Chapter 7 Bumping Into Leah

"A supervisor?" Ethan asked, a puzzled expression displaying on his face.

Leah adjusted her top, and gave out a bright smile before speaking "Yes sir, I had taken a leave to go further my education at the Popular Libral University in Howen. I just returned yesterday she said still wearing a bright smile

Ohhh, Ethan said wearing an unimpressed look, he did not seem interested in her talk.

from the way she introduced herself, he could tell how proud a person she was.

"Why are you here," he asked wanting to discard her as soon as possible.

"Umm, Since we never met before, I came to introduce myself, she replied biting her lips

"That's fine, you can go now he replied without looking up

"Umm, sir? Okay, sir. She said before walking away reluctantly.

Walking through the hallway, Leah felt disappointed, before approaching him, she was well aware that he was cold and unwelcoming but she never expected him to discard her so hastily

"He should have at least asked to know my name she grumbled.

Lost in her anger, she did not know when she diverted from her lane thereby bumping into Mel who happened to pass by at the time

Watch where you're going, will you? Leah said ignoring the fact that she was at fault

"Excuse you, I should be the one saying that, you're clearly in the wrong. Mel replied as her face twisted into a frown

"What? Did you just talk back at me? Do you know who I am, Leah shouted scanning Mel's face, she was sure she had not seen her before.

I don't care about your identity, it would do me no good to know Mel retorted aggravating her the more.

"Who on earth are you to reply in such a condescending manner?" Leah shouted again, her face displaying contempt.

Mel chuckled at her question, Who I am, you really wanna know who I am, huh? Well sorry to disappoint you but, that's none of your business. Now if you'll excuse me Mel replied brazenly before walking away thereby leaving Leah in a daze

"Who the hell employed such an arrogant Lady Arghhh Leah complained cursing under her breath. She clenched her teeth in anger as she walked away.

-At Ethans Office-

It s 6:00 pm and Ethan is ready to leave for the day, he picks up his belongings and strides confidently through the halls, he looked like a perfect gentleman in his sharp business attire, his gaze is focused ahead ignoring the admiring eyes of the employees that lurked around him, was it only admiration? Of course not, there were some envious eyes too. As he approaches the elevator, he ignores their stares and steps into the elevator, he presses the down-floor button, leaning against the mirror wall as the elevator begins its descent. Finally reaching the last floor, Ethan straightens up in preparation to step out, the door opens revealing the parking lot. He walks further as he approaches the place where his car is parked, nodding to the greeting coming from a security personnel as he passed.

A black Maybach soon comes into view, and the chauffeur, Mr. Kim steps out of the car upon sighting his boss. He holds the door open for him and bows respectfully.

Ethan nods in reply and gets into the car, Mr. Kim closes the door and steps into the driver's seat.

A few minutes later, the car was moving stealthily on the road. "Mr. Kim" Ethan called

"Yes boss" he replied almost immediately

"You know you don't always need to drive me around you could use some time alone once in a while," Ethan said to the chauffeur

"Thank you, sir, but it's my job to keep driving you around and I'm happy I get to do this much, Mr. Kim who was surprised at Ethan's act of kindness to him replied.

Ethan paused for a while before speaking up again,

"I appreciate your commitment and hard work, if you ever need some time off, just let me know," he said calmly

"Thank you sir" Mr. Kim replied happily as he started the car.

The black Maybach glided smoothly through the city streets as Ethan leaned back in his seat feeling tired.

As they approached Prime Villa where Ethan lived, he sighed and looked out of the window at the imposing gates, he longed for a simpler life sometimes where he could just relax and not worry about the burdens of running a company, but that was impossible, there were so many things that still needed to be done.

finally reaching the Villa, Mr. Kim expertly drives the Luxury Maybach up the long driveway bringing the car to a halt in front of the grand entrance to the villa. Ethan exchanges pleasantries with the Chauffeur and walks into the Villa. At the door, he meets butler William at the door who had come to welcome him. "Welcome young Master," he said

Ethan nodded in reply as he proceeds inside, he takes off his coat and handed it to the Butler, "thanks William" he said before turning to walk towards his room. Butler William follows behind keeping a respectful pace and waiting outside the door until Ethan enters and closes the door behind him.

Inside, Ethan changes out of his work clothes and Freshens up, A few minutes later he emerges from his room, now dressed in comfortable pajamas. Butler William had already set the table. Taking a seat at the table Ethan thanked Butler William, even though he was cold and arrogant at work, he always treated his personal workers like family. As for butler William, he had lived with Ethan all his life ever since he was sent to the states to study, Butler William was one of the people who had motivated him to return to the Jenovia to take over the company.

As Ethan ate, he silently moved about the room filling Ethan's glass with water and bringing out the main course. "How was work today, sir." He inquired as he poured a glass of wine for Ethan.

"Long", Ethan replied with a sigh. But it's over now, I can finally relax".

The old man nodded sympathetically, "I understand sir. Would you like to talk about it?"

Ethan shook his head a little before speaking "Not really, it's just the same old stuff. Meetings, Paperwork, and meetings. But I did have an interesting conversation with a new employee today"

"Oh?" the butler prompted, pouring some soup into Ethan's bowl.

"Yes," Ethan continued taking a sip of his wine. She's a bit of a firecracker, that one sarcastic but also very smart. I'm interested to see how she does here".

The old man nodded in response "It sounds like she will be an asset to the company sir,"

"Maybe, I gave her six months to see how it plays out. At the thought of this, Ethan's lips curved into a smile. how has your stay in the country been so far?" He asked the butler changing the topic.

"It's been lovely sir, the butler replied with a smile "The fresh air and the peaceful surroundings have served as a welcome change for me. What about you sir, how have you been holding up? you used to dislike this place so much"

"Well I'm left with no choice but to get accustomed to it, it's a nice place though, at least it's quiet and different from the busy city of San Francisco plus I get to see very beautiful sceneries I haven't seen in ages.

"That's nice to hear, Jenovia is a nice place to live, we just need to get rid of those who made it a bad memory to remember. Butler William said with a trace of anger in his voice.

Ethan simply nodded in reply looking content as he finished the rest of his meal in silence.

Noticing that his words had made Ethan uncomfortable Butler William immediately apologized, "I'm sorry sir, I was just lost in my anger" he said regretting that he had brought up such a sensitive topic

"It's fine, we will have to deal with it at one point in time anyway. " Ethan said with a smile, there were a lot of thoughts embedded in his heart.

After eating, Ethan returns to his room, he finishes up some of the paperwork on his laptop before taking his rest

****

-Darth's Living Room-

Darth seethed with anger as he sat on the plush sofa in his living room. "That daring child, he should have died back then, he really thinks he's all grown and out of my hold now, haha" Darth growled giving out a peal of humorless laughter at the end of his statement.

His girlfriend, Lauren, sat beside him, fidgeting nervously with her hands. She knew how possessive Darth could be, and she was afraid of what he might do if he lost his temper. "Darth, please calm down," she said softly. "It's not worth getting so worked up over."

Darth turned to her, his eyes blazing with fury. "I didn't ask for your opinion," he spat.

Lauren shrank back, her eyes filling with tears. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I just thought that maybe, if I could... Umm...I mean I could have taken care of him a long time ago but you refused, why don't you save yourself the trouble and let me in... She stuttered

"Quiet Woman, Are you out of your mind?" he said cutting her off midway through her sentence as he pushed her violently causing her to lose her balance and fall to the ground.

"Arghhhh, came her groan from the pain.

Lauren cowered on the floor as Darth towered over her, his face contorted with rage. But then he seemed to calm down, and he knelt beside her, taking her face in his hands. "Lauren, you know I can't risk you like that," he said softly. "You belong to me and no one else".

He lifted her to the sofa, and Lauren sat there, trembling, as he poured her a glass of wine. "Drink this and keep being a good girl as you've always been he said as she gulped down the contents of the cup, Lauren felt the warmth of the alcohol spread through her body. She knew that she had made a mistake, but she couldn't help but feel a sense of relief that Darth had forgiven her. For now, at least.