“Oh dear, what have I gotten myself into?” he laughed back at her. “Let me get the car and I’ll pick you up out front.” He opened the top right drawer of his desk and grabbed a set of keys then made his way outside.
Lia was actually happy to be spending time with him now. After her escapade in Vegas she no longer had the desire to run off and be out on her own and was pretty sure Randle knew it. That episode had scared her immensely and she really thought she was going to die.
She almost jumped down the front steps of the house making her way to join Randle in his Mercedes when he finally drove around to pick her up.
“Where to first?” he asked as soon as she finally shut the door and put on her seatbelt.
“To the first pizza parlor you see,” she replied laughing.
“Oh come on!” he almost yelled back but was smiling at the same time.
“Oh no…you agreed this was my day out and I get to decide. I’ve been craving pizza all week,” she insisted.
“Oh gees…pizza it is,” he actually agreed and without further delay he put the car in gear and began to drive.
“And I think I’m gonna drink a beer too,” she then pushed.
“Oh I don’t think so. Not my crazy little Princess.”
It only took a few minutes for Randle to pull into the pizza parlor and park the car. He sat for a moment looking at the building then turned to face Lia. “Am I really doing this?” he asked grinning widely.
Lia already had her seatbelt off and was pulling at the door handle. “Yes you are. Now come on, you’re gonna have more fun than you ever have,” she promised.
“If you say so,” he reluctantly replied but followed her lead and got out of the car.
As they made their way inside a waitress met them at the door. “Seat yourselves and I’ll be right over,” she instructed them.
Lia grabbed Randle’s hand and pulled him behind her as if he were her child. She went straight to the back of the building and found them an empty circular booth in the corner. She was hoping to make Randle feel a bit more at ease if she didn’t display him out in the middle of everyone else.
“How’s this?” she asked as she slid around to the back of the overstuffed seat and he made his way over just next to her.
“Fine, fine,” he replied as if he were only humoring her now.
“Oh come on Randle. Smile. You’ve gotta eat junk food once in a while.”
He just looked at her grinning as the waitress now handed them menus. “What can I get you to drink?” she then asked.
Before Lia could speak Randle ordered for both of them. “Bring us a pitcher of beer and two mugs,” he replied with a chuckle.
Lia couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “Really?” she asked.
“What the hell?” he responded. “I’ve come this far, may as well do it right.”
She couldn’t believe he was being so easy going today. They actually had a really good time and watching Randle eat pizza and drink beer she knew was something that she would probably never again witness.
Once they left the pizza parlor they stopped at one of Lia’s favorite clothing boutiques but Randle waited patiently by the counter as she shopped not caring to rummage through women’s clothing with her but watched her every move closely. He paid for all her merchandise and finally convinced her to finish up so he could make his afternoon appointment.
“Randle thank you so much. I really enjoyed this and needed to get out of that house already,” she told him as they made their way back up the driveway now.
“You just got back from a trip to Vegas so quit acting like you’re so deprived,” he answered with a hard laugh.
“Oh please! I was there two days and almost died. I wouldn’t exactly call that fun,” she responded quickly. She grabbed her bags and got out of the car.
Randle was coming up the steps just behind her. “Wanna go again?” he prodded.
“No thank you. I’m fine,” she stated firmly without ever looking back.
As soon as they entered the house she ran up the stairs to put her stuff away and still smiling from the fun filled afternoon she quickly made her way back down to Randle’s office. He was already seated behind his desk and his mood had quickly changed back to all business. She got the feeling the meeting he was about to have wasn’t gonna be such a good one. He seemed too tense now and it was beginning to worry her.
Then as she made her way back around his desk and slid her way back up on top of it again she heard the doorbell ring.
“That must be my visitor,” Randle stated as he instantly rose and rounded the desk then headed toward his office door. Lia hopped down from the desk.
“Do you want me to wait somewhere else? The living room maybe?” she offered.
Randle turned to face her with his hand already on the door knob. “No it’s okay. This really shouldn’t take so long.”
She was surprised at his response. Usually he would shush her from the room as fast as he could so he could have total privacy with his “associates” or “business partners” as he called them. But ever since Vegas he didn’t seem to be trying to hide anything from her. It was almost as if he had accepted her now as a part of his dark secret world. Sometimes it actually intrigued her, but for the most part she feared it.
Lia glanced around the room at the massive book case built onto the side wall filled with hundreds of books…encyclopedias, law books and literary works of all kinds. Most of them belonged to Joseph she knew. He had always been an avid reader. She walked over and scanned through them hearing voices coming from the front door at the same time as Randle greeted his guest. She finally picked one out then went to the rear of the room wanting to make sure she was out of Randle’s way while he tended to his business. She propped her self on the ledge of another shorter bookcase and leaned against the adjoining wall with her legs stretched out ahead of her with her knees bent so she could prop the book against her thighs. Carefully she opened the book and began scanning the pages trying to keep herself busy and listen to their conversation at the same time.
Finally out of the corner of her eye she saw Randle and his guest entering the room and Randle returned behind his desk, the other man stood in front of it, his back to her as they spoke.
“Please…have a seat,” she heard Randle offer.
“No thank you, I’m fine,” she then heard another voice reply and as it did her body froze for a few seconds, unable to move at all.
She realized now this wasn’t a strange voice she was hearing. She had heard it before. Getting the nerve to finally look in their direction she recognized the man as Thomas Bransford. The man she had met during her escapade in Vegas. The same man she felt was the cause of her nearly getting killed while she was there. But what was he doing here now she could only wonder.
Then she thought harder. Oh yea, she then remembered to herself, he asked Randle on the way out of the warehouse why he had made her shoot that man. It was Thomas’s voice that had asked that question she knew it now. Then she remembered Randle telling her he had done a couple of jobs for him in the past.
Just my luck, she then thought again. No matter where I go everyone I meet seems to be associated with Randle Malcolm. But what could he possibly be doing here now? She chose to only pretend she was reading the book just so she could listen to every word they had to say. To see what kind of business these two men could possibly have together now.
She wondered now if Randle hadn’t also sent Thomas to spy on her. Maybe he really wasn’t interested in her at all. It was all probably a sham just so he could report back to Randle and let him know her every move while she was there. The thought was nearly angering her now as she listened on pretty sure Thomas hadn’t seen her there when he entered the room.
“I want this done as soon as possible,” Randle was telling him again in his powerful demanding tone of voice that let everyone know he wasn’t playing around.
“I understand that Randle. But this is a big job
. Not to mention a dangerous one,” Thomas answered back seeming to be somewhat unwilling to perform whatever it was Randle was demanding of him.
“It’s not that dangerous,” Randle insisted, “especially for you. You are the only person I can absolutely trust to get this done for me!” He was raising his voice now at the thought that Thomas may turn him down, almost pleading with him with desperation.
Thomas paced a few steps in front of the desk then returned to face Randle once more. “And what’s in it for me if I get this done?” His hands were now on his hips and he acted as if he had gathered up more courage.
“Anything,” Randle simply stated back. “This man has been causing me trouble for far too long. I want this taken care of immediately and discretely.”
“Anything huh?” Thomas replied again as if he wasn’t sure he meant what he had said.
“Anything,” he repeated with a stern face making sure Thomas knew he meant business. “You take care of this for me and I will grant you anything you want…just name your price.”
Thomas confidently reached out his right hand in agreement. “Then you’ve got a deal. I promise I will not let you down.”
Without a second thought Randle reached out and clenched the deal with a handshake, smiling victoriously as if he had won the lottery.
“Fine…now name your price,” he then went on to state as if there wasn’t an amount of money big enough to scare him.
Thomas fidgeted for a moment then with much courage he faced Randle Malcolm eye to eye and spoke his answer.
“Princess,” is all he muttered out.
Lia’s body jerked to attention and Randle came to stand straight up and glared back with a look in his eyes so evil they seemed to be cutting right through him.
“What did you say?” he asked in a violent tone of voice and as if he had misunderstood the answer.
“Princess,” Thomas repeated without hesitation. “All I want as my reward for doing this deed…is her.”
Randle’s pleasant smile left his face immediately upon Thomas’s response but he never looked away from him.
Lia never moved. She only sat now with her eyes open wide and her jaw dropped that this man would even have the nerve to think such a thing was conceivable. Randle Malcolm would never give her up, especially not to another man. What he asked now was the impossible and she knew this with all certainty.
“Princess is mine and everyone knows that,” Randle then stated firmly. “And anyone would be a fool to think otherwise.”
Thomas kept his confidence. “But Randle Malcolm has always been a man of his word, hasn’t he? I don’t think it would look too good now if word got around that you were to change that now would it?” He almost seemed to be threatening Randle’s integrity now.
Randle had a look of total disgust take over his face, almost a look of defeat as he seemed to be clenching his teeth just to help hold himself back from killing this man right here and now.
Then Thomas had the nerve to continue. “I would think you would lose a lot of respect from your peers if you were ever to go back on your word now don’t you think?”
There was a short pause and Lia was becoming more worried as she tried to study Randle’s expression.
“Then so be it,” Randle finally proclaimed through clenched teeth. “You do exactly as I have asked…and Princess is yours.”
Thomas smiled diligently, almost with a little too much arrogance as he took two steps back seeming to be heading for the door and afraid to turn his back on Randle at the same time.
Lia never moved or made a sound. All she thought now was surely Randle had another plan. Surely he wouldn’t really follow through with this. But by the look on his face and the sound of his voice she knew he had no choice. He had no intentions of letting this man ruin his reputation and possibly even bring down his empire. Her own anger was building now as she listened on.
As Thomas reached for the knob and pulled the door open to exit the room Randle again spoke to him.
“Thomas…Princess is as innocent as the day she was born. I will not let her be treated like a whore. If you want her…you will have to marry her first.”
Thomas smiled knowingly at his demand. “I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he replied almost with a laugh then turned and quickly left the house.
Lia jumped quickly from the ledge and ran straight to stare Randle down. “I refuse to be a chip on your bargaining table!” she yelled out as loud as she could. Her face was red and her eyes were becoming glassy. She could feel her chest move as her heart pounded faster now.
Randle grabbed her arms and shook her. “Princess I had no choice! If I back out now it could be the end of everything don’t you understand that? I am a man of my word and once I give it I can’t take it back!”
“But Randle…” she started but he cut her off.
“I don’t want to hear another word about it. What’s done is done!” He let go of her with such force she stumbled backwards.
He hurried out the door and up the staircase. Lia stood unbelieving as she watched him retreat to his bedroom and slam the door hard behind him.
What just happened here? she asked herself in disbelief. Does he really intend to marry me off to some man I hardly know? Would Randle Malcolm actually offer me into another man’s bed as jealous as he has always been when another man would so much as speak to me?
Lia walked slowly and numbly from the room and looked out the glass panes of the front door to make sure Thomas was gone. His car wasn’t there so she knew he made a fast get away. Now she only wondered how long it would take him to complete his assignment and just exactly how soon did Randle intend for this wedding to take place? Her mind was so boggled she couldn’t decide where to go next, up the stairs back to her bedroom or maybe take a walk outside and try to make sense of what had just taken place here.
Slowly she made her way out the patio doors and walked passed the pool to the gardens behind them. She made her way to a bench just in front of the goldfish pond and sat with her elbows propped on her legs and her head down in her hands. All she could do now was cry and wonder if maybe Randle had decided to do this on purpose just to punish her for running away to Vegas the way she had. Maybe even to punish her for not submitting to him by now the way he had always insisted she would someday do. And now she felt the one person in the world she had always trusted to love and protect her forever was about to send her away…condemned too live the rest of her life with an almost total stranger.
Finally she was able to pick up her head and stare into the pond and watch as the large fish were swimming around in the rippling water without a care in the world. What an end to what started off as such a glorious day she thought.
Over the next two days Lia purposely avoided Randle altogether and she was certain he was doing the same thing to her. Each morning she watched out the window refusing to emerge from her bedroom until she saw his car leaving the estate. Finally she would make her way downstairs and have her meals alone and mope around the grounds not even wanting to go shopping. No longer having the desire to do anything but stay right here in the only home she has known since she was ten years old. The home Randle was now about to force her to leave and with another man of all things. It was just so incomprehensible it made her head pound.
Closely she kept an eye on her watch each day to make sure she was back safe and secure in her bedroom when Randle was expected to arrive back home, her door locked to keep him out should he even decide to try and approach her. She was so angry at him now that even the thought of looking into those gorgeous blue eyes made her feel sick at her stomach.
Now as 5:30 approached she looked again out her window. His car was already in the driveway. He must have gotten home a few minutes early today and to her surprise there was another vehicle parked just behind him. She hadn’t seen or heard them drive up so she had no idea who this could be. Out of curiosity she made her way to the door and opened it but barely just enough for her t
o peek out. She could clearly see Randle’s office door from her room but it was closed.
Then she heard voices as they grew louder, approaching his door she knew. She opened hers a little wider to get a better look at who was about to emerge and much to her shock it was Thomas who was now coming out and making his way to the front door. Then something must have caught his attention because he suddenly came to a stop and looked up the stairway straight at her and their eyes met. She shut the door immediately and locked it back.
Then she ran back to her window to look out so she could see him make his way to his car. As he opened the driver side door he again looked up knowing full well where her bedroom was now and again their eyes connected. This time she didn’t run, only watched and waited to see what his reaction would be. He only smiled and climbed inside his vehicle and drove away.
Lia pulled out the chair in front of the small writing desk just next to her window and sat still for a moment remembering this handsome man she had dinner with only once. And now she was to become his bride…his wife...his lover. Would it really be so bad? she found herself wondering. He was very sweet to me the little time we did spend together.
Then it hit her hard. He must’ve been here because he finished his job and wanted to speak with Randle about how to collect his prize. Oh dear, is Randle planning my wedding for me now? A hot rush filled her body and she almost swore she was sweating at the thought of it and just as suddenly she heard someone turning her door knob but she had it locked.
“Princess! Let me in,” she then heard Randle calling from outside and she knew now it was true.
Slowly she rose and made her way to the door. “Open it now I said!” he went on demanding from just outside.
She turned the bolt and he let himself in instantly upon hearing it click. She stepped back to keep the door from hitting her.
Randle looked into her sagging eyes and she could tell he too wasn’t exactly happy about this entire situation either. “Princess,” he began in a softer tone. “The wedding is taking place Saturday after next. I would suggest you go into town soon and pick out your dress.” He said it so straight forward it almost sounded as if he were in a hurry to get rid of her.
Randle's Princess Page 9
