Chapter 6: The Goofers!
The morning dawned with the tabloids awash with pictures of Xavier Harris and Sophia Randolph at dinner with her family, and her hugging Xavier intimately spread across the front pages. Speculations mounts over the city of Dayton and the business world. Has their city's most eligible bachelor been taken?
The continuous vibrations from Xavier's phone on his nightstand woke him up. Having worked late into the night in his home office after returning from dinner with the goofers, he had turned off the volume on his phone, leaving it on vibration only. He has only slept for a few hours when the vibrations began. With intent to ignore his phone, he groaned and burrowed further under the covers, his head of midnight dark hairs beneath the pillows. But the damn thing just kept on humming. Whoever is calling seems relentless with the intent to drive him crazy unless he answered it.
Digging his head out from beneath the pillow, he stretched out his hand and took his phone to place it on his left ear.
"Xavier Thomas Harris! What did you do?" a high pitch shriek echoed from the other end the moment he answered.
Xavier cringed, putting the phone away from his ears for a second. If he wasn't awake earlier, he is now. What does his mother want again this time? Lately, it's been Xavier Thomas Harris spelt out in full by his mother. And he knows quite well that that only happens when he has buttered his mother's toast the wrong way.
"Mother? Good morning to you too. Is everything alright?" he asked after the ringing in his ear have subsided.
"What do you mean by 'Is everything alright?' Nothing is alright, you mischievous child!" she scolded angrily.
"Okay, Mother. Calm down and tell me what is wrong. It's so early in the morning, and your voice is this loud? Scarr may as well have heard your voice all the way from his doggy bed. You don't want your blood pressure shooting up again, do you?" he soothed like he would a child.
Two things his mother hated - being told her voice was loud and being spoken to in a patronizing manner. Jennifer Harris loves her image. Anything that will affect and degrade that perfect front will feel her ire.
"First, don't use that tone on me, young man. Secondly, if my blood pressure shoots up, then I'll be sure to tell the whole world my careless-pea-brain son caused it!" his mother snapped.
Xavier didn't respond, having nothing to say to that.
"What is going on between you and Randolph's daughter, Sonia?" His mother wasted no time in asking, making Xavier frown. What was that?
"Who's Sonia?" he asked in confusion.
"Don't play that joke on me, Xavier. Sonia Randolph... The one you're secretly seeing, the one you had dinner with last night alongside her family - you know, probably hugged and kissed." Jennifer shot all at once, her hands flailing about like Xavier can see her through the phone.
It finally dawned on Xavier what she was saying. The Crappy Dinner!
"You mean Sophia Randolph?" he asked for clarification.
His mother got even more agitated.
"Sonia, Sophia, what does it matter?" she snapped. "Do you have anything to do with that girl? Are you planning a wedding behind my back because if you are - let me tell you right now, I'll come to your wedding alright, but in a hospital bed all tied up with medical gadgets from heart attack!" Jennifer added for effect.
"Woah, woah, woah, halt there mother. What are you talking about? I barely know this lady. How come I'm suddenly accused of planning a wedding I don't know of?"
"Are you asking me that, young man? Fine, explain it to me then.... Why is your picture all over the tabloids and news telling how Xavier Harris may have found his long lost rib. Do you take your mother for a fool?" she huffed.
"What did you say?" Xavier asked with increasing confusion, getting out of bed and heading out of his room towards his fully stocked modern kitchen to make his morning coffee. Opening cabinets and taking out what he needs, he explained, "Mother, I only had a business dinner with Mr Randolph who probably decided to come with his whole family. It's all business. That's all there is to the dinner."
"That's what you think. But the whole city thinks otherwise. Have you bothered to read the news this morning? You were hugging Randolph's daughter in it and they are tagging it 'Prince charming has found his Princess!"
Xavier paused and thought. How did the tabloids get his picture from dinner? He had made sure to tell the owner of the restaurant that he wanted his meeting private with no disturbance from the damn paparazzi. The set up must have been from Randolph's daughter. He disliked being in the news except for when it has to do with business innovations and the like. Being a public figure, people have long been curious about his private life, wanting to know if he was seeing anyone or not. But his life has been scandal-free till present. Few times he had seen the paparazzi trailing him, but his security has always been alert, never allowing them any closer to take any untoward pictures of him. That lady Sophia is gonna get it from me, he mused.
"Mother, I'm a businessman. Of course, I read the news, not the tabloids. Those guys are full of lies they made up. You can't trust what they post. You should know your son better than that, mother. Those pictures meant nothing. I'll handle it."
"Please do. Your father is flying in from Puerto Rico today. He won't be happy seeing such news. Our family has never been in any scandal in time past," Jennifer Harris elaborated.
"You're over-thinking it, mother. Father will call the bluff. Let's not drag this discussion," Xavier tiredly said. "Do you still need me for dinner tonight?" he asked, changing the discussion.
That perked his mother's attention alright because she started babbling about their dinner tonight. Xavier indulged her and listened to her chatter while he drank his coffee. Scarr found him in the kitchen and started pushing against his legs hoping for his doggy breakfast.
~~~~~~~
At the Randolph's Mansion, the scene was conflicting. The morning sun rose in zest bathing the greenery around the house with warm light that had the flowers opening up their soft buds. Singing birds danced from around the trees that lined the driveway to the front of the mansion, basking in the warmth of the sunshine. Sophia was on the phone with one of her puppet friends.
"Yes, Cindy. I had dinner with Xavier. It was so romantic," she gushed, grabbing a pillow and hugging it close to her heart.
"Well, Technically, you didn't have dinner with him. You said it yourself - your parents were there," her friend pointed out.
"Are you brain-drain, Cindy? Did you not see the picture of Xavier hugging me closely. I tell you, he's interested in me. You know men like him often won't show their emotions outright otherwise, ladies will take them for granted. The dinner was just a front." She gave a full explanation like someone who was to give a thesis on Xavier Harris.
Just then, the door to her room was forcefully pushed open and his father walked in with her mother hurrying after him. Startled, Sophia pushed herself up from her bed. There was anger in her father's eyes.
"Eugene, calm down. I'm sure it's all a misunderstanding." Francisca Randolph tried pacifying her husband.
"Stay out of this, France! Your stupid daughter will ruin my partnership with the Harris before it even started" he responded with clear annoyance in his voice.
"Cindy, I gotta go. My parents are here, " she said and quickly ended the call before any more could be heard by her friend. "Father, Mo-"
"You stupid girl! What did you do?" her father bellowed, cutting her off. "I told you not to mess this up! I told you to take it slow with Xavier Harris!"
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