"Welcome madam." The C.E.O"s secretary politely bowed in greeting. The old madam was currently at Blackwood Corps with an unidentified woman. The eyes of the employees who saw them was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with curiousity. Who was the beautiful young lady with the flask? It was the trending topic among the employees especially the secretaries of the C.E.O"s office. Unknown to Brandon who was currently in a meeting, his mother had brought the lady he had slept with to his office.Most of the employees claimed she was to be the first young master"s wife, some a.s.serted she was a family friend, some an adopted daughter, only a few guessed right. Brandon strolled into his office, he was exhausted and his eye bags made it evident. "Mother..." Before he could complete his sentence his saw the young lady, his eyes immediately darkened. "You"re here.. that"s good. Hallie, I"m leaving." His mother got up, leaving them both.
Hallie was a very timid person, actually, she wasn"t responsible for all this, her father had sold her out for business relations. She could not protect herself so she could only go along with the arrangements made for her. Sitting on the couch her head was lowered, she kept making steeples with her fingers. Brandon glanced at her, he realized he had not really taken a look at her and would probably not have recognized her if she hadn"t come with his mom. He observed her for a while, seeing how timid she was, his heart softened, seeing her sitted like that, something tugged at his heart. "Ahemm," he cleared his throat. She straightway raised her head, their eyes met for a few seconds, she quickly lowered her head back in fear.
"You have not introduced yourself." He said. He was now interested in this timid girl. "I"m Ha.. Hallie Coulson." She said. He moved unconsciously towards her, taking a seat next to her. Pointing to the flask, he asked, "Is that for me?" Realizing she was still holding the flask, she dropped it on the table while nodding. Without knowing why, he opened the flask and began eating, not that he cared enough, he didn"t want the food to waste, or so he told himself. Trying to communicate with her, he asked, "Did you cook it?" She simply nodded in response. Noticing she wasn"t really interested in talking, he continued eating. "Quiet company.." he thought.
When he was done, he thanked her. "Look up," he suddenly said. Slowly, she raised her head and looked at him, "For a mistress, you"re really timid, or are you just pretending?" He asked, trying to make small talk, he wasn"t really interested in knowing if she was really timid or vicious. Rather than reply, she maintained silence, what should she say? Her father sold her to his mother, she had no choice but to be here? If she asked him to let her go, would he? What if she was already pregnant? Could she single handedly take care of their baby? She had nothing to her name, not even savings. She was an object for exchange. Thinking of her fate, her eyes dimmed.
"Mr. Brandon, I know you"re still legally married, I hope you would keep me a secret from your wife, I don"t want any trouble." She said in a very low voice. Brandon nodded his head, of course he wasn"t planning to introduce her to his wife, that would be an insulting to her. But how long could he keep her away from his wife? He wasn"t sure of that, but as long as possible to avoid trouble.
"Coulson huh?" Brandon said trying to remember the family. He made a mental note to investigate her situation. "Why are you so quiet? Why were you sent here today?" He asked. Ignoring the first question, she answered the second, "Mother said it"s my duty to accompany you."
"Oh she did.. what else did she say?" He asked once more. "To bear you children.." and possibly become the matriach," she concluded in her mind. She couldn"t voice that out. Brandon simply nodded in acknowledgement, he decided he would take responsibility if she got pregnant, otherwise he would just avoid her and let his mother take responsibility for her. "I should take my leave now, it"s getting late." She said, packing up the flask. "Right, right, it"s late, you should go." He said, walking her to the door, "I won"t send you back, be safe."
Just like that, Hallie Coulson had become his mistress, though she lived with her "in-laws", she would go from time to time to accompany him. It was his quiet time that he looked forward to every week when she came. He began appreciating her more, she was like his escape from the noisy world. Unknowingly, she had moved his heart and since she would have to spend the rest of her with him too, she surrendered hopelessly to her fate.