Chapter 7. Who's he?
The luncheon finally came to an end after some hours had passed. Leilani left with Rachel and the driver she had come with. As the car treaded the smooth road, Leilani's mind wandered off and suddenly landed on the guy she had seen in the elevator that afternoon. As if she had been struck by something, she blurted a question.
"Who's he?"
Rachel gave a start. She didn't know who her lady boss was asking about and didn't want to say something out of line.
"Which guy Miss?", she asked, her voice being as polite as ever.
"The one from the elevator", she said after a sigh.
This reply got Rachel all giddy. She was surprised that her Miss didn't even know who that man was. She looked at her, her eyes filled with hearts as the thought of talking about Stephan Dever engulfed her.
"He's the youngest CEO in USA. Stephan Dever, the CEO of TopLine".
Leilani nodded. "Stephan...", she mouthed and leaned back into her seat with her head resting on the head of the seat and eyes closed.
Stephan Dever sat in his car with his assistant who was waiting for him to give the command so that they could leave. Stephan was watching as Leilani's car drove out of the place.
"Leilani", he mouthed a smirk appearing on his face.
"Sir, do you need me to follow them?"
"No. We should go home. To the Dever's manor".
"Yes sir", Jack said and ignited the engine.
Within some minutes, his black Ferrari pulled up into the environment of the Dever's manor. The whole place was quiet except for the occasional laughter that he assumed was coming from the sitting room and which belonged to no one else but his grandma. The woman was in her early seventies and has been whining a lot recently. She always talked about having a great grandchild....
Stephan walked into the living room and as usual, the whole place felt his presence. Even his parents and grandma who were seated turned to look at him.
"My handsome Stephan", his grandma called. She was very fond of him and wouldn't believe if someone said he was in the wrong. Even if she was a witness to him doing something wrong, she would still say that he was right.
Stephan walked to her side and gave a warm peck on the cheek allowing the old woman to blush a little.
"Son, how did it go?", his mother, Rita Dever asked.
H nodded. "It was...great", he added the last word after thinking for a while. And, he wasn't referring to the luncheon but the woman...
He didn't realize that he was suddenly smiling and everyone was looking at him like he was wearing the back of his clothes.
"What's the smile about?", a deep voice that was laced with traces of time brought him back to earth. It was his father's, Mr Greg Dever. It was at that point that he realized that he looked stupid. He regained his composure and walked towards the staircase, his face filled with embarrassment. His parents and grandma exchanged looks and looked back at him.
After a quick shower, he cladded himself in a black pajamas and came down to eat dinner.
The dinner was silent as usual, except for the clinking of utensils against plates.
"When are you planning on bringing her home?", the old voice of old Mrs Dever entered his ears.
That was...in his count, the umpteenth time she was asking him this.
"Grandma....", he was about to retort but his mom also joined in the discussion. He was surprised. Why was his mom so interested??
"You were smiling some minutes ago. It's a woman's fault yeah?"
"Mom, not you too".
"Unless...you aren't into women", his father's voice said. The trio looked at him with their jaws dropped and brows arched.
"Or maybe", he continued, "there's something wrong down there".
"Father!", Stephan almost yelled, his face turning crimson red. The two women looked at Greg and couldn't stop applauding him in their hearts. Greg had just asked the question they were dying to ask. The women looked at Stephan who was grimacing from embarrassment.
"So tell us", his grandma continued not letting the matter rest. "Do you have a problem?"
Stephan sighed deeply. This was one of the reasons he didn't like coming home. Every dinner he had with this people was always so...bad for him.
"Having the dinner without me?", another voice claimed their attention except Stephan who was still focused on his food. The trio turned their heads towards the door. Stephan's uncle, Jeremiah Dever, walked in, in all his ador with that smile that made people feel relaxed.
"Hey bro, you're right on time", Greg said as he pulled out a seat for him.
"Thanks lil bro", he said and sat down. Rita smiled at him in greeting and continued eating. She wasn't really familiar with Jeremiah as he wasn't always in. She was better off with her husband and her mother-in-law.
"I heard you guys talking about bringing a woman home for Stephan".
"Yes my dear", old Mrs Dever said her eyes shining. This was the only topic that always got her excited.
"You found any?", she asked.
"Yeah. She's from the Steele family. Jasmine Steele".
"Wow. That's really nice of you son", the old woman said being all happy and joyful.
"The Steele family? Aren't they the ones with the scandal from last year?", Rita said, her face all scrunched up.
This also got old Mrs Dever's face all furrowed in a tight frown.
"What scandal?", the old woman asked.
"Uncle", Stephan called and Jeremiah looked at him.
"Yes Steph"
"Is she a wife, or a hidden camera you want to place on me?"