Miss Secretary takes charge

Chapter 49

   Recap

     "Since you have asked me to stay away from Mr Kingston, pointing out to my 'non-fancy profile' so that he would give chance to his potential suitress with high stature.."
Henry hissed.
"..I guess I have given enough time, but to my surprise, he still remains single. So I have decided to claim what is supposed to be MINE"
"Oh, is that arrogance, that I smell here?" Sr Kingston laced his words with venom to deflate her confidence and to show his authority over her.
"Not at all sir, I was naïve, immature, did not realise my self worth back then, now that I have grown enough sense to fight back, I may sound like that"
He raised his eyebrows at her reply.
"Now I don't think I would bring any disgrace to Mr Kingston if I am associated with him personally and lucky enough to win his heart over, as I have proved my worth and marked my name in the corporate world in a year" she felt light after giving a befitting reply to his remarks after a year with her head held high.

     "With all due respect, I would like to take leave and let you enjoy your evening peacefully" she left then and went straight to meet the man of her dreams excitedly.

     Sr Kingston did not know that he was being eavesdropped by his grandson, said, "Passed my test with her resilience"

     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     Henry was extremely pissed at how ruthless his grandfather had plotted behind his back in chasing Julie off. He and his sick ways of testing people had become his obsession.
 
     Finally, the mystery was solved as he got the picture of the incidents happened that day in Kingston Manor between his grandfather and Julie. While the drama was completely about him, none of them had disclosed anything about it to him. He felt betrayed, angered, cheated, disrespected by both of them. He was not bothered about his grandfather much, but Julie could have come to him, I was never unavailable to her he thought.

     Ben left the room to give Henry some privacy as he looked very upset. He walked down to find Julie near the stairs watching something on her phone. She hesitantly asked,
"Hello Mr. Ben, I.. I would like to meet Mr Kingston" she paused " if he approves" the voice became feeble.
Though Henry had suffered because of her disappearance, Ben felt pity on her, he never disliked this girl as her intentions were never wrong. Though she ran away, it was not her mistake or done wishfully. She was manipulated and too young to comprehend the conspiracy. She fell prey to the twisted ploy that staged against her naivety. He called Henry about Julie' request and he asked her to come. Ben said "Lounge A2"

     Ben knew the challenges she had faced, he patted her head and left. Julie finished watching the video that her friends had gifted her one more time before she climbed the stairs and knocked at his door.

     "Come in" his raspy voice kicked in all her senses and blood rushing to her body, making her feel hot. The moment she opened the door, she launched herself onto Henry, in excitement of knowing that he had never taken off her bracelet since a year.

     Henry was caught off guard by this unexpected attack. The feeling of holding him when she thought she would never meet him at all, felt heavenly. His scent hitting her nostrils had blessed her nostalgia. The serenity, the warmth, the peace that spread over her was undescribable.

     Julie looked up at his eyes, Henry' eyes were closed and his face was tensed. She realised that he did not hug her back, it was only Julie who was holding him. She slowly unlocked her hands and took a step back as nervousness and fear crept through her mind. She shouldn't have hugged him abruptly.

     "Sir, I am sorry!" Julie said in a low voice.
"Sorry??" Henry raised his eyebrows and gave a hollow laugh.
"Sorry for what?
For running away from me?
For not giving a thought about me?
For betraying me?
For not trusting me and have enough faith in me?
For keeping me in the dark?
For not coming to me when you had an issue?
For ignoring me all this while?
Tell me dammit for what?"
He shook her shoulders in frustration as he let out his piled up emotions.
Julie's eyes teared up, though she did not flinch at his outrage.
"It took nearly 12 months for you to finally come out and meet me? Why did you come now?" He held her hands,
"Tell me" he asked in a pained voice.
"Did I not give you the freedom to approach me?"