Strange Surprise

Leora PoV

"Tomorrow? Are you sure?"

"Hm," Cathy nodded.  "Mr. Declan said he would see you tomorrow afternoon, after he returned from his business trip. Moreover, recently many employees have been suffering from flu, even though work is piling up. We are short of nurses."

I feel moved.  This is the second day after I signed the divorce papers and officially became a widow, but Cathy was really trying to make me move on faster.

"I hope Mr. Declan will place you in the same clinic as me, not at the branch office."

I patted my forehead.  "Ah! How stupid of me!"

"Why?"  Cathy asked.  "You've forgotten how to treat patients because you've been playing house with that bastard Peter for so long?"

I frowned when I heard my friend's teasing.

"I left several books at home, they were in a suitcase on top of my cupboard. They were practical manuals for patient care, summaries of lots of important lecture material," I said glumly.

"Let's go and get those books. You can study a little more before starting work," said Cathy enthusiastically.  "I'll take you there."

I took a deep breath.  "Uh, I'm too lazy to go back to the house."

Cathy put her arm around my shoulders and squeezed gently.  "Don't worry. I'll beat them up if they dare bother you when you come."

"When? Tomorrow, after coming home from the interview with Mr. Declan?"

"Yes. I will ask permission to swap shifts with my friend later."

I intend to clean Chaty's house today, while she goes to work.  I don't have anything else to do until it's time for me to start working, who knows when.

I'm not a spender and even though I didn't work formally during my marriage to Peter, I still earned money by being a freelance writer writing health articles on several internet sites.

I processed the nursing knowledge I gained while studying and put it into written form, so that it became a source of income which, although not large, allowed me to save.

I once worked as a nurse in a private clinic, but the shift work schedule made it difficult for me and Peter to meet, even though we were just married, so finally Peter asked me to stop working.  Moreover, at that time Peter had started to get a position at the company where he worked.

Now, I have to sharpen my memory of the nursing knowledge that I learned in college, so that I can return to work and support myself.

I was just starting to take out the blankets and sheets to wash them in the big tub in the yard, when a shiny black Roll Royce stopped right in front of the fence.

A burly man, with sunglasses and a black suit, came out of the passenger door next to the driver.  He stood in front of the car and looked around carefully.

I don't like talking to strangers, but his car is parked right in front of the gate, so I think I need to reprimand him and tell him that this house is occupied  and he can't park his luxury car carelessly.

I turned off the tap that was flowing water into the tub, then approached the man in front of the fence.

"Good afternoon, sir, could you--"

The man took off his sunglasses and gave me a half-body bow.

"Ms. Leora Evani Jeremiah," said the man.  "I'm glad to finally be able to meet you in person."

What?

"W-who are you?"  I asked confused.  "Y-you know my name?"

"Of course, Ms. Leora," said the man with a friendly smile and his attitude remained polite.

I felt awkward because I didn't know him and didn't know why he was acting so polite as if I was his boss.

"But you're wrong," I said nervously.  "My name is just Leora Evani, there is no Jeremiah behind it."

The man smiled sweetly, then knocked gently on the glass window of the passenger door.

The door opened and a man came down and smiled at me.

He is very handsome, his body is tall and athletic, he has exotic tan skin and his appearance conveys the definition of the words expensive and luxurious in every object attached to his body.

I took a step back, when he waved at me.  "Hi, sister!"

I think I'm dealing with strange people and the hairs on the back of my neck are crawling.  Just as I decided to turn around to run home and call Cathy, the phone in my trouser pocket rang.

I took the object and hoped it was Cathy, but it turned out to be Marry Ann, my adoptive mother.

"Mom!"  I said quickly when I received the call.  "There are people--"

"Leo, honey, have you met your grandfather and twins?"  asked Marry in a loud, cheerful voice.

I stared at the phone in my hand, confused.  What is Marry talking about?  Did she make the wrong number?

"What... Uh, who? What do you mean?"  I was confused.

"Hm? How strange," said Marry.  "They should have arrived at Cathy's house by now to meet you. You're still at Cathy's house, right? She said you weren't going anywhere today."

"Mom, please, what are you talking about," I said, increasingly confused.

The man approached me and took the phone from my hand.  "May I?"

Without waiting for my answer, he spoke to Marry.  "Hello, Mrs. Marry, I just arrived and Leo looks very surprised."

"...."

"No, it's okay. I'll explain everything to her right away. Yes, okay, thank you, Mrs. Marry."

He turned off the phone and handed the flat object back to me.  I looked at him questioningly.

"Leo, can we talk now? Grandpa is waiting for us at home and he can't wait to meet you," said the man cheerfully.

My head is spinning and I feel dizzy.  Am I being pranked?  By whom?  Why?

"Who? Grandpa? I don't have a grandfather. I'm even an orphan!"  I said in an annoyed tone.  "Do you want to trick me? And how do you know my adoptive mother?"

"Oh, of course we know her," said the man lightly.  "She's our important informant. And of course you have a grandfather. You're an orphan, but you're not alone."

"Who is my grandfather?"  I asked weakly.

"Jeremiah Kent IX," said the man calmly.  "You must have heard his name."

I was flabbergasted.