Falling For The Billionaire Heir

About thirty minutes later, his cell phone started ringing. He was a bit irritated when he checked the screen and saw Debbie’s picture blinking at him. He dropped the phone back on his desk and continued with his work. The phone rang out and started ringing again. He left it to continue to ring and continued with his work.

He was not surprised though, when his secretary came in and held out her cell phone to him after twenty minutes, saying Debbie was on the line, asking to speak with him. Colin asked Mabel to return to her desk.

After she left, he let out a deep sigh of frustration and reached for his phone to call Debbie.

“Thank God you can finally spare some minutes for us lesser mortals.” Debbie remarked the moment she answered Colin’s call.

He ignored her sarcasm and said, “Debbie, how are you?”

“I’m fine,” she replied from the other end. “I only want to ask if we can hang out tonight…or anytime before the end of the week.”

“Uh….,” he cleared his throat. “I have plans tonight. Becky and I are going for a birthday dinner.”

“Oh,” she sounded disappointed. “I see. What about tomorrow?”

“You know what Debbie? ” he closed his eyes momentarily. “I will call you by the weekend to fix a time. What about that?”

“Okay,” she sounded a bit relieved. “I will be expecting your call.”

“About your dad’s birthday next week, I……”

“Listen Debbie,” he quickly cut her short. “I’m in the middle of something. I will call you as I promised.” He said and disconnected the line.

By the time he tried to go back to what he was doing earlier on, his mind couldn’t concentrate on work anymore. His mind kept going back to what his father asked about Becky. He was happy that his father liked her, unlike his mom, who was still bent on him marrying Debbie.

Becky had brought so much joy into his life and he would not trade her for anyone else.

Four years prior, Lauren, his ex, inflicted a deep wound on him. And he swore off women until the day he met Becky at Remy’s Plates. He loved Lauren with all of his heart back then.

He nearly had a heart attack the day he walked into her living room and found a guy only in boxers, sitting with Lauren on her oversized bean bag chair. He’d been away for five days on a business trip.

The guy’s head was on Lauren’s legs. They were lost in their own world and didn’t even realize someone had just walked in. He had gone straight from the airport wanting to surprise her by returning a day before he earlier planned to, because he missed her so much.

Colin didn’t even know when the shopping bags containing the gifts he got for her fell off his hands. It was the sound that made the lovebirds look up.

“Hi Lauren,” Colin said.

“H… hi,” Lauren stuttered, rising quickly and tugging at her dress to straighten it. The guy just looked on. He didn’t even blink an eye.

“I just got back from Texas and….” he stopped halfway and walked out without another word.

“Wait… wait please,” Lauren cried, chasing after him.

Colin didn’t look back; he walked as fast as his legs could carry him. He quickly jumped into the car that was waiting for him. “Move! He barked at the driver as soon as he got into the car. He had never felt the emptiness that came over him as he was being driven home that afternoon.

When he got home, he went straight to the bar and gulped down almost half a bottle of whiskey. He took his bath afterwards and hit the bed. The alcohol kicked in a few minutes after he laid his head on the pillow. He slept until one pm the following day. The real torture started as soon as he opened his eyes, palpable raw anger and grief hit him even before he got up from the bed.

Lauren came the following day, but he refused to allow her into his quarters. On Monday, she came to meet him in the office. His first instinct was to send her away, but he reasoned that the earlier he allowed her to say whatever she wanted to say, the better for him. So he let her be.

“Colin, I’m so sorry,” she pleaded, fidgeting with her fingers. “I know I have no reason to treat you like I have done. I am sorry.”

Colin averted his gaze. He didn’t want her to see his pains.

Unknown to him, Lauren had started the other relationship shortly after he proposed to her, which was five months earlier. “I was planning to come out clean with you on your return from Texas, I never planned for you to find out about it this way.”

“Why did you do this to me?” He asked her.

“My father won’t make me an executive director, except I agree to marry Walter.” She told him.

“I can’t believe this,” her answer dumbfounded him. “Colin,” she laid a hand on his lap.

He shrugged her hand away. She continued talking anyway, “with my father it’s more than that. If I don’t do what he wants me to do, I will pay for it for the rest of my life. I don’t have any other choice, please I need you to understand me.” She had begged him.

He placed his palms on his desk and looked into her eyes. “Did you even love me at all?”

“I… I,” she stalled a bit. “I loved you Colin, it’s just that you can’t understand the situation I’m in.”

“And you never thought that there could be a way around this?” He asked, looking sad. “You never considered that I could make you an executive director here after our wedding?”

“It’s not about what any other person can give me,” she said in a low voice. “It’s all about my right, Colin… about what belongs to me.” Her voice shook with emotions.

Realization suddenly struck him like a wave of heat. Their love was not a priority to her.

“I see.” He sat back dejectedly and smiled ruefully. Colin’s jaw dropped in shock as Lauren spoke, completely taken aback.

They fell into an awkward silence before Lauren said, “I better be going.”

He nodded, and she left, leaving his heart shattered.