Southern Gentleman: A Single Mom BWWM Romance Page 6

Alan chuckles. "Hon, dad's always like that! It's not as if this is the first time that he showed us this face. Think of him as having a facial paralysis."

  I don't get his sense of humor. I sigh again.

  "Don't worry, okay? Rest now, you need to sleep. You have a long day tomorrow," Alan tells me.

  "Okay, I'm hanging up," I tell him, and I cancel the call without waiting for his answer. I'm not in the mood to be lovey-dovey.

  East for him to say not to worry. But I can't help it, I worried until sleep claimed me.

  Fifteen

  Alan

  What does my father want this time? I frown, remembering Sophia’s worries last night. I check my time, and it’s still early. Usually, Dad only receives employees or guests to his office after nine.

  It’s still not eight am; only thirty minutes past seven. My father’s secretary comes out of his office.

  “Good morning, Mr. Spencer,” Dad’s secretary greets me. “You can go in, sir. The CEO is waiting for you.”

  “Thank you,” I fix my suit and goes to my father’s office. He’s sitting on his chair, looking at me with a serious look on his face.

  As soon as I enter, I notice the minute changes in dad’s expression. His lips curves, and disappointment is clear on his face. Then, he sighs while he gazes at me. I hate this feeling.

  What did I do this time? Dad stands up and moves from behind his table. He gazes outside.

  “This view is beautiful, isn’t it?” Dad asks me as he gives me a view of the city. “You can see this view here because of our status and hard work.”

  I frown, where is this talk going? I look at the marvelous view outside, the sky’s clear, the high-rise buildings are many, and I can glimpse the people below from my position.

  “All of this is because of money,” my dad adds. “Why do you want to marry Sophia?”

  Huh? How is this supposed to be related to his speech? What does he want with Sophia?

  “What could be the possible reason?” I ask my father… I don’t like this feeling of apprehension I’m feeling now. I hope he won’t spit bullshit like he doesn’t like Sophia. “Of course, I love Sophia and little Nina.”

  I smile as I remember them. I love them like a real family, in fact, I can’ t wait anymore for Sophia to be mine and for Nina to call me dad. They’re the most important people in my life right now.

  They give me a reason to be a better person. Sophia taught me how to love, and Nina taught me how to be a family without thinking about benefits. These two taught me genuinely to love without conditions.

  Sophia and Nina opened my eyes to what real love is.

  “What do you know about love?” My father turns to me. He frowns and walks towards me. We’re face to face. “Love is a fleeting emotion!”

  I frown, didn’t my father love my mother?

  “I don’t know of love before, but now, I do,” I reply to him. My father and I don’t really see eye to eye most of the time, but I didn’t think that we’re going to argue about love this time. He seems cynical to me?

  A cynical smile curves on my father’s lips, and he laughs.

  “Isn’t this convenient for Sophia? Some other man will help her raise her child!” Father scoffs. “It shouldn’t be your problem raising another man’s child!”

  Dad slaps his hand on the table, and the loud sound rings inside his office. I frown, I don’t like the way he says it. Nina might not be my blood, but I deem her, my daughter. Not of my genes and blood, but of my heart.

  Do I need to let him know about these things? I breathe deeply, trying to calm down. If dad says something that will offend Sophia and Nina, I’ll probably go nuclear on him.

  “That Sophia… how convenient of her!” Dad adds. My ears tingle, and my body tenses.

  “Dad…” I say as calmly as I can. “I’m no longer a child. I can make my own choices, and Nina’s not another man’s child because she’s going to be my daughter soon. Sophia’s the one for me, I’m going to marry her and adopt Nina legally.”

  “What?” My dad’s face reddens. He looks like he’s ready to slaughter me on the spot, glaring at me. If looks could kill, I’m probably dead. “You dare!”

  “I dare,” I raise my head, and I repeat my words. “I’ll marry Sophia, and I’m going to adopt Nina after our marriage.”

  Sophia and Nina are the best things that happened in my life. Sophia’s my life now, I can’t live without her. I realized this a few days ago. She’s all I can think about, and my heart beats for her.

  “Crazy! That woman!” My dad holds on to the table. I try to get closer to him when I see him almost bowed down in anger, but he glares at me. “That woman… she’s a gold digger! Sophia’s a gold digger!”

  I gasp when my father shouts these derogatory words. It’s like someone punched me straight on the face, it hurts. But I hurt for Sophia more. I can’t believe that my father will say these things about the woman that I love and treasure.

  How can my father do this to Sophia and to me? Although he didn’t say a word about me, Sophia’s well-being comes first. That means that whatever hurts Sophia, hurts me… Do I have to protect her even from my own family?

  Fine! We don’t need them! I don’t need my father or any support from him regarding my marriage. Does my mom think this way too? If they don’t give us their blessings, I don’t care. What I care about are Sophia and Nina.

  “A fucking gold digger!” My dad repeats again as he explodes in front of me. Red takes over my eyesight. If he’s not my father, I would have punched his sinful mouth.

  “Don’t you dare say that!” I explode too. I don’t want to hear this anymore. “Back off, dad! Back off! I don’t want to do anything that will hurt us both, dad.”

  I raise my hands as I move farther away from my father. I’m barely reigning my anger in.

  “If you marry that woman, you can kiss the promotion goodbye!” Dad tells me in a voice that brooks no argument. “You’re going to lose everything that you’ve worked hard for!”

  I gasp when I hear his words. I see, so, this is how it is. I don’t amount to anything if I don’t obey him.

  “Great,” I murmur as I turn to leave and rush out the door.

  Sixteen

  Sophia

  I see Alan walk out the door of his father's office, and his face doesn't look good.

  I know their meeting could've been about anything, but there's this uneasy feeling that I've got. They probably discussed our relationship and what his father saw the other day.

  I'm worried about him. Discreetly, I get my phone and send him a quick text message.

  Everything alright?

  I wait for a few minutes, but I didn't get any reply. I use all my willpower not to stand up and walk towards Alan's office to see how he's doing.

  Maybe he's just in a meeting or doing something very important that's why he's unable to reply to my message.

  I try to convince myself.

  To get my mind off worrying, I focus on work. I look at the spreadsheet in front of me and start to sort out the data.

  I'm starting to gain momentum when all of a sudden, my phone rings. I pick it up, and it's Mandy, Wilbert Spencer's secretary. I almost fall down my chair.

  "Hi, Sophia," she greets me. "It's Mandy here."

  I clear my throat before I reply.

  "Hello, Mandy. What can I do for you today?" I ask her even though I'm pretty sure what this is about.

  "Uhm, well, Mr. Spencer – Wilbert Spencer, that is, wants you to come to his office. He says there's something important he needs to talk to you about," she says.

  "Okay. What time should I come by?" I ask her.

  "Right now," she answers.

  "I'll be right there. Thank you, Mandy," I tell her before I put the phone down.

  My heart starts to pound loudly, I wonder if the person on the next cubicle can hear it. I take a few deep breaths to calm myself down. Before I stand up, I send another message to Alan.

  Yo
ur dad is calling me to his office. I think I know what's this about.

  I stash my phone into my office bag, quickly check on my appearance and start to walk towards Mr. Spencer's office. This might be what prisoners feel when they walk towards their execution.

  It's a mixture of hoping time will stop so as not to go through it, or just get it over and be done with it.

  Softly, I knock at the door of the office, open it a little bit, and peek inside. Mandy looks up from her desk and offers me a small smile. I'm not sure how much she knows, but her smile feels like she's offering me support.

  "Please go inside, Wilbert's waiting for you," she tells me.

  I nod to her in response. Holding the doorknob, I close my eyes and inhale deeply. Then, I turn it and open the door. I go inside the lion's den.

  Wilbert Spencer is looking through some documents when I enter.

  "Mr. Spencer, sir," I say. "You wanted to talk to me?"

  He looks up from what he's doing and stares at me for a few seconds as if he's appraising me. It makes me feel awkward and self-conscious. Finally, after what seems like an eternity, he acknowledges me.

  "Ah, yes, Sophia. We meet again," he mentions. "Please sit down."

  I sit down in one of the chairs across his desk. He shuffles the papers that he's been reading and puts it on one side. He removes his glasses and rubs the bridge of his nose before addressing me once again.

  "Look, I know we're both busy, so I won't beat around the bush and get straight to the point of why I called you here. I have one question, and I want you to answer me honestly," CEO Spencer starts.

  "Why are you marrying my son Alan?" he asks.

  I'm a bit startled by his question, but I try to answer as genuinely as I can, without revealing anything that could be detrimental to Alan.

  "In the years that I've been working with him, I've gotten to know Alan beyond the playboy image that he's projecting. He's smart, caring, and thoughtful. I've never met anyone like him. His heart is big enough to accommodate my daughter and me," I point out.

  Wilbert chuckles to himself.

  "I think that's bullshit. You're just marrying Alan because of his money and so that your daughter would have some kind of father figure in her life!" he accuses me.

  I feel my temper starts to rise, but I try to remain composed.

  "I love Alan for who he is and not for his money, and I'm not forcing you to believe that. But please, don't drag my daughter into this. For your information, she already has a father figure in my dad," I answer defensively.

  "Then, in that case, if you really love my son as you say you do, you'll be willing to sign a prenuptial agreement? Because if you don't, Alan won't be getting a damn cent from me," he declares.

  "You know what, in case no one has ever told you before, you're one big, pompous jerk," I start.

  Wilbert raises his eyebrows at me, but I'm not done talking.

  "You don't know anything about me, and obviously about your son, Alan. I'm not signing any prenup just so you can feed your ego. I'm not going to be the person who'll go between whatever's left of your relationship with him," I continue.

  "So please, you can consider this as me tendering my immediate resignation," I tell him as I stand up and walk away from his office.

  My heart is still beating wildly as I reach my desk, adrenaline coursing through my veins. I grab my phone, scroll through my contacts, and call the company, which has given me a job offer a few days ago. I tell them that I accept the offer and that I can start immediately.

  I ask our maintenance for a spare box as I start clearing up my desk. Some of my co-workers are curious and look at me, but I don't have the time nor the energy to explain to them.

  Tears start rolling down my cheek, and I wipe them away. Surely, there'll be a big hole in my heart because I'm leaving it behind with Alan. But I know this is all for the best.

  I hope that tomorrow will be a better day.

  Seventeen

  Alan

  I’m having a massive headache as I step out of the meeting room.

  This day is definitely one of the worst days that I’ve had in my entire life. It all started with that damned meeting with my father, then everything else went downhill from there.

  I wish I could have just taken the day off. I need to see and talk to Sophia right now.

  That’s the only thought running through my head as I walk back towards my office. I haven’t got the chance to even talk to her today.

  I check my phone for any missed calls or messages. That’s when I see that there are two messages from Sophia.

  The first one asks if I’m okay, it’s sent early this morning around the time I’ve had my discussion with my father. She must have seen me walk out of that awful place. I wish I’d seen this message earlier, we could’ve had coffee. Her voice could’ve soothed and calmed me down.

  I’m almost at my desk when I open and read her second message. My eyes nearly popped out with what she said.

  Oh no, he didn’t.

  That’s the first thought that came into my mind. Apparently, my asshole of a father decided to call in Sophia for a meeting. Knowing him, nothing good will come out of that.

  I’m about to turn around and head out to find Sophia when I see an envelope on top of my work table. The handwriting’s very familiar. My name’s written on the outside in Sophia’s flowing script. I feel afraid to open it.

  I reach out for the envelope and realize that it’s a little bit heavy. Wondering what could be inside, I tear it on one end and pull out the paper inside. It seems to be a letter. I open the paper, and Sophia’s engagement ring falls down to the table.

  Shit!

  I hurriedly read through what’s written.

  Alan, I’m sorry I don’t have the guts to do this personally. I think this letter would be the best way for now to minimize the hurt that I’m feeling. I admit that I’ve already fallen in love with you, but I’m afraid that there won’t be any wedding for us. I care for you far too much that I don’t want to be the cause of the rift between you and your father. Thank you for loving Nina and me, I’ll never forget you. I hope that one day, our paths will cross again and we can be friends. I’ll always have you in my heart. Sophia.

  Unconsciously, a tear falls down from my eye. I must be dreaming. This can’t be happening!

  Immediately, I go outside towards Sophia’s desk. When I arrive, I see that it’s already cleared out. Not one remaining personal belonging.

  I ask around, including her teammates, regarding what happened. Unfortunately, no one knows for sure.

  All they know is that Sophia apparently resigned, packed all of her belongings, and left the building.

  I run my hands through my hair. I’m at a loss with what to do, but I realize that I should take this up with the root of it all. I don’t want to do this, but I’ve got to. I march back to my father’s office.

  I rush inside and see Mandy. She looks at me, and her eyes look very sad and sorry. She must have an idea regarding what happened.

  “What happened?” I asked her. “Why did Sophia leave the company all of a sudden?”

  Mandy shakes her head.

  “I don’t know the details,” she starts. “But after your meeting with your father, he asked me to call Sophia. I didn’t hear what they talked about, but there were some raised voices. It ended with Sophia storming out of this office. Apparently, she tendered her resignation effective immediately.”

  I push the door to my father’s office, not having a care in the world if he’s in the middle of anything important.

  “What did you do to Sophia?” I shout. “Why did she resign from the office? She broke off the engagement!”

  He just shrugs his shoulder, as if he’s innocent.

  “Ah, at least she’s got some decency to call off the wedding. I’ll give that to her,” Dad comments.

  “What did you tell her?” I ask him again.

  “I inquired if she’s marrying you just
because she needed a father figure for her daughter,” he says.

  “And then I just asked her if she’s willing to sign a prenuptial agreement before you two get married. I told her that you won’t be getting a damned cent from me if she doesn’t agree,” Dad answers nonchalantly. “If she’s not after your money, then that shouldn’t be any problem, right?”

  “Yeah. You basically told Sophia in so many words that she’s a user and a gold digger,” I reply.

  “Well, isn’t she?” he declares.

  It takes all my might and willpower not to go all-out crazy and break anything in this cursed office.

  “You know, I’m quite surprised that you actually told me the truth,” I tell him. “I’m expecting you’ll be telling me some bullshit excuse that you’ve got nothing to do with what happened.”

  “Bullshit won’t get you anywhere, son,” he comments.

  I try to ignore his remarks.

  “I really can’t understand why you’re doing this. I mean, for once in my life, I’m serious about something. I found someone that I’d want to spend the rest of my life with. But it seems like you’re set to destroy my happiness. I thought you wanted me to settle down?” I inquire.

  “Yes, I do want that. But I’m also protecting you,” Dad counters.

  “Fuck that,” I scoff. “You’re just protecting your riches. You never truly cared for me.”

  My father just looks at me. He didn’t even deny it.

  “You just looked after your riches and this empire that you’ve built. Guess what, I don’t want it. If you’re not giving me what I deserve, then you can shove this company up your ass. Find somebody else who can be your puppet and will bow to your every whim,” I challenge him.

  I continue, “I love Sophia, and there’s nothing that you can do or say that will stop me from marrying her.”

  I didn’t give him any chance to respond. I walk away and leave him with his mouth hanging open in shock.