I can’t keep myself in check after Brenda left and the servants checked on my foot. I want nothing more than to leave this house. My mental health is at stake, I need to escape. And this is the moment where I should be pacing up and down the room to relieve my pent-up frustration but instead, I’m sitting on the bed biting my lower lips as a result of my swollen ankle. Thankfully I didn’t twist my ankle like I was expecting. It was only a strain on the nerves that should be fine after ice therapy, rest and compression. A thought drops in my heart. I remember I have a best friend and feel an urgent need to contact her before I lose the last shred of my resolve. She is usually busy, so I decide to leave her a text. “Heh, Tessa! Do you have time to spare tomorrow? Can we meet?” To my utter surprise, she texts back two minutes later. “I’m here for you, Babe. We can do brunch tomorrow. Where do you want us to meet? Hope everything is fine at your end?” Her quick respo
I gulp down an entire glass of juice without stopping to take a breath. It’s my third glass by the way and when I’m done, I find myself gasping for air.For real, how can I not recognize my one-night-stand partner????“Chris has been living abroad for several years. He recently came back to take over our uncle’s company, Transcorp…”I grab a napkin and wipe the corner of my lips as Tessa goes on talking about her cousin with pride glittering in her eyes. The last thing I want to do is to sit here and listen to chats that would raise my blood pressure but unfortunately for me, I don’t have much of a choice.“Emily, you don’t need to wait until you get a response from the company you are seeking employment from,” Tessa says with an encouraging smile. “I will introduce you to my cousin and have him secure a position in Transcorp for you.”Now that I think of it, having a one-night stand is not the only gist I skipped telling Tessa. I omitted the fact that Transcorp was the company I
SUNDAY.7 AM. Dear Emily,I hope this message finds you well. On behalf of TRANSCORP, I am thrilled to extend you the offer for the position of Executive Personal Assistant to the CEO. Your skills and experiences stood out to us during the interview, and we are excited about the prospect of you joining us.Here are the details of your offer.…Welcome to TRANSCORP!Warm Regards,I am livid with excitement as I stare at the mail I just received from the HR department of Transcorp. It feels surreal that I was offered the position sixteen of us interviewed for, but I am even more elated that Barbara Collins didn’t smell the position like the way she bragged about getting it.Let’s see who will be stomping on whose face now!I go through the content of my employment letter once again. I am to resume work tomorrow. The perks I will be receiving are not in detail, but I see health insurance and a jaw-dropping starting amount of $30,000 that I will be making monthly! A gasp esca
Grandpa turns his attention back to me and the lines at the corner of his eyes become more pronounced.Unlike Uncle Austin, the looks he shifted to me is kinder.“Come see me in my study after dinner. There is an important conversation we need to have,” Grandpa says to me and picks up his cutlery again. But I’m done with the food and ready to leave.I release a deep sigh and feel Tessa lean in close. “I don’t think you will be able to leave tonight after all.”I get what she is saying. It’s past 7 PM and we are still on dinner, and by the time I finish my meeting with Grandpa, the clock will be hitting 9 PM.“Who says I can’t leave even at midnight?” I reply to Tessa.She shrugs and leans away. Then with something like a proud smile, she says softly, “I almost forgot who you are. You are Christopher Moore. You get whatever you want.” Then she forks a piece of beef into her mouth and chews it slowly with her gaze still on me.I don’t agree with Tessa on this. While it looks like
8 AM, Monday.Emily’s POV.Happiness is when you realize you are finally stepping foot into TRANSCORP as a staff and not a hopeful job-seeking candidate. The joy feels different.I might not have everything I want right now, but I can feel that TRANSCORP is my breakthrough point. As soon as I step out of the elevator, I see Stella standing in front of the receptionist's desk with her protruding belly. She smiles at me and I quickly make my way towards her.“Good morning, Stella.” “Congratulations, Emily and welcome to Transcorp,” she shakes my hand and turns to face the young man and woman behind the desk who stands to their feet. She introduces me to them.“Emily, meet… They are the CEO’s secretaries…” I give a small nod of my head in greeting while taking care not to smile too much. I can’t be found giving away that I’m desperate about my new job otherwise they might have something to worry about.Stella works me into my job description and introduces me to the rest of
I wasn’t expecting Christopher to reach his hand out for a handshake but instinctively, I accepted it and got reminded of the streak of warmth his hand was capable of leaving just like that passionate night.I watch as he walks past me and rounds his desk to sit behind it. As soon as he sees the cup of espresso sitting on his desk, he picks it up and takes a sip before putting it back on the saucer.Fixing his gaze on Stella, he asks, “Stella, what’s my schedule for today?” Immediately, she makes quick swipes on the tablet screen in her arm before reading out his itinerary for the day.“You have a meeting with the Board of Directors by 10 AM. Your visit to the car factory is scheduled for 1 PM. And that’s all for today.”Christopher rubs his stubble with his index finger and doesn’t take his eyes off her. He seemed to be lost in thought for a moment as silence ensued. The next moment, he makes an adjustment to his schedule.“Move the trip for the factory to 3 PM and make a re
Shortly after arriving at Green Gardens and sitting around our reserved table, I learn that Christopher prefers and frequents it for personal meetings. It was no wonder he met with his home interior decorator the other day.The waiters put each menu in front of us and I’m the last to pick mine. Unlike Christian who orders more proteins, because he is probably trying to build more muscles, Stella orders a big bowl of salad, fruits, tomato sauce pasta, smoked salmon and water. I doubt I will have any space left on the table for my order.Stella seems more relaxed and I don’t know if it’s because she is too pregnant to care. Whichever one it is, I bury my head in the menu and mind my business.“Emily,” Christopher suddenly calls for me. “Have you learned from Stella how to make reservations and get a table for me even when there is none available?”I almost think he is joking with me but when I see one or two lines on his forehead, I clear my throat and quickly answer him, “I’m sti
The Heavens must be smiling at me because I can’t seem to stop thinking about ‘my car’ even as my cab pulls up outside my gated house.But my joy is short-lived when I run into Brenda at the door. Immediately, the smile on my face completely disappears. I wonder which of her stupid tricks she thinks she can succeed with today.Brenda is all glamoured up with a look of excitement on her face and she smells like rose oil. She must have used an entire bottle for a bath. “Where have you been all day dressed like that?” She asks as her eyes roam about me. “Have you been job-hunting?”I put one hand on my waist and peer at her with slightly furrowed brows. “Do I need to start reporting my activities to you now?” “I was just trying to help,” she shrugs.‘Trying to help???’ I scoff and almost roll my eyes at her. “Will you get out of my way or would you prefer that I push you away for real this time?” I’m not joking when I say that. If she can accuse me of something I didn’t do and
Christopher.Tessa and I walked Emily to her designated bedroom.Along the corridors, Tessa mentioned spending the night with Emily so she wouldn’t feel lonely in any environment.“Chris, I know you would want to spend a little time with Emily. And on this note, bribe me,” Tessa said, looking back.“What do you want?” I asked, hiding the smile threatening to spring up from my lips.“Treat my Emily well,” she said before turning her gaze ahead.I felt that she had wasted the opportunity. Treating Emily well wasn’t even a question. It is something I have already decided to do.“How is Emily yours?” I asked, deciding to get to the bottom of it.“Because she is my best friend, even till the end.” I didn’t doubt that.We got to the room Emily would be residing in. Tessa opened the door and let us in. I shut the door and followed.My gaze took in every piece of furniture in the room. The room was very comfortable. It was one of the best guest rooms. Emily was worried when she d
Christopher.I was happy to see Emily’s parents finally leaving, especially after her mother spoke foolishly. Fortunately, Tessa was present. She took care of the situation the best way it could have been.Outside the house, in the midst of the last minute cheerful chattering, Emily’s mother discreetly called her aside. She had something to say to her.I was walking behind them hence I was able to hear her words clearly. Her tone wasn’t kind. Typical Mrs. Wilson.She didn’t give Emily a chance before to register her statement before grabbing her wrist and pulling her away.I stopped in my steps, slowly taking my hands out of my pants’ front pockets, a subtle frown probably on my face already.I was curious as to what ridiculous last minute pep-talk or instruction Emily’s mother remembered to share with her.I stood at the spot, my gaze following both women as they stopped thirty steps away from the others. Since they backed the rest of us, I couldn’t see their facial expres
Tessa.“You don’t know me.” Brenda shook her head. “You don’t know me at all. You belittle me.” I didn’t care to find out what she meant by that. I simply ignored her and watched from the corner of my eyes as she sat down on one of the couches.Finally, I crossed my leg over the other and met her heated gaze.Soon, we will know if I overhyped or belittled her.A few minutes passed and I was up on my feet again. “We are heading back into the house. It’s time for Dinner,” I announced.Brenda glared at me while standing on my feet. But she had no choice but to follow me.We were right on time for dinner. Everyone had moved to the dining table and were seated when we arrived.Emily’s mother, Mrs. Wilson as I preferred to call her because I didn’t like associating her with my best friend, grinned as soon as she saw us walk in.“Brenda, how was the tour?” she inquired, already trying to help Brenda pull out a chair beside her at the table.I didn’t care if Brenda was going to l
Tessa.I couldn’t believe that Brenda would dare try to follow after Emily and Chris without shame.Did every explanation I gave to her dumb adoptive mother who didn’t know how to read the room, escape her ears? Brenda stopped in her steps and turned to look at me before shifting her gaze to the right path and glancing back to me.“Isn’t that the way out?” She asked, pointing towards that direction.A scoff escaped my lips as I took a few steps forward closing the gap between us.‘God, please keep me sane enough to handle this lady with patience until the very end,’ I prayed silently in my head.Brenda will make you lose your calm and your years of dedicated home training within minutes.“Brenda, be careful not to get on my nerves. Unlike my best friend Emily, there is nothing on the path, stopping me from dealing with you,” I warned, trying to keep my voice down.Brenda furrowed her brows, pretending to be confused by my reaction, as if I had just flared up out of the blues
Emily.“You know, sometimes, I wonder what you saw in me,” I said to Christopher as we suddenly stood at a spot, staring into each other’s eyes. But in the end, I had to look away. I couldn’t hold his gaze for long. “What is there not to see in you? So you need me to spell them out to you?” Christopher asked me.I caught his amused gaze from the corner of my eyes and quickly shook my head. I don’t need to hear him telling me all those sugary-coated words. Even if he meant them. “You don’t need to. I think I already get them. And your stare says a lot,” I said, meeting his gaze briefly before swinging his arm, gesturing for us to continue the walk.And when I thought that he was going to lead me into the driveway properly, he lead me to take a turn by our left and it immediately, it occured to me that he might just be taking me towards the backyard. “Emily, tell me what my stare says?” Christopher probed, tilting his head to the side.A sheepish smile lightly masked my face
Emily.It is with so much relief on my heart that Christopher and I are walking right next to each other without any other human to interfere.Tessa is my best girl. She read the situation and then proceeded to an act. Mum almost ruined it though by trying to make Brenda follow us.I don’t know what she was thinking when she brought up that idea. I bet she didn’t know she looked empty in front of the Moore family for what she did.If I wasn’t so sure that Mum would never want to jeopardize her bidding relationship with the Moore family, I would have thought she was thinking of making Christopher interested in Brenda. I hope I’m not wrong.Because, I haven’t forgotten the fact that Mum was going to help Brenda marry Christopher instead after Brenda found out Christopher’s identity and cried to her that she wanted him.To think Mum had been foolish to even consider her request and even proceed to act on it.Today made me realize that there was probably nothing Mum could not do fo
Tessa.Mrs. Wilson being unable to read the ruin angered me in ways I didn’t know was possible.Even that fool naked Brenda pretended to be oblivious to the situation and sat there next to her mother, fluttering her lashes innocently; like she was some pitiful unloved lady ostracized by her family. If I didn’t know what Brenda was like, I would have fallen for her stunt but thankfully, I would never be deceived by her. But my family was different.They don’t know Brenda is a white lotus and a green tea bitch.And although I would like to expose that witch right in front of them, now wasn’t the time as it could ruin things for Emily. Besides, I can still deal with Brenda on my own.She doesn’t know whose lands she is stepping on.The awkward silence stretched enough to erupt Chris’s anger. He wasn’t a fan of Brenda, thanks to the true stories I told him about how Emily used to be bullied by her, and her mother.But before things could get out of hand; like Chris displaying an
Tessa. Grandpa’s talks were getting boring. From taking about the wedding, he shifted focus to business, engaging Emily’s dad in the conversation.Mr. Wilson’s eyes was full of smiles as he immediately connected to the conversation. After all, the business deal was the reason for his happiness, not his daughter’s marriage. I rolled my eyes inwardly as the silence on my part stretched. And that was when my gaze fell on my cousin, Chris. He was looking my way but I could bet it wasn’t me he was staring at.There was someone he had come to adore who was sitting next to me.From the corner of my eyes, I caught Emily looking back at Chris. And instantly, a smile appeared on my lips.These two looked tired of sitting at a place with no opportunity to interact with each other. Unfortunately for them, Grandpa was so old fashioned that he doesn’t have any innovative ideas in regards to this aspect.He doesn’t understand that the future couple need to spend more time together to know
While I’m happy someone from the Moore family came to my defence which is proof they had accepted me, I couldn’t help but be mad at Mum.What she just displayed was evidence of how bias she was to Brenda. She just showed the Moore family that I am the less preferred. Which is stupid.I don’t care that Mum loves Brenda with all her life. At least, she should tame her emotions and obsession outside. Even Dad who was alert, seemed to disapprove of Mum’s actions in front of the Moore family. I could tell by the way he touched the back of her hand while gazing elsewhere.And I would like to think that he was more disappointed because she and Brenda had indirectly told them they didn’t like the work they did with my wedding invitation cards.Soon, the awkwardness hanging in the air disappeared along with Tessa’s presence. Tessa arrived with a warm smile on her face , especially after she saw me. But the second she noticed Brenda, I saw her smile crack.I perfectly understand my fri