บท 24: The Mayor's Past

"Well then, it is great to meet you, Miss. Elizabeth. Lunch must be ready, we can go soon."

Picking up the document, Liz first read it with a broad smile before putting it aside carefully.

Looking into the Mayor's eyes which were back to being genial, she said, "Please call me Liz, everyone does. And please give me your granddaughter's number. I have something in mind, but I'll keep it a secret until I iron out all the details. Before that, can you tell me what happened to your family so that I can understand her better?"

On the mention of his family, the smile on the Mayor's face faltered for a bit.

Sighing deeply, he took the first picture in his hand and began to talk.

"My son and daughter passed away in a car accident, and I have taken care of Betty ever since. I always tried to give her the best, but I found her becoming more and more distant as she grew older. After she graduated college, she moved out of the house and hasn't met me since. She does call from time to time, but they are always short. I don't know what I did wrong."

Listening to the sad story and thinking, Liz asked, "The house that is about to be demolished- is that the one in which she grew up with her parents? And the one where you raised her after their passing?"

"Yes. It was her home, and I made the decision to stay there as it is the place she is most comfortable in."

Sighing, Liz understood where the Mayor had gone wrong.

Her earlier deduction was, after all, correct.

Her guess was based on the pictures and the murmur of the Mayor before throwing her out.

From the happiness that was missing between the second and the first picture, it was clear that some tragedy had occurred which made the Mayor raise his granddaughter.

Yet, something had driven the granddaughter away, which was evidenced by the last picture where she was alone.

More than this, it was the anguish in the Mayor's tone as he spoke about "last place he had as her memory" which gave away the truth. Clearly, he was hanging onto the house as he had given up hope of making new memories with her.

Choosing to relive the old as much as possible, he had hoped to let it continue existing for as long as possible.

As for her promise of bringing them back together, it was because she had guessed the answer to her latest question before itself.

This made her cement the plan she had made, and although she wanted to give the explanation about the reason behind the distance right now, she chose to conceal it until the time when the reunion did happen.

If it weren't for her ability of adapting to any situation that was thrown at her which had been learned because of her tough childhood, there was no way that Liz would have been able to salvage the deal like she just had.

Right now, she felt content that she hadn't let the CEO down. She didn't know why, but the moment she had thought about the possibility where she would have to see an expression of disappointment on Mr. Will's face, a strong feeling had been born in her which made her give her all in order to not make the possibility come true.

"Thank you for answering, Mr. Mayor. Please give me your number too, so that I can contact you when-"

As a mouthwatering smell wafted through the open window, Liz couldn't help but stop what she was saying and take a deep breath.

"When everything's ready."

Finishing the sentence in a rushed tone, Liz breathed in again, enjoying the feeling.

It had been one hell of an exhausting day, and the pancakes she had eaten in the morning had long since been digested due to all the exertion she had been through.

Laughing as he saw her reaction to the smell, the Mayor said, "Let's go."

Yet, just as he was about to get up and lead her to the door, his phone beeped, indicating that there was a call from the receptionist.

"Yes, we are on our way out. Set the table for two."

"Sir, the CEO of Happle, Inc. has returned. He is in the reception area."

This message made the Mayor look into Liz's eyes, where he saw surprise.

"Send him in. And set it for three.", he said, before wondering what might have pulled away the man for only the few minutes where he had had the conversation with his wonderful assistant.