Chapter 3 : She Smelled Heavenly

"Nice to meet you too, Mr. Peterson." She curtsied in the sweetest way despite our…unusual encounter. Whoever raised her, raised her well.

"Please, call me Ellis," I instructed.

I suddenly realized where I had heard that name before. "You wouldn't happen to be Olivia Richardson, the daughter of the Richardson empire, would you?"

She shyly nodded, "Yes, Sir, that's me."

I arched my brow. How did my idiot son pull such an elegant young lady like her?

A shot of adrenaline coursed through my veins at hearing her call me 'Sir.' Although I preferred to be called Master, she didn't need to know that. I needed to take her to my damn, ungrateful, son.

"How about we go find Carl?" I placed my other hand in my pocket and strode to the door. I opened it and held it for her, "Ladies first."

"Thank you," she finally seemed to calm down enough to smile, then she stepped past me with grace and poise that had obviously been drilled into her since birth.

Her sweet and floral perfume swirled around me. This wasn't usually my preferred type of scent, but I had to admit, she smelled heavenly.

"Your family has been in the business for a long time." I walked beside her down the long corridors of my mansion.

"Mmhm, for a few generations." She kept her hands clasped in front of her with a nervous disposition.

"I had the pleasure of meeting your parents at various charity events." I tried to make small talk with her on the way to the west wing where my son stayed.

"Ah, yes, they like to try and make a difference in the world." She gazed around, taking in my expansive home and all of the little details that I had carefully placed from traveling around the world on various business endeavors.

It was quiet and only our footfalls echoed. To break the awkward silence, she glanced at the grand piano in the entrance, and complimented, "Beautiful piano."

"Ah, I was the highest bidder at a charity auction," I recalled, telling her casually.

"It's one of the most expensive grand pianos to ever exist," she commented. "The charity must be very thankful for your generous contribution."

I let out a hearty laugh. I liked her already.

"Do you play, Miss Richardson?" I straightened up and waited patiently for her to answer.

"I do. I was taught from a very young age how to play," she answered gently.

"I'm sure you play beautifully." A slight smile formed across my lips.

We reached the west wing, and I heard my son talking on his phone in a hushed tone that made me scowl. He was pacing and his body language was making me skeptical.

If he wasn't flirting with my various maids that I employed to work at the mansion, he was speaking to any wh*re he could pick up.

Had I raised him from a babe, he would have at least been an honest man. However, here I was, with my slimy, scheming son, who had somehow nabbed this fine young woman.

I glanced over to the girl next to me.

She was the kind of girl you brought home to mom, not the type you f*cked on the side. Too bad that she was too naive to see Carl's true nature.

Anyway, my son's life was none of my business, and this girl wasn't my responsibility to look after.

"Oh, of course I want my shift stick lubed up. It should be nice and fluid. We wouldn't want any hiccups when shifting gears." That f*cking kid. He was having phone sex.

Immediately as Miss Richardson and I came into view, Carl's eyes widened and he hung up the phone with a fake smile. He strutted up to the young woman beside me. "Olivia! I didn't know you were coming! Sorry, I was just discussing a vehicle's warranty. How are you?"

Oldest lie in the book and a weak one at that.

Carl wouldn't look at me as I entered. He understood that I knew exactly what he was doing, but it seemed Miss Richardson didn't.

"Oh, busy at work again? It seems those cars are having more and more issues these days." She seemed like she fully trusted him.

"You know how business goes!" My lying son peered at me, seemingly pleading with me not to say anything to Miss Richardson. I crossed my arms over my chest in disgust.

"Speaking of business…I have some exciting news for you!" The young woman's expression quickly brightened as she pulled an envelope out of her purse. "Take a look!"

Carl took the envelope out of her hands and quickly ripped the seal. His pupils dilated at what he saw. "Oh my god, Olivia! Are you serious? They finally agreed?!"

Interesting. What did my slimy son get this girl to do for him?

Carl ran up to the girl and gave her a big hug, his eyes focused on me when his head was resting on her shoulder. He had the 'please, dad, don't ruin this' look on him.

"You deserve it, Carl!" Miss Richardson spoke gently and proudly.

My son was a devil for this one.

As he pulled away from her, he clearly wanted me to know just how important this moment was for him.

I didn't care. But, I wanted to know the extent to which he duped this trusting young lady.

Carl relayed clearly so I could hear, "I can't believe you secured two million dollars! Greenwald Insurance Group will never be the same," he added proudly. If it didn't make matters any worse, he was using his wretched mother's maiden name for the company.

After they exchanged another hug, Carl looked like a greedy kid in a candy store–one made of gemstones instead of bon bons–and Miss Richardson seemed ready to leave.

"Oh, Carl, one last thing," she paused as she was about to exit the room, "You weren't out this weekend at a fancy restaurant, were you?"

Carl cleared his throat and loosened the tie around his collar. He was nervous, I could tell by his fidgeting. "Oh, I was. Just business stuff. I was meeting a top client, that's all."

She seemed to be relieved. Then she nodded, "I hope it went over well. I know you're busy so no need to see me out. Try to finish work so that you can rest. Good night!"

I growled and turned my attention away from them, as my son grabbed her wrist to place an equally soulless kiss on her pouty lips.

Her face flushed a little, seemingly a bit embarrassed by kissing Carl in front of me. Then she bid my son goodbye and left his room with me.

I wanted to tell her that she deserved someone better than Carl, but I held back. I wasn't her parent after all.

I had enough wealth and success to buy anything I wanted. Jewels, booze, vacation homes, islands, jets, yachts, and most of all... women. Somehow, Carl believed that he was also entitled to all of them just because he called me dad.

When he realized that he might not be able to get everything he wanted from me, based on what I'd seen, he tried to get it from someone else.

I guessed you couldn't polish something as awful as that and make something good out of it. He was raised wrong and that would be near impossible to erase.

He was a lost cause, and I wished Miss Richardson was smart enough to figure that out before it was too late.

"I'll walk you out." I took a hand from my pocket and waved it forward to gesture for her to walk first.

"Thank you," she politely thanked me, not meeting my eyes. "Carl works really hard. I hope I didn't take up too much of his time."

Well, I guess she still had no clue who she was dating. I walked with her to the front doors, pinching the bridge of my nose in thought.

After getting to know her a little bit, I wondered whether I should warn her about my son. I licked my lips, readying to speak as I paused at the double doors. I held one of the handles in my hand, readying to open it for her.

"I, uh, I need to give you some advice." I peered at her, watching her look up at me with a worried expression. "Watch out for Carl, he's a lying, philandering brat."

She looked at me with her lips parted, seemingly shocked, like all of my words were a damn lie. I had no idea how she hadn't caught on already to Carl's behavior, but maybe she was just too innocent, too trusting of a girl.

I opened the door for her, "Good night, Miss Richardson."

She still had a shocked expression on her face as she turned to walk back to her car.

It didn't do any use to explain things in detail to her. Women like her needed time to realize they were being played. I hoped she eventually came to her senses.

By the time I walked back to have a word with my son, he was leaning against a wall and raising his hand to brush a strand of loose hair behind one of my maid's ears. He leaned in to whisper something to her and then pulled away; he chuckled briefly while caressing her hand.

As they heard me approaching, they quickly jumped apart. I glared at them and spoke directly to my maid, "Camilla, you've done quite enough. I don't want to see you back here again."

I growled and watched my maid nod with tears in her eyes. But she didn't dare to defy me, and she scurried off to grab her belongings.

Carl scoffed, "Always here to ruin my fun."

"You tricked Olivia Richardson into investing in your business in exchange for fake love?" I spat at Carl in a low, gravelly tone.

"You're one to talk," Carl sneered at me and clenched his hands into fists. "You left me no choice. You wouldn't help me, remember?"

I smirked, "I only invest with those who actually care about handling their business professionally."

I watched him scowl at me and cross his arms over his chest. He stepped forward to size me up in my own domain and raised his voice. "You have no right to tell me what to do!"

"She's already given you the money. What's done is done," I said stoically. As I drew closer to him, he immediately took a step back. "I have no interest in your relationship."

Carl smiled in relief, probably thinking that I'd leave him alone.

"However, Carl Peterson," I gave him a warning glare. He was taken aback as I narrowed my eyes. "There is a line that you don't cross. Now, did I make myself clear?"

He swallowed hard and huffed and pouted like a child. "Crystal clear, dad."