บท 72: Olivia's intricate matchmaking plan

Sinby Haven

Madam Olivia was getting her usual sunshine with her body tightly wrapped in a leopard bikini suit. She got up with her eyes glued excitedly on the phone screen in her right hand. The phone call with Bella Lim made her overwhelmed with expectations. Singing and humming, she ran towards the stone stairs which lead her to the beach house on top of the hill.

"Madam, why are you running around naked?!" a maid ran frantically to receive Madam Olivia with a towel on her hand.

"Quick, call all the staff to gather at the main hall!" Madam Olivia pulled the towel and covered her body as she chased away her maid to do what she instructed her to do. The maid wrinkled her brows, however, she did what was told without asking much. Knowing the Madam, she knew that she was only this loud when she was cooking another plan for her son.

Who was the lucky lady this time around? The maid thought as she ran around, calling all the staff that worked in the house. Twenty minutes later, thirty staff were gathered at the main hall; murmurs were heard since everyone was curious at the sudden roll call.

As the murmurs increased, three claps were enough to stop it. Madam Olivia stood on a stool wearing a red robe. She stared at the crowd in front of her with a smile on her face.

"Everyone..." she began her sentence with a smile that seemed to remain on her face forever.

"My son and his future bride will come tomorrow. So, there is something I want you to help me with. We need to create a situation for these two birds to make love *cough*! I mean to nourish their feelings for each other," she giggled. The staff look at each other, humor in their eyes. Like the maid earlier, all the others now understood the reason they were called. This Madam was truly a hardworking cupid for her dearest son!

"Madam, do you want us to teach the lady to seduce the Young Master?"

"Madam, do we need to prepare a romantic dinner for the two of them?"

"Madam, please tell us what the lady's sizes are so that we can prepare the best dress for her,"

Madam Olivia had her mouth agape when she heard the questions being thrown at her like a shooting bullet. That was when a butler looked at the maid beside him and said: "Remember, modesty is the key. Young Master doesn't like anything too sexy," he said. Then, another butler chirped in; "True, remember last year's case. The lady didn't even last a second. Though she was truly a beauty,"

"Ahem! Attention!" Madam Olivia shouted. She felt her head almost burst when she heard the discussion among her staff. Was she that desperate to find a partner for her son? Maybe she was.

Her only child was now a grown-up, leaving her with a dull life. She missed the time when Eric was still a baby. That was the most wonderful moment of her life which she wished to experience again. That was the reason she wanted to marry off her son sooner so that he could provide her with grandchildren. Who would've known that her son wasn't the playboy type? Worst, he wasn't easily seduced, making it difficult for her cupid power to work on him.

"This time around, we will change our tactic," she spoke with a loud voice, sweeping the faces of everyone with her gaze. She realized that the anticipation in their eyes enhanced when she stressed on the last three words.

"We need to forget about our previous seduction tactic. That thing is worthless!" she had to admit, her son wasn't a womanizer. Even though a goddess came to Earth, there was no telling that her son would be enchanted.

"Madam, what's the strategy? Please tell," a maid requested, impatient in her eyes. The rests nodded in agreement. They couldn't wait to hear the Madam's new tactic.

"Hehehe..." Madam Olivia laughed out loud. She was stroking her chin with obvious mirth in her eyes.

"The plan is simple," she said, releasing a chuckle the moment she noticed the eyes of everyone were on her, almost like they wanted to put a hole on her body. She pondered if she could tease them by prolonging the time to make an explanation. However, when a maid pleaded for her to explain, she was getting even more excited, forgetting the plan to tease them. This time her instinct told her that her plan would work.

"My son and his companions will come tomorrow. On Thursday, I'll bring them to the garden to harvest my oranges and peaches. So, I want you to think of a flawless plan to make my son and his future bride to be stranded in the garden," she adopted a serious look, but the glee was evident in her eyes.

The garden she talked about was actually a man-made island not far from Sinby haven. It took only two hours boat ride to reach there. It was a beautiful place to nourish the budding feeling of love that she believed was already rooted in each of their hearts. It was only a matter of time until they realized how much they were in love with each other.

"Madam, will this plan work? Knowing Young Master, he can easily make a call for his personal heli to get them off the garden," a butler raised an issue.

"Yes Madam, there is also a high risk for the lady to be stranded alone," a maid added.

Madam Olivia shook her head. "Tch, tch, tch... you guys," she said with a sigh. Her manner which looked like she was mocking her staff's opinions once again aroused the impatient looks on all the staff.

"This lady is not a typical lady," she began her telltale about what she believed was happening between Bella Lim and her son.

"She is already living with my son!" she declared in one breath. There was a total silence before the hall was filled with shocking gasps.

"Y-young Master let a woman live with him?"

"The lady is so lucky!"

"Truly lucky!"

"There's a high chance for the Young Master to already fall in love with this lady,"

"Ahh, Young Master finally meets someone that he loves,"

Praises and talks towards Bella Lim and Eric Wu were heard one after another inside the main hall. Madam Olivia kept nodding her head when she heard the discussions, agreeing to each of it. Indeed, this was a first and very rare for her son to let in a woman in his life on his own accord.

"Madam! I have a plan, but I need to know who will come beside Young Master and his future bride," the butler who reminded a maid about modesty earlier rose his hand to get Madam Olivia's attention and naturally the other staff as well.

"My source just told me that aside from our targets, little Ryan and Lu Fei will come as well," Madam Olivia clarified the issue in an instant. She had asked 'someone' to find out who was living at her son's villa and these were the names that were given to her.

"Don't forget that Tao, my son's assistant will come as well," she added while staring with pure interest towards the butler who gave the inquiry earlier.

"Dr. Lu Fei? that will make things easier," the butler exchanged glances with his co-workers and together they looked at their Madam with a knowing smile on their faces. Madam Olivia let out a short laugh as she understood the meaning behind their knowing gazes.

"Don't expect too much. If your plan is mediocre, even with his help, we will only fail," Madam Olivia smirked, yet she urged the butler to quickly elaborated the plan he was thinking about.

"Madam, don't worry, my plan's difficulty is only one star, but to let them become stranded for one day is deserving five stars," the butler puffed his chest, proud of the plan he thought about.

"Do tell," Madam Olivia signaled with her hands.

"Yes, yes, faster!" the other staff began to swarm around the butler.

"Okay, patient! So here is what I'm thinking about...," the butler began to narrate his proposal. The more he talked the wider the eyes of the people who were listening. Even Madam Olivia was showing full interest and approval.

"Good! I'll appoint you as the leader for this operation. Make sure to execute exactly like what you've said," Madam Olivia gave the butler a thumb up. She was satisfied with the idea he had suggested. She thought the scenarios he crafted was a smart plan to avoid her son's suspicion over the deliberated scheme that would make him marooned in the garden alone with Bella Lim.

This time she was confident that her son's single life would come to an end...

"Dismiss!" she waved her hand as she jumped down from the stool. The staff curtsied as they left the main hall in an orderly manner after listening to a brief explanation about what they needed to do to make the plan worked. Their previous experience in helping their Madam as her son's love cupid helped them to understand their roles faster than necessary.

Seeing her workers left the main hall as if the commotion earlier didn't exist brought a grateful smile on Madam Olivia's face. These were the people that had been helping her behind the scenes in her previous efforts as a matchmaker for her son. As always she could rely on them!

After entertaining her thought, Madam Olivia left the main hall with occasional hops. She was beyond happy for his son's future endeavors with her future daughter-in-law.

'Aye, I need to tell those people as well,' she thought while humming an unknown melody.