8 He Underestimated her
This was a mistake. Thought secretary Kim as he wiped his sweaty palms on the side of his pants before raising the cup of water once more to his mouth, emptying it in one big gulp. The action helped to calm his frayed nerves. Deep down, he knew he had messed up.
"I apologize, I didn't mean to come off as threatening."
His previous attitude of nonchalance was nowhere to be seen. He now stared at Eli in a new light. He had severely underestimated her. A rookie mistake he made due to her young age. He did not plan to make a repeat of it.
He had seen the records of her time in the various foster homes she had lived, and also her school records. It was clear that she was academically gifted and can even be called a blooming genius, however, the records on her day-to-day social life showed she was an easy pick for bullies. In other words, she was a pushover.
While her intense sense of presence initially took him off guard, seeing the report provided by his team made him think she was just another teenager trying to survive in a dog-eat-dog world.
People tend to want the things they never had. In Eli's case, a family. He had wanted to take advantage of her desire for validation and rope her in and take her back to the Carter estate at the capital as soon as possible, cutting his stay in Green city.
So what was this situation?
No one told him he would be facing a vigilant black panther? He blamed the oversight on his team. He would have to scold them once he left for providing him fake information. A one-month salary cut will not cut it! How was the girl in front of him anything close to a timid bunny?
Eli's tapping stopped. Her finger in mid-air, halfway to the table. She retracted her hand and put it in her pocket.
"Seeing as you know so much about me, then you should know that apart from my late grandma, I have never been lucky when it came to family. The term family has lost most of its value to me. So, before you bring up any discussions about me leaving with you, you will need to answer all of my questions."
Secretary Kim swallowed his objections. "Please, go ahead. I would be sure to answer any questions you might have to the best of my abilities" he added with a slight smile.
"Tell me about my father"
Secretary Kim took a few seconds to try and gather his thoughts and put together his words before he began. " Your late father is the second son of your grandfather John Carter." He started.
"About sixteen years ago, like every young man, he fell in love with a young woman, your mother. They were of two opposite sides in terms of social status. While your father was a young master of the Carter clan, your mother was an aspiring model.
As you might have guessed, their relationship was not accepted by your grandfather for two reasons. The first being- your father was already engaged at the time to the daughter of one of your grandfather's business partners.
Upon meeting your mother, and beginning their courtship, your father decided he wanted to call the wedding off.
The second reason was due to the fact that your grandfather felt that your mother's intentions with Nox, your father, were not genuine." He added.
"These reasons and the fact that your father refused to see eye to eye with your grandfather led the two to have a major fallout. At the height of one of their arguments, your grandfather give your father an ultimatum, to break off his relationship with your mother, or lose his inheritance"
"Your father chose love over family and broke away from the clan. Unfortunately, your grandfather's worries were not unfounded. Upon finding out your father had lost his wealth and status, your mother left him. Your father then fell into a depression and passed away from an overdose." Secretary Kim concluded.
He looked up at Eli to see if she had any change in expression, however, apart from the slightly bored, detached look in her eyes, there was nothing else.
"And you automatically could tell I was his child because?" She asked, pulling out her mobile phone. It looked like she was fiddling with it, however, she was searching up news about John Carter.
"Your father looked the most similar to the Chairman among all of his children. Excluding the uncanny resemblance you share with him, your father was the only kin of the Carter clan whose activities were not unaccounted for after he left the clan. Additionally, I had also run your DNA against all your uncles to exclude them." Secretary Kim explained.
"Alright," Eli acknowledged.
"Now let's talk about the rest of the Carter clan," Eli said, turning her phone to Secretary Kim. On the screen was a picture of John Carter and his sons taken while at an event.
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While Secretary Kim and Eli discussed upstairs, Bernard was parked downstairs in front of the flower shop. He waited in the car, with his hands placed on each side of the steering wheel.
He was lost in thought- still processing the news he had just overheard. How did his soon-to-be daughter turn out to be the granddaughter of his chairman?
He had even brought up the adoption process to his wife who was thrilled by the news. He had also taken out time to research the adoption procedures and was hoping to discuss it with Eli later that day. Who would have thought that he was about to steal his Chairman's granddaughter?
It was such great news for the Carter clan who lacked female descendants. Apart from his chairman's sister, there were no females born to the second or even the third generation of the Carter clan.
While gaining Eli was a gift to them, what about him? How can he lose his daughter before he even adopted her? Bernard lamented internally. What bothered him the most was - how was he going to break the news to his wife?
By the time Secretary Kim left Eli's home, it was already past eleven pm. They had spent over three hours discussing. It felt more like an interrogation than a conversation between a curious teen and an adult. It was mostly Eli throwing questions at him and him providing the answers.
He rubbed his temple as if to rub away the headache that was building. He felt as if he had just left a board meeting with his Chairman. How could two people be so similar even without ever meeting? Was it the blood connection? And why did he feel it was scarier dealing with Eli than his Chairman?
He sighed. Resting his head on the headrest in the car and closed his eyes. He had said too much today but what could he do? Eli was not your typical fifteen-year-old. Whatever the consequences were, he would deal with them tomorrow.
