Chapter 53 Bruce’s Arrangement
Sylvia had been nailing it at work lately, despite the fact that her efforts to outdo Cyril in business were making her workload skyrocket. Yet, she couldn’t help but revel in the whole affair; giving Cyril a taste of his discomfort after years of her own was oddly satisfying.
–
Stepping out of a meeting, Sylvia received a call from Bulk – she hadn’t spoken to him since her chat with Bruce about attending Bulk’s concert. It seemed neither had reached out since since their last encounter, and considering they hadn’t communicated in over three years Sylvia decided to get married it felt odd receiving a sudden call from her brother. Sylvia’s heart raced with anxiety, unsure whether to answer or ignore the call.
Juliet strolled by just then, finding Sylvia’s panic–straight face. “What’s up? You look so tense. Something wrong?”
Sylvia handed Juliet her phone, completely at a loss, “What should I do? Should I answer or not? What if he yells at me?”
“Isn’t that kind of normal for your older brother, especially about your marriage? You know how much he disapproved,” Juliet countered.
Sylvia opened her mouth but had no comeback. What Juliet said was kind of like a punch in the gut, but not entirely incorrect. With a heavy sigh, Sylvia answered just before it went to voicemail.
Bulk’s voice came through, laced with sarcasm: “Whoa, playing hard to get? Someone might mistake you for some high and mighty heiress.”
Knowing her brother was still peeved, probably at her for answering late, Sylvia scrambled, ” I’m sorry, okay? I messed up. Just tell me what you need.”
Taking a deep breath and lowering her guard, Sylvia went into apology mode. Push–back was not an option unless she wanted to suffer the fallout.
“All right, let’s cut to the chase. I heard about the divorce. Now that you’ve improved your judgment, I’ve set you up on a blind date. He’s already on his way, and you better not stand him up or I’ll deal with you. Remember the mess from three years back? That’s still not settled,” Bulk’s ultimatum left Sylvia’s head spinning.
“Bro, can we talk this through? That was my bad, but you can’t keep hanging it over my head,” Sylvia tried to reason. She had just escaped one matrimonial disaster only to be ushered towards another blind date by her brother?
“I don’t think your plan is appropriate,” she finally mustered the courage to say, practically
risking her life by defying him.
Bulk’s voice gained a playful edge, “Too bad, I’ve already invited him over, and if you bail, Dad will find out. He’ll make you go anyway. Your move.”
“You’re serious?” Sylvia stared wide–eyed at her phone. Inviting the guy home complicated
things – implications? It would practically hand her father just what
did Bulk not realize the he wanted, someone to marry her off to at the earliest.
Bulk laughed. “So, are you in or out? If you’re not going, be my guest and explain to Dad yourself.”
Sylvia clenched her teeth, “Fine, I’ll go. But can you at least call him off? If Dad‘ up because of you, that’s on you to fix.”
gets wound
“I was just bluffing! He’s not at the house. The location’s set; I’ll text you the address. Go and have a decent chat, got it?”
What choice did Sylvia have? Bulk had spoken, and he was clearly out for a little sibling revenge for past grievances.
Reluctantly, Sylvia agreed. But shock hit her when she saw who she was meeting – none other than Mike, Bulk’s right–hand man, looking as awkward as ever. She knew precisely why – Bulk was playing matchmaker with his own motives in mind.
Sylvia could hardly contain her annoyance. “Really? He sends his own right–hand man to meet with me? This is too much. And does your being here mean he’ll be showing up too?”
Mike didn’t play coy, “Yeah, he’s on his way. Maybe even home already. As for why I’m here… I’m sure you can guess.”
KR
Sylvia exhaled in resignation. It was just like Bulk to pull something like this a classic
revenge move.
“I’m so mad. What’s he trying to pull now? What’s next on his agenda?” Sylvia demanded, knowing full well her brother had more than just this meet–up planned.
Sometimes, big brother’s arrangements were more troublesome than the problems they
were meant to solve.