Billionaire's Surrogate

Chapter 22

Robert called his assistant and got his flight canceled. He had to convince his grandmother to fire this Catherine. But he knew his grandmother and had seen her talking to Catherine in the last few years. He knew he had to be honest with his grandmother. His car was pulled in front of his grandmother's residence who was surprised when Robert walked back into her library. Her grandmother was enjoying a thriller novel while sipping tea close to her large window.

Her radiant smile was telling she found it a nice surprise. "I thought you would already be on your plane..."

"I was but we need to discuss something important." Robert took the seat in front of his grandmother.

"What is it?"

"I need you to follow me on this one without trying to probe into it..."

"What is it, Robert?"

"Fire that assistant of yours. I am talking about Catherine..."

Robert's grandmother got deep lines on her forehead. "What did she do to you?"

"Her daughter is related to Leo. They probably still are dating. She told me she didn't but I had seen them together in a room having sex..."

"Oh..." His grandmother seemed shocked but then slowly leaned into her chair. "Oh, Leo, what does he want..." But then Mrs. Williamson looked at him. "...why should we punish Catherine for something her daughter is up to? But I understand your concern. I will talk to Catherine. She will have to answer me. I heard her daughter was doing great. Why would she...?" Robert was about to tell his grandmother that Catherine's daughter had lied to her mother. But he couldn't trust his grandmother to not tell this to Catherine.

"How did you get to know about Catherine and..."

"I saw her daughter at one of the parties. She was also Valerie's roommate. I saw her picking Catherine and it all fell into place."

"Oh God,..." The granny groaned. It was obvious that Leo had approached the woman knowing she is close to their family. Her mother works for her while she herself is Valerie's friend.

"This hit close to our home." The granny commented.

"This is what I had been saying. Even though she says that she had never dated Leo or doesn't even has his contact number. I can't take any risk. Sarah says that she too was afraid of Leo and also thanked me for getting Leo out of the U.S. And, to tell you the truth she looked honest while saying it. I mean we both know this is what Leo makes people feel..."

"You did what? Why? Why did you throw Leo out of the US?" The granny gasped.

"He needs to learn that he needs to stay away from this place..." The granny got lost in deep thoughts before she said, "Yes, you are right. I am sorry, Robert. I completely get you. Do you think I should talk to Leo? Perhaps, it can make some difference..." Robert could tell that his grandmother still had a soft corner for Leo.

"No, you shouldn't. We both know you are too soft to deal with this situation. A person should know their weaknesses and work accordingly." The granny didn't like how Robert put it.

"I am not too soft. I am totally fine..."

"Fine, then fire Catherine and we both will see how firm you are..."

"Behave, Robert Williamson, you are talking to your grandmother..."

"I was wondering if I can stay with you for the night..."

"Oh boy, you are more than welcome. Let me tell the butler to make the dinner to your preference..."

Robert did dinner with his grandmother and told her that if she didn't fire Catherine he will know all about it. And, then will make sure that she is fired.

His granny told him to not think about it. As if it had been taken care of. Robert couldn't sleep that night. Sarah, Catherine and Leo was all he was thinking about. He knew there was something to dig here. He couldn't trust Sarah's words for it. Thinking he should go for a walk to relax Robert walked out of the estate and walked towards a nearby playground. It was middle of the night and he noticed a girl walking barefoot. And when she reached under the light Robert noticed Sarah standing there. She seemed tense and in deep thoughts. That girl didn't look like someone who would plot something bad for someone and still enjoy life. Even if she was plotting something with Leo, she was scared. She was sad. And, she was certainly not sleeping in her bed peacefully.

Robert stood there for a minute more before he walked back into his grandmother's place. He reached his room and found his phone vibrate with a notification. It was an email from one of his friends who was asking if he had left. He wanted to see him for the old time sake.

Robert told himself that he too could wait to make sure that his grandmother fire Catherine. No matter what part Sarah had in all of his suspicions, he wanted to remove the leverage this woman had. She was friends with his wife while she could also access everything about his grandmother through her mother. Robert wasn't the man to ignore the alarms. No matter how innocent and honest she looked, he wasn't to follow her face expressions. His grandmother and Valerie were too important to ignore this direct connection.

Robert lay on his bed recalling Sarah's tear streaked face from that night. It was obvious she didn't want to stay with Leo. It could be a fact that she was only with him because she was scared. Or Leo had some kind of leverage on her.

Robert didn't realize when he slept but when he woke up he called for a coffee. He took a shower and picked the coffee cup from the side table. He only took a sip before he made his way out of his room. He wanted to greet his grandmother but was shocked seeing her talking to Catherine in the living area. But what shocked him most was how his granny was sitting with Catherine. She had Catherine's hands in her hands and was talking to her with a kind tone. Robert took a few more steps and could hear them.

"I can't believe this. Is this the same Leo?" Catherine asked and Robert couldn't help widen his eyes. It felt like Catherine already knew about Leo.

"I don't think it is Sara's fault. Leo must have approached her knowing what kind of access Sarah could get him."

"Granny? How could you?" Robert felt cheated and betrayed. Leo couldn't be talked about. It compromised everything about their family's reputation.