CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER THREE

OLIVER

"I'm telling you, Xavier, that girl is insane. She literally scaled over the gates. I've never seen a girl so unhinged like her." I said as I threw a punch at him.

I was at the boxing gym at the Valhalla club, the largest club in New York whose members are the richest men in the world. I was there with Xavier, my best friend and also business partner. We were there to unwind after a stressful meeting.

"So you're calling her unhinged because she whooped your ass at chess?" he asked, his voice holding a hint of mockery. I dodged the blow he threw at me.

"It was a tie, she didn't beat me." I lied, already getting irritated. Her annoying voice when she said ‘checkmate’ has been stuck in my head ever since then.

I threw a double punch at him. No one has ever had me on chokehold while playing chess aside from my father.

He was the champion of several chess tournaments in his youth. While other father and son bonded over football, or basketball, my father and I bonded over chess. It was one of the things I missed about him. Playing with 'the monkey', I came up with the nickname after she jumped over my gates, felt like I was playing with my father. I only asked to play with her because I thought she was lying. Besides with the way she was dressed, I didn't expect she would know how to play chess.

"It's a shame you didn't even get to know her name." Xavier said and clicked his tongue.

"She was too focused on getting away." I said.

"Were you disappointed you didn't get her name? Do I smell an attraction there, Oliver Kang?" He said and grinned widely. He threw a punch at me.

"If there is anything I feel for that girl, It's despair and hatred. She is too loud and so annoying." I said. I could still feel the annoyance of almost losing the chess game to her.

"You like her." Xavier said and let out a small laugh. I used the opportunity to punch his face.

"I should go tell Aunt to start preparing for your wedding. You're finally in love." he added as he spat out blood.

"She has red hair." I said as I glared at him.

"Oh! Auntie would probably not like that. She has always talked about how she wanted you to end up with a blonde." He said.

I sighed. My mum has been so worked up about me getting married. It grew worse four years ago when I was thirty and still never introduced a girlfriend to her. She even asked me once if I was gay. She wanted a grandchild badly.

The timer dinged indicating the end of the match.

"I should get back to work." I said, walking out of the ring.

"That's all you ever do. No wonder Auntie is so focused on getting you a bride. At this rate, you'll probably never get married." he said.

"You are talking as if you are not a workaholic yourself." I chuckled.

"I have a fiancé." He said. I shook my head, not wanting to argue with him further.

"How is the new project going?" I asked as we walked towards the changing room.

Xavier's face turned serious. He might be a very dramatic person but he is always very serious with his work. He is the CEO of a multi-million architecture company. He is also the heir to one of the biggest media conglomerates, even though he has shown no interest in inheriting his family's wealth.

"So I have acquired the land for the new project in Germany. My team and I have some designs already, you just have to go through them and select the one you like. I emailed them to you already." He said.

"You did? I haven't received any email." I said, with a hint of surprise evident in my tone.

"I did one hour before I came here. You should check with your assistant." He said.

I took a sharp breath.

"Yeah, I've had enough of her. She is leaving today." I said through gritted teeth as I brought out my phone to call Tabitha, my soon-to-be-former assistant.

"You should take it easy on her. That girl has been working so hard. She is the first assistant to last more than three months with you. I applaud her diligence." Xavier said.

I agreed with what he said. Tabitha only lasted that long because she respected my boundaries. She wasn't overly curious and did as she was told.

Xavier's phone started ringing.

"I gotta go. Let's discuss the rest of the details over lunch." he said.

I nodded.

"And I'll make sure to find out everything about this mystery girl that finally got you to show some emotions." he said while walking away.

"Get lost."

.

.

.

"No, too tan."

"Too slim, she looks malnourished."

"Too much plastic, I don't want my daughter in law looking like a doll."

I exhaled heavily as my mum dropped another picture to the floor and selected another one from the hundreds of pictures laying on the coffee table. She had decided to come visit me for lunch and spend some quality time, but she hadn't stopped going through the pictures she brought with her. I can't believe how many of them she has. Some of these girls were referred to by their parents, while some of them approached my mum directly.

I made a silent prayer that she doesn't ask for my opinion. That doesn't always end up well.

"Which one of them do you think is suitable, son?" she asked.

I cursed silently.

"Anyone you choose is fine, mum." I said.

I couldn't care less about them anyway. I haven't been able to take my mind off 'monkey girl'. Xavier did follow through with his words and found everything about her. He made sure to send his findings to my personal email so I wouldn't miss them. Her name was Dallas Valencia, 24 years, lives with her stepfather and two stepsisters, former olympic fencer, no criminal records, she seems pretty decent. I couldn't stop thinking about what her agenda was for coming to my house. It was very obvious she did not come for the party, my mother would never have invited even if she was drunk.

I've checked the gallery's CCTV camera a million times but I couldn't find anything out of order. She entered the gallery and walked straight to the glass box containing a bracelet I just acquired. She didn't leave the spot till I came in and started questioning her. I couldn't see her face clearly as the camera only captured her back and side.

Suddenly it hits me, the glass box.

"Excuse me." I said to my mum and made to stand up.

"Where are you off to? we were having lunch." she asked.

"I just remembered that I have some work emails to sort out and Tabitha is off duty today." I said.

"Okay fine, I just hope you make time for your mother the way you make time for work." she said and scoffed.

"I'll make it up to you, mum. I promise." I rose to my feet.

Her eyes met mine and they glistened. I could see in her eyes that she wanted to hug me and how much she is refraining herself. I felt so bad that I'm causing my mother so much pain. She hadn't touched her only son in twenty years, ever since that incident that made me allergic to female touch.

I walked away quickly and headed to the gallery. I headed straight to the glass box containing the bracelet. I studied the glass closely and noticed a tiny dent on it. I chuckled in total disbelief. Turns out the little monkey was actually trying to steal the bracelet.

Well, it's time to pay the Valencia household a visit.