Chapter 32

Veronica's eyes widen and her head quickly turned to April. "Go. I'll be down shortly after you."

She responds with a nod and followed her assistant out. Cedric was casually leaning on the side of the car with a hand inside the pocket of his pants. His expression looked serious. Must be the reason why Mikaela seemed so rattled. She can't blame her though, it's her first day on the job and she already met with this angry-looking Cedric.

When their eyes met, the look on his face suddenly turned urgent. Veronica's heart began to beat fast. What happened? Her gut is telling her that something bad is about to happen.

As soon as she's out of the building, Cedric reached out his arm around Veronica, hugging her in the process. "Why aren't you answering your phone?" he whispers to her ear.

"What-"

"Lower your voice. My grandmother's here."

Veronica's back stiffens and she swore her heart almost stopped beating. Her lungs might have even stopped working too as she found herself holding her breath unconsciously. First day on the job and she's about to fuck everything up. Her eyes moved to take a peek at the person behind Cedric but he stops her before she's even able to see a strand of his grandmother's hair.

"Don't make it more suspicious than it seems already." Their faces are so close that they might even appear to be making out to the people at the back. God, what would his grandmother think of her?

"Just follow my lead, don't be stiff, and smile." He last said, turning the both of them to face front. How will she smile at a time like this? They haven't even gotten their story straight yet. Oh, God. How did this happen?

Cedric's hand remains on her waist as she tries her best to smile as naturally as possible.

Intimidating was an understatement to describe Cedric's grandmother. Veronica's blood runs cold as she feels the old woman's eyes scrutinize her from head to foot. If it makes her feel better, her clothes are from Cedric so it should look okay in her eyes, right?

His grandmother was the same height as hers with heels on but she bet that the woman is a few inches taller than her when she was younger.

"Won't you introduce us, Ced?"

"Of course, gran. I reserved a table-" his grandmother waved a dismissive hand not letting him finish.

"Something private as this should be done properly at home. I had the chef prepare a feast. Shall we?" his grandmother asks with arched brows but her tone sounded more like a command rather than a question.

The old woman didn't wait for their answer as she walks back to her car with several bodyguards by her side. Veronica swallows to ease the dryness of her throat as Cedric guides her by the waist to follow behind his grandmother.

When Veronica thought that their luck seemed to have run out, a miracle happens when they didn't get in the same car as his grandmother.

And as soon as they're seated in the backseat of the car, Veronica hurriedly turns to Cedric. That's when she noticed that he's already wearing different clothes than before. He's now dressed in a business suit minus the jacket.

"Why are we suddenly meeting your grandmother?" she can't even hide the tense in her tone as she asks him.

Cedric loosens his tie before he began explaining the situation, "It's my fault. I got the dates mixed up because of the pain meds. I forgot that my grandmother wants to meet you this week."

Veronica can't even say anything as panic rises to her throat. "What do we do?!" was the only thing she can let out as anxiety consumes her.

"Relax," he says pulling her to him in an embrace. "Breathe." He continued in a whisper.

Silence envelopes them and Veronica can only hear the sound of their breathing and frantic heartbeats.

"I know you're not ready yet and I'm sorry that you had to meet her this soon." His voice is apologetic and warm.

Finally calmed down, Veronica moves away from his hold, casting a worried look when their gazes make contact once again. "I went back to my apartment to change and my grandmother is already there. She's critically ill and vulnerable to stress. I can't turn her down when she's been looking forward to meeting you." He explains further.

"But we haven't even settled on a story to tell her. She'll ask us, Cedric."

"I know and we have plenty of time." He says looking at his watch, "It'll take us about half an hour to get to my gran's estate from here."

Oh God. 30 minutes is definitely not plenty for Veronica to absorb and memorize the details of their supposed relationship.

***

And just as Veronica thought, their 30 minutes flew by the window so fast she didn't even notice that her side door is already opened.

A hand reached out to her and she shakily took it. Cedric's grip tightens as Veronica slightly wobbles on her feet as she got out of the car. "You okay?" he asks quietly into her ear. She responds with a yes but she can't help but subtly shake her head to really say no.

"You'll do fine. Just do what we planned." He tells her again but even that didn't make Veronica feel better.

A smiling man greets them with a nod. He glances in their direction and his eyes glistened with worry. "There has been a problem in the kitchen, madam. The food might be delayed for about an hour." He informs Cedric's grandmother quietly but they were still able to hear his voice because of how quiet it is around the area.

"Oh dear," his grandmother utters in concern before turning to the couple, "Won't you mind waiting for a while?" Her question was directed at the two of them but her eyes are on Veronica.

Feeling obligated to answer on behalf of them both, she carefully smiles at the old woman. "I don't mind at all."

Is this another miracle she's sensing? Are they being given extra time to practice?

"Wonderful. As an apology, why don't I give you a personal tour of my garden?"

Or maybe not.

_to be continued_