Chapter 26.

**Tessa’s POV.**

Now that I had officially met Andrew O’Connell, I knew there was no way in hell that I would not bump into him at least once in the house- I just wasn’t thinking that it would be while I was alone, on my way to Gabriel’s bedroom.

“Tessa”, the smile on his face was sickly- pervy if you might say and it shot cold, damaging shivers through my spine. I would admit that the man was evidently and foolishly handsome, it was no shocker that all his sons had god-like faces and fit body- the man was probably in his fifties and yet he had the body of a god.

I could have considered him ‘sugar daddy goals’ if he wasn’t so vile and I didn’t hate him as much as I did.

“Sir?”, I sounded like a fucking submissive but, what else was I supposed to say to a man of his caliber and my boyfriend’s father who I so happened to live under his roof?

The smirk on his face was extremely upsetting and I began frantic, hoping that he would not make a move on me, “Sir, such a formal term, isn’t it?”, the confusion on my face was clear, “Why not call me Andrew?”, I simply nodded, trying to keep this short before he noticed the goosebumps crawling all over my skin, “You should be present for dinner tonight, my sons would also be in attendance. I believe you are well acquainted with them?”, bastard! I tried to hold in the scowl that was begging to be released, “You would be there, right?”, I wanted to ‘politely decline’ his offer when another when his voice broke out behind me,

“She will make herself available”, he stepped beside me and placed his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him, “Wouldn’t you babe?”, his head came down and he pressed a chaste kiss unto my lips,

“Ummm, I think so?”, I was still confused, why would Gabriel want me to go for their family dinner? From what I knew, it was usually a very tense occasion, three of them making it harder for the other to cope. I being there would just be a recipe for the finest tasting disaster.

“She would be there”, Gabriel glared at his father with so much intensity that I thought the man could melt into a puddle any time from then but Andrew O’Connell stood his ground, eyeing his son down with the same amount of force,

“Very well then, dinner today should be… interesting”, the man’s eyes flickered to me and he placed a sinister smirk on his stupid face, “It was a pleasure seeing you again Tessa”, the feeling isn’t fucking mutual! “Unfortunately…”, he dragged out before raising his wrist up to reveal his diamond and gold Rolex wristwatch, “As much as I want to wait and chat, I have an important meeting to attend”,

“Your presence will be missed”, Gabriel’s voice dripped wet of sarcasm, causing Andrew to roll his eyes- the most childish behavior I had seen him partake in,

“The meeting starts in an hour, why are you not dressed?”, was Gabriel also meant to be present at this said meeting?

“Well, if you hadn’t side tracked my girlfriend, I wouldn’t have come out to search for her now, would I?”, it was obvious that his snarky reply had upset his father who was probably used to it by now,

“Your brothers are already on their way to the shareholder’s meeting, do not be late. I wouldn’t want to replace you with Alex”, he threatened and Gabriel’s face went pale. This man was absolutely horrible- irritating even!

“That would not be necessary”, his hand on my waist became tighter- almost painful and his jaw was locked up in evident anger which his father just smiled to after realizing that he had power him,

“That is completely up to you”, the night before, Gabriel had walked away with the final say but this time, Andrew wasn’t giving him that luxury or satisfaction. He turned on his heels and made his way to the other side of the wide hallway and turning at the corner.

Once he was no longer visible, I let out a breath of air that I didn’t know I was holding. Gabriel’s eyes were still fixed on the spot where his father once stood as if staring at it would somehow affect him from where he was, “Are you okay?”, I moved in front of him and palmed his face softly. The look of anger in his radiant blue eyes shook me to my core and I wondered why he still put up with his father’s shit when he was able enough to walk away from him. I placed a hand on his beating chest, “Gabriel?”,

His eyes suddenly met mine and they softened, he held unto my hands and kissed them gently, “I am fine Tessa”, this was the first time he had called me my real name- he definitely wasn’t fine, “Uh, I should get going or I will be late. I will see you at dinner”, he gave my cheek a kiss before releasing my hands and walking away from me.


The day went by quickly and before I knew it, I was getting ready for the impending disaster Andrew O’Connell had referred to as ‘Dinner’. I didn’t have to be the smartest person in the world to know this was a bloody setup, but I just didn’t know what he was trying to prove.

Yes, I had dated Alex in the past but it was his fault that we broke in the first place, I did not deny that I had some feelings for Kevin and even shared a kiss with him once but it was short lived- I saw no future with him and I wasn’t going to lead him on like that. Gabriel- he made me feel special, even without trying and trust me when I say he never tries. Kisses from him were and are magical and he could turn me on just by looking at me with those frosty blue orbs.

Gabriel had texted me that he would meet me at the dinning table since he had something to ‘take care of’. I was curious as to what it was but knowing him, it was probably business- nothing I would be interested in.

A knock broke out on my door and before I could give any directories, it was pushed open, “What is wrong with you?”, my mother hissed out and I rolled my eyes,

“Considering how ‘troubled’ I am, you would have to be more specific”, my love sick demeanor had taken a cold turn, the small nervous smile on my lips had been replaced with a snarl of irritation,

“Why the hell am I hearing from the maids that my daughter is having dinner with the O’Connell men?”, she barked out and I shrugged,

“Possibly because it’s true, jealous mother? You should be, considering the fact that you would be serving me tonight”, I smirked at the mere thought of my bitch of a mother having to wait on me,

“Over my dead body, now, you would call Mr. O’Connell and tell him you won’t be available”, the offer seemed extremely tempting since I really didn’t want to go but seeing how much it irked her increased my interest,

“Watch me”, I grinned at her before pushing past her to my door, “See you at the dining, Bethel”, I sashayed the hell out of there before she could stop me or inject another comment to the conversation I had just ended.