Arrogant President Dotes on Me

presently. That's why I can't be with you now."

Before he could get angry, Andrea hastened to explain, "Baron, I've thought about this a lot today, and I hope that if one day we really can be together, I'll be good enough for you, able to help you. I hope we'll be equals, with mutual trust and support, not the way things are He furrowed his brow. "But I don't care about those things. As a man, I'm perfectly happy to provide for the woman I'm with."

"But I care!" she retorted. "I want feelings to be pure. Can you understand that?" She lifted her head, hoping he would see the resolution in her eyes. "For affection to be real, I hope it can be honest and simple, with no strings attached. You know?" "Go on," he said slowly. It was the first time he'd had the patience to restrain his temper and listen to what she had to say.

Andrea steadied herself, continued, "So I hope you can give me a little more time to become the person I want to become. Can't we discuss our future in the future? Whether it's continuing like this, or being truly together, I want those decisions to come later."

Once she'd finished, it took her a moment to realize that not once had she ever even mentioned marriage. As far as she was concerned, the distance between them was too great. No matter how you looked at it, whether it was social background or lifestyle, nothing about them two of them was suitable to discuss marriage.

For her to so much as think of it was her already getting ahead of herself.

Baron was silent a long time, before: "What sort of person do you want to become?"

"I want to at least be someone who, based on merit alone, can become one of the top designers in the world."

He replied, "All right, I understand. I'll give you three years. But during these three years, you've got to stay in the castle. Otherwise where will you go? Back to your family, to let them involve themselves in your life?"

Andrea didn't reply. What he said, unexpectedly, made sense.

"To be frank, you're not a three-year-old child anymore, Andrea. To get caught up in Hazel's schemes like this... What if one day my phone dies, or I don't answer your call? Or if I just don't go, what will you do? Just submit to them?" Thinking of yesterday's events, he became suddenly angry. Had he not gone, what would have happened to Andrea?

Andrea hung her head, thoroughly chastened. She knew she'd been quite foolish the day before. But to be taken to task like this by Baron... It was not just embarrassing, but nearly unbearable.

But Baron would not let her go because of things like that. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got, to the point where he turned her over bodily and smacked her on the bottom. "You've got to remember things better."

The sound of the smack, and the pain it caused, made her eyes snap wide open. Flushing, she scrambled to get away from him, saying, "Let me go, let me go!"

He spanked her again. "Don't move."

"Let me go," she demanded. "How dare you do this! How could you hit me?" She was embarrassed to even say the word ass, could only yell at him to release her. But Baron only smiled coldly, and spanked her again, so she yelped, "That is enough!" She was humiliated and angry, she wanted to get away.

At that moment, someone knocked on the door. "Master," came Abner's voice, "it's time for Miss Anderson's lunch."

Baron paused at the summons, and Andrea took the opportunity to scramble away from him, hurrying to open the door. "I'm here," she said quickly, "I'm here, I'm coming." Before she'd even finished speaking, she raced past Abner, and had disappeared from sight within seconds.

Much more slowly, and with a single look at Abner, Baron followed after her.

Abner remained rooted in place, shaken by the animosity in Baron's glance. He felt cold all over. He rubbed his arms, with were covered in gooseflesh. What had he done wrong? Should he not have knocked? Surely Baron wasn't quite so heartless? With these things in mind, he very carefully made his way to the living room, where he at once tried to monitor Baron's expression and guess what had happened between him and Andrea. If he could figure it out, perhaps he could get off the hook.

But Baron's expression had already turned stony, revealing not a trace of anything useful. As for Andrea, her face and ears were flushed, and she would look anywhere but at Baron. As far as Abner could tell, he had interrupted them while they'd been otherwise engaged. After lunch, Andrea remained in the living room watching a reality television show. Baron kept her company there a while, before instructing Abner to follow him to the library. Abner sent Andrea a pleading look, but she pretended not to notice. He'd never helped her when she'd needed it, so now that it was him in the hot seat, why should she step in?

When they got to the library, Abner decided his safest bet was to take immediate responsibility. "Sir, I apologize for interrupting you and Miss Anderson. I deeply regret my own imprudence." He hung his head, accepting his fate.

But a long moment passed, with not a word from Baron. When Abner dared to glance up, the normally sharp, cool Baron was staring off into the distance, looking lost and confused.

Abner gaped, and guessed, "Has something happened with Miss Anderson again?"

Baron shook his head. "No, not like before." He said nothing more.

Abner hesitated. "Then... what has happened?"

"Abner, you've been with me so many years. What sort of person do you think me to be?"

At once Abner replied, "Outstanding, quick-witted, calm, self-reliant, and with great vision."

Baron, listening to those descriptors, furrowed his brow. "Then do you think that if I were to have feelings for someone, feelings out of my control, should I let them go, or let them develop?"

Abner blinked. Of course he was referring to Andrea. He thought a while, before: "In this life, finding someone you really like is no easy thing. If you really like this person, you should pursue her. If you don't, you'll regret it. And as far as I can tell, Miss Anderson likes you too, so your chances of success are high."

"It's not her I'm talking about."

"Ah. Someone else, then."0000000