Chapter Three: His Savior

Richard stood a distance away from the men that were sprawled out on the hard floor, clutching their stomachs and writhing in agony.

He had a nonchalant look on his face as he couldn’t care less about the men that he had just beaten up.

He bent his knuckles and began to crack them in quick succession. In less than a minute, the big, black gate of the building was flung open and a tall , lean man walked with brisk steps out of the building.

There were two uniformed men on both sides and both men clutched their weapons firmly to themselves.

Richard smiled inwardly as he watched the man that walked out from the inside of the mansion.

As someone who was good at reading people, he didn’t even need his master’s picture to know this was the master of the house.

He had finally met his saviour again, he thought to himself.

He stared at the man in a brown suit in front of him as he connected it to the picture his master had given him. Not to mention that he had been a little young then, he had been unconscious when he had been saved by the man.

At the moment, he knew that this was no longer some man that had been working in the mountains. This was someone that had shed every bit of poverty just like he had.

He knew the authority that Rodriquez covered as the CEO of several companies.

The first thing that struck him about Mr. Rodriquez was how much weight he had added over the years. Compared to the picture he had seen, this man here was a lot bigger.

The frown on the boss’s face deepened. His eyes fell on his men that were still on the floor and he assessed the young, unknown stranger who now had his stand as though he was less concerned about the situation of the men in the house.

“Hello, Mr. Rodriquez”. Richard said in a calm tone, extending an open palm to the other man.

The boss grabbed his palm and held it In a firm handshake and a look of recognition suddenly flashed through his beady black eyes.

Richard? “ The older man called with a slightly raised voice.

Richard nodded his time, the uniformed men had all jumped to their feet and were now throwing side-long glances at each other. They observed how interested their boss was during the conversation he was having with the rude stranger.

“Have you been outside for long? How do you know this place?” He asked all at once.

“I heard some loud noise while I was inside the house. What caused the scuffle?” The man asked as he looked over his shoulder to have a good view of his staff

“It was an entirely small issue and also, it wasn’t much of a scuffle” Richard quickly interjected.

Mr Rodriguez nodded in understanding and even though he felt like there would certainly be more, he felt it was a matter that he could simply ask his staff later.

With that thought, he turned around on his heels and signaled that Richard should follow him into the building.

Richard immediately went after him as he set his lips in a tight purse, totally ignoring the surprised security men that still stood outside the gate.

When Richard got into the building, he winced at the obvious display of wealth. If the outside had been anything short of luxurious, the inside design was a blatant display of wealth and Richard felt like Mr Rodriguez’s taste was a little tacky.

However, he hid any thoughts or opinions he had, while putting on an expression of someone that was shocked by all the display of wealth. For him, all he was here for was simple.

Repay a debt of saving his life.

“Come in!” Mr. Rodriguez thundered as he gestured wildly. He was glad to see how impressed the young man was.

Richard remained quiet and he sat on one of the couches that were beside a wide, open window.

“How have you been?” Mr. Rodriguez asked in a stern voice. His both hands were busy as he tried to light a thick pipe that he held in his hands. For someone like him that had struggled from the bottom to the top, he had an idea how difficult it was.

One didn’t just have to be lucky, one also had to be unscrupulous in their ways to make it up there and judging by the clothes Richard was wearing, it wasn’t hard to guess that he had not been as lucky as he was.

Richard sensed the disregard in his tone but he overlooked it.

“I’ve been fairly well”

The man cigarettes between his lips and ran his eyes over the well-muscled man that sat a few distances from him.

The young man had greatly changed. From a slim, scrawny teenager, he had grown into an attractive young man who clearly didn’t find joy in interacting much.

It was quite easy to understand, if he grew up in the mountains like he guessed then it would be difficult for him to socialize like normal men his age.

“Did you grow up with your master in the mountains?” He asked just for more clarity and had to restrain himself from sneering when Richard nodded his head positively.

He puffed some smoke into the air and shut his eyes. When he opened them some minutes later, he met Richard’s stare.

It was hard and cold.

The corner of his lips turned up in a sly grin as he looked at the quiet young man.

“What brought you to my home?” James Rodriguez asked after taking some more drags of his cigarette.

As much as he liked how well he had grown and even his build, he felt like he had already helped him once, Richard coming to him for help again felt unpleasant to him.

“Master said you needed help.” Richard started his eyes trained on James as if he wanted to make sure he didn’t miss any expression on his face.

“I need help?” James asked with a scoff while his face bore a ridiculous expression while giving Richard one look over again.

“He said things have been tensein the capital and you would need extra protection up until things return to normal.” Richard explained further before James' eyes widened with understanding.

Truly, things had been slightly difficult recently had he had even thought of contacting an agency for reinforcements. Thinking back to how Richard seemed to have taken down all his guards, he nodded his head in approval.

“So you are here to get a job as a bodyguard?”

Richard nodded firmly, “Yes, I want to work for you as a bodyguard” To Richard, this was the best way he knew to repay the favor that his saviour had done several years before.

Although the task to protect himself had long shifted from himself, he was also very good with self defense, after all, his master was the most particular about physical fitness and strength.

“Actually” Mr Rodriguez began as he hit the butt of the cigarette in the ashtray that was beside him.

“I want a personal security personnel for my daughter”

Richard remained quiet as he listened to the older man with rapt attention.

“It’ll be quite a hectic task because my daughter has her own share of excesses. You would have to be very patient with her. There’s an emphasis on 'patient' because she knows how to switch up her mood sometimes”

Richard nodded. “I understand you perfectly”

The older man pushed himself up and stood. Then, he walked over to a small wine bar that was made of glass.

It was hung on the wall at the corner of the large living room.

He opened up its cabinet and took out a bottle of white wine

He looked over his shoulder at the man that was seated on the couch.

“You drink wine, don’t you ?” He asked with a playful tone

Richard nodded “I do. Sir”

The older man poured out two glasses of wine and set both of them in a small fancy tray.

He walked to Richard and offered him a glass.

When he had finally settled down in his seat again, cradling the glass of cold wine, all he had on his mind was Richard.

He thought of how hard it must have been to come from a small settlement among the hills and how he had not been able to socialize with people except the old master that lived with him.

He shook his head slowly, “Do you understand what I mean when I say that I want you to take control of my daughter’s safety? You’ll be expected to be around her at all times.”

Richard sipped his wine for a while, then he set the long glass on the table beside him.

“Of course Sir” He replied.

“I’ll tell you about one of my business partners. He’s not half as rich as I am” Mr. Rodriguez said in a loud, cocky voice “This man has a young daughter who is roughly my daughter’s age. She was kidnapped a few weeks ago and her father had to pay a heavy ransom to get her back unscathed. It was a very terrifying experience for the entire family. I wouldn’t want to imagine myself in such a situation.” He said thoughtfully as he chewed on his lower lips.

Then, he continued talking “The grave possibility of this mishap happening to me is very high because my daughter, you’ll meet her soon, is a known social butterfly. She always wants to appear in every scene. This, as you would rightly assume, puts her safety at stake. “ He paused for a moment while he used that pause to scrutinize Richard’s expression. Satisfied with what he saw, he smiled in satisfaction.

“ Richard, Do you see the need for her to be protected at all costs? She’s my heiress and I have made her a part of most of my legal documents. I need you to guarantee that her safety is assured and I wouldn’t have to bother about her falling into the wrong hands because of your presence in her life. Can you give me that assurance?”

“Absolutely, Sir” Richard echoed in a raised voice. “You can now set your mind at ease. I would perfectly and carefully carry out my responsibilities of securing your daughter”

The older man grinned. He was more than willing to pay Richard any amount as long as he did what was expected from him.

Richard understood the situation. He had listened in silent consideration as his saviour spoke about his desire to have his daughter protected.

As someone that he would probably hand over the life of his daughter to, James engaged Richard in a lengthy conversation that ranged from the things he had learnt to the things he wanted.

It was only when he was satisfied with all his answers that he loosened up a little.

On the other hand, Richard didn’t mind all the questioning, since he was here to repay some debt, he would just focus on it and move on. If being a bodyguard was all that was required of him, then he would gladly do it as a way of paying back the invaluable favor that his saviour had done for him.

“Sir?” He called, clearing his throat gently.

“I would want to know. How old is your daughter?”

“Oh, Elise? She’s 19. She just got admitted into a university and she’s hasn’t been able to keep quiet about it.

“It’s nothing, really. I was only wondering if she’s something in my age bracket. Still, that doesn’t influence the way I would attend to my duties, Sir.”

“That’s alright!” Mr. Rodriguez exclaimed. “Can you name your price? How much do you want to be paid for the job?”

Richard chuckled quietly to himself “No, Sir. I think you’ve gotten it all wrong. I’m not here for the money”

“Hold on, are you saying that you don’t want to get paid for the job?”

Richard nodded. “My only intentions are to carry out my duties of seeing to the safety of your daughter, Sir. I don’t want to get paid for this, Sir”

The man looked at him with a sneer on his lips. He had totally assumed that Richard was one of those young jobless men that were so desperate to get jobs and would not stop to consider how strenuous it could be.

It genuinely surprised him that Richard had a different motive. He had travelled all the way from the settlement which was thousands of miles away, down to his mansion only to work for free.

After a long minute of deliberation, Mr. Rodriguez flashed an impressed smile at the young man that sat across the room.

The night was cold and uneventful for Richard as he slept in the boy’s quarters of the mansion.

The row of apartments was even better than an average home.

There were well-furnished rooms that had almost all types of home appliances stocked in them.

Mr. Rodriguez asked one of the numerous female staff of the mansion to take him to a vacant room in the boy’s quarters.

As soon as the door was shut, Richard went over to the large, king-sized bed and fell on it and his face scrunched up a little when he felt the vast difference between his bed and this bed here.

Although it would take his time away from his company and all, Richard felt like it was an exciting prospect for him. He had not yet met the heiress; that is, the only child of Mr. Rodriguez but he had seen a large framed picture of the young lady hung in the spacious living room.

He didn’t stop to stare as he walked past it earlier. One thing struck him about the young lady, she was incredibly beautiful and had bright red hair that fell all over her shoulders in a thick mane.

He pulled out his phone to check his messages and went into the attached bathroom that was next door to have a quick nightly shower.

When he had returned, he met a bowl full of food covered on the dressing table of the room.

He ate the dinner that could hardly be considered passable for his taste bud and retired to bed in no time.