Perfect Revenge (Revenge Series Book 1)

by Catherine Edward

  She felt her heart skipping another beat on seeing his smile. Averting her gaze this time, she made sure that it stayed on her plate.

  "Sam, I've decided that I'd be taking you as my date to the party," Axel announced and she choked on her pancake.

  "Huh?"

  "Well, it's not necessary that I have to actually date the girl, who is going to go with me, right? The only reason I am going is to knock down some new business deals," he restated his father's words.

  Samantha nodded quickly in understanding. "Okay."

  Sara quickly hid her amusement and caught Henry's eyes, who had just come in after his morning walk.

  "Hello Samantha, nice to see you again," he greeted.

  "Hi, nice to see you too," Samantha chirped enthusiastically.

  She noticed Sara nudging at Henry when they both got into the car later. Something was going on with his parents, and she couldn't point a finger on what it was. Did they like her? Why else would Sara keep sending eye signals to her husband? Axel was oblivious to his parent's reaction as he was staring at her the entire time.

  Butterflies fluttered inside her stomach when she noticed him gazing at her intently, but at the same time, this new development scared her. What was he up to? Was he looking for a reason to fire her from the job?

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  Axel drove the car and Samantha didn't understand why he even asked her to drop by. He didn't even talk anything about work. The silence during the twenty minutes drive to their office was comfortable and Samantha felt more at ease in his presence these days.

  As they walked inside the building he took his time to take note of her appearance. When she appeared in his kitchen this morning he taken by surprise when he saw her new look. He was so used to see her in formal clothes with her hair always up.

  She had opted out for black skinny jeans and loose-fitting off-shoulder chiffon blouse, the pale blue color complimenting her wheat-colored skin very well.

  Axel for the first time noticed a bit of makeup on her face, she had put on kohl which made her big eyes pop. Her long curly lashes highlighted with a bit of mascara and her nude lip gloss, providing a glassy texture, glistened with light.

  He tried to remember if she had put makeup before. As he never gave much thought to it before he didn't remember seeing her with makeup. He also noticed how long her hair was when it was out of her usual bun. Samantha gasped when she felt his hands running through her hair.

  Axel didn't realize what he was doing until he heard her soft gasp. It was too late by then. When he saw her silky hair, which ran past her hips, trimmed in layers just the way he liked, he couldn't resist from touching it.

  That was another reason he fell for Alicia. She had a long hair then and he liked girls with long hair. He retracted his hand at the thought of Alicia.

  She is not her, his conscious supplied. They were in the elevator alone and he saw her biting her lower lip with a slight blush creeping into her cheeks. He wanted to say something, but he kept his mouth shut, mostly because of his conscious said he would ruin it.

  Samantha was nothing like Alicia. While the former had a full figure with luscious curves, the latter was size zero skinny. Samantha was simple in every sense while Alicia's attire screamed of money. Once again, Samantha wasn’t afraid to enjoy her food while the latter fussed about everything she ate.

  Why the hell was he comparing both the women?

  Axel averted his gaze and thrust his hands in his pockets. He felt relieved that she didn't comment about his inappropriate behavior a few moments ago. Once they reached the office he switched to his robotic-self, hardly acknowledging her presence for the most of the morning.

  He absent-mindedly ate the sandwich Samantha placed before him and continued to work until she informed him that it was time for his meeting with the head of the departments.

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  Axel entered the already full conference room with Samantha in tow. His employees had a puzzled look and a few greeted him with a warm smile, which he returned for the first time.

  "I'm promoting Samantha as the General Manager of this company,” he announced as soon as he took his seat. “I will be assigning more of my duties to her. She earned this place by her hard work and I believe she is very much qualified for the post," he explained nonetheless. “And, starting tomorrow you’ll be reporting to her.”

  He noticed a few of them grimacing when he said they would be reporting to Samantha, but he didn't care. None of his employees could compete with Samantha's talent. He simply raised his right eyebrow, silently asking, more like challenging if anyone had a problem with that. He smirked when the few in question averted their gaze.

  Samantha who was not expecting this looked at him in surprise, but soon masked it.

  "But sir, there are others who are in the pipeline. Other staff who has more experience than her. She is just a secretary." Andrew from the marketing team argued after a moment. He worked with the company for the past four years and had two master degrees in the same field.

  "Hmm... let me come to that, Andrew. Here, take a look at this," Axel said, pushing a set of papers in front of them. They took a copy each and he smirked when their faces formed a frown. Andrew swallowed as he lifted his gaze back to Axel.

  "As a sales and marketing head of this organization, it's a part of your job to bring in new deals. Get closures on certain things and meet our annual sales target. You failed to meet your target for the past six quarters and most of all, your team’s productivity has lessened in this duration," he pushed another paper towards his direction.

  Andrew wiped the sheen of sweat formed on his forehead as he took the paper in his hand. He cursed internally when he noticed the difference in numbers. Sure enough, Axel had a detailed report on their department's daily, monthly and quarterly productivity sheet.

  "I'm not paying for you so that you can take multiple coffee breaks and flirt with our female staff. Consider this a warning to yourself and your team. If I don't see any improvement by the end of next quarter, I will gladly replace your team with someone more capable," Axel warned.

  Axel looked around at the faces of his employees. He smirked when his eyes landed on Grace, who looked defiant when he announced Samantha's promotion has now shrunken in her chair, trying her best to avoid his attention.

  "Ah, Grace, being a Human Resource head doesn't mean that you have to use every possible leave allowed by the company. You are late for work on most of the day and you did not report to work for ten days in past three months. On top of all, you didn't even think it was necessary for you to report your absence to your boss, that was me," Axel sneered.

  "Sir, I –"

  He cut her off with a sharp look that said he didn't want to hear any reasons. "You responded to my emails from your mobile and tried to show as if you were working. You had your assistant sign in using your ID on your behalf."

  "I-I was not keeping well, I –"

  "You were busy in spending your days happily with your new boyfriend Nathaniel Spencer," Axel said, showing a set of photos on his mobile. "Maybe you should've stopped your boyfriend from posting live updates on your whereabouts in the social media. I don't care about your personal life unless it intervenes with your professional life, which affects the growth of this company."

  Grace swallowed as she looked at others for support.

  "Your services are no longer required, Grace!"

  "W-what? You can't fire me?"

  "Oh, yes. I can and I have already fired you and that disloyal assistant of yours."

  Grace sobbed with fresh tears brimming her eyes, but Axel turned his attention to the other members in the room. “Theo and Williams, you both impress me with your progress and I will see to that you are rewarded for your efforts.”

  Axel dismissed them and left the meeting room without waiting for the others.

  "Samantha, I need a new secretary. Look for a male this time. I don't mind if he is a fresher as long as he is capable
. He will also be your secretary so make sure to choose the right person," he ordered as they walked back to his office.

  "Yes, sir."

  "I'll brief you on your duties soon, for the time being just prepare today's report and meet me in the office. We have a lot of work ahead."

  "Sure thing."

  “Oh, I was planning to tell you earlier and then, I thought I could surprise you,” Axel winked at her before going to his office.

  Samantha couldn't believe what just happened. She was finally there after all the hard work she put in her work. Without anyone's help or worse, any recommendation. She did it herself, she couldn't wait to tell this to her father. He would be definitely proud of her.

  Though she knew that he had something in his mind for her, she never thought he would offer such a huge place to her.

  Soon, she had finished the reports and met Axel in his office.

  She followed him out of the building and he didn't speak much as he once again drove his car out of his building. "I have sent you a detailed email with the list of your responsibilities. I will help you out wherever you need my guidance."

  "Thank you, sir. I will give my best."

  "Axel."

  "Huh!"

  "Call me Axel," he repeated.

  "Oh, ah... Okay."

  Samantha stared at him with an open jaw. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

  Chapter – 8

  "Where do you live?" Axel asked once she got in his car. He found himself once again offering her a ride.

  "Ah... I will get down at the bus station if that's not a trouble."

  "I can drop you at your home. You don’t have to take the bus,” Axel insisted, his jaws clenched for some unknown reason.

  "Um... I am going to my parent's place today. My dad said that he would pick me up from the bus station," she explained softly.

  "Okay."

  Samantha wondered why he sounded so disappointed at her answer and why she felt the urge to tell him the truth. She could have blatantly refused his offer and told him to drop her at the bus station, but she didn't. A part of her felt bad for not letting him drive her to her place.

  "I will get down here," she said, noticing her stop.

  He nodded and stopped where she asked him to. "Come over tomorrow morning," he invited.

  "But, your hands are fine," she commented with a puzzled look.

  “I thought I could use some company while driving in the morning.” Axel shrugged nonchalantly. "So, what's the occasion?" He changed the subject and bit his tongue, considering that What's wrong with him these days? Why was he caring about her whereabouts?

  He had noticed that she had freshened up and applied her make-up. Something she never did before. At first, he thought she might have a date, that was another reason he offered to give her a ride. He had to know. Though he knew it was none of his concern, for some reason he had to make sure that there was no one.

  Samantha was once again surprised by his question. He was never the one to care for these things.

  "Oh, just a family dinner. It's my birthday today," she replied.

  Axel didn't know it was her birthday. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't disappointed that he didn't know that it was her birthday, or that he didn't wish her. Not that he wished her last year. Samantha scolded her mind for even expecting it from him.

  Axel felt like a fool for not knowing her birthday. Why? He didn't know. He shouldn't have cared about it, but he did. That was a first. He'd be lying if he said he didn't care for her. Axel frowned and looked up when he heard the car door being shut.

  "Sam," Axel called. "Many more happy returns of the day," he added with a smile and watched in satisfaction when her lips curled upwards.

  Samantha's face lit up with a huge smile as she nodded.

  "Thank you."

  Axel sat watching for a moment as she walked away before driving off. He may have missed it today and he would make it up to her tomorrow, he grinned like a Cheshire cat at the thought. He needed to buy her a gift. Instead of heading home like he planned he turned his car in the other direction that would take him to a shopping center.

  Sara and Henry gave him a puzzled look when he entered his home with a huge grin on his face. Axel just hugged them before going to his room, climbing two stairs at a time.

  "Henry, did you see that?"

  "Yes, my love."

  "He's smiling again. A real smile," Sara said emotionally.

  Henry grinned in response and they both knew exactly who the reason behind his smile was.

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  Samantha was grinning like an idiot in the middle of the street when her dad's car stopped in front of her.

  "What has my beautiful daughter smiling like this?"

  Her grin only widened at the sight of her father. She couldn't tell him the real reason for her smile, Axel wished her a happy birthday. She didn't understand why it mattered so much, but it felt so special.

  "I was promoted today."

  "To what, senior secretary? You know that I will gladly allow you to rule my empire and why would you want to work for someone else? And that too, as an assistant. You are far too capable than that. You are my daughter and you are born to rule, not serve,” her dad ranted.

  Samantha rolled her eyes at his usual banter. "Dad, you know exactly why I don't want to work with you. And, I'm the new General Manager."

  "Now, I am happy."

  "Where's Eric?"

  "At home. Waiting for your arrival. When are you moving back, Sam? You know how much your mother misses you," he complained.

  "Soon, Dad." She smiled happily. Now that she had achieved her goal, she didn't see why she can't go home. She wanted to build her career on her own after her studies. Now that she had achieved it and her dad no longer bothered her to quit and come back, she was glad to be home.

  She will have to buy a car if she moved back and the privacy she had so long would be gone. Nonetheless, it didn't matter as long as they allowed her to follow her dreams.

  "In fact, I will move in this weekend," she added.

  "Excellent!" Her dad beamed as he threw his free arm around her shoulders.

  Samantha leaned towards her father, relaxed and basking in the comfort. She missed her family so much and she couldn't wait to see them again. She almost sprinted out of her father's car when it stopped in front of her favorite place in the world, her home.

  "Mom!" She hollered and was soon tackled by her siblings.

  "Ouch! It hurts," she wheezed.

  "Quiet! You didn't come to see us for two weeks straight," her younger sister scolded while her younger brother nodded in agreement.

  "Happy birthday, Sammy!" They shouted in unison making Samantha beam with joy. She was so happy to meet them. Though it was only two weeks, she missed them so much.

  "Thank you."

  "There you are. I am so angry at you, Samantha." Her mother's stern voice reached her ears. Samantha whipped around to see her mother's lips twitching as she tried to keep up a stern front.

  "Mom!" She launched herself at her mother, showering her with kisses. Her mother chuckled as she returned her affection. It was a way to cool down her mother and it always worked.

  Narmadha Deshmukh can never hold grudges longer than a few seconds, especially with her kids. Samantha looked at her mother, who still had no single grey hair and looked younger than her real age. One would never say that she was a mother of four children, she still looked as if she was in her early forties while in truth she has just turned fifty-two.

  Her mom had a fair skin tone, unlike her. She was taller and had a lean figure, which Samantha envied so much. When she became too self-conscious about her body, her mother always said that she was perfect and she took after her grandmother, who was a plus-sized woman with a wheat-colored skin.

  Samantha has always been the odd one in the family. She was the shortest, standing at only five-four and fattest, according to her. Her elder brother Eric and yo
unger brother Ryan took after her father, who was a handsome man himself.

  Gregory Zander Sinclair was tall and had a well-built frame. He now sported a salt and pepper look which Samantha loved so much. Her younger sister looked so similar to their mother. However, Samantha was the most loved of them all. She was her father's little princess and her sister admired her.

  Soon, she was greeted by her favorite sister-in-law, Amelia and her elder brother Eric. Her brother was only twenty-eight, yet they got married because of her mother's no premarital sex policy. Narmadha had them married as soon as she found out that his son was dating for over two years and managed to keep it from the family.

  Samantha let go of Amelia and caressed her prominent belly, her insides filling up with joy at the thought of her little niece or nephew. At first, Amelia wanted to postpone the baby for at least two years, but living with her mother changed her views about starting a family and she was now six months along.

  Amelia giggled when the baby moved within her. Samantha knelt, cooing incoherent things to the baby as the family surrounded her, sharing the joy.

  Samantha was soon whisked to their grand living room which was now decorated with balloons and colorful ribbons. Her favorite White forest cake topped with fruit delicacies sat on the small table, waiting for her.

  The birthday celebrations and the games afterward blew her mind away as usual. There were twenty-four gifts wrapped neatly in gift boxes of different sizes, and Samantha once again felt like a little kid, opening up the different presents. Each birthday was better than the last one.

  A small box placed on top of the gifts caught her attention and the fun part of opening the gifts was she had to guess who bought what, as there were no names written on the box as always.

  Samantha impatiently tore the wrapper and her eyes widened when she found a car key inside. Her insides bubbled with joy, and she grinned from ear to ear as she sprinted towards their garage. Sure enough, there was a brand new Porsche, which sat on her reserved spot. Her jaw dropped as she took in the view of her new car, her eyes almost popping out of her sockets.