Chapter 5 Wrong Phone

(Sebastian’s POV)

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Miss West. Hmm.. I wondered if that woman was somehow related to Akira West.

The surname West was quite common. But I doubt they are related.

The information I read about Akira West in the folder Nigel had provided me was about someone who had outstanding achievement. A beauty with brains, Nigel said. Akira West’s academic background was impressive.

Unlike that woman who trespassed my rented apartment. Annoying tourists.

I did not want to waste any more of my precious time with that woman who had invaded my space at the apartment. Who did she think she was who dared to insult me!

I will deal with her later. Such women would need to learn a lesson to respect me.

I finally then arrived at the entrance of a modern looking multiple-story building in the heart of Amberose City. The driver had dropped me at the front of the lobby surrounded by glass floor to ceiling walls.

“Sebastian Strauss. I have an appointment at Bloom Legal” I could see the receptionist's eyes widen hearing me mentioning my name. For a moment she froze looking at me without blinking her eyes.

I got closer and said with gritted teeth, “Don’t waste my time. Get me a pass to go up or I’ll make sure you won’t have a job here very soon”

“Y-yes.. Yes, sir” with trembling hands she handed me a guest pass for me to go up to the tenth floor of the building called W Tower.

W that stood for William Strauss. My uncle. Of course, they knew who I was and I did not need to have an appointment to go up.

As I entered the lobby of Bloom Legal's branch office, I was impressed by the interior design of the place. It was indeed an eye opener.

Professional looking with modern furnishing. It was refreshing to see the soft color combination that was pleasing to the eyes. I did not expect much for a branch office. I wondered what the main office in Bloom City would look like.

“May I help you? Do you have an appointment with us? If you don’t, do follow me. I will assist you with making an appointment with our specialists. My name is Coco. Please, follow me.” Coco ushered me to follow her to a glass room and gestured for me to sit.

While still standing I asked her, “Miss Akira West. I need to see her. Tell her, Sebastian Strauss is here to see her. Now.”

Coco gasped and looked like she had seen a ghost. I did not realise I still instill fear on the people of Amberose City. I had left the city a long time ago and started a new life with my son in Emerald City. But somehow, I still fell connected to this city that I once called home.

“I apologise, Mr Strauss. Miss West is on leave today. She will be back in a couple of days. Would you like me to schedule a meeting with her?” Coco was tapping on her device to check on Akira West’s time.

“Soonest possible. This is urgent.” The urgency came from me wanting to end this misery and get back to my son. “Very urgent.”

As I waited for Coco to check on Akira West’s time, I walked around the waiting room and saw a stack of magazines neatly placed on the table. One of the magazines got my attention.

I squinted my eyes to see a picture of a woman on its cover. She surely looked familiar.

As I looked closer, I sighed. That lost tourist that invaded my space in the apartment did not lie. She was a lawyer as she claimed. The tagline was, “Blooming West, Your Partner for Success”

“Who is that?” Perhaps, that annoying woman this morning was somehow related to Akira West. I guess I had to be nice to that crazy woman when I saw her later at the apartment. I would buy her the whole rustic apartment if she could get me Akira West to defend our case.

“Oh, you don’t know her? Well, that’s Akira West. She just made it as a partner of the Firm. An inspiration to us all.” Coco then continued talking but I did not hear at all what she said. My mind went on a spiral trying to connect the dots on what happened that morning and at that point I realised what a fool I was.

That tourist was Akira West? No freaking way!

“How about Wednesday morning?” Coco placed a form on the table for me to fill up. I ignored her as my eyes were glued on the magazine. I needed to find a way to clear this mess.

Then, my phone rang,

Looking at the locked screen, I realised I had mistakenly switched my phone with Akira. “F*ck”

A screen appeared to show the name of the caller. I looked closer and whispered to myself, “Strange.”

Why did my retired housekeeper’s name appear on Akira’s phone?

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*****

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(Akira’s POV)

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Wearing a hat covering my hair and large sunglasses covering my eyes, I walked while checking on my phone.

Strange that the password I entered was not correct. I tried again and again.

It was then I realised, I had mistakenly taken that man’s phone. Damn it!

And, I was already a little late to meet the woman who last saw my son.

While walking, his phone rang. I planned to ignore the call but it kept coming and seemed not to stop.

The caller ID was named “Sammy” with a picture of a man’s back holding a smiling boy. It got my attention as the boy had eyes just like mine.

One blue. One green.

‘Is he, his son?’ I wondered. The cute little boy shown on the screen pretty much did look like him.

I stopped my tracks and answered the call from Sammy. While standing at the roadside, I looked around in hope no one was following me.

“Daddy, why did you not answer my calls? Where are you? Are you coming home?” The boy had a cute little voice and seemed concerned about the man that had ruined my morning.

“Umpphh, hello. Are you looking for your father? He is not here right now.” I bit my lips not knowing what to say next. I should not have answered the call in the first place. But my heart felt otherwise when I heard his childish voice.

“Yes. Who are you? Where is my Daddy?” he asked politely. “You don’t sound like Suzanne, or Kimberly, or Rory, or Michelle”

Wow! Did not know that man had many women in his life. And he even kept it not a secret with his son. I wondered who Sebastian’s generous wife was.

“We exchanged phones by mistake. I will return his phone once I see him, Okay. I will tell him you called.” I could hear the boy sighed sadly on the other end. Kind of broke my heart hearing that. That man and his son must have been close with each other.

“You can inform your Mommy that I will get him to call her too.”

“I have no Mommy.” Then I could hear him sobbing a little. “My Mommy doesn't want me.”

His voice was full of sadness, which made my heart clench. “Oh, Umpphh. I’m sorry to hear that. But I’m sure your Mommy loves you.”

Wait! Why the hell did I say that?!

I did not know what got into me to be so emotional all of a sudden. Though I really wanted to say more to comfort this little boy but it had to stop.

I had a mission to fulfill today. I needed to meet Rosie Javier and find my own son.

“I have to go, Sammy. That is your name, right? Everything is going to be fine. You take care now.” I tried to end the call but somehow, I wanted to hear his sweet voice again.

“My name is Samuel. What is your name?” He asked, not sounding like he wanted to end the call. I looked at my watch and decided to continue walking while I continued with our little chat.

“Akira. Where are you right now, Samuel?” I did not know why I bothered asking that. It just came to my mind to ask for no specific reason.

“I’m in Emerald City.” Then, there was a pause. “Uh-Oh”

“Samuel? Are you still there?” I wondered what I said wrong that got him to stop talking to me.

“I need to go. My Daddy said I should not talk to strangers. Bye.” He ended the call before I could say goodbye.

Inexplicably I felt a sense of loss, as if some of my precious time was slipping away from me.

I tried hard to catch that vague clue but pulled myself back from my mind when I raised my head.

The house where Rosie Javier lived was right before my eyes.

After all these years, I'm finally being able to find my boy.