After breaking the news, Secretary Kim paused, waiting for Eli's reaction. It is not every day a person is told they are the grandchild of a billionaire.
He knew of the greed some of the offsprings of the Carter clan carried and watched to see if any would rise in Eli's eyes.
He, however, got more of a reaction from his driver, Bernard who upon overhearing such shocking news lost his grip on the steering wheel for a moment causing the car to swerve.
" I'm sorry" he quickly apologized staring into the rearview mirror. "I lost my grip for a minute there"
Secretary Kim ignored him and turned to face Eli again. Unfortunately for him, Eli's poker face was impeccable. He could not read her emotions.
While Eli found the news surprising, she didn't show it. She rested her back to the backrest of the seat, crossed her legs, and began to tap her right index finger on her lap as she processed the news. She raised an eyebrow. "Come again?"
For the second time that day within a short span of time, secretary Kim felt as if he was sitting in the presence of his Chairman. He shook off the familiar feeling and cleared his throat. "I know this might be a lot to take in, is there somewhere we could go to discuss further?"
"sure…"
Eli provided the previous host's home address to the driver from memory. They stayed quiet all through the car ride. Each of them left to their own thoughts.
They drove further away from the city and into a depreciated neighborhood where the previous host lived. While it wasn't the worst neighborhood it had its own share of vices.
Bernard pulled up at the front of a flower shop that belonged to the previous host's grandmother and also served as her primary source of income. It was a two-story building, the ground floor serving as the flower shop while the upper level was their home.
Thanking the driver, Bernard, who remained in the car, Eli pulled out the house keys from her pocket and unlocked the front doors, inviting Secretary Kim in. She walked them up into the tiny two-bedroom home shared by the previous host and her grandma.
The house was slightly stuffy as the previous host was hardly home the last couple of days due to shuffling between tight work schedules and the hospital. Eli offered secretary Kim a glass of water then worked on opening up the windows.
Secretary Kim looked around the home Eli lived in with her deceased adoptive parent. Unlike the rundown nature of the outside of the home, It was surprisingly cozy and well kept.
While the furniture looked worn and at their life's end, they were clean. The walls were littered with photos of Eli and her grandmother. The Eli in the pictures who had a meek disposition did not match the Eli he met whose aura dominated the room.
He, however, did not find it suspicious and attributed the change to the fact that she had to grow up too early and be the head of the family as soon as her grandmother's illness surfaced.
Plus, he had seen her records and what she had to endure in those foster homes. Such experiences would change even a grown man.
Eli sat opposite him at the small dining table resting one hand on the table and the other in her left pocket. She gave him a look that spelt ' explain yourself'.
Secretary Kim broke their eye and took a sip of his water.
"I had my suspicions after seeing you for the first time yesterday." He cleared his throat. "You look just like your father and grandfather. You have your grandfathers eyes and while we were at the hospital, I was able to confirm my thoughts"
"Meaning, to confirm your suspicions, you followed me to the hospital and took my DNA sample without my consent."
Secretary Kim: "-_-"
"Indeed, and for that, I apologize. However, I felt it was for the greater good. Please don't misunderstand my intentions. I was going off my intuition, you being so young and just losing your only known family, I didn't want to approach with talk of having a second family without concrete proof and raise your hopes up only to shatter them when we run a DNA test which might prove otherwise."
Eli could understand his rationale. She would have done the same if she were in his place. Especially, if she was meeting the previous host who, all her life, had longed for a family.
It was rather unfortunate that the previous host was now long gone and would never meet the other side of her biological family. They were, too little too late.
"Who was my father?" Eli asked. Even the previous host did not know his identity, just that he was dead and that her mother hated him.
"I apologize again, but I'm not in the right position to tell you that," Secretary Kim explained. "Your grandfather will explain more when you meet …"
"No," Eli interrupted. " Who said anything about leaving with you?"
Secretary Kim: "-_-"
"Please don't misunderstand, It is rather interesting that by some dumb luck, I am a member of the Carter clan, however, that would have meant something to me if I had met you two days ago. Me, today, I do not care." Eli says before casually taking a sip from her glass of water.
Secretary Kim was taken aback. He had expected a wide range of responses from her, but not outright rejection. Who, in their right mind would throw out such an opportunity? I mean this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. She was basically leaving a cinderella story. He then recalled the content he read on her file and softened a little.
Being a child who was taken out and put back into the foster system so many times, he could understand her misgivings about being part of a new family. No matter how grown she sounded she was still a child. He decided to change his approach and try the carrot and a stick method.
" I understand that you might have been disappointed that it took us so long to find you and that you had to go through a lot of struggles yourself but you have the chance to have a family now. A real one" He explained softly.
"You have a broad family waiting for you at the Capital and you would no longer have to struggle to make ends meet by working multiple jobs or ever kneel in front of anyone again. Also, it will be what is best for you. I am sure you do not want to go back into the system, now do you?" He added sternly.
A murderous intent flashed past Eli's eyes so quickly that secretary Kim thought he must have imagined it.
Eli leaned deeper into her seat, she still had one hand deep in her pocket while the other tapped lightly against the dining table rhythmically. It was a habit she had long developed, and subconsciously made when she was irked. She chuckled lightly.
"Are you threatening me?" She asked, dragging each work slowly. Her intense presence caused the room to feel confining, making the room temperature drop by a couple of degrees.
Secretary Kim, who spoke a lot earlier, remained quiet and did not dare to breathe too loudly. He sat quietly in his seat, his palms were sweaty, and he felt perspiration gathering at his hairline. He had never felt such pressure before.
He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the cold sweat gathering at his hairline. Eli's gaze seemed like it could pierce a person's heart making it almost impossible for him to put up appearances.
Eli restrained her aura making the room regain some of its previous warmth.
"Should we now discuss what is actually going to happen?" Eli asked with a smirk.