CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE - CHARADE

Their car finally arrived at the Red mansion which was also Ava's villa. It was called Red mansion because the color of the mansion was red. A very odd color to paint a house. To make it worst the color red was as bright as blood. It gave an ominous feeling to people who came to visit.

The car was parked as usual, by the roadside. This time only Victor came down while Stephen stayed in the car. He was mentally and physically tired. So he wasn't sure he could handle another disappointment.

"Good day, gentlemen. How do you do?" Victor greeted politely smiling at the guards. They gave a curt nod in response then one of them immediately made a call to the main mansion to inform them of the Turners' presence.

After awhile, butler Charles came out with a stoic face as usual. "Good morning, Mr Charles. " Victor greeted politely as he bowed his head.

Butler Charles gave a curt nod while looking around. " Where is your father?" He asked.

" My father is not feeling too well. So he is in the car resting. You know stress is not good for old people." Victor laughed awkwardly.

"Very well..." Butler Charles nod. "The chairlady is at the office today and she requested for your presence. " He said.

"Really? " Victor looked at his wrist-watch in doubt. He has been coming here for four days at various times but the chairlady was never available. His doubtful voice made butler Charles arch an eyebrow. When Victor saw the look the butler was giving him, he panicked. "I don't mean it that way Mr Charles. I was just surprised but anyways thank you. We would be going now." He gave a polite bow before walking away.

As Victor walked towards the car, his eyes gleamed maliciously. He didn't care why Ava was suddenly at the company. It was still a win-win situation for him once he gets her to trust him.

After he settled down in the car, it drove away. " Seeing your good mood , I'm guessing step one has been completed. " Stephen smiled at his son.

Victor nodded. "You can say so..." He trailed off as he stare at his phone. The address of the company pop up on his phone screen. Giving his secretary the phone. "Search this address on the GPS navigation system and take us there." He said as relax on his seat and faced the window.

The car was silent till they got to Rose corporation. It was the second biggest sub-branch directly under MRC. Other subsidiaries were under Rose corp but the workload was much for Rue, so Ava appointed another company to be in charge of overseeing the welfare of the other subsidiaries.

When they came out of the car, Stephen's face scrunched up. "What are we doing here?" He asked Link, Victor's secretary.

"Sir this was the address i saw on the phone." Link said. But Stephen was skeptical. "Are you sure?" He asked.

"Yes sir."

"Let's go in dad we don't want to keep the chairlady waiting." Victor said as he led his father inside the company. He knew why his father was agitated. This building was the supposed HQ, MRC building. Everyone in California knows this building as the main HQ of MRC or else... Victor chuckled startling the secretary that Rue sent to recieve them. Releazing his mistake, he apologize to the lady. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." He said with a small smile.

"No.. no pro... problem sir." She replied with reddened cheeks. Victor was a handsome guy, so the secretary's reaction was normal. She took them to the presidential elevator which led them to the highest floor which belonged to the Chairlady.

When they arrived at the main door of Ava's office. The lady stopped walking and placed her hands on the door knob about to open the opened the door. " The chairlady is waiting for you inside. Please..." She opened the door indicating that they should go in. When they walked in, Rue was on a call.

When Rue saw them she dropped the call and approached them with a smile. "Welcome Turners. Get some light refreshments for our guests. " She said to the lady who was busy admiring Victor's good looks. "Please... sit." Rue pointed at the chairs. She waited for them to sit down before taking her own seat.

"Thank you Ms. Rue." Victor said.

"No problem. " Rue said. There was a knock onthe door and the lady who had escort Victor and his father came in with a trolley of refreshments. She served the snacks to Victor and his father then Rue dismissed her irritated by how she kept glancing at Victor.

"Omo! Ms. Rue, this is not really necessary. " Stephen laughed as he took a sip of his tea. It was a calming tea, his favorite but how did they know... well it doesn't matter. He shrugged as he took another sip of the tea. "When will the Chairlady arrive?" Stephen asked.

"Of course, it's not. " Rue replied with a smile ignoring his other question. Then she faced Victor. "What did you need to say that you guys kept going to the red mansion." She asked with a smile still on her face.

"In the absence of the chairlady and since you are the chairlady's representative, I apologize on behalf of the Turners. " Victor got down on his knees and kowtowed before Rue. Stephen was stunned but regained his composure quickly and put on a somber expression.

"Yes my dear, we are truly sorry for our rash behavior that night." Stephen said as he also went down on his hnees. He expected Rue to be flustered and stop him but she just sat there looking them with a sweet smile on her face.

Rue stared at the two men who were kneeling at her feet. Though she was still smiling, only she knew how irked she was with their presence. It was because of butler Charles call that is why she let this charade drag on.