Chapter 7

It was the longest she had even taken walking from the east wing of the Woodley mansion to the north which was where George's office and bedroom were. The other three wings were divided among the sons with a common dining and living rooms at the center. The aerial view of the mansion looked like some sort of a cross. Each wing had a minimum of five bedrooms, one master with its own bathroom and a walk in wardrobe, a kitchen and a living room of its own. The other thing they shared was the gym room, library and music room.

She stood in silence behind that well varnished mahogany door for a minute, took a deep breath and went for the Knock but she couldn't. Elsie retracted her hand. She had only heard the stories about how bad a summon from George could be and she was moments away from having her first experience of it.

"Ready when you are Elsie!" George said.

A blood curdling shock hit through her entire body. She had no idea he could see him from inside.

"You can see me from in here?" Elsie asked getting in. Her opening remarks were meant to lighten up the mood a little although he didn't look like he was angry. That was a good sign.

"There is a camera above the door, it’s a secret none of the others know. Please seat" he showed her a seat.

"Thank you for trusting me with your secret it won't leave this room"

"I know, so how are you?"

Either the rumors were an overstatement or George as going easy on her you know for being new and probably because he didn't want to scare her away.

"Am fine sir..."

"It's George or something else apart from sir just drop the formality you're a Woodley now"

"Am fine dad, am also...."

"Just answer the question, learn to answer the question don't create answers to your own questions. Okay?"

"Okay"

George took a long pause going through one papers. His gel drained black hair with shades of grey in it was well combed backwards, dressed in a V-neck T-shirt, a pair of eye glasses hanging loose on his nose bridge. Elsie was looking around at the pictures of an entire generation of Woodley’s hanging on the wall, the last one was Lewis. She was also playing with her fingers and holding her breathe at the same time. Her lungs were starting to ache.

"I have a request to make" he said.

She exhaled slowly through her nose.

"Anything you want me to do" she said fidgeting.

"Good, I understand you're an accountant by profession?"

"Yes"

"Any experience?"

"Been doing accounts since college, I can bring you my CV and papers if you allow me to" Elsie said, she was really hoping for some fresh air despite the AC in the room she felt hot. What was George up to?

"Take two minutes" he said showing her the door still going through the papers.

When she got outside Elsie inhaled slowly her arms spread, her eyes closed. That had been the longest five minutes she had been through.

"Ooh shit!" She realized the camera on the door and the countdown. She had already killed forty five seconds.

She dashed from the north wing walking briskly through the well-lit red carpeted hallways. The maids were paving way for her, everyone in the manor knew how much trouble she was into. The break was very important, she wanted an update on Tom and Lewis. What were they talking about? Had he sold her out already? To her surprise, the room was clean and empty. Fear set in. She did not want to delay George so she went to the drawer and grabbed her documents from a blue folder and left the room.

"Here" she handed him the files.

"I want you to join the family business as an auditor, there has been some few discrepancies here and there" he said flipping through the pages of the file, "your office will be ready by Wednesday next week" he put the file on his desk then making a triangle with his hands he leaned back and swung on his long black C-suite leather seat.

"Thank you sir. Can I raise a concern?"

"Yes go on"

"I might have to talk to Lewis about this, he is my husband you know he has a say in this too"

"You can talk to him and give me the feedback" he said succinctly.

It was time she made that choice. To come clean or just leave and assume the summon was job related.

"You can go that's all" George said.

"I have a confession to make"

That came out quicker than she expected because now George had his attention on her.

"Go on"

She cleared her throat. It easy if she got it off her chest on her own accord and get the George Woodley sermon experience after all, choices have consequences.

"Yesterday night I might have went overboard and presented myself in a way that embarrassed this family. I wish I could delete those events but sadly I can't, all I can do is promise it won't happen again and that next time I'll be careful when carrying myself out in public like you said, am not just another person associated with this family. Am a Woodley now"

The great George Woodley exhaled sharply and did something Elsie didn't see coming. He got on his feet and clapped for her. It was a standing ovation from a man she considered a legend.

"The fact that you did that without being coerced just shows how brave you are and how right I was about you"

"Well, it wasn't easy but thank you I have to take responsibility for my actions"

"I bet they told you my summons don't end so well for any of them"

"Yes, how did you know that?"

"Am not deaf besides, all this employees are loyal to me" he said confidently.

That statement sent a cold shiver down her spine. All she could think about was Tom. Even if he managed to go past Lewis there was a stumbling block in the name of George.

"Okay"

"But again that's between you and me, you're forgiven. We all make mistakes what matters is we learn from them. Am sure you've picked a lesson or two from you wrong choices yesterday"

"I have"

"Good, then remember to act so beat up, they need to fear me"

"Another secret?"

"Yeah, this one is very important Elsie"

"Okay, they will pity me. Trust me I can act"

"Give a performance worth an Oscar"

Elsie walked out of that office with her shoulders drooped. They all expected it. George was cool but when he chose to be he could feast on anyone's confidence and leave them feeling like their birth was a mistake. She gave them that feeling but what was she feeling? Scared. Confident but really scared.

****

When Lewis asked Tom to remain behind he wanted some help with cleaning his room. It was not his intention to ask some questions about the previous night until he saw the look of worry in his wife's eyes. That raised some suspicion. So after cleaning he asked Tom to accompany him to the lake. They went fishing on the boat.

For close to twenty minutes they had been fishing Lewis really said nothing and he caught nothing that's due to the fact that most of the time he was typing on his phone, smiling and taking photos.

Tom got bored. And it's a good thing he was confident. That black suit, white shirt. Black shoes were, matching black tie were hiding a man who knew what he wanted and how to get it.

"Sir Can I ask a question?"

"Go on Tom"

"Why did you ask me out here, I feel like you wanted to say something I'd appreciate it if we just got over this I haven't had a change of clothes"

"You forget who you're talking to Tom?" Agitated Lewis asked keeping his phone away.

The fact was that Lewis loved his wife. He just didn't know how to love her without hurting her. Yes that was the truth. He had guilt, kissing her lips when he had kissed another woman somewhere. He cherished and worshipped her, she was special. If he let her go there was no chance he was going to have her again.

"Am sorry sir"

"I might forgive you if you tell me the truth, besides your job depends on it"

The threat came out clear. Tom was starting to doubt if he could hold his end of the bargain they had with Elsie.

"Am listening"

"Why did she look at you like that, what is she hiding?"

In his mind he was hoping it was not another man. That feeling alone was threatening to burst his head. It had been long before they had sex but that was him trying to preserve her dignity without telling her. And he would have killed anyone else who tried to have her under the sheets. To him sex with Elsie was spectacular, heavenly, spine wrecking ecstasy that could only be compared to a million tiny baby fingers kniding his body, it was not just sex. It was making love and she was the only girl with whom he enjoyed every minute of it. From thinking about it to foreplay and climax.

"It's actually embarrassing sir she can tell you herself"

"Come on Tom we are buddies" Lewis said embracing him in an awkward way but the message was sent.

FYI, they were not buddies. Lewis had no buddies with less than a million dollars in their accounts.

"If you insist sir, I love my job so much, you have to promise me I will still have it if I tell you and two you won't tell her"

"You have my word buddy"

He hated how much Lewis was trying to show they were friends when they were not. That marriage of convenience thing did not go well with him.

"Okay, she was drunk yesterday when we got out of the club. You know she was angry at..."

"Get to the point dude I don't have all day" Lewis interrupted out of curiosity.

Used to getting everything with a snap of a finger, Tom was not making it easy for him by withholding the important part. Her secret.

"Okay she tried to kiss me...she actually kissed me when I carried her to their room"

Okay. What was he thinking?

"What? And you just stood there?" Lewis blew up throwing away the fishing rod and their basket full of fish most of which it was Tom who captured, reminds me of capture recapture method of whatever it was in biology.

"It just happ..."

Before he finished Lewis punched him in the face so hard that he fell off the boat and plunged in the water. As if he didn't do anything wrong Lewis went ahead to drive the boat to the shore leaving one of his employees in the middle of their artificial lake trying to stay afloat and hope that the crocodiles and snakes were still asleep.

In all likelihood you either hate or get annoyed by Lewis and how inconsiderate he could be but if it makes you happy, he was kind enough to leave him a life jacket some fifty Meters away. That was humane right?

"Next time she tries to kiss you run Tom, because I'll shoot you in the head!" Lewis screamed leaving the boat running at the shore.

Thank God Tom was more than a driver. He was a good swimmer but he pretended to be drowning on his way to the life jacket just to make Lewis happy. Tom had kept his word, Elsie was off the hook Lewis-wise. But lest we forget secrets are like pregnancy, it doesn't appreciate being kept a secret. They come out eventually, till then. She was going to hope they don't. And Tom would later earn her respect and be forever in her debt.