His Lioness (Alan Rickman FF) ENGLISH VERSION

Chapter 54

"Puznowski!" exclaimed Lionel, "that unnecessary woman has caused me nothing but trouble, that forger!"

Angrily, he walked up and down the gravel path, wondering how he was going to find a solution to the problem.

Mihai watched him with mild satisfaction. But at the same time, he was glad that his boss didn't seem to resent his emotional outburst.

Shahbandar abruptly turned in the driver's direction and asked, "Did Saskia see PJ and me kissing?"

The chauffeur nodded in confirmation and replied, "Yes, but that's not all. The decisive thing happened on the festive evening, which had finally made the barrel overflow!"

Still Lionel wandered around, thinking. Until his eyes fell on the small property in front of him. This was it! He would buy it and give it to Saskia! How else could he prove his love to her? He fretted over his own thoughts, love? No, it was not love. But only desire, he tried to tell himself.

Full of vigor and convinced of himself and his idea, he went to his black car and got in. "Mihai, what are you waiting for? We have no more time to lose. We're going home to my estate!" he shouted impatiently.

His driver strode quickly along the short gravel road, got in and started the engine. The drive back was wordless and each of them hung their thoughts.

Lionel sat in his office and had all the documents about the Norfolk County property spread out on his mahogany desk. He was still convinced of his idea to buy Saskia this property. Why, he could not, or rather would not, answer for himself.

He pulled out all the stops he could to get this matter done as quickly as possible.

The hours went by faster than he would have liked. He continued to work on another pile of documents concerning the long-running correspondence with the Chinese regarding the media rights of several television channels.

Lionel had been preparing for this huge step to expand his empire Shahbandar Media Group for a long time. He had tossed and turned many nights until the contract was correct in his eyes.

And yet, the thought of his imminent triumph filled him with emptiness. Money could not buy everything. His stomach growled loudly and reminded him to eat something for once.

A little stiff from sitting for so long, he got up, went to his dining room and sat down in his chair. His eyes fell on the empty chair where Saskia had been sitting. Although his hunger compelled him to eat, he still had no appetite. He thought of the often long conversations with Sassy while they had been with the animals.

That was his cue, after the quick meal he got up and went to his dogs. After spending some time there, he went on to Leonardo. The latter was already waiting in front of the sofa for his brush strokes. Gem sat next to him and looked at him reproachfully.

"Gem, you can look at me as you like, I can't change the current situation! But I'll do everything I can to resolve the matter as quickly as possible," Lionel reprimanded his cat, who was still looking at him as if she would like to scratch his face. As if the cat understood everything, she stood up, looked at him arrogantly and turned so that she showed him her butt and walked away.

Lionel shook his head and watched his pet leave the room. "Just amazing," he muttered to himself as he began brushing Leo's fur.

By now a month had passed and Saskia still felt as crappy as if it had been yesterday that she had left Lionel. Of course, her former boss hadn't contacted her again. He probably hadn't even noticed that she wasn't working for him anymore. That thought alone brought tears to her eyes again. She finally had to look to the future! Sia couldn't hang on to her dreams forever, it was all useless.

Autumn had made its presence felt today. The wind was stormy and the colorful leaves swept through the air. Now and then the sun peeked out between the thick rain clouds.

Saskia still hadn't found a suitable job and was becoming more desperate every day. Watching the weather through the window, she decided it would be best to take a little walk. Wrapped up thickly in a warm jacket and scarf, she walked leisurely through the rural area, taking in deep breaths of the autumn air.

Sam was standing in the courtyard when he saw Sia walking away. He shook his head sadly. She had changed so much, the always so lively and cheerful Saskia was gone. Often her eyes were red, which was from crying so much. "That bastard!" he scolded loudly, "what has he done to our Sia! Who do I catch Shahbandar!"

Sam was spreading the hay in front of each animal stall with the pitchfork when he peeked through the large barn door into the open. As if his previous rant had been heard, a swanky car pulled into the courtyard and stopped. Saskia's cousin furrowed his brows and propped himself up on the pitchfork, watching to see what would happen.

Lionel had prepared everything necessary to surprise Sassy with his gift to her. He had just arrived at the house of her relatives when he saw a tall man looking angrily in his direction. "This is going to be fun," he said to himself with slight gallows humor. He took another deep breath and got out.

Shahbandar straightened his jacket as he walked around the car and headed for the gate where Sassy's relative stood.

"You!!!" shouted Sam, upset, as he saw Lionel approaching. He didn't hesitate for a second and held his pitchfork up in the air menacingly. He knew exactly who this man was, his appearance alone left no doubt that the lord was standing in front of him. 

Fortunately for her, Saskia was already far enough away to escape the tense situation at the farm.