Devil For A Husband

Chapter 3: An absurd request.

Holding on her to harness, she jumped off of the side of the mountain. With sweat dripping down her face, she pushed the stray pieces of her caramel hair out of her face, the sweat lingering on her climbing gloves. Her athletic, navy blue tank top clung to her, while her trousers were a bit baggier, allowing her to move more. Even through the scorching sun, she still had a passion for climbing.

Breaking her concentration, her phone rang in her back pocket. "Hello?" She answered, still trying to catch her breath.

"Caden? Where are you? We need to talk." called the muffled voice of her father.

"Dad. I'm busy. Can it wait?" Caden sighed, her father seemed to call her about every little thing that happens.

"No Caden, this is important. How fast can you get to my office?" he asked, his voice sounding quite unusual.

"Dad, I'm in the..." Caden started trying to quote her location but stopped on recalling that her parents would flip if they found out she was back to doing what they said no to.

"Um... I can't get there right now!" Caden redirected her statement heightening her voice as well so he could hear her properly.

"I need you here as soon as possible. it's important... very important Caden." He told her in vague words which left her confused. What could possibly be so important that they couldn't talk about it over the phone?

***

Caden

Walking into the office building, my straight hair was flying behind me. My blue jeans were clinging to my legs while my white chiffon top and stiletto heels gave off a look of business casual. I chest out a little, letting my shoulders hang and not sag in other to give myself a small boost of confidence before speaking with my father.

"Good morning Miss Caden." Greeted Jenny, my dad's secretary.

"Morning Jenny, please inform my father of my arrival." I requested. She smiled with a nod and headed back into his office, leaving me alone in the waiting space.

Not too long later, she came out. "He's ready for you Miss Caden," She told me with a bright smile.

"Thank you Jenny." I murmured as I gave her a light pat on the arm with a smile on my face before walking into my dad's office.

"Good morning dad." I greeted with a smile just as I walked in. I walked over to him and gave him tight warm hug. Sitting down on the other side of the table, I decided it was time he let out what was troubling him.

"Caden, I needed you here a day ago. Where were you?"

"Dad, I had to drive to the airport and then take a jet. The flight itself took a few hours and by the time I got home, it was late. What is so important that we couldn't talk about it on the phone?" I asked just after I was done with my explanation. My brows squinted as I noticed a strange wave of despair wash over his face.

"Dad, what's wrong?" I asked with as worry filled me. Dad was rarely a serious person around me. Something was very bad about this situation.

As he got some papers together, he stood up and made his way over towards me. Cupping his face with my hands, I told him, "Dad, I love you so very much. What is wrong? How can I fix it?" I asked truly ready to fulfil his heart's desire. Anything to make sure the smile on his face returns. He exhaled quite loudly as his face paled.

"C, when you were younger, this company suffered a lot of financial troubles. I took a loan from a friend of mine, then President of the Norman Enterprises. After some time, I simply couldn't pay back yet. We've been reinvesting our money so we can grow further and Mr. Norman was a very good friend of mine so he understood. After Norman passed away, his son took over. Unfortunately, he's not nearly as compassionate as his father. He now demands we return every single cent or he's going to take away everything. Your grandfather worked so hard to own this, he put in his blood, sweat, and tears into this. Our family cherishes this company too much to let go of it without a fight."