous. Eva looked at the house and took her eyes away. She leaned on their car and was staring at the Aston Martin that was parked in a garage. 

The garage had about ten exotic high-end model cars. Eva frowned her face because she felt the cars were too much for one person. 

They stood with curiosity, waiting for whoever that came in with the Aston Martin to come out of his car. 

A lady laughed and came out of the car. Eva recognized her immediately. She was the same girl Julian had been flaunting her pictures on social media. 

Julian came out through the same passenger's side of the car. They were quite far so Eva could not see his face clearly. 

However, she noticed he had an intimidating height. 

James looked at him and felt intimidated. He drew Eva closer to himself and held her tight. It was as though he was telling Julian that she belonged to him.

Julian did not look in their direction. He took his girlfriend and began to walk towards the entrance of the house. 

Eva and James leaned on the car for more than an hour. There was no one to talk to. Molly kept encouraging them to wait each time they tried to go. 

After about an hour, thirty minutes, they saw a lady coming towards them. She was gorgeously dressed and no one would ever know she was one of the domestic staff in the house. 

"Goodday, sir, good day, ma," she greeted. James nodded and fixed his gaze on her mouth. He felt like squeezing the message she was there to deliver out of her mouth. They were tired of waiting. 

"The boss said he is ready to talk to the lady. You can come with me if you are ready to meet him." The maid prostrated, waiting for her response. 

Eva and James exchanged glances. James gestured to her to go with the maid. He held her hand when she tried to move forward. 

"Remember, I don't care what you did. Do not allow him to blackmail you," James said but he was surprised Eva did not give him a reassuring nod. He began to feel insecure again. 

"Please drop your handbag," the maid said when she turned and saw her walking behind her with a clutch bag. Eva opened the bag and took out her phone. She threw the bag at James. 

"Please, drop the phone, ma," the maid said. 

"What?" Eva asked angrily. 

"Drop the phone," she responded. Eva stood with hands akimbo staring at the maid. Her face was contorted with rage and unhappiness. 

James moved closer, brought her hands down, and opened his palms for her. She dropped the phone. The maid left immediately she did that, Eva walked behind her. 

The maid led Eva to the main building through the grand foyer. There was a vast curving staircase that steered to the third level of the mansion. The maid walked towards it, and Eva kept walking behind her. 

When they got to the third floor, an automatic door opened slowly when it detected motion. The maid stepped aside for Eva to go in, she hesitated. 

It was a control room with different kinds of gadgets. There were chairs made with high-end materials. 

"Go in and wait for him. He is bathing, and will be with you shortly," the maid said. 

Eva pondered for some seconds before entering the room. The door shut slowly. 

She glanced down at her wristwatch, it was already 4:50 pm. She was tired and hungry.

Eva sat gently on a chair. She kept shuddering each time she heard a noise. 

Two hours had passed already and Julian had not come to meet her. Hunger and tiredness she felt wielded together in one upsurge of devouring yawning. 

Eva pushed herself to a standing position when she could not wait any longer. 

The door swung slowly and a tall figure stood behind it staring at her wickedly. Eva stood like a monument staring at his compelling blue eyes, his firm outlines, and optimistic set of shoulders. 

He had authority and the appearance of one who demanded instant compliance. Eva's heart began to beat noisily, her eyes flickered continuously. 

She felt like taking some step backward when Julian began to walk in carrying himself with a commanding air of self-confidence. His tight jersey elucidated his broad chest which was quite muscular.