Chapter 24: Chapter 24

"I will come with you.... but on one condition."

Garren and I were confused.

"What condition?"

Greyson crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I want Cleo to come with us."

The room was then ruled by crickets after he averted his demand. I gave Garren a side-over. His face can't be described because of how screwed up it is.

I cleared my throat and sat beside Greyson. "I don't have to come with you. I'm pretty sure your dad will take good care of you."

He shook his head. "No. I want you with us, Cleo. If dad doesn't want that, then there will be no vacation."

I held his hands and smiled. "This should be a special vacation with your dad. Didn't you tell me that you've been wanting to go out of town with him?"

As much as I fancy the idea of going out of town, visiting places that I've never been before and having a view of picturesque tourist spots around the world, this vacation that Garren is planning should be exclusively for them.

I'm neither a part of their family nor a close acquaintance of theirs. I'm only close to Greyson. It will be somewhat weird if I come with them. Moreover, I know that Garren is against it too.

"But I will get to enjoy it more if you come with us. Please, Cleo? I want you to see Santorini too." He stood on his ground.

I racked my brain for ideas on how to persuade him to change his mind, despite the fact that his term is already set in stone.

"Just come with us," Garren blurted out all of a sudden.

I turned to him, bewildered and astounded.

"Sir?" I stammered.

He just gave me a quick glance. "I will book Cleo a hotel ticket, if that's what you want," he told his son, smiling vaguely.

"Thanks, dad! You heard it loud and clear, Cleo. You don't have any choice but to come with us."

I reverted my attention back to Greyson, who's now grinning from ear to ear. I couldn't do anything but nod my head.

"Everything is settled, then. We'll fly to Greece as soon as Saturday comes."

"How long is our staycation going to be?"

"I booked a two-week stay at the resort around Santorini, son."

Greyson's eyes widened. "But how about my classes? I don't want to have failing grades because I have a lot of absences." he asked anxiously.

I know where he's coming from. He's been struggling to get good grades to get approval from his father, and that bearing was already embedded in his system.

"Have you forgotten about it already? Next week is the start of February holiday and your professor told me that your school will extend that break," he reassured him.

Greyson let out a sigh of relief. "I almost forgot about that. All my worries are now settled, then. But what about your work?"

I looked at Garren, waiting for his answer too.

"My work can wait. Let's just enjoy this vacation and don't think of anything else."

There was an expression of disbelief on Greyson's face, but it turned into a subtle yet genuine smile.

"Alright." He yawned. "I want to sleep already."

We stood up from his bed. I pulled the blanket over his body.

"Goodnight, Cleo. Goodnight, dad."

"Sweet dreams, Greyson."

Our eyes met when we uttered those words in chorus. I was the one who looked away first.

Damn. That's awkward.

He stormed out of the room first. After I closed the door, I ran after him.

"Sir Garren, wait!"

He stopped on his track and faced me. "What? I'm already drowsy."

I coughed. "I just want to say sorry. I really did my best to change your son's decision, but he's firmed about it."

"I know. My hearing is good. I heard everything that you said a while ago."

I don't know if he had the intention of taking the mickey out of me, but that's how I felt.

"Don't you have anything more to say?"

I shook my head. "That's all, sir."

He hummed. "It's fine with me that you're coming with us, if that's what my son wants. Just don't do something stupid like you always do."

He turned his back and started walking away.

I mumbled, "Jerk."

I was stupefied when he suddenly stopped on his track. My face turned pale when he looked at me with furrowed eyebrows.

"What did you say?"

Beads of sweat formed on my forehead. I muttered several expletives in my head.

I forced a laugh. "Nothing, sir."

I wanted to applaud myself for not stuttering, despite the fact that my tongue was getting tethered.

"No. You definitely said something," he insisted.

I'm doomed.

"I said nothing, sir."

He was supposed to snap back at me when his phone suddenly rang. He looked at it, and his already crumpled face got worse.

A huge boulder seemed to get lifted off my chest when he left. That phone ring saved my ass.

•••••

"Santorini?! As in the one in Greece?! That's like a thousand kilometers away from Ireland."

I'm currently on phone with my brother. I called him as soon as we arrived at Greyson's school and told him about the vacation. He was surprised, obviously.

"Yeah. Greyson really wants me to come with them."

"That kid seems very fond of you. I wonder how you bribed him."

I chuckled. "If you're jealous of him, just say that. Don't worry, you're still my baby brother."

He pretended to be puking. "He can have you for all I care."

"You're so mean. Anyway, can I talk to Mama?"

"Sure."

He stood up and went to the living room of our house.

"Who is it?"

"Cleo."

I heard them conversing.

"Really? Give it to me!"

A smile crept between my lips when I heard the excitement in my mother's voice.

"Cleo! How are you?" she asked zestfully when Archeus gave her the phone.

I smiled. "I'm doing well, ma. How about you?"

"We're doing fine. Don't worry about us. Arch said you want to tell me something. What is it?"

I began to tell her about Garren's plan.

"Your boss is so kind to let you join their family vacation."

The smile on my face dropped. If only she knew how much of a jerk he is, she wouldn't have said that. She seemed to get the wrong idea that Garren had willingly invited me to his arranged trip.

"Is there something wrong, Cleo? You became silent."

I put my smile back on. "Nothing, ma."

We talked for a bit more before I ended the call. When I came out of the room, I saw Claudette walking down the stairs. One of the maids is carrying her luggage.

"Hi, Cleo!"

I greeted her back.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"My parents' house. I want to surprise them. I'll stay there for a week or so."

I nodded. "Take care of yourself."

"Thanks. You too. Enjoy the vacation with Garren and Greyson!"

My forehead creased. "How did you know?"

She chortled. "I was actually the one who gave him the idea to bring my nephew on a vacay as a part of his redemption arc."

Oh. So she knows about the issue between the two.

"And he told me that Greyson wanted you to be there too. So... enjoy."

There's a skittish sneer on her face when she said the last word. But I chose to just brushed it off.

"Bye, Cleo! Don't miss me too much!" She shouted while waving a hand and peeping through the window.

I laughed. "See you, Claudette!"

I watched the car fade from my line of sight before I headed back inside the house and went upstairs.

"It's not obvious that you're excited for the vacation," I teased Greyson when I saw him already packing clothes.

He pouted. "You can't blame me. This has always been my dream."

"And you even dragged me to this. It's obvious that your dad doesn't want to come with you."

"He doesn't have any choice. I'm the boss between us as long as I'm not giving him the forgiveness that he's asking for." He smiled playfully.

"You are one mischievous child."

The weekdays passed in the blink of an eye. Greyson couldn't contain his excitement and kept on blabbering about the vacation.

And the day has finally come....

"Are you sure you have everything that you need?" Cynthia asked.

I nod while looking at myself in the mirror. I'm wearing a navy blue mini tea dress that I bought a long time ago.

"You know what? I'm still hesitant to come with them. I might feel out of place," I grumbled and sat beside her on the bed.

She scoffed. "You can't back out now. Besides, this is actually a privilege. You will get to spend a vacation with Sir Garren. If only I knew that I would experience this, I should have applied as Greyson's nanny instead."

"I'm not coming because of him, though."

"Whatever you say. Go now. They are  probably waiting for you already."

We headed out of my room together. Greyson is already in the living room with Garren.

"Cleo! That dress looks so pretty on you!" The former applauded me.

My heart fluttered. "Really?"

"Yes!" He nodded fervently. "Dad! Cleo looks beautiful, isn't she?"

The smile on my face faded. I turned to Garren, who's also looking at me. My heart skipped a beat when he nodded.

Strange it my sound, but it brought heat to my cheeks.

"See? Even dad finds you pretty!"

I could only awkwardly smile at Greyson's remark.

Cynthia nudged me. She's smirking from ear to ear. I shot daggers at her, and she just laughed it off.

Garren stood up and held his son's hand. "Let's go now. Matteo is already waiting for us at the pier."

The four of us went outside where Uncle Oliver and Aunt Esther were waiting. The former got my luggage from me and put it on the trunk.

I was supposed to follow Greyson into the backseat, but when I felt Garren's piercing gaze behind my back, I sighed. Not wanting to cross swords with him, I just sat in the shotgun seat.

After some prompting and farewells, Garren started driving.

"Fasten your seatbelt."

I thought he was talking to his son, so I didn't bat an eye.

"Cleo, are you deaf?"

I frowned. But when realization struck me, I fumbled to buckle my seatbelt.

"Stone deaf."

That didn't escape my hearing. But I chose to ignore him.

The route he's taking is not that familiar to me, but I didn't ask any questions. Not so long after, Garren stopped the car.

When we headed out, I realized that we were on an airport— an insanely enormous airport. From a distance, I can see passengers making a bee line at the entrance.

"Montreal Avionics." I read the letters in the building in front of us.

This is the airline that Garren owns!

"Is this your company, dad?" Greyson asked.

The latter nodded. "Yes, son. The company that we own."

He looked around in awe. "What are we doing here anyway?"

"The helicopter that we will use is here," Garren responded.

I frowned in bewilderment.

"Is this your first time here?" I asked Greyson while holding his hand.

"Yes! I've only seen this airline in pictures before. I can't believe that our company is this vast."

Suddenly, three men dressed in black suits approached us. They talked to Garren first before they came forward and greeted us. I was taken aback when they even bowed.

They carried our luggage and accompanied the three of us. Instead of walking through the entrance, we went to a separate door until we reached a vast field- a helipad to be exact.

"Woah."

My jaw dropped to the floor as a black helicopter lay before my eyes. It was strikingly stunning enough to stand out from the other aircraft around us.

"Dad? What is this?" Greyson asked, who's also eyeing it with astonishment.

"We'll fly to Santorini using this helicopter."