A Wife for the Billionaire
Chapter 130: RICHARD

Chapter 130: RICHARD

If I didn’t know any better I would have said that the widow and Sofia shared ties, with that look of utter defiance she was giving me.

But Sofia looked nothing like her or her daughters in fact. With her brunette strands, honey brown eyes and freckleless face. I don’t even see the resemblance between her and the late Mr Blake. From the pictures I’ve seen, the man was dark haired and his eyes were of the same hue as his hair.

Perhaps that was why Alicia hated her so much, she must remind her of herself. That’s if the girl I’ve had dealings with over the last few days reflected a fraction of herself at home.

Knowing her I believe she must have. It was hard not to imagine Sofia being her impertinent self. I suppose over the years, Alicia found a way to keep her in check. To keep her under a leash like a lapdog.

It must have to do with the servant thing. Work does have a way of humbling the unruly. And I plan to work her ass off till she is as humble as she is to her mistress, to me.

"Kpohoh! Kpohoh!" Someone coughed, from behind me, disrupting the silence. I turned to see Felix with a tray of wine, and two flutes.

"Sorry" he muttered, as he came to set the tray. I doubt he knew what had happened or the tension he just broke, or perhaps he did and his cough was his subtle and yet ingenious way of breaking the tension. Butlers.

The dark bottle looked familiar and the scent of its contents as he uncorked the bottle and poured. But I couldn’t jump to conclusions. Handing a glass to his mistress first, instead of me, I almost refused his offer when he handed me mine.

Perhaps the widow could have asked Sofia to serve, were it her, believe me I would have made an issue of it.

"1961 Petrus, touche" I said after a sip, confirming my suspicions. "It’s no wonder he almost went broke, stacking up this costs a fortune"

My host only acknowledged my words with a nod, as she set down her own glass on the tray.

"Sofia" she called.

"Yes ma’am" Sofia meekly answered, igniting a snicker from me. It was very funny, her tone I mean. It was unlike anything I’ve ever heard from her since the day she barged into the elevator.

"Get rid of those," Her stepmom instructed, pointing to the bridal magazines cluttered on the table, "we’ll get back to it later"

"Is someone getting married?" I asked, feigning ignorance as Sofia began arranging the magazines.

Just as my host made to answer, I added,

"Oh, don’t tell me you’ve already started preparing in anticipation for any of their wins"I emphasized by gesturing to the twins, "because I assure you, Claire will not allow any other but herself to be in charge of the preparations, that’s if she hasn’t done so already while she waits for me to make a choice"

Sofia threw me a questioning look, her eyes wide with shock and that cost her, her poise. She had knelt with one knee and in that moment, she lost her balance, staggering backwards as her raised knee tried to drop in support of the one knelt with. In her attempt not to fall backwards, she hit the bottle with the issue in my hand, sending the dark bottle spinning.

So she didn’t know that her sisters were in the selection. How intriguing.

Without thought, I acted, lunging forward swiftly and catching the bottle just as it was about to fall. The save was not without casualties, as a few spills escaped.

"You see why I want you gone as quickly as possible!" the dowager yelled, losing it. "You are so clumsy, you can’t even do one thing, right! What are you still doing, standing there, go and get something to wipe it off before it ruins my rug, imbecile!"

Sofia ran for the kitchen. Not looking back once.

"Sorry about that, my Lord, she’s just too useless. And to answer your first question, she’s the one getting married, I just can’t wait to get rid of her. It will be such a relief"

"Marriage? Sofia?" I repeated, playing along.

"Yes, Mr Wellington, she is getting married, so you don’t have to worry about your prospects. They are yours and yours to pick from"

"That’s besides the point, the marriage will not happen. She’s my newly employed Personal Assistant. I don’t care who it is or what it takes, she’s mine and mine to do as I please, or would you refute me in this matter, besides it’s already in effect"

"Sir, you don’t understand." The dowager began, trying to mask her surprise by my news. "The date has been fixed, she didn’t say anything about working for you, if she did why would I even think of crossing... There she is, Sofia, come over here and explain to me why you didn’t tell me that you were offered a job as Mr Wellington’s Personal Assistant? Why did you keep mute and let me go ahead with discussing marriage, were you trying to get me in trouble? Perhaps that’s your sick way of getting revenge?"

"No ma, it’s not like that" Sofia defended, dropping the bucket immediately and raising both her hands in submission. Though it was evident from her face, she didn’t really understand what was happening.

"Leave her out of it, she’s clueless" I declared to the dowager, just as she tried to reprimand Sofia.

"Don’t just stand there, have you forgotten about the rug, perhaps your biennial salary would be enough to purchase a new one" one of the twins ordered.

Without a word, Sofia rushed over to the rug and began scrubbing.

"Scrub gently, or do you want to ruin it" the other twin rebuked.

Again Sofia obeyed silently. I couldn’t believe it, was this still the same girl that left my office an hour ago?

I hated that she took it all in silence. I wanted her to fight, to challenge them like she did me, to shake her until she quits this pathetic act of hers, but that was not why I came.

"As I was saying, Sofia here," I forced my lips to say, as if none of it had ever happened, "didn’t know of this offer and she never mentioned of her impending marriage while she was applying for a clerk," leaning forward, to emphasize that the next part was for her, I went on, "or did she intentionally leave that out? Making me wonder what would have happened if I had hired her, the scandal alone" I even tsked as I relaxed back. An act.

"No, it’s not like that" Her stepmom quickly offered, beating Sofia to what she wanted to say.

Not what I expected. But it was anticipated. She wasn’t defending Sofia, she was defending herself. It was all a play, a play to get my favor even if it meant being kind to Sofia for a few seconds. I just wished the woman wouldn’t be so damn fickle.

"Hey, watch my shoes." I called, shifting my foot from where the brush Sofia held suspended in the air, dripped water on its shiny surface.

"I’m so sorry" she apologized, going back to her scrubbing.

"Save your apologies. Those cost more than you could possibly earn in your entire lifetime" I chided, not looking at her. I hated her, and this pitiful act of hers wasn’t changing that, if anything it made me hate her more.

The girl I knew wouldn’t swallow that. She would say something just as hurtful, but apparently not this one.

"You were saying, Mrs Blake" I voiced in frustration.

"Oh yes," Alicia chipped, whether it was because of the tone I used on her stepdaughter or the disgusted look on my face, "I didn’t know of the job like I was saying, I didn’t even know that Sofia liked Charlie until this morning. As luck may have it, the lad in question, Charlie loved her and had done so for a while now. Having felt like a lot of time had been spent already, he suggested marriage which I accepted on Sofia’s behalf as her guardian. But I didn’t know she was your Personal Assistant."

"So when is the wedding?" I queried, eager to get out of there.

"In two weeks time, my Lord" Alicia answered.

"Cancel it all. I will meet the groom if I have to, but that wedding is not going to hold. I only came here out of courtesy, the news will be released tomorrow and I wanted you to know before everyone else"

"But Mr Wellington..." Alicia tried to protest, but I wasn’t in the mood .

"Did I mention that 70% of her salary will be paid directly to you, Mrs Blake and of course, the chances of one of your daughters being selected is probable with their stepsister as my staff. Because as my personal assistant, she will always be near me, which brings me to the second reason why I came. I will be traveling on Sunday and she will be accompanying me, hope that will not be a problem?"

I hoped she understood that it wasn’t a question, and that her opinion on the matter was irrelevant. Sofia was to be my Personal Assistant, that’s all.

"A problem?" The widow repeated, "not at all. I will reach out to the groom and update him on the recent change of events. As for Sofia, you said she didn’t know about any of this so how come you speak like you have her inclination?"

"In case you’ve forgotten, I’m Richard Wellington and no one tells me no, ever. So, whether she wants it or not, she’s to start work tomorrow. By 8am, I want her to be waiting in my office before I arrive. That will be all." I rose, ready to leave.

"Mr Wellington," Alicia called, halting me from taking a step, "as her stepmom, doesn’t it mean that I’m privy to some certain privileges, like invitations to events and a feature of my work in the launch of the Wellington collection?"

"The invites, yes. But a feature, that’s not up to me, but I can assure you that I will put in a good word if the need arises, now, Sofia, care to walk me out?"

"Of course, she will. Get up your ass and follow him" Alicia commanded.

Without an objection, Sofia obeyed.

Once we were outside, she said,

"You didn’t have to do all that for me, but thank you"

I scoffed at her naivety. This home Sofia must really be stupid, if not she would know that I never do anything for anyone, but myself. Walking back to where she stood at the ingang, her back against the door.

Leaning so close that I could smell her sweat and feel her breath on my neck, I reminded her, "Don’t ever get it twisted, I didn’t do it for you. You think I care if you lived out your life in a miserable marriage, I certainly don’t. I did it for me, to get what I want, nothing more, nothing less"

Straightening, I saw her swallow nervously, before adding,

"I meant what I said, 8am tomorrow and call Anna and tell her that I’m in agreement with her terms except the part you will write for her of course. Tell her you are now my PA, let her add it in her next issue and of course the Halloween bash coming up next weekend. That will be all, do have yourself a good night’s rest."

She just stood there, as if lost in a daze as I rode away.