"Sir, you asked me to report when Miss Liu arrived home." One of his body guards said over the phone. Charles didn't stop Gemma from leaving but he sent Paul Xie, one of the men on his security team to follow her.
"Yes?" Charles asked, waiting for Paul's report.
"She arrived in Shanghai this afternoon and met a man at the airport. they went to dinner together at Jean-George's and then she took a taxi home." Paul reported.
"Who was he?" Charles's voice was colder than a glacier.
"He's new to Shanghai. University professor by the name of Michael Han." Paul informed him.
"Watch her until you hear otherwise from me." Charles informed him.
After he ended the call he called his secretary.
"Get me the first flight to Shanghai. So what? I don't care if it's a red eye. Just get me the next flight. I don't care about tomorrow's meeting. Tell them I had an emergency to see to." Charles informed his secretary.
Three hours later an irritated Charles boarded a flight to Shanghai. He stared at his phone. Before he'd instructed the IT department to remove the photo that Gemma posted, he'd asked that they send him a copy. It was the only photo of them together. He touched his finger to her face on his phone.
He was losing control and he was terrified. Before, he never would've canceled meetings are jumped on a plane in the middle of the night over a woman. Until Gemma came crashing into his life he had never tolerated women. To be fair, sometimes he struggled with Gemma. She was so high strung and unpredictable. It fascinated him and scared him at the same time. What was it about the woman that had her under his skin?
Just then he felt his seat being kicked. Normally he flew first class but the only seat available on this flight was in coach. He turned to see a boy around the age of eight or nine kicking his chair. He glared at the boy's parents and turned around. He heard them furiously scolding him.
For a moment he felt a cold sweat come over him. His father's angry words from long ago echoed thru his mind. His father had scolded him for nearly everything. Charles had feared no one but his father.
"You worthless boy! You unfilial sin!" Charles cringed as he remembered with perfect clarity. His fathers reasoning had been that he was breaking his son down to build him into a near perfect man; but his father hadn't done much building back after he tore down.
He had boarded the plane angry, jealous and a bit frantic that Gemma might be stolen away from him. Now, he strangely wished he could feel her arms around him, hugging him and bringing comfort. Gemma May sometimes be unpredictable, but because of her love and care for him she had exerted a calming and comforting presence when he had needed it. But would she comfort him again? He couldn't be sure. Her rejection would be a devastating blow to him in many ways, but right now he felt it worth the risk. He just wanted to be near her.