The Godson, page 16
CHAPTER 16
This was what he wanted the meeting for? Natasha stared at Isaiah and her heart hurt like hell. She needed to get the hell away from him, she was holding back her tears, but they were threatening to fall. “So, I guess I’ll be off.” She was leaving. Needing to get far from this man. “You are turning down the one chance you have… What the hell is the matter with you? Can’t you swallow your pride for a change?” “You want me to work for you? Do you get how stupid that is?” “Why is that stupid? You know how to run this place, you have a passion for it.” “But I will be working for you. You will be my boss. You don’t think that it will be awkward?” “This is business.” “Yes, and I would rather not do business with you. You flip at the first sign of something going wrong. I would rather not be caught up with you again. You have this tendency not to listen…” “Let’s not mix our relationship, or whatever went on between us with business.” “Oh says you now? You didn’t think the same when I went to see you at the shelter.” “That was different.” “How so?” “Natasha… I was angry.” “Have you stopped being angry?” She was a feisty one. “I won’t let it interfere with work.” “You told me not to show up at the shelter ever again, because you believed I had some hidden agenda… How the hell do I know that you won’t do the same thing here? Get me to work, get me all settled in then have you dismiss me. Power tripping type thing… You seem to power trip a lot.” “I have nothing to gain from this. I am giving you free passage here. You can run it all.” “Sounds a little suspicious… Anyway, no. I don’t want to run it. I don’t want to have anything to do with you.” “You want me to hire somebody else.” No… No she did not, but she didn’t want him to know how desperate she was to be in his life again. She wanted him to beg her to return. She thought that he wanted to apologise to her, she thought he wanted her back. “You do whatever you need to do.” She said praying with every fibre she had that he didn’t hire anybody else. “I don’t get you. I am giving you an opportunity to get back in the game? Do you have any better offers?” Asshole. No she didn’t have anything happening in her life. She had sort of enjoyed helping out at the shelter, it gave her a strange sense of peace. That man, that one man, an elderly black man, he introduced himself to her and asked her to sit with him. Said she reminded him of his daughter, his late daughter, said cancer murdered her… He broke her heart. He told her that he had nobody left on this earth who cared for him. Said that he gave up his life not wanting more than her memory. He got to her, really got to her. At first Natasha returned to the shelter to get Isaiah to give up and give her the money that was hers anyway. But after speaking to Gerald, she didn’t want to be there for Isaiah, she felt the need to just be there. Gerald would ask her to sit with him every Saturday, just sit. He said she had the most beautiful smile, much like his daughter. He was such a sad man. “Money, it is nothing. I have money, I gave it all away. Sold everything, gave money to charity… I want nothing now. Nothing is worth being alone like this. It’s a void that can never be filled.” Natasha shook her head trying to return to the here and now. “You are giving me an opportunity to rule me again.” “Come on Tasha, when did I ever rule you?” He asked clearly not buying it. “I want a contract.” He nodded his head. “I want everything in paper. You cannot fire me because you are pissed at me.” “Don’t piss me off and all will be well. This is business, let’s keep it that way.” Asshole. “Of course.” She said forcing a smile on her face. “Is that it?” She wanted to go. He was really showing her that he didn’t care for her at all. “I suppose. If you come past the office tomorrow, we can get this all sorted.” “Will do.” She said getting. “Um, Isaiah, how’s Gerald doing?” She found herself asking. He gave her a what the fuck look. “Gerald? Gerald as in the same guy that comes into the shelter?” She nodded her head. “Yeah, he was really sad…” Again, Isaiah gave her a weird look. Like he didn’t know who she was. “He’s okay…” What did he want her to say? “Came in yesterday, had a meal and left.” “Oh. Did you sit with him? He likes to have company when he eats…” Isaiah shook his head slowly, it was like he was trying to work her out. Natasha got herself together quickly, why was she showing him this side of her. She had to get it together. “Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.” She said as she turned and left quickly. Natasha was nervous, she walked into the hotel the next day and took a few deep breathes before she made her way to the big boss’s office, her old office. Isaiah ended his phone call and placed his phone down onto the desk when she walked in. It suited him to be behind the desk, he had this authority thing happening. “You came?” He said looking at his watch. She was a few hours late, but hey… “Yes.” She took a seat and waited to see how this was going to play out. “You understand that you are very late. Our appointment was for twelve.” “I’m here now.” She said not wanting to waste her time on chit chat. He wanted to keep it professional, she would do the same. How hard could it be to keep her emotions out of it? “Okay well, here is the contract, you have your lawyers read over it, if you are happy, sign it and you are good to go.” She took the contract and looked around. “I see you’ve redecorated.” “Yeah.” “This your taste?” She asked touching the new office chairs. “I had my receptionist see to it.” Natasha nodded. “Well I will be wanting everything new.” She said looking directly into his dark eyes. “Why? It’s all brand new.” “Yes, but it’s for you. I like to be in my zone. That is one of my conditions.” Isaiah squinted his eyes at her. “Is there really any need for it?” “I think there is.” Isaiah scratched the back of his head. “Fine Natasha.” “So, do I have to call you Mr Hamilton?” “You can call me Isaiah.” He said shaking his head. “If you are not taking this seriously…” “I am asking a question. What is with you?” “You are pissing me off.” She gave him a smile. “I haven’t started working yet and I am already pissing you off… Are you sure you can handle me?” She was trying to play it cool. “I want you to start immediately.” He said changing the topic. “Okay, as soon as I get my lawyer to read over it. I do want to stick around today and hover over you, see where you are at, see how different things are since you began running the hotel.” “Natasha, the only thing I do differently is treat the staff with respect. They work hard, they run this hotel like a ship. I don’t want you to belittle them.” “You telling me how to do my job now?” She was not going to make this easy on him. “Just telling you to be a little politer…” “You can’t be telling me anything. You want me to run and manage this place, then you have to trust me.” She used the word trust to remind him how little trust he had in her. Natasha did spend the day with Isaiah. What she got from the day was her most probably fucked most of the female staff. She was feeling so very jealous, but she did her best to keep it locked away. The staff were not too happy about having her return. They looked ready to faint. “Mrs Bronte will be taking over after today. You are to report to her if you need anything.” He explained in the staff meeting. “So, what about you?” One of the cleaners asked. “I will still be around, but if you have any concerns, if you have any questions, it’s Mrs Bronte that you will need to speak to.” She knew that they dreaded her return. Natasha looked at it from their point of view, she would hate it too if she had to return to her as a boss… Natasha was not the kindest boss in the world. Hell she fired people for keeping her waiting five minutes… Natasha didn’t say anything, she waited until the meeting was over before she followed Isaiah upstairs. She was awed by the way this man was with his staff. He was respectful, they seemed to love him. He spoke to them like he was their best friend. She could see how happy everybody was with having Isaiah as their boss. Natasha didn’t want to hang around after lunch. She grabbed her bag once her and Isaiah were back in the office. She was leaving. Time to go home. “Leaving?” He asked as she packed her phone away in her Gucci bag. “Yes.” “Why so soon?” She didn’t get him. “I don’t need to learn any more. I think I got it.” “Do you want me to hang around for the first week, get you back on track?” “No, been running this place for years. How hard can it be?” Isaiah looked at her, like he was trying to read her. “Natasha, we are going to keep this professional. I don’t want anything to get in the way of business.” “I will do my best to keep from falling in love with you. Is that what you want to hear. Don’t stress Isaiah, all is in the past, long gone.” She said feeling a great big lump in her throat. This asshole was really doing a number on her. The following week she was once again the boss at The Bronte. It was weird being here now, the way the staff looked at her, she felt a little taken aback. They really didn’t like her. Was she really that bad? Isaiah made a point to walk around the hotel, go into the kitchen, speak to the workers, make sure all was well, he would go to the cleaners and hang out with them for a while. He was that kind of boss. Natasha never ever spoke to the staff outside of meeting times or appointments. She didn’t want a bar of them. In her head, they were paid to do a job. That was it. A job, do your job and do it well. For some reason she felt it to be a little harsh to be that way now. She didn’t understand herself, maybe it was just going to take a little time to get back on track… Since when did Natasha develop a conscious? Natasha didn’t bombard the staff, she thought to keep it low key for the first week. But if truth be told, she was bored in the office. She was not interested in doing the work, not that work. She found herself wanting to go and walk around. This was second week into her position. She walked over to the girl at reception, same girl who refused to let her see Isaiah. She smiled at her. “Ms Bronte…” The girl was nervous. “Yes?” “I… I just want to apologise…” “Never mind. I understand that it you were following orders.” What the fuck? Did she honestly just say that. Usually she would have fired this girl as her first task. Okay then… Walk away Natasha… Four weeks on and Natasha found her way to the industrial kitchen and stood back watching how things were run. She was actually very impressed. They had a great system going. Everybody was on it. “Chef… Chef, the boss is here.” She heard on of the cooks say. The entire kitchen fell completely silent. “Carry on.” Natasha said hating how very rigid they all became. She wasn’t a fucking monster. “Is there something you wanted?” The chef asked her. “No, just coming to tell you all that you are doing a wonderful job.” Like okay, who the hell was she? Natasha shook her head at herself. She was losing the plot, like who did she honestly think she was, telling them they were doing a wonderful job… Like who says that? Natasha nodded her head quickly before she left the kitchen. Fuck! She was not herself. “Natasha?” She turned to see who was calling her name. She was in the foyer about to head up to her office. Drake… Well, well, well. “Drake… Long time.” “Yeah, you got engaged.” “I sure did.” She said smiling. He gave her a what the fuck look. “And now I’m single again.” “What the hell was that about? Charles Fairway? Really?” “Dumb move.” She said not bothering on explaining herself. “So… Does that mean I can ask you out again? I mean if that dickhead god son does not have a problem with it?” “Isaiah? No he has no say.” “He threatened me…” What? “He threatened you? What the hell?” She asked clearly confused. “He did. Forced me to take the money for the necklace and said if I ever thought to buy you anything ever again I would be crippled.’ “He is an idiot. Look, come up to the office, I’ll order coffee and we can catch up.” Drake seemed very happy with that. They sat in the office for a while, even had lunch. She listened to him go on about how he ended his relationship with his fiancé, said it was not working out, he didn’t have his heart set on her. “Better now than later. At least you didn’t get married, at least you didn’t have kids…” She reasoned. “Yeah, but it’s so fucking draining dating. I hate it. Especially because I know exactly what I want, nobody is able to compete with that…” He was talking about her. “Drake… We won’t work.” “Why not? The only reason we stopped seeing each other was because of that idiot you live with.” “I don’t live with him anymore. I… Look, I don’t think I am what you want. You might think I am, but I can assure you I’m not.” *** Four weeks on and Natasha was doing a fantastic job. He had to give credit where credit was due. She was on the ball. Isaiah made certain to check with the staff, he had eyes and ears everywhere and she was doing a bang out job. Nothing to worry about really, except when he received a phone call telling him that Drake had been in Natasha’s office for a few hours. For some reason Isaiah didn’t like that at all. His jealousy reared its ugly head. He didn’t think, he reacted and headed to the hotel. He was going to pretend like it was just a random visit. Isaiah knocked once before he walked into her office. He didn’t wait to be invited in. They were having wine… Cheese board and wine… Nice. Just fucking brilliant. Drake didn’t look too comfortable with Isaiah being there. “Isaiah… You didn’t tell me you were coming… Did we have a meeting?” Natasha asked. They were sitting on the carpet having themselves a romantic office picnic. “This is a place of business.” He said making his way over and sitting down on the sofa. “I guess this is my cue to leave.” Drake stood up as did Natasha. He kissed her hand and whispered something in her ear before he left. Natasha sat down opposite Isaiah, her shoes were off and she looked very relaxed, too relaxed. “You drinking on the job?” “Yep. Why?” She asked refilling her glass. “The fuck do you think you are doing?” He asked her. She raised her eyebrow at him. “Doing what you did as a boss. I heard you fucked quite a few of your staff in here.” He was confused by her comment. What on earth was she on about? “You heard wrong.” “Did I? Are you going to tell me you never had girls in here? Doing the dirty?” She was drunk. He shook his head at her. “Natasha, this is not professional. You cannot do that here…” Hang on, did they fuck? “Do what? Was only having lunch. Now I’m a little tired yes, maybe a little too much to drink, but I will close my eyes for a second and be back on track.” She looked around as though trying to work out where to lay down. “You are not sleeping here.” “I’m tired… Just for a bit.” She said sounding like a child. “You are unfuckingbelievable. I gave you this fucking chance and you spit at it.” He snapped. He was angry at the thought of her and Drake fucking. “Why? Shut up. Shut up idiot.” She said scrunching her face up. “You are an idiot. Get out.” She snapped. “You need to go home.” He said shaking his head. “You need to go home.” The little shit mimicked his voice. “Let’s go Tasha.” “Natasha, my name is Natasha. You are not allowed to call me that again. Tasha is not for you.” She was making no sense at all. He needed to get her out of here before anybody got wind of her being drunk. That Drake was a shady guy, he didn’t trust him at all. “Okay, let’s go.” He stood up and walked over to her and waited for her to get up. “Where?” “Upstairs, to the penthouse. You can sleep it off there.” She nodded her head. “That’s more like it. See, you do have brains… Sometimes.” She added as an afterthought. Isaiah just went with it, he let her insult him all the way up the private lifts, all the way to the penthouse. She continued to have a go at him until he put her to bed. Like she was really a fucking lost case. He looked at how peaceful she was sound asleep. Isaiah felt a pain in his heart as he looked at her sleeping body. He missed everything about her. She was different somehow, he didn’t know what was so different about her, but there was something very different. Isaiah locked her in the penthouse and left her in there. He spoke to reception and told them not to answer any calls from her room. He needed to get his head together. That bitch was driving him insane. The fact that he was still not over her was a problem. Having her here again did nothing but make him mad. Isaiah believed he would be able to go and live his life once she was running the hotel again, he had all the time and money in the world, but he found it hard to make that move and leave. He wanted Natasha to be there with him. He hated that he wanted to have her, to keep her, hated how this little obsession of his seemed to have remained. Would have been just after nine in the morning that Isaiah returned to the room. She was still sound asleep. Isaiah sat down and waited for sleeping beauty to rise and shine. “What on earth…” He heard her moan. Isaiah kept his eyes on her… She found him, her eyes opened wide before she sat up and scratched her unruly hair. “I screwed up… I knew I drank too much…” Oh, well he was not expecting to hear that at all. “Is it tomorrow?” Funny girl. “Yes, yes it’s tomorrow. What are you doing Tasha, you were doing so well.” “I don’t know, one drink, got carried away… Trust me, it will not happen again. Never did that before, do not know what came over me…” “Did you… Was there any sex in the office?” She looked taken aback by his question. “Um… That’s private, but just for the record, no Isaiah, no we did not do anything sexual.” Okay then. “Did you?” “Did I what?” “Ever have sex in the office?” Idiot, he had sex with her in the office. A few times too. Why was she asking? He shook his head at her stupidity. “Only with you.” He said honestly. Her face coloured. She rolled her eyes before she spoke. “After me?” “No, it’s a place of business.” “Oh okay…” She said shaking her head. “You are a hypocrite Mr Hamilton.” “Shut up.” He watched her get up and head to the bathroom, heard the water running and waited for her to finish her shower. She came out dressed in nothing but a bath robe. Isaiah’s dick jolted to life. She picked up the phone and ordered room service. “You want?” She asked him. He shook his head. Natasha seemed to want to avoid him. She walked around a little, looked out the window before she finally sat down. “Are you going to fire me?” He wasn’t expecting her to say that. “No.” “Oh… So what you doing now? Now that you have all this time and money on your hands?” She was nervous. He had never seen her nervous before. “Want to travel… That was the plan.” “Oh… Where?” “Don’t know yet. Not sure if it’s going to happen just yet.” “My dad travelled the world. He loved to go places, he checked up on our hotels around the world. And you know, screwed around on my mother in every country he ever visited.” “I’m sure your mother was no saint either.” “You really hate her?” “Sure do.” “She apologised to you.” “She’s a vindictive woman who doesn’t care about anybody but herself. And money, she cares a lot for money. Much like you.” He saw the hurt cross her face. Isaiah didn’t know why he said that. She looked upset. “I thought we are keeping this professional? Why are you in here anyway?” “I came to check up on you. Make sure you sobered up.” “Oh okay. Well, I don’t appreciate you walking in on me while I’m sleeping.” She was hitting back with words now. He had hurt her and now she was lashing out. “I don’t appreciate you and that fucker doing what you did yesterday.” “Okay, so fire me then. Jesus, I told you it was wrong and I apologised. Why do you have to make it out like it was more than it was?” “He is dodgy. I don’t trust him.” “You don’t have to trust him. I do. I get that you don’t want him here, fine, I’ll see him outside of work. Is that okay with you? Oh and I don’t appreciate you threatening him. You are lucky he didn’t call the police.” “You really do fall for anything don’t you?” He didn’t like the idea of her and Drake together, Isaiah was feeling a little edgy now. “See, I’m trying to keep us purely a business thing, but you are not doing the same. I don’t get it Isaiah. I can be with whoever I want to be with. You don’t have a say, nor do I want to hear your opinion on it.” “Fine, you go ahead and do what you want.” “Will do.” She said shaking her head. “Get out.” Bitch. “Drop the attitude.” He warned her. He wanted to smack her gorgeous mouth. Her very sexy mouth. “I need clothes. I cannot be seen in the same outfit I wore yesterday.” She had a point. “So… Yeah, see to me getting some clothes.” She was all over the place this morning. “It doesn’t take you long to return to being the bitch you are.” “Oh go to hell. What do you want me to say? I need clothes. What’s the big deal, it was your idea to bring me in here.” “Fine Tasha, fine, I’ll organise clothes for you.” She nodded her head. “I’ll order them, just get somebody to pick them up. They will be ready within the hour.” Yep, did he expect anything less? Not when it came to Natasha. He left it at that and let the whole Drake thing go for now. He didn’t have a right to be pissed, he had no say, it was ultimately her life, and just because he was sickly obsessed with her, did not mean she belonged to him. Isaiah made it a habit to visit her at the hotel once or twice a week. Make sure everything was up to scratch. Truthfully he just wanted to see her. She was always on his bloody mind. She was always very professional, in the meetings she was very clear, she listened to questions, and answered each and every one of them. She was a good boss. He found her speaking to the staff a lot more, she didn’t turn her nose down at them as she once had. She didn’t look disgusted to be around them. Isaiah didn’t know if she was really changing for the better, or if this was some game, it didn’t look like a game, she was acting different. Ever since the shelter. “Tasha… Can I have a word with you?” He asked her as she finished speaking to one of the valets. “Yes…” She waited for the young man to leave before she glared at Isaiah. “My name is Natasha, or Ms Bronte. Do not call me Tasha. How many times do I have to tell you?” “Why can’t I call you Tasha?” “It’s not my name. It sounds like and endearment. My name is Natasha.” “Okay, Natasha… Anyway, was going to ask if you can help out at the shelter tomorrow? Rosy can’t make it and we are down a man.” Natasha eyed him out curiously. “I thought you didn’t want me there?” “I need the help. A yes or no is what I’m asking for.” “Yeah, I suppose so.” He nodded his head. He didn’t think she would agree to come. He would wait, if tomorrow she told him something came up, he would know that it was all an act. Sure enough, she showed up to the shelter, was waiting for him before he arrived. “You’re late.” She said moving off the wall. She looked smashing in her casual clothing. “I am…” He unlocked the doors and began to set up. Natasha put the chairs down and sorted them out. She asked if he wanted help cutting the vegetables. “Don’t really trust you with a knife, you will hurt yourself.” He said winking at her. “Yeah, suppose so. So, what can I do?” “You can grab me the box over there.” He indicated to the box. Natasha did as she was told. It wasn’t long before the rest of the crew arrived and the doors were opened. Natasha greeted them and even helped them to the table with their food. Isaiah was not getting her at all. She was behaving like a human being. One with a heart too. He waited to see how she would react when Gerald showed up. And sure enough she embraced him. She sat with him for a while and seemed genuinely happy to be there. What the fuck was going on? She wasn’t the real Natasha… What the fuck? Closing time and Natasha tidied up. She was done and put her apron back on the hook. “I’m off.” She said not really to anybody in particular. “You don’t want to hang around and have a drink. You worked hard.” Isaiah didn’t want her to go. “No, I need to go.” “Do you need a lift?” He didn’t want her to go. “All good, I’m waiting for my ride.” “I can drive you.” He said. He really really didn’t want her to go just yet. “Isaiah, it’s fine. Thank you for the offer, but I can manage.” She said walking out. She returned not five seconds later and grabbed a piece of bread. “I’m starving.” She said leaving again. Isaiah watched her standing outside. She was on her phone, oblivious to the fact that this was a very dangerous place. He walked out and stood beside her. “It’s a rough neighbourhood.” “I’m okay.” “You are not okay, you can be jumped.” “So, you are okay here? Why? I mean you can be jumped too right?” “Yeah, but I carry a gun.” She nodded her head. “Yep… Forgot about that.” “Okay, call this reliable ride of yours and tell them not to bother, I will take you home.” She gave him an adorable frown. Just as she was about to say something, Drake drove down the street and parked his very expensive Porsche in front of them. “All good, I will see you at work.” She said before making her way into the car. Okay, well this shit just got a little too real. She was fucking Drake… Not in the office, but most definitely fucking him… Isaiah’s night turned to shit in an instant. She was really with Drake now. This was what he wanted to happen. In fact, Isaiah had no idea how he wanted this to play out. He wanted to forget her, wanted to move on, but didn’t think that if he moved on so would she… That was not what he was expecting at all. Isaiah had just assumed she would remain single. He recalled her being very uncomfortable with human affection. How the fuck was he going to get passed this now? Isaiah was at a loss. Did he tell her that he was in love with her? Did he tell her that he wanted her to move back in with him, did he tell her that he was so obsessed with her that it was becoming more like a fatal attraction? Isaiah was not knowing how to go from here. Like did he just kill Drake? That thought seemed to cheer him up drastically, killing Drake would eliminate him from the picture… Sounded like a plan.
