The Billionaire's Love Web

Matilda walked towards the window in a bid to calm her rising temper. Maybe the beautiful view of forest green surrounding her parents' tall fence could help in this otherwise frustrating discussion with her mum.

'But honey, your father and I have always wanted the best for you and your sister, why would you ever think of working when we have made sure to provide for your every need?'

'Mummy, it's not that, and you know it',

Matilda turned away from the window with an impatient huff. If there's anything she has learned all her life, it was that tantrums don't work with her mother, so it was with a great deal of patience that she tried to rein in her rising temper.

''With Hilda's relocation to Houston and you and daddy always out from one business trip to another, the house never seemed bigger'"

She lamented while flaying her hands wide to indicate the big sitting room space they were currently in with its intimidating white walls and state-of-the-art furniture tastefully arranged around the room by the interior decorator her mother nonetheless hired,

'Everything is clean and proper', she continued, 'but only devoid of human presence, and I'm bored out of my mind'

She drew out the latter with an eye roll as she fell into the cushion her mum sat on, hoping that her mother would see that her sanity was at the brink if she didn't get a job soon.

'But, what about...' Amelia began to say.

'Fredrick doesn't cut it this time, Mother'

She already knew her mum was going to play that card, and she was ready, not after the countless rehearsals in front of the mirror whilst waiting two days for her parents' return from Mumbai.

She moved closer to her mum and took both hands in hers, her eyes filled with all the plea she could muster,

'Mother, please' she pleaded earnestly.

'We are twenty-six and still your little girls', she saw the first hint of a smile playing on the corners of her mother's lips since this conversation began, 'but we are old enough now' she quickly added.

Amelia looked at her daughter, really looked this time, and noticed the beautiful woman she had grown into. She had her father's height and the most beautiful red flaming hair just like her sister's, caressed the soft contours of her face.

Her twin daughters were very identical in physique but very much different, personality-wise. Hilda was the older twin by twenty minutes and always joked around the house when they were little about how Matilda was still enjoying her 'beauty sleep' for an extra twenty minutes while she struggled her way out. This had always resulted in laughter and bickering between the twins but they had grown with the tightest bond to the pleasure of their parents.

Matilda had always been calm and reserved. Unlike Hilda, she was very introverted and didn't have a lot of friends growing up. Which was one of the reasons Amelia was skeptical as to how she would cope outside, in the real world. The last thing Amelia wanted was for any of her daughters to have to rough through life and her husband, Connor, shared this belief too. That was why they worked tirelessly to create an empire the twins could always rely on.

'Okay, baby', she relented.

'We can start looking to get you somewhere suitable, but you have to promise me that the moment it gets too tough, you will remember that your home is always open'. Amelia cupped her daughter's cheeks with eyes filled with love and leaned in to kiss her fondly on the cheeks.

'Yes, Mother,' Tilda nodded enthusiastically.

'I will always remember that, i promise' she smiled widely as she hugged her mother excitedly and, with little skips in her steps, bounced off to the staircase, heading to her room to call her sister and share this great news.

Amelia smiled as she watched her go and remained there even after she heard her room door close behind her. So when her ringtone broke the silence of the sitting room, she started out of her reverie but smiled when she saw the caller.

'Hey, honey' she greeted her husband at the other end of the line,

'Hey, babe, are you settled in yet?' he inquired, and she could hear the smile I'm his voice.

She couldn't remember the last time each addressed the other with their real names. They have always been taken with the idea of pet names and that has also sustained their marriage, inevitably.

'Yes, although I have just got off a conversation with Tilda'. Amelia picked her words carefully, not wanting to worry her husband.

'Oh, what about?, his tone perked up as it always does whenever his daughters are mentioned

'Nothing much, honey, just how she would love to experience having a job'

There was a slight chuckle before he spoke again with nostalgia lacing his tone, 'Our little girls are not so little anymore, are they now?' he asked rhetorically, but continued before Amelia could cut in,

'We should find her a position at Vance Corporation. She would love it there. What do you say, babe?'

Amelia didn't respond immediately, but he could hear her breathing at the other end of the line and knew she was organizing her next words, as she always does. One would think that having been married for nineteen years,they would spurt things at each other without thinking first, but not his wife. She has to think and rethink it before finally letting it out.He had always teased her overthinking spirit, but that was one of the most beautiful things about her that he adored. They had a happy marriage and even a happier one when the twins arrived a year into their marriage. He couldn't think of anyone to do life other than with the most beautiful woman he had ever beheld under the Eiffel Tower in Paris twenty years ago, who was currently at the other end of the line, probably fingering the fabric of the clothes she had on as she always does when nervous about something.

He let out a soft chuckle, 'It is okay, baby, tell me what she said'

Amelia smiled at her husband's soothing voice in her ears. After all these years, she could never get tired of hearing his voice.

'You know what,' she finally said ,'when you get back,I will tell you all about it, it's nothing to worry about, really.'

'You sure?' Connor asked with concern in his voice.

'Yes, honey. Now, where are you? It's been four hours since we parted at the airport', she asked in a bid to change the topic

'I had to drop in at the office for a meeting and I still have some documents to review. I will be a few more hours,love', Amelia heard rustling in the background. She knew how immersive he could get when he worked.

'I know you are tired. Don't wait for me. I have to go now' he added, distractedly.

'Alright, honey, see you soon,' Amelia responded.

At the call end tone, she got off the sofa and strode into the kitchen to check what was for dinner as their Indian housekeeper,Grishna, was running late.

*

'Sir, here are the applicants the HR team rescheduled for a follow-up interview which will be conducted tomorrow ' Stefan's HR manager said while keeping the said file on his desk. She had doubled as his secretary since the past week when Leah relocated after getting married to her childhood boyfriend, and he had been grateful for her competence so far in combining both duties till another secretary is employed.

He had been busy with the financial records of Woodford Companies on his desk but looked up when he heard Serena speak, he hadn't even heard her knock.

'Oh, I'll look through that, thank you', he palmed the file she dropped on his desk and went back to his paperwork.

Serena's gaze lingered on her boss for an extra few seconds with a small smile playing on her lips. She averted them and made for the door with her heels, echoing a soft 'click' around the office.

A few more days and she would be a year at Woodford Companies and still, nothing her boss does in private is the same as the show he puts on for the press.

He was a chronic workaholic who would rather be alone than with company.

She remembered vividly sometime last year when it was carried on every news blog that Stefan was dating the famous Hollywood star, Halle Berry. There were pictures of them everywhere but he never for once allowed her to visit him at work and one time she had come unannounced, she had had to leave ten minutes later through the back door, after a heated argument had ensued between them in Stefan's office.

Leah had told them afterward that she had overheard words like 'contract termination and boundaries' before a teary Halle had pushed open the door and ran out.

And as the girlfriends list increased in number, she had also noticed a certain air of disinterest in her boss in every one of them. None had lasted over three months.

He neither called nor returned their calls, so often, they resorted to calling the office to know his whereabouts. It was always the same answer for them.

'He is in a meeting right now so unavailable to attend calls, I would let him know you called',

Of course, none of the calls were ever returned and soon, the messages stopped being relayed to him, altogether,of which he didn't mind.

Serena sighed and riveted her thoughts to more pressing tasks as she took her seat at her desk.

Stefan picked the file Serena had brought him and perused the applicants. There were four of them. He noticed that one of the papers had slipped onto the floor. He picked it up and, without glancing at it, set it beside the file but continued with the other three he had already started perusing. Their qualifications and appearance on the passport attaché were good enough. He finally picked the last one he had set aside and saw that it was hers. Hers!