Blind Billionaire Bride

CHICAGO, UNITED STATE OF AMERICA

Phoenix checked the small book shelf and brought out volume three style book which had the collections of Ria’s work. He gave it to Cassidy who was busy staring at Ria.

“Here Ma’am.” Phoenix said.

“Thank you.” Mr Griffin took the book from him instead. He opened the book and showed Cassidy the dress he had picked the other day.

“Wow.” Cassidy mumbled as she exchanged glances with Mr Griffin. “Miss Ria, these designs are pretty.” She complimented.

“Thank you.” Ria replied.

“Do you like this one?” Mr Griffin pointed to a short dress.

“No, it is too short. I don’t want my legs to be exposed. But I really like the one you already picked for me.” Cassidy replied.

“Is that what you want?” Mr Griffin asked again.

“Yes.. dad.” Cassidy forced a smile on her face.

“Okay miss Ria, we’ll go for the same dress.” Mr Griffin said.

Without being told what to do Phoenix went in search of the measurement book and grabbed a high stool for Ria to sit on. He led Ria from the sewing wheels to where he placed the stool. Cassidy watched Ria with admiration as she gave out instructions to the little boy even as she took the measurements. Phoenix did a great job at calling out the numbers on the tape rule and he jolted down the measurements.

“That’s all?” Cassidy mumbled when Ria dropped her hands and placed the tap rule on her neck.

“All done.” Ria said to Cassidy who went to sit beside her so called dad.

“How much is the payment?” Mr Griffin asked.

“Three hundred dollars.” Ria answered.

“Three hundred dollars?” Cassidy repeated. She was surprised that the bill was too small for such an elegant dress. One would pay more at the mall or boutique for such an outfit.

Ria’s price list are affordable and elegant. “But don’t you think-” Mr Griffin nudged Cassidy’s side to silent her.

“I have the cash with me.” Mr Griffin said as he brought out five hundred dollars and handed it to the little boy.

Initially Ian Bryant had given him three thousand dollars for the dress. Phoenix looked at the old man then back at the girl beside him. “One.. two.. three.. four..” He arched his brows when he realized it was more than the price Ria mentioned.

“Mr Brown, this is a five hundred dollars.” Phoenix said.

Phoenix gave the money to his mom. She counted the five notes in her hand. “Five hundred? Your fee is just three hundred dollars.” Ria added.

“Yes I know. The three hundred dollars is for the dress and two hundred is for the little man here.” Mr Griffin paused hoping to hear a word from Ria but then he continued when she didn’t say anything. “I like the fact that he is willing to help and hardworking. He is smart too.” Mr Griffin added with a grin on his face. He was trying so hard to get on the blind lady’s good side for the sake of Ian Bryant. He can’t afford to mess up this plan.

Phoenix walked away from the area. “Thank you, sir.” Ria said.

“You are welcome.” Mr Griffin replied.

“Phoenix say thank you to Mr Brown he gave you some money.” Ria said. The little boy was busy searching for the phone book to take down their numbers.

“Thank you, Mr Brown.” Phoenix smiled when he came back to the area. He gave the book to the old man. “Please put down your numbers.”

“Alright.” Mr Griffin collected the book from him.

“When will you be needing the dress?” Ria asked.

“Next week Saturday.” Cassidy replied.

Ria shook her head. “Just put down your numbers so we can call you up whenever the dress is ready. You will get it before the due date.” They pen down their numbers in the book.

“Here you go little man.” Mr Griffin returned the book to Phoenix.

“I guess we are done.” Cassidy mumbled.

“We’ll take our leave now.” Mr Griffin and Cassidy stood up to leave.

“Please wait!” Then Phoenix rushed off again to a large box close to the table and took out two hand towels. It was designed with Ria’s logo imprinted on it for every customer. “Thanks for your patronage.” Phoenix grinned sheepishly.

“Oh thank you.” Mr Griffin chuckled softly as they started towards the door.

“Please kindly tell your friends and family about us.” Phoenix accompanied them.

“Sure.” Cassidy replied before she and Mr Griffin stepped out of the house.

Phoenix closed the door and raced to where Ria sat. She counted two notes and gave it to the little boy. “Put this in your safe box.”

“No.” He declined.

“I want you to have it.” Ria said.

Phoenix began to pick up some pieces of clothes on the floor around the sewing area and he dropped them in a polytene bag. “No mom, put it in the company safe so we can get another set of towels.” He replied.

“I gave ma’am Elise money to buy some towels already so we can take it to the printing press tomorrow. Just keep the money in your safe.” Ria said.

“Okay.” Phoenix accepted the money reluctantly.

“I should finish up this dress.” Ria mumbled.

“Let me help you.” Phoenix led Ria to the sewing machine and helped her settle down before he rushed to the room to drop the money in the safe under the bed.

******

IN IAN BRYANT MANSION

Ian was busy signing off some contracts in the study room. His cellphone pinged. He thought it was a call from Mr Griffin about the visit to Ria’s place but it was Josie.

Ian picked up the call. “Hello Josie.” He said.

“Hello Ian.” Josie sounded excited over the phone.

“You seem to be in a good mood, what’s the news?” Ian asked.

“I called to inform you that Lauren and I spoke to Lexi at the club last night.”

Ian sighed. “So what did she say?” He questioned.

“Well she was scared after we did the calculations. Lexi had no choice than to confess everything to us.” Josie answered.

“So what is it? Is she pregnant? Is dad the father of her child as she claimed?” Ian demanded.

“Lexi is not pregnant.” Josie responded.

“Thank goodness. Case solved.” Ian seethe his teeth even as he heaved a sigh of relief.

“No. The case is not solved yet because she has to pay for what she did. This is pure blackmail! What if her evil plans had gotten dad into trouble then our faces would have been on the news boards by now. Piper is suggesting that we threaten her with a lawsuit just to be sure she won’t come after dad again.” Josie sounded pissed now.

“Okay, I understand what you are trying to say. But instead of a getting a lawsuit or threatening her, why don’t we just get a promissory note from our lawyer and have her to sign it. That’s enough assurance to prove that she won’t do anything stupid again.” Ian suggested.

“Yeah. Ian, that’s a very good idea. I didn’t even think about it.” Josie sighed out loudly.

“Okay. I will talk to the lawyer.” Ian replied.

“Okay. I’ll tell the rest about it.” Josie disconnected the call before Ian could say goodbye.

A knock sounded on the door few minutes later. “Come in.”

Mr Griffin walked in with Cassidy behind him. Immediately Ian stood up from the desk and walked his way around it to settle on the couch. “So how was your visit to Ria’s place?” He asked anxiously.Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

Mr Griffin cleared his throat. “Well it was good and we worked according to the plan.” He answered.

Ian clasped his palms together. “Did Ria-” he paused and looked at Cassidy. “Are you okay, Cassidy?” He asked after noticing her face was wet. It looked like she has been crying!

The young lady’s head was down with her eyes glued to her laps. “She has been crying since we left Ria’s place.” Mr Griffin replied.

“Cassidy, why are you crying?” Ian’s voice was low.

Cassidy sniffed as she nodded slowly. “She.. she-” Her voice trailed off.

Ian stood up and went to sit beside her while Mr Griffin moved to another couch. “Is it about what you saw? Is it about Ria?”

Cassidy swallowed hard. “Yes.. it is such a pity. I feel bad for her condition. She is so good and talented. It was really hard to believe that she could do such a thing despite her disability. And if only miss Ria could see then she would have done better than the way she is now. Look, the little boy even gave us a branded towel.” She brought out the towel from her handbag.

“I know she is good.” Isn mumbled as he looked at the logo on the towel.

“She needs help.” Cassidy cried out.

Ian reached out to hold her hands. “It’s alright.” He mumbled.

Cassidy looked up at him. “Isn’t there something you can do to help her? I am sure she can see again with the help of an eye surgery.” She rushed out her words.

“Yeah I know an eye surgery can probably heal her but I don’t know about her health problems. I am still working on how to get to know her better. Look Cassidy, I really want to help Ria but it seems impossible because of her view about men.” Ian said in a calm tone.

“Yes, I noticed that she doesn’t feel too comfortable with a man in the same space. She looked so nervous and scared when Mr Griffin said his first word.” Cassidy explained with a raised eyebrow as she recalled the look on the blind lady’s face when they had walked into her house.

Ian nodded. “Yes, you are right.”

Cassidy sniffed. “But why? Why is she like that?” She asked.

“Cassidy, I don’t know. I have no idea of what she has been through in the past.” Ian replied. He wants to get to know everything about the blind lady.

“How did you find out about her?” Cassidy let go of Ian’s hands to wipe her face with the towel.

“At a park.” Ian recounted how he had met the blind lady with two children.

“I like her. And I really want to get close to miss Ria because I see her as someone who is determined to achieve her dreams. She is more like an inspiration to me.” Cassidy sniffled.

Mr Griffin and Ian exchanged glances. This must be the perfect time to bring in Cassidy into the plan. “Cassidy, can you help me find out more about Ria?” Ian requested.

Cassidy stared intensely at him. “Listen Cassidy, I don’t want you to think I am trying to use you in any way but it is just that I want to help Ria. Lately, I have been doing some researches about eye defects and remedies just to know about her conditions. I have enough ideas but I-”

“What should I find out from her?” Cassidy interrupted him.

She is in! He thought. “I need you to find out about her health problems and probably.. why she is uncomfortable with men around her.” Ian answered.

“But isn’t that too personal?” Cassidy furrowed her eyebrows.

“Not really. But you also want to get closer to Ria right?”

“Yes.” Cassidy nodded.

“Then you have to know some certain things to get close to her.” Ian stated.

Cassidy shook her head in agreement. “Okay.”

Ian exchanged a quick glance with Mr Griffin while Cassidy closed her eyes. “Will you help me?”

Cassidy reopened her eyes. “Yes.” She agreed.

“Thank you, Cassidy. So when will your dress be ready?” Ian stood up from the couch with a bright smile on his face. Cassidy agreement to help find information about Ria has just given him a glint of hope that his plans would work out.

“Miss Ria didn’t give us a specific day but she promise to give call us before Saturday.” Cassidy answered.

“Oh well, I am also glad to inform you that Ria didn’t charge half of the money you gave me.” Mr Griffin said.

“Really?” Ian forehead creased.

Mr Griffin brought out the money from his wallet. “She charged just three hundred dollars and then I gave the little boy two hundred dollars.” He explained.

“Why didn’t you just give everything to her? She must be in need of money.”

Cassidy rubbed her palms together. “Mr Ian, she won’t have accepted it if Mr Griffin had offered that much to her.”

Mr Griffin grinned at her. “I even had to tell her that the two hundred dollars was to compliment her boy for his hard work. He is smart though.” He gave the money to Ian.

“Alright. You can have it.” Ian collected the money and gave it to Cassidy but she refused it.

“No.. no I still have the money you sent last week. I should head back home now.” Cassidy stood up.

Ian moved closer and grabbed her wrist. “You should have it.” He placed the money in her palm. “Don’t ever refuse anything coming from me.” He ordered.

Cassidy shook her head in response. “Mr Griffin, please tell Ben to drive her home.” He instructed.

“Okay sir.” Mr Griffin replied.

“Cassidy, please extend my greetings to mom and Caleb.” Ian placed a kiss on her forehead.

“Thank you, Ian.” She smiled.

“Take good care of yourself. I’ll text you later.” Ian accompanied her to the door. Cassidy waved him goodbye before walking away with Mr Griffin.