[2016] What the Heart Wants

by Aqua Allsopp

  “I am very sorry to hear everything that has happened. So, what do you intend to do after selling the land?”

  “Well, we’ll see. We will think of something,” Jacob answered.

  James put his hand to his chin and pondered for some time. “You know what? I only want your plot of land for my business. You can continue to have the house for your own purpose, and there is absolutely no need for you to relocate anywhere else. Will that be fair to you?”

  Jacob was a little surprised at this strange offer. “Well, what do I do here if I am not to work the land for myself? The money you pay me will not last me my lifetime,” he said.

  “How many people do you have in your household?” James asked all of a sudden.

  “Three: Me, my wife, and my daughter.”

  “And who usually does all the farm work?”

  “We divide it among ourselves. But why are you asking all this?” Jacob could not hide his surprise.

  “That’s because I want you to remain here on the farm to help with the work.”

  Jacob’s surprise only grew into confusion. “James, I have no idea what you are saying! Why should we be staying here if you are going to buy our land? I really fail to understand.”

  “That’s business for me!” James replied with a smirk.

  “In that case, James, I would like to know what your business is all about.”

  *****

  James Bosman had always had the easy way forward in life. He had been born into a wealthy family in the city of Lancaster. His father was a famous lawyer, and his family had a longstanding tradition of producing intellectually brilliant people. James was no different, and he had been one of the brightest students in school. Apart from being excellent in academics, he was also a very good basketball player during his formative years. Music had been one of his hidden talents all along as he had showcased his skills on the drums from time to time. In fact, even after moving on to becoming a successful businessman, he had kept in touch with his love for music and would often unwind by listening to songs whenever his heart called for it.

  Everyone had expected that James to use his intellectual capabilities in some tried and tested fields, such as academics or a profession like engineering or medicines. But then he had surprised everyone by announcing his decision to become a businessman. His parents had tried to convince him to do otherwise but to no avail. He had stuck by his decision of opening and managing his own business.

  James had no intention of opening just another business – he wanted to do something that was different from the rest, a standout idea. So he hunted around and did some market research to find a suitable opening. He had eventually come across one in the field of agriculture and had decided to take up the opportunity.

  The area in and around Lancaster was prone to frequent storms that would cause widespread destruction. This would render the farmers poor and helpless as they would be left financially handicapped. James would find these people and buy their land. The investment was not an issue because his parents had decided to give him all the backing that he ever wanted.

  After buying their land, James would then provide them financial backing to start cultivation on the plot. He would pay them a monthly wage and also allow them to keep a portion of the produce. The rest he would sell on the market. After the first couple of ventures, he had realized that the arrangement was turning out to be beneficial on two fronts – he was getting cheap labor, and the landowners were getting to cultivate their own lands without having to worry about the returns. Slowly but surely, the profits started to come in, and his business became popular for being an innovative idea in the market.

  “So you mean I will get to cultivate my own land, and also be paid a monthly wage for my troubles?” Jacob asked in awe after James had finished explaining his business strategy.

  “Yes, that’s the deal!” he answered.

  “But what benefit does that hold in store for you? And why would you be willing to help me?”

  “I believe I have already explained my position. Now if you are interested in taking up the role, maybe we can get through the paperwork. And it would be advisable that you don’t ask me too many questions. Some things are best left unexplained.”

  Jacob thought for a while. “Okay James, I think I will have a brief discussion with my family and let you in on my decision soon,” he said.

  “Fair enough,” James said and took his leave. Jacob returned to Ruth and Annie, who had been listening in on the whole conversation from the kitchen adjacent to the living room.

  “I think it is a pretty good offer,” Ruth suggested as soon as he had entered, not even giving him much of a chance to speak.

  “Yes, I agree with mamma, you surely won’t get a better offer. Our land stays with us though it won’t be in our name and you also get to cultivate it every year. Besides, you won’t have to worry about poor crops or anything. All that will be on his shoulders,” Annie chipped in.

  “So you are suggesting that I agree to the deal?” Jacob asked, still not convinced this was a very good idea.

  “Yes,” both ladies said in unison.

  Jacob did not counter their thoughts. He had complete faith in the words of those two ladies of the house – his wife and daughter, and when they said they wanted something done he usually complied with their orders. So the plan was finalized. Jacob King would hand over the ownership of his land to James Bosman but be allowed to continue working on the land with a handsome wage to go alongside.

  Now, only the finer details had to be sorted out and the necessary agreement formally completed.

  *****

  “Is everything ready? Where is the file?” James said to himself, rushing around his office in anger. “Damn that secretary of mine, having to leave right when I needed her the most!”

  James was in his office back in Lancaster, putting all the paperwork in order for the legal handover of the farm that he had planned to buy from the Kings in Lancaster County. The necessary details had been sorted out, and the payment was ready to be made. It was at such an inopportune moment that his secretary Lisa had called in to inform her of the bad news.

  “James, this is Lisa here,” a phone call early in the morning had announced.

  “Yes Lisa, where are you? I need you here as fast as possible. You know very well that I have to go out to settle the deal on that new plot of land,” James said over the phone, sounding pretty angry.

  “James, look, I understand that you are very worried and in a big hurry to get this work sorted out, but I am sorry to tell you that I will not make it to work today. In fact, I won’t be coming to work ever again. I resign from my post.”

  “What? Resign? What do you mean ‘I resign’? How can someone simply resign like that all of a sudden? There has to be a concrete reason!” James was left feeling bewildered.

  “Well, there are reasons, but they are all too personal for me to share with you. I am sorry that all of it has to end this way, but I really don’t have much of a choice. Goodbye now,” she said and dropped off the call before he had even had any time to figure out what was going on.

  James had had no other option but to take care of all arrangements on his own. It had seemed like a Herculean task to begin with but once he had the hang of things all of it became too easy. Before long he was on his way to meet Jacob King of Lancaster County.

  The man was waiting eagerly for him to arrive when James pulled up in front of the wicket gate in his green sedan. “Welcome,” he said as he stepped forward. James got out of the car and shook hands with Jacob, who led him inside. Twenty-five minutes later, the agreement had been signed, stamped and sealed, and James Bosman was now the new owner of the plot of farmland that was previously owned by Jacob King.

  “Don’t worry! I’ll make sure that your farm undergoes a complete revival,” he announced upon receiving ownership of the place. James was right – there would be a transformation, only that the transformation would turn out to be of a dif
ferent kind!

  *****

  Annie walked into the living room, unmindful that her father was busy with James regarding some important business matter. All of a sudden, she noticed the stranger. “Oh sorry, I’ll come back later!” she excused herself and once again left the room.

  “So James, as we were discussing–” Jacob continued. But James had veered away from the discussion. His gaze had been attracted towards the pretty young woman who had just made a fleeting appearance in the room.

  “James, are you listening?” Jacob asked.

  “Yes, yes, of course, I am listening. Please carry on.” And before long the two of them had finished having their very important discussion.

  When it was almost time for him to leave, James could not help but put forth the question to his compatriot. “Probably I should not be asking this question, but was the young woman who entered the room while we were busy your daughter?” he asked.

  “Yes, that was Annie. But why do you want to know?”

  “She looked pretty young!”

  “Yes she is just twenty-three years of age,” Jacob answered with a smile.

  “Can I ask you for a favor, Jacob?” he said all of a sudden.

  “Favor? What favor?”

  “I have been looking for someone to become my secretary. I had someone employed in that capacity, but she left this morning citing some personal reasons. Your daughter – what’s her name again? Annie – she looks smart enough and should be capable of handling the tasks I assign her. The pay will be good, and it won’t come in the way of the business deal we already have in place.”

  “That’s all fine, but where will she work from?”

  “Well, for that she will have to travel to Lancaster, but that isn’t very far from here is it? She can travel in the morning, finish her work, and then be back again in the evening.”

  Jacob thought for some time. “It’s all right with me, but I suggest that you have a word with my daughter on this as well.”

  “I’ll do so, but not here. Please ask her to come and pay me a visit on Saturday afternoon. I’ll send over a car to pick her up. Whatever I have to say to her I’ll do so in the privacy of my own office. I hope there is no problem if I do so?”

  “Oh no, absolutely not!” Jacob answered.

  As James left the farm and climbed into his car, a smile of contentment spread across his face. It did not take long for him to realize that he had been struck by Cupid’s arrow. This had been one of those rare instances of love at first sight – James had fallen head over heels for Annie as soon as he had set eyes on her for the first time. And as providence would have it, the position of his secretary had to be filled that very morning.

  He was content. James had never felt so happy ever before in his life, not even after he had registered a profit in business for the first time. Truly, this was a piece of business done better than what he had ever expected it to be.

  *****

  The blue Chevrolet parked itself in front of the main gate of a large mansion. Annie looked out of the window in awe. She had never seen such a massive building in life. In fact, she found it a little tough to believe that it was possible to build structures that could seemingly touch the sky.

  A man in uniform hurried down the stairs and held the door of the car open as she climbed out. “Miss Annie King I presume. Please follow me,” he said and led her inside the mansion. They entered through the main entrance and climbed a flight of stairs to the first floor then took a long corridor down the right before entering a beautifully furnished office on the left. “Miss Annie King,” he announced as he walked inside. Annie followed her. James was seated at a large oak table inside. The butler ushered her in and then left, closing the door behind him.

  “Please take a seat,” he said. Annie hesitated a little but then sat down across the table. She was nervous. Never before had she imagined that she would be required to attend a job interview, but now, that was exactly what she was doing.

  “It’s all right. There’s nothing to be so afraid of,” James assured her. “The main reason why I wanted to meet you was to extend my gratitude and thanks to you.”

  “I don’t understand what you mean,” Annie said in surprise. “Why would you want to thank me all of a sudden?”

  “Because I know how important your intervention was in convincing your father to sell the family land. Without your help, I really don’t think that would have happened and without that addition, my business would not have grown any further. So please accept my humble and sincere gratitude.”

  Annie felt a little embarrassed. To have a billionaire speaking to her in this manner was not an everyday occurrence and certainly not something that she had ever experienced before. “That’s okay,” she said with a look of shyness in her eyes. “I was just trying to help.”

  “Thank you, now if you will give permission, I have another piece of help I need from you.”

  Annie looked at James, wondering what he was playing at this time around. “I would like you to serve as my secretary,” he stated in a matter-of-fact manner.

  “Secretary? But I don’t have any idea what needs to be done,” she protested.

  “Oh, you don’t have to worry too much about that. All I want to know is if you are interested in taking up the job.”

  “But, I’ll have to work from here then. I don’t want to stay away from home!” Annie protested.

  “No problem, I can send a car to pick you up every morning. And again in the evening, it will drop you back at your place. If you like the job, then we can think of finding you accommodations in the city.”

  Annie thought for a while. She had nothing to lose by agreeing to take up the job. Besides it would help in keeping her occupied. While commuting to and from her home in Lancaster County would be a tiring task, she realized that it would not be long before she would get used to the demands. Besides, there was always the option of finding affordable accommodation nearby.

  “I’m happy with your offer,” she said to James. “I’ll take the job.”

  “Great, that’s really great! I knew you would not let me down, Annie. Thank you so much. You can start on Monday if that is not an issue for you.”

  And before long, Annie started working for James Bosman out of his office in Lancaster. She had been scared that it would be too difficult a task for her to manage all on her own and initially, this fear came in the way of her giving it all towards her work. James realized that she was not totally comfortable and gave Annie all the assistance that she could have possibly ever asked for over the first few weeks of her job.

  *****

  It did not take long for Annie to pick up what was required of her in the position of secretary. She was a smart young woman and soon she felt at home, dealing with the various phone calls, texts, and other forms of correspondence on behalf of her boss. James had expected her to be a quick learner but the rate at which she developed her grasp over every single matter left him completely bewildered. He was as amazed as he was impressed.

  Slowly, Annie started getting perks for doing a commendable job – or at least that was what she was made to believe. James would often ask her out for the evening after work was over, especially on Fridays on the pretext of having something important to discuss about work. There would be very little discussion pertaining to the “work”, but she never could stand up and say “no” because he was his boss after all!

  Once it happened that Annie made a casual remark about how she would love to stay closer to her office in Lancaster as it would cut down on her travel time a great deal. James listened to her and within a week, she had her own accommodation in one of the upscale neighborhoods in town that was not too far from the office. In spite of all her reluctance, Annie knew that it was a fruitless endeavor and that she would eventually have to give in to James and move to the new address.

  As for James, he was in love with the girl before he could even sit up and take notice of what was happening in life. De
ep down inside his heart, the little seeds of love had started to germinate. His feelings towards Annie grew with every passing day, but he was not able to come clear and express his feelings outright, out of fear that it would create a wrong impression in her mind. Besides, the two of them had known each other for only a few of months. So he kept on waiting for the right moment, and in the meantime, he did all he could to show his love and appreciation towards Annie.

  Annie too had started feeling a strong sense of attraction towards her employer, and that left her confused. Her mind and heart were in conflict, one asking her to dive deep and find love while the other wanted her to move ashore and away to safety.

  She had no idea what to do about him. Annie enjoyed being around James and from time to time she would feel like being held by him. But the thought of her commitment towards the church would stop the young woman from any step in the right direction. However, she started feeling a strong, driving force that was threatening to break apart her resistance. Annie felt terrified at this unknown force and would always pray that a resolution could be found this crisis.

  *****

  It was almost time to close out the financial year, and James had recorded nice profits in his business. He had always managed to record profits over the last few years so it was nothing special for him but still he wanted to make the moment a memorable one. So he asked Annie out for lunch under the guise that they were going to celebrate the good performance of the company.

  While they sat in a posh restaurant, James began the conversation to break the ice. “Annie, you have been working for me for quite some time now, but I still feel like I have not been able to know you at all. Why don’t you go ahead and tell me something about yourself, something that I have never heard before?”

  Annie lifted a spoonful of soup to her mouth, and then she stopped all of a sudden. “I’m not sure I understand what you are trying to say,” she said.