Chapter 4 - Matchmaking

"Dad?" Estelle howled when she listened to the voice from the other side of the line. Joel gaped at her with unreadable emotions. Her Dad is the only one who calls her Mon Cherri. But what she couldn't understand was why he was phoning her with an unidentified number.

"Why are you squealing astounded? Couldn't you divulge from my voice"? He implored disgruntled and wondering why she hasn't been responding to his phone calls.

" I partly did but why did you call with an unidentified number?" She asked bewildered, knowing that her dad only called her with his private number, which she had saved on her phone.

"Oui, Mon Cherri, if you hadn't ignored my calls, I wouldn't be forced to use this one". She remembered when the phone rang in the lecture hall and she didn't answer. But a few days ago, she had deliberately avoided her father's calls, fearing the worst.

" Sorry dad, it's been hectic these days due to project work and I'm barely close to the phone.

"Smart answer. But how is it that you answered an unspecified number on the first ring?" He implored, making her speechless. Discerning her daughter's reluctance to respond to the query, he proceeds to speak. "Don't respond to it. Anyway, I only phoned to instruct you to come home next week. There are some very important people I want you to meet." He says in a serious tone.

"But da-" she tried to decline the invitation but he won't let her have her way this time.

"No buts, this is very important. I will send you one of my private jets." He lets out after a second thought, not wanting her to give any further excuses like she did the last time.

"No, you don't have to send me a Je-"

Estelle remembered she was sitting in front of Joel and held back the word Jet. She has always hidden a lot about her family from him, which made her nervous on the phone.

"Okay Dad, I will be there, I promise." She ascertained.

"Well you don't have a choice because if you don't, I will tell the vice-chancellor to transfer you back to Paris to complete your studies," he warned and she knew he was serious. 

"You don't have to dad, I will be there. Please tell mum that I love her."

"You can call her to tell her that." He responded hastily and the line went dead." Estelle knew that her dad, despite being all-loving and caring, can also be authorizing and confounded. But her major problem is knowing what Joel will do if he knew who her dad was. The sheer recognition of his name could make people want to crawl into concealment.

Last year, she swindled her dad and escaped him forcing her to meet some of his business counterparts. She always thought them to be overly boring and domineering. The worst part is their matchmaking potents. She didn't want to be a victim so the more she avoided such meetings, the better.  No matter how she tried to hide it, anxiety, hesitance, and unrest were so glaring on her face, making her whole demeanor appear to be cold.

"Are you alright?" Joel's concerned voice brought her back to reality, shaking of the uncertainties in her mind because one thing she was very confident about was the fact that she loved Joel so much and will find a way out of her poor excuse of a castle in Paris.

"Yes, am alright." She said without eye contact. Her thoughts were entirely shattered.

"So who called and what did he say to make you so worried?" He asked after a moment of silence.

"It's my dad. He wants me to come home next week." That was all she said. 

"Your dad? If you are going home, it will be good I come with you. We have to let your family know," Joel said excitedly.

"Yes we will, but why don't we finish with your birthday planning," she changed the topic.

"We already concluded that. You said I should choose a venue and let you know how much I will need" he repeated her words.

"Uhm," she smiled nervously. " Yes we did but I was just thinking about the details of it you know and the kind of gift to get you. It's going to be special so everything must is special,"

"I know that but I am not expecting any gift from you." He said holding her hand in his from across the table.

"Why? Do you think I can't get you something nice? She seemed offended.

" No, What I mean is, you have given me more than enough already. I owe everything I have, and everything I am to you, and best of all, you agreed to marry me after college. It's the best gift anyone can dream of." After he spoke, she realized how foolish she has been jumping to unnecessary conclusions. 

"I know that you would have done the same for me if you were in my position." She said with a genuine smile.

" That's true but enough about us. Let's talk about your family." Joel asked, turning all excited to know more about his in-laws. She shifted uncomfortably at the question.

"What do you want to know about them, aside from the fact that they have money to waste and like business investments. She started with the obvious, but not the details.

"So which state are your parents? I figured you don't live with them." Estelle wanted to avoid the question in other not to lie.

"Our food is getting cold. Why don't we ear first?" She suggested, pretending to be hungry?

"Sure, let's eat". Joel agreed.

The President is not the richest man and neither does he do things on his prerequisite. Someone sponsored all the campaigns and when he got power, he has to give back appropriately. Estelle's father is the one who supported all his campaigns which gives him a laudable voice in the ruling of the nation. 

From France, he can get things done in America with just a snap of his finger. Piero Montana is the most powerful and wealthy man in the world. He is American but has lived a chunk of his life in France to the extent of acquiring a France citizenship. He claims he fell in love with the language but his daughter thinks otherwise, judging from what she has heard from her mum.

"Babe, I was thinking of hosting the party at your house instead of the hotel. What do you think?" Joel asked wiping the corners of his mouth, after they had eaten in silence for a while, making Estelle choked on her food forthwith.