Chapter Four

Charlie

“Any minute now, baby. We’re going to be in your new home,” I said, scratching my new dog’s neck, making him yip in delight.

I’d told the driver that I’d come with him if he agreed to let me keep the dog. He was surprised and had to call my father about it, but it didn’t take him long to get the go ahead. I had told the vet the good news, and she gave him one of the spare collars she had in her office.

So now I had a new black lab that I hadn’t figured out what to name yet, and I sort of sold myself and my dignity to my father so I could give this dog a proper home.

I realized how stupid that was, but what’s done is done. At least I had company.

“Miss Charlotte, we are here,” the driver said, coming to a stop in front of a huge mansion, complete with a gravel pathway and big mahogany double doors at the main entrance. The driver opened my door and the dog and I got out, still in awe of our surroundings.

“I don’t remember this place being this big before,” I marveled. Granted, it’d been years since I was here, and I was a little girl back then. I fixed my grip on my dog’s leash and looked back at the driver. “So, where is he?” I asked.

“Right this way, Miss,” he said, extending his hand out toward the double doors, waiting for me to walk ahead of him. I tightened my hold on my dog’s leash, took a deep breath, and went in.

The first thing I thought of when the doors opened was that the house looked larger from the inside, something I knew to be impossible. There was a big, sparkling chandelier hanging over the foyer and two grand staircases. My gaze followed the steps all the way up until I reached the center, where a tall man with graying hair peered down and two women stood on either side of him.

This man was my father, and instantly I felt a flash of anger coursing through me as I remembered everything that happened in my life – and in my mother’s life – all because of him.

“Charlotte,” he called softly, and I turned my eyes down to stare at the floor. “I’m glad you finally decided to accept my offer,” he said.

“I only took it because this big guy doesn’t have anywhere else to go,” I said, holding the leash up so he could see.

“Daddy, why are you letting a dog in here?” one of the women beside him asked. My ears perked up when she called my father “Daddy,” and I immediately realized that she was my half-sister, which meant the older woman on the other side of my father must be…

“Charlotte, I’d like to introduce you to–”

I raised my hand up and stopped him from saying another word. I didn’t like how we were set up. I was standing at the bottom of the stairs while all three of them addressed me from above, not bothering to come down and greet me properly. It was a statement, I realized. This was their subtle way of telling me where my place was, and it was beneath them.

Well, I figured I should give them a statement of my own.

I pulled my dog’s leash lightly and climbed up the stairs, my lips barely able to contain the smirk that crossed my lips as I watched the older woman’s face turn ghastly pale. I guess she really did mean something with the whole staying on top of the stairs thing.

I stopped right in front of them and turned to look at my father, smiling politely.

“You were saying?” I asked him.

“Oh. Charlotte, allow me to introduce to you my wife, Wilhelmina.” He waved his hand toward the older woman and she lifted her hand slightly – a poor attempt at a wave. She raised one eyebrow as she assessed me from head to toe, and I could tell she didn’t think highly of me. I was just wearing a t-shirt and tattered jeans, after all, very different from the fine dresses she and her daughter were sporting. “And this is your sister, Ariana.” He pointed toward the younger woman.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” I said, smiling politely at both of them.

“I’m sure it is,” Ariana replied, and I knew then that my half-sister and I would not be getting along anytime soon.

She was beautiful. Her long curly brown hair was tied in a high ponytail, her tanned skin was flawless and radiant, and she had big brown eyes that looked sleepy yet vibrant at the same time. She was quite petite as well, barely reaching my chin with the top of her head, and I guessed she was about five feet tall. However, the way she stood was ramrod straight, making her look regal and so much taller than she was.

I tried not to let the growing feeling of insecurity show in my face as I looked at her, even though it was hard. She was so beautiful and looked like she really belonged here, surrounded by luxury, unlike me, who stuck out like a sore thumb. I looked plain compared to her – my flat red hair and green eyes would never compare to the almost exotic allure of her features. Her mom pretty much looked the same. She was an older version of Ariana but with hair that barely reached the tip of her chin.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my father pull his phone out and answer a call. He spoke quietly for a while and when he hung up, I knew he was about to ask me something else.

“I’m so sorry, but I have to take care of this matter for the company. Ariana, may I please ask you to give your sister a tour?” he asked her.

“Of course, Daddy. Leave her to me!” she said, grinning so hard I thought she’d break her teeth.

“I’ll go and help you with the documents, darling,” Wilhelmina said, following after him.

As soon as they disappeared to one of the rooms, Ariana turned to look at me, her eyes blazing and taking me aback.

“Let’s make one thing clear, Charlotte,” she sneered. “I don’t like you. I don’t even understand why my father would ask for you when I’m here.”

“What did I ever do to you that’s making you hate me so much?” I asked, my brows furrowing in confusion.

“You exist. That’s what you did!” she cried. “I’m sure you can find your own way around the mansion, so hop to it!” She flipped her hair and walked away from me, leaving me alone with my dog.

I still didn’t understand what was going on, and my father had left before he was able to explain anything. I contemplated whether to just explore on my own or look for my father’s office and ask him what I was doing here when I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I pulled it out and smiled as I saw a text from Parker. I checked the time and immediately felt guilty because I had promised him I’d watch his game today.

From: Parker

I’m glad you’ve finally realized it. I told you he was a douche.

I’ll be out in a few minutes. Can you wait for me outside? We’ll get a bite to eat before I take you home.

I bit my lip, feeling guiltier after reading his reply and quickly texted him back about what happened and that I would make it up to him next time.

“Charlotte? Why are you still standing there?” I looked up to see my father coming toward me, his brows furrowed in concern. “Didn’t Ariana show you to your room?”

“Uh, no. She mentioned she was busy with something, and I didn’t want to disturb her so I told her I could take care of myself,” I quickly fibbed. We may not have started on the best of terms, but I didn’t want Ariana to get into trouble because of this. “Besides, I was just about to look for your office. You never told me why your driver had to drag me over here, remember?”

“Ah, I apologize. The call I received earlier is related to why I called you here actually. It’s about our company and, in particular, the C&A – our fashion line. News of my… my ailment,” he said the last part with distaste and I figured he might be feeling sore because of what happened to him. “Anyway, news has spread and already people are talking about who I’m going to be appointing as the next head of C&A.”

“And you brought me here because of that?” I asked.

“Yes. Also, I think it’s about time I introduced my first born to the world, don’t you agree?” he asked, and my eyes widened.

“What do you mean introduce me? How?” I asked.

“We’ll be holding a party in two weeks to announce the changes for our brand as well as some other projects we have planned. But the main event would be to finally reveal your existence to everyone,” he explained.

“But if your reason is because you want everyone to know you’re stepping down as chairman of C&A, then why do you have to involve me? I’m sure Ariana would be the better choice in this matter,” I said.

“Ariana is the obvious choice, that’s true. But I’m afraid she’s entirely confident that she’ll get the position no matter what, and therefore I don’t see her working as hard as she should. Introducing you would force her out of her comfort zone.”

“So, you’re introducing me because you want Ariana to have an opponent for her dream job. Is that right?” I shook my head, mad at myself for not expecting this.

My father sighed heavily before putting both of his hands on top of my shoulders, making me look up at him. “There are plenty more reasons why I’m doing this, and some of them I know you’d never believe, given how I never gave you and your mother the time of day, but I promise to explain everything when the time is right. Just trust me for now.”

“All right, I guess I don’t have a choice, do I?” I grumbled.

“Which reminds me, starting tomorrow, you’ll be starting your training. Good luck,” he said, giving me a brief smile before entering his office again, shutting the door in my face before I had a chance to ask him what he meant.

Training? What training?