Erik made a phone call.
"Boss, is everything alright? It's a Saturday and I'm not at the office.." a gentle voice was heard from the other line.
"Did you remember I told you to handle the school expenses for Aryana and send her monthly pocket money?" He asked in an angry tone.
"Err … yes, I did Boss," Camille replied from the other line sounding confused. She was Erik's secretary for seven years.
"She didn't have a bank account then and her Aunt Elena did not have one as well and did not want to open one. Her Aunt Beatrice volunteered and so I set up an auto transfer to her account. Is there a problem Boss? Camille was anxious.
Erik cursed silently.
"The money did not reach Aryana."
"That can't be Boss. There was nothing wrong with the transfer. It was always successful." Camille protested.
"Yeah…" Erik pondered for a second. "Stop sending money anymore." He said and was about to hang up when Camille added hastily.
"I was able to book you, Marlon, and Ace on the next available flight which is on Monday. I need the details of Aryana."
Erik, still on the call went out of his room and looked for Aryana but he did not find her.
"Aryana and Marlon left already," Sarah told him.
Erik's expression darkened a bit. "Call Marlon and get the details from him." He ordered and then hung up.
He went to the balcony and looked far ahead. It was a fine day. The sea was calm and a perfect day for island hopping.
He closed his eyes and relived the things that happened last night when he gathered Aryana in his arms. He smelled her hair and felt her soft body.
When he placed her on the bed and looked at her with the lights on, he felt his heart skip a bit. She looked very beautiful and vulnerable and suddenly he has a sudden urge to protect her. Maybe it was because of the promise he made to her father.
'Yeah, that's just it.' He convinced himself.
"Tell Jay to prepare the yacht. I have a meeting at The Marina after lunch. After that let's go island hopping. You come along too Sarah as it would not be complete without your cooking." He smiled a little bit.
Sarah looked at him with surprise as she hurried down to find her husband at the dock where the yacht was.
Sarah and her husband have been working with Erik's family for several years now. She was a witness when Erik's father left them when he was barely five and married his mistress. He left Erik and his Mom a fortune and a small real estate company. Erik after all was his firstborn.
When Erik was already in high school, his mother went abroad and left him their family business. She married a foreigner had a daughter and seldom come home.
So Erik was left on his own and matured early for his age. After graduating from college, he worked so hard to make their family business more prosperous and he became a magnate in the real estate industry.
Robert became his father figure until that fateful night.
He called Marlon and told him to hurry back.
He was reclining on a chair reading some emails when he heard laughter. Marlon and Aryana were back. He frowned. He did not expect Aryana to warm up easily to Marlon. But then Marlon was like that. He has a certain charm that pulled women to him like a magnet.
The laughter died down as soon as they saw him. Aryana looked at him briefly before averting her gaze to look at the flowers at the side of the pathway.
He stood up.
"Let's have lunch at The Marina and after that let's go island hopping." He was looking at Aryana but she seemed caught up with the flowers.
"Wo haha. Am I hearing correctly Boss?" Marlon asked, disbelief in his voice.
Erik looked at him sharply. "Let's leave in an hour." He then looked down at his laptop and resumed working.
Aryana hesitated as they walked past him. Marlon went to his room to prepare. She saw her cellphone charging on the table and she remembered that she needs to call Denise now.
The moment she turned on her cell phone, the incessant ringing was heard. She picked it up and answered it.
"You finally answered bitch!" Denise cursed her. Erik looked at her. She blushed. Her cell phone was on speaker mode. She tried to switch off the speaker but it did not turn off.
"You come back here at this moment or else I'll report you to the police for theft."
"I did not steal anything." Aryana protested.
"Oh, but I can say that you stole my cellphone and my money and I have my friends as witnesses."
"You're so vicious Denise. Don't worry, I'll be there." She answered coldly.
"Good. Hurry up as we can't wait for you all day." Before she can say anything, Denise already hung up.
She was looking at the phone and pondered what to do.
"Sir Erik… her eyes held his for a brief second and then she looked down when she saw him frown.
"I have to go back to them. I cannot hide anymore." She said softly like she was talking to herself. She did not want to look at him, scared that he might see the hatred she was trying so hard to hide.
'Why is she always looking down when talking to me? Is she shy or scared?' Erik mused to himself.
He stood up and approach her. "Go get ready. Let's drop by your cottage and get your things there. She cannot continue to treat you like you're a piece of trash." He said harshly.
Aryana was stunned that she raised her gaze and met his angry ones. Very dark brown eyes.
She was hurt. Did Denise really talk to her like she was a piece of trash?
She nodded and hurried to what she thought was the room she occupied last night. She was carrying with her a few shopping bags.
To her surprise, it looked like a master bedroom.
She turned around to leave but bumped into Erik.
"Sorry." She stepped back but lost her balance and almost fell but Erik caught her and pulled her towards him, his right hand at the small of her back.
He was holding her too close for comfort. She swore she could hear her heartbeat and felt blood rushing up to her face. Why did she react that way? Didn't she hate the man?
Aryana looked up and further blushed when he saw him looking down at her.
"You seem to be developing this habit of bumping into me Yana." He gave off a naughty smile.
"Your room is the first door on the left."
'Yana'
He called her by the name his father used to call her.
"So sorry Sir Erik." She hastily said as she moved out of his way and about to enter her room.
"I'll be angry with you if you continue to call me sir Erik. Just Erik okay?"
She paused at the door of her room and turned to look at him.
"Okay." She nodded obediently.
Erik's gaze followed her. The smile was still on his lips. He was amused when he looked down at the pair of beautiful eyes that looked surprised and how prettier she became with her flustered face.
It was the first time he looked at her up close. He was struck by the color of her eyes. He thought it was light brown, but then he saw specks of green and gold.
Or maybe he just imagined it.