Touching the Heart of Ace novel Chapter 53

??You are your mom??s son.?? Aunt Marie shook her head as she poured me a cup of tea. Robbie was brooding on the sofa looking like he wanted to bolt out of the door.

He did not like it here. He did not like her.

??Robbie, do you want to take Lia and stroll through the garden??? He picked her up in a second and looking longingly at me.

??What about you???

??What about me??? I glared. He was not keeping me away from Aunt Marie; he got the message and went outside.

??Did you spank him too??? I asked my tired, yet so beautiful Aunt. Janice got her good looks from her mom.

She laughed clutching her chest, ??Oh, I missed you so much.??

??Stay with us for a few days, Lia does not get to be with you as much as she should. You are her grandmother; you need to be close. Mom stayed with us for two weeks and we missed you so much. You will love our greenhouse.??

??Someday.?? She handed me her famous apple pie. ??Claire told me about what you did.?? I slowed down my chewing.

??I did not do it for you...?? I answered truthfully. ??Or for Janice.??

Aunt nodded. I hoped Robbie did not put Aunt Marie and Janice in the same boat.

I only did what I did, for my baby girl and Robbie.

The meeting that happened that day escalated to a disaster. I could not believe Janice expected Robbie to hand over a million and sixty thousand dollars just like that. She wanted him to stop asking her investors questions and just sign a check. I had to call Robbie on his phone from upstairs to wind up the whole ??meeting?? because they were disturbing Lia.

The tranquillity we were keeping in our home started to crack with her frequent visits and deliberate shouts and crying.

I came up with the idea of buying their project, because Robbie was going to seriously hurt someone with the way he was grinding his teeth and fisting his hands.

After-gym health drink was a good marketing product. I told him that.

When I was regularly dancing, I had this muscle pains and fatigue that did not go away fast and if I ate food, it gave stomach cramps. If we could come up with something substantial yet wouldn??t bring any stomach upsets, it was a good product.

Robbie was sceptic at first but I asked him how long he had to wait after his sparring and gym activities before he could eat normally without wanting to puke?

All they had to do was handover all the product claims to us and we would take it from there, as ours. Robbie said they needed to wait a year before he would give them back their money; without interest.

The investors fought hard, but we backed our demands with my lawyers. One of them cried asking him to pay his bit, but Robbie was used to crushing people and he did not even blink his eyes.

At the end, they signed every paper we wanted them to sign. I felt a little bad. Now they had no product and no money. They were completely at Robbie??s mercy.

I was surprised that Janice was not happy. He took away her threats, what more did she need?

It took us a lot of time before we could get all the ingredients right. It did not taste bad, it was watery but thick enough to settle the gnawing hunger, did not shock our fatigued muscles to cramp and it came in different flavours. We got it certified, meeting all the government standards.

??I want to break the stereotype.??

??Every budding businessman ever. You will get used to it, Mr. Truscott.?? One of the marketing guys said. He was good but a bit too sarcastic for my taste.

??We do this his way or no way at all. At least listen first or show your judgemental ass out.?? Robbie had no chill but I was thankful for backing me up. I was not used to business conferences and these guys were picking on my nerves.

??Sorry, Mr. Brantley.??

??Not to me.??

The guy tried to glare at me and I was not having it. I taught college students who were older than me; this was no different.

They either listen and give me constructive criticisms or don??t bother at all. You can do this Ace.

I waited for a few moments but the guy was trying to intimidate me.

??Leave.?? I asked looking at his eyes. I was not going to back down.

??What???

??You heard me. Leave.??

??You can??t do that. I don??t even work for you, Jesus.??

??And you never will.?? I crossed my arms and waited.

??Mr. Brantley... he...??

Robbie rose his hands, ??Not my project, I already told you.??

??Then it is all good, I did not want to be in a noob??s team either.?? He spat and stormed out.

I knew what happened. Robbie must have talked to his people about my being a little nervous and new to main stream business.

??What did you tell them, Mr. Brantley???

??Sorry, they did wonders to my company, and I thought it would help you if they knew about our... situation.??

I wiped my face and looked at about twenty of marketing advisors. Some were bored and were here, only because their bosses asked them to. They did not want to help us, they needed multi-million projects not a project simple and small like this.

??I want to thank each one of you for coming and giving me a chance. I know it is a small business venture and not very ??colourful?? at that. If any of you want to leave and not want to be a part of this team, you can leave without any ill-feelings. I know you have worked with Mr. Brantley and he has very high opinions on you and it will not change, if you choose to sit this one out.??

I looked at Robbie and he nodded.

??I pushed you without considering the pressure of working for a new businessman. You have your reputation at stake, and I did not consider it. Anyone can leave, I don??t care; it will not affect you in anyways.?? I was surprised Robbie completely agreed with me.

??That is very kind, Mr. Brantley.?? I gave him an appreciative smile.

One man stood up and left after politely bidding us goodbye. Robbie and I smiled at him, encouragingly and that loosed the glue that kept many on their chairs.

I gave them half an hour to make up their minds and finally there were only four people, who nervously folded their files, twitching.

??New???

??Yeah. Our boss made us come.??

??You can leave, guys, I would not even ask your names. We will talk to your boss if you are worried.?? I was serious.

??No... we are also noobs. Never done anything like this before. We did good in the last month??s assessment and this was the gift.??

??Do you think you can handle this??? I looked at the three boys and a girl who was sweating bullets in an air-conditioned room.

??Everyone left. We thought we would work with them. Do you think we can do it??? The girl asked me hopefully.

??I am not going to lie. It is going to be difficult to the border of impossible. Competitions are high and we want something catchy for people to give us a chance. But...?? I looked at each one of them in the eye... ??we have no other option but to make this work. We will try everything we can until it works, or the one million dollar is going down the drain. If you think you are ready to work non-stop until our product is the next best thing since sliced bread, then tell me your names and agency.??

Fifteen minutes later I even knew the names of their first pets. From a hacker??s perspective, never disclose your maiden name and pet??s name freely to anyone. But, oh well, I didn??t need their money anyways.

??Sir, you said something about breaking the stereotypes. Can we add that to our goals??? Olivia asked, where she was drawing circles and making a flower.

I looked doubtfully at Robbie and he nodded smiling.

??Yes.?? I was sceptic, that first guy said it was not a good idea. Olivia wrote that down to one of the petals of the flower.

??Anything else???

??Uhhh... should we go fake, Sir???

??What? No... no... why would we??? I looked at Robbie in panic and the bastard laughed.

??Uhh may I??? Eric rose his pencil and I nodded. ??It is a marketing strategy sir, for products like this. We give them very high hopes and if it does not work it is because they are not using it properly. No legal complications whatsoever and we can run wild with ads.??

Robbie chuckled again. ??I so want to take you home and make you hot chocolate. Your disappointed face, oh my god.??

I growled. I would pinch him when we went home.

??No, we are not going fake.??

I gave them a very big idea on how I wanted the ads to be. I wanted maximum inclusion, cautioning babies, pregnant women and hypertension patients. We did not need the overly muscled people to be ones in the ads.

??Sir??? Olivia rose her hand after I was done. I nodded so she could add her suggestion. ??There is this thing with your idea on stereotyping. People build stereotypes because of their assumptions. So if we only focus on overly normal people they will think that our product won??t work, or it is just a normal drink. We do need some fit people in the mix. You can take the dancer part; you look like a dancer.?? She blushed. ??And we need a model to be brand??s face who is fit.??

I did not know there were so many complications in marketing a health drink. Was I living under a rock?

I was surprised at the salary of a model and I almost thought I would model for the product, myself. Or Robbie... Robbie could be a model, he was fit, he was handsome...

??No.?? Robbie announced.

I scowled.

??Not in a million years, Angel.?? Robbie did not even know what I was going to ask. I huffed.

God! We were tight on the budget for this whole scheme. Janice blew up the investment, adding unwanted expenditure to this venture again was the worst thing we could do at this point. Dammit! Why did I think this was a good idea?

Because I did not want Janice to taint Robbie??s name.

??How did it go??? Jason asking holding our sleeping Baby Angel. I winced at the mess they both made in the living room.

??Beautifully, I never believed there was a thing called business gene, but today proved me wrong.?? Robbie pecked my forehead making me blush.

??So, goose did good???

??Better than good; he needs to learn the world is not perfect and beautiful like him; other than that... he is marvellous. A Truscott indeed.??

??You know what will make me more marvellous...?? I blinked at Robbie.

??No.??

??I did not even ask you anything.??

??Fine! Ask away.??

I cleared my throat. ??Will you model for this drink???

Robbie smiled so big, and... ??No.??

Meanie.

But there was someone who might be interested. He wanted to be a model and I kind of crushed his dreams in my fit. I could clear his papers... and maybe make it right.

Gabe had a very tight body, and people would believe if he said he worked out twenty-four hours a day in the gym and drank this concoction.

Hmmmm...

Jason was on my ass for that. ??What is going on???

??What do you mean???

??You know what I mean???

I sighed, shrugging and placed Lia on my bed. My sweet precious baby. I kissed her cheek and she smiled in her sleep.

??You are helping Janice, now helping Gabe, hell you did not chew me out for making peanut butter drawings on the floor. What is it???

Her tiny little head was now filling with ringlets of beautiful soft hair; I smoothened her already pristine onesie with a baby elephant smiling on the front.

??Goose.??

??Look at her, Jace. What do you see? I see my whole life. I know that you disapprove but... she is my whole world.??

??I don??t disapprove... that was before...??

??Before what???

He shrugged. ??I wouldn??t have agreed to babysit if I did not approve. What does she have to do with anything???

??Everything. Each day I feel her looking up to me, asking for guidance, seeking my permission and I... I sometimes feel I am not worthy of that. I want to be the best of me for her. I want to better myself than I was yesterday because I want her to grow up the way she already is; perfect. At night, I go through every nasty thing I had done and I want to do something to make this guilt go away. I don??t want anything I have ever done; to come and hurt her when she is growing up. Sounds crazy, yeah???

??Sounds like a loving parent.??

My heart jumped at that word.

Parent?

Would I ever be? A parent to Lia? I dared not to dream.

I placed my palm on her chest and froze when she jerked, worrying if I had woken her up. Then she turned around, curling her whole body around my hand and fell back asleep.

Look at her, when I hold her whole body in my one hand, she was holding my existence in that tiny fist.

I lied next to her feeling her tiny chest rising up and down as she breathed. I did not even notice Jason leaving the room; so busy staring at this precious child of the man I was in love with.

Everything was perfect until it was not.

Janice tried to squirm her way back into the project, throwing it was her idea to start this project. I failed to figure her out and Robbie said she could take it back if her initial investors agreed.

They were fools to trust her one time but once more? Nope, they were happy that Robbie took over their project, though they were scared if they would ever get their money back.

When mom called me at the middle of the night I had expected the call to be about Janice; how I wished that was true.

Her crying on the other side, did not register my mind as the news filtered to my brain.

My Aunt Marie was no more.

Her heart decided it was too tired to beat one more time.

She stopped being there, decided she did not want to see me anymore, thought she could just leave, like that... out of my life, because her heart was tired.

She could not do that? Could she?

I meant, it was my Aunt we were talking about. She could not die; she was so strong and she was scary and she could not die, right?

And the man I thought would understand me, would help me, would be my strength; what did he say? ??People die.??

I remembered screaming at him; Jason taking my baby out of our home and... and Robbie refusing me to go anywhere near ??her??.

??Her?? was my Aunt Marie. My other mother. She was the fucking anchor, my mom and I had. She jumped to the sea and immersed her life, so mom and I would stay afloat, not losing our way in grief of my dad??s demise.

We lost our captain, now we lost our anchor too.

??You are not going.??

??WHY THE HELL NOT???

??Angel. Enough!??

I stormed to his intimidating figure. What would he do? Punch me? Kick me? Fucking kill me?

??She is dead. DEAD. What is a dead woman going to do to you? Huh? Huh??? I pushed on his chest. ??What did she ever do to you? You fucking hated her, didn??t you? Huh? Well, happy news, you have one less person to hate.?? I spat.

He held my wrist when I tried to punch him. ??Calm down. You are not going.??

??WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY I AM NOT GOING? YOU SON OF A BITCH!??

It was her funeral. There I said it.

Funeral.

I was supposed to be there. I wanted to scream at her for leaving me. I had to go there and punish her; we were going to be so angry at each other and then we would stop talking and we would still not talk when mom called for us... We... we would... would say nasty meanie things to each other... then... then... she... I... that was how we were... then one day we would forget that we were not talking and would have tea... and... she was going to come here and stay with me and Lia... She had said someday...

I was sobbing my heart out clutching on Robbie??s shoulders. I felt a hug. ??Robbie... please... take me there.??

??No.??

??Wh... what???

??You are not going and that is final.??

??I am going.?? I whispered. I hated when my voice left me when I wanted nothing more than to shout. ??I am going whether you take me not.??

??I won??t allow it.??

??Who are you to allow me or not to? Learn your place Mr. Brantley.??

He laughed with mirth and all. ??Oh, my precious. You are not going there, don??t push me.??

??Or what? You don??t scare me. I am going and I am taking Lia too. She needs to be there; her grandmother Marie is dead.??

??As I have told you several times; she has only one grandmother and that is Madam Claire.??

I had no time to sit here and argue with this fucking bastard. I had to go. I took the keys of my Bugatti from the bowl and almost reached the door, when Robbie showed his true colours.

??You are not fucking going anywhere.?? He yanked me back inside and I bit his hand hard. ??Come here you little...??

He picked me up throwing me over his shoulders and climbed the stairs. ??You fucking asshole. You bastard. You are a psychopath, you sadist. Let me go, you son of a bitch.?? I kicked, screamed and fucking did everything to loosen his hold and he did not even feel my knees on his stomach.

He threw me to his bed and locked me from the outside. ??Please, Robbie, please...?? I slammed my fists on the door trying to change his mind. ??Please, please... Robbie... My Aunt died, please... I just want to see her one last time... please... Robbie... Robbie...??

I screamed until my throat was raw and punched the door until my hands were red. I hated him... I hated Robert Fucking Brantley.

Oh My God.

My Aunt Marie.

She was no more and the memories of our amazing time together were driving me crazy. ??I want to go home.?? I begged to the door, slowly falling down to the floor.

Why was Jason not helping me? Aunt Marie and he were not close, but why was he not helping me?

I jumped and ran to the door when it opened, Robbie stood there holding a crying Lia. He handed me my baby and went out again locking the door.

??Woods.??

??Mr. Woods, she is our family, my aunt, whatever she owes to anyone, please forward it to my lawyer. On second thought, I will set up a meeting for you to calmly collect all your data and discuss it with Mr. Sullivan, my lawyer.??

??That is... a good idea, Mr. Truscott. But there are some debts she wants only her daughter to pay; so it will take me time, to regularize everything.??

We sat there for over two hours, I moving in and out of memories, pain and exhaustion.

It was when the lawyer handed us some envelops did I notice how utterly scared Robbie was. He was calm on the outside, but I knew this man; he was feeling extremely cautious, and now he was behaving like a cornered animal ready to lash out.

His hand tightened around my wrist and he wanted to drag Lia and I to his car and get out of here, glaring at the envelope.

??You promised you will come back with me.?? He was biting his tongue not to shout in front of mom.

I saw mom crying over the letter Aunt wrote for her and Jason trying his best to calm her down.

??Let us go, now. You haven??t eaten a thing. And I cannot eat when you are crying. So let us us go now.?? Robbie desperately tried to make me understand.

??Robbie... mom might want us to stay for a while longer.?? He twisted his face and I placed a hand on his cheek and turned him to me again. ??We are going home, I promise. Just a while longer.??

I took a huge step away, when mom came to me. ??What did she have for you??? Her voice nasal and broken. I hugged her to me.

I watched Robbie fisting his hand and loosening, trying very hard to keep his anxiety in check.

??I am not feeling strong enough to read her last words, mama. Can I please read it later? I think, I may need some time.?? She nodded.

??Take all the time you need, after all we have lots of it... unlike my... my...?? She started crying again.

??I am taking her home, are you coming with us??? Jason was looking pointedly at Robbie.

??Yes, for a few hours. Robbie needs to rest before the long drive and Lia looks cranky. She needs her nap.?? I replied before Robbie could reject. I knew he was not happy but mom needed to see us alive and healthy.

Mom wiped her nose with Jason??s handkerchief. ??Yeah, I want you to come with me. I... I...??

??Momma we are here.?? Jason patted her back.

I walked to Robbie and handed him the envelope. ??Why don??t you keep it safe? I want to wait a bit before going through it. I know it is personal, but can you please check for any requests from her? Lawyer said there is a bill from her to me in this. I don??t think I can go through that any time soon. So... please and don??t read her letter to me.??

At that time, I hated we were fuck buddies and he was married. I wanted to pull down his head to me and kiss him.

Whatever he thought she wrote to me, would not dwindle my love for him. Because right at this moment, even after her death, knowing I was sleeping with her son-in-law, I could not bring myself to let this man go.

I had sunken that far down.

At this point I could think of only one person that could break us apart. And she was too young to know about the sin I was doing.

Yeah, it was not my mom and that was telling how hard this man and his child held my heart.

Robbie was touched; I could tell.

I let Robbie manhandle me, because I was so damn tired, to do anything on my own. And it made my man happy. He was ecstatic that I was letting him take care of me.

No wonder people went for fuck buddies than serious relationship.

But I wanted to do this only with him, what did that make me.

??Aaah.?? Robbie said next to me, opening his mouth. So, I imitated him and he gave me another spoon full of ice cream. We were watching Lilo and Stitch and for the first time ever Robbie was not making a fuss about it.

??I used to love this movie.?? Robbie said.

??Used to??? And just like that he closed off.

He fixed the blanket around me. ??That is enough ice cream for you.??

I glared at him frowning. ??Angel, you can eat it tomorrow. It is already so cold outside, you will get sore throat.??

I glared again.

??Fine! One more bowl, but that is it.??

Three more bowls later, I was stuffed till my nose. Ice cream did numb the pain.

??Robbie I was go through Aunt??s envelope.?? He froze and stopped patting my mouth with the towel. Thankfully I had managed to persuade Robbie to let me brush my teeth on my own.

He gave me stiff nod and went off like a soldier on a death mission.

So dramatic!

I climbed on my bed and watched Robbie stiffly walking towards me.

I frowned seeing the envelope unopened. I had expected him to go through it. ??Why did you not open it???

??You promised you will not leave and you trusted me with it.??

My heart was so not ready for that answer. Every time I had thought I was figuring this man out; he would just change his course.

He fluffed the pillow and placed my head gently on it. ??Robbie...?? I was not sick or paralysed.

??You said I could.?? I shook my head as he rolled me up in a blanket like a sushi, I slithered out of fast.

??Baby.?? He scowled.

??I am not cold.?? I scowled back.

I was about to open the envelope when Robbie jumped away scared. ??WAIT!??

He went to close the door watched him lock it with the key.

I imagined rolling my eyes when he hid it in his pyjama pockets.

At least I hadn??t figured him out completely wrong.

The letter was beautiful and loving and I was crying on Robbie??s chest as I read each words. I tried very hard not to wet the paper but... it just sort of... it did not matter anyways.

I fell asleep holding it closer to my heart but woke up soon when I felt Robbie wiggling around. He was trying very hard to settle down but he was failing miserably.

??Robbie, do you want to read the letter???

??No.??

??Okay.?? I turned around and waited a few minutes. There he went all wiggly again.

I switched on the light. My poor baby was scared. I wanted to melt but at the same time strangle him to death.

I sighed. ??Robbie, I don??t mind. Aunt Marie would not mind either. Trust me, I know her. Do you want to???

??No.??

I picked up the letter anyways and extended it to him. He took a small peek and turned his face away.

God! He was so adorable.

??Fuck it.?? He took it from me and I watched him skim read it, looking for that sentence that would make me leave him.

He would never find it, because there was no such thing in there. Aunt Marie did not know about us and... I had not pondered it much. I was not ready... yet. Her demise was too fresh for me to think of how I was going to ask her for forgiveness.

Robbie read it slowly one more time, still not believing her words. He frowned at the letter like it had magically erased some words.

??Who wrote this letter???

??My Aunt.??

??Are you sure???

??I know her handwriting, Robbie. Why do you ask???

He looked angry and doubtful but slowly he took a deep breath. He folded the letter neatly and gave it back to me.

??Angel... I...?? He rolled me on top of him. ??Don??t leave me ever.??

I can??t even if I want to. I will not be able to. I love you so much, Robbie. You are my demon, who stole me from myself.

I swallowed my words, because I could never tell him what he was to me. I had promised myself I would not...

??Promise me.?? He was begging me, his lips tight with sadness.

I nibbled my lips. ??Sooo... I don??t have to go to college??? I peeked at him shyly.

I was expecting the slap he landed on my bum but I ducked my head, when I saw his lips lifting up in a smirk.

??Brat.??