Chapter 12 Prank

[Ella]
"He's your friend?"
"Yes. Mr. Clapton," Jasper answers as he strides quickly to my side, not giving up talking to Mr. Clapton just because he's ignoring him. "I'm Jasper Carton, Ella's best friend. We used to hang out a lot in high school. Right, Ella?"
"Is that true, Baby?" asks Mr. Clapton.
I ignore the look Jasper throws at me, hoping I'll nod as I smile and tell Mr. Clapton, "He's just a classmate from my old school."
Mr. Clapton nods with a smile, "What an interesting coincidence. Honey, do you wanna have a few words with him?"
I glance at Jasper, who gives me a concerned and eager look, then shake my head, "Maybe someday! For now, it's more important to give our little sweetie a health check."
"I'm very sorry, Mr. Clapton and Miss, my assistant is so rude to you. I will check your cat immediately." Mrs. Crawley, in her lab coat, apologizes to Mr. Clapton and me.
"Jasper, go get the equipment and move them into the living room." With her anger hidden in her voice, she shoots a glance at Jasper, whose cheeks are red.
"That's okay. Ansel, get some guys to help Mrs. Crawley move the equipment in." Mr. Clapton smiles before telling Ansel.
Mrs. Crawley shifts her gaze to Ethan in my arms, then shows her white teeth and giggles, "Hello, you cute little boy, do you remember me?"
I can sense that Mrs. Crawley is as fond of cats as I am, and instead of rejecting her approach, Ethan even purrs at her.
"Miss, can you please give him to me?" Mrs. Crawley asks, with her arms open.
"Sure. Be a good boy, sweetheart." I grin and hand Ethan over to Mrs. Carwley.
Ethan leans over Mrs. Crawley's shoulder and nuzzles her neck, making Mrs. Crawley giggle.
"Oh, you little sweetie pie, how are you doing? You look even more handsome than you did in the lab. Ah, your amazing eyes are still so sharp and sparkling. Let me check out your ears, eyes, and teeth ...."
Mrs. Crawley is completely engrossed in speaking to Ethan. I guess she is the one who takes care of Ethan at the breeding center. It would be great if she could share some stories about Ethan's childhood with me after the health check.
"Boss, there's an emergency meeting." Ansel dutifully reminds Mr. Clapton as planned.
I trace Mrs. Crawley's back, intending to follow her to the living room. However, Jasper grabs my arm and whispers to me. "Hey, Ella. Can I have some words with you?"
Before I can answer, he pulls me a few feet from the entryway. The others are carrying testing equipment to the living room, and they're probably just pretending not to see it.
"I don't want to recall what happened in high school, and I'm not interested in hearing from anyone in the class," I state my attitude clearly. But Jasper obviously hasn't caught my drift.
"Ella, I'm glad to see you today, really. For the sake of our friendship, can you not pretend we are not friends? You know the opportunity to visit Mr. Clapton is precious to an ordinary Beta like me. I want to leave a good impression on him." As Jasper talks, his grip on my arm grows harder.
Boy, I suck in a breath of cold air. He seems to have grown stronger after a few years of silence. The thing is, the reason why he acted so enthusiastically when he met me is to get a good impression from Mr. Clapton.
"Then you should do a decent job or talk to him instead of grabbing my arm here and telling me how much you want to be introduced to a billionaire. Our relationship had ended four years ago." I attempt to break Jasper's grip, but he doesn't let me go.
Jasper's eyes go wide as if he's heard a joke. "Come on, Ella, you've landed the richest man in North America. And you still hate me for that prank four years ago?"
That prank? Does his prank refer to the fact he approached me to ask me out for dates? Or the fact that he told Celina that he still loved her and he was just seduced by another girl in front of the whole school.
I raise my eyebrows, suddenly feeling like the man in front of me is a stranger I never knew.
Jasper sighs when he shakes his head and grabs my shoulders. "Look, I apologize. I didn't know you cared about that prank until now. I'm sorry. But I need you to know Celina and I broke up soon after graduation."
"Oh? That prank? I'm interested in hearing about that prank." Mr. Clapton's voice jumps out behind Jasper.
It seems the temperature around me has dropped several degrees, and a chill runs through me. Jasper has temporarily lost his speech because of the appearance of Mr. Clapton.
I don't know why he didn't leave as planned. Maybe he is interested in Jasper's and my past. Maybe he just wants to help me get rid of Jasper on a whim.
Still, the only thing I know for sure is that his presence makes me happy and generates two conflicting thoughts. I want Mr. Clapton not to explore my past. But I desperately want him to hear me tell the truth about that event.
"Before you tell me a nice tale," Mr. Clapton quickly seizes Jasper's right wrist, "you should keep your dirty hands off my girlfriend's shoulders." He continues as he forces Jasper's hand off my shoulder.
My whole body relaxes, and I even smell the scent of buttered bread that has just come out of the oven. But I soon fall into another horrible aura after seeing Mr. Clapton's expression.
His lips are pursed into a line; he clenches his teeth, the veins near his temples are visible, and he looks like an enraged beast. However, what I care more about is that the sapphire blue in his eyes is turning light blue. Is Mr. Clapton going to shift and kill Jasper?
My question is shortly answered when Mr. Clapton throws off Jasper's wrist with a vengeance.
"Ouch!" Jasper winces, clutching his right wrist and falling to his knees.
The three workers responsible for carrying the machines pass by without turning their heads. Ansel stands quietly in the doorway with his arms crossed. I can even hear Mrs. Crawley speaking to Ethan in the living room. None of them care about Jasper's wailing or wonder what's happening among us.
"There! Now you can reveal your prank." Mr. Clapton crosses his arms over his chest and stands between Jasper and me.
His body blocks the light in front of me, yet, I feel incredibly relieved. It is as if no one can hurt me with him there. That's not bad.
"Mr. Clapton, I'm sorry I touch your girlfriend. I can tell you are very protective of Ella," Jasper apologizes to Mr. Clapton as he stands up. A sweat is sliding down his forehead, and his right wrist is clearly covered with fingerprints.
"Go on." Mr. Clapton grunts and waits for Jasper to tell him about the so-called prank.
"I described that incident as a prank because I wanted to protect your reputation since you are a globally known and successful businessman. But now that you've heard it, I must disclose this girl's true nature to you, even if Ella may hate and torment me." Jasper's chocolate-colored eyes reveal cunning.
My instincts tell me he's not going to say anything good. However, my curiosity advises me to remain silent so that I can know how he would describe my true nature.