2. ACCUSED

He stepped out of his house and scanned the area for his car. He ran his fingers through his hair and adjusted his transparent glasses. He was sure that he looked breath taking. His deep green eyes was one of his greatest charm. He smiled. It was always the aim.

As if on cue, a black Peugeot pulled in through the gate. His smile widened. His driver was always on time. The car came to a stop beside him. The window pane came down and revealed the one who was driving.

It was a fair skinned man with a low cut hair. He was dressed in black suit and pants. He smiled at him.

"Hello Jeff, always on time," the man commended his driver.

Jeff smiled and unlocked the doors for his boss. He would have walked out to open the door for him but his boss had stopped him from doing so a long time ago.

"Thank you sir, it pleases me to serve you," Jeff answered.

His boss shut the door behind himself and watched his driver from behind the seat. "How many times will I correct you, Jeff? Call me Oliver. I was not born with a sir to my name. We've been friends for a long time. My parents named me Oliver Russell, not sir," Oliver corrected him.

Jeff only smiled. "I try to do so but I can't help it sir. Maybe someday, I'll get around it," he excused himself.

Oliver only sighed. He liked Jeff a lot. He reminded him of the brother he lost when he was younger. The things Jeff did and the things Jeff said reminded him a lot about Liam. This caused him to have a soft spot for Jeff. But he always tried to be careful with Jeff. Jeff was a man of principle and he did not like to be done favors or pitied without having to earn it. If it had been up to Oliver, then he would have made Jeff move in with him a long time ago as his brother but he did not want to make the wrong move and lose him forever. It was better to have him this way than not to have him at all.

"I guess I'll just have to respect your decision but you know that if you need anything, I'm always here," Oliver pointed out.

Jeff nodded and started the car. He took one short glance at Oliver's mansion. It was painted  in white and had glass facades. It was built exquisitely for him. It screamed luxury at anyone who was watching. The way the use of glass and concrete were blended together to give the rise of his house made it stand as a marvelous piece of art.

Jeff looked away and focused on the road. It always baffled him how the CEO of Diamonds and Pearls always paid extra attention to him. The owner of this great home. He who was just a nobody trying to make it through life. He still did not understand why his boss chose to treat him like family. Sometimes, they spoke like they had been best friends since childhood.

To the extent that everyone referred to Oliver as sir yet Oliver wanted Jeff to refer to him with his first name. It was a mystery Jeff wanted to understand and he was sure that everyday, he was getting closer to knowing the truth.

"Do you perhaps want to stop by on the way? Probably for a cup of coffee?" Jeff asked.

Oliver was about to decline then he stopped. "Have you had breakfast today?" he asked instead.

"I have not, sir," Jeff answered truthfully without realising the consequences of his response.

"I see. What coffee shop do you suggest we stop at?" Oliver asked.

"The White Coffee shop should be your best option."

Oliver smiled. "Then The White Coffee shop it is."

It was not long before Jeff stopped before the nearest White Coffee shop to them. "Would you like to go in and order the coffee yourself? I can wait for you to have your breakfast, or would you like me to get it for you?" Jeff asked.

Oliver was only accepting to get the coffee because of Jeff. "Why don't we both go in?" Oliver suggested instead.

"Sure, why not?" Jeff shrugged and got out of the car.

They both walked into the shop. The people in the shop seemed to stop to stare at them. Even if Jeff was a driver, they both looked like successful business men.

Oliver wore a complete deep blue suit and its pants. His dark shoes added to his smartness. One of his hand rested in his pants' pocket as he stood before the shop.

Jeff scanned the area trying to find the best seat for his boss. When he spotted it, he smiled. He led Oliver to the seat and he gestured at him to sit.

"Will someone come get our orders?" Oliver asked.

"I will get our orders. Just tell me how you will like your coffee," Jeff announced.

Oliver corked a brow slightly as he took in the information. "I'm new here. I have no idea what to order for but you seem to know the place well enough. How about you get me whatever you get for yourself. I'll pay," Oliver told him.

Jeff wanted to protest but he gave up on it. He knew he could not talk his way out of been bought breakfast so he just shut his mouth and headed towards the counter.

Oliver smiled when he saw Jeff coming back with a tray of their food. Jeff placed a tray before Oliver and served Oliver his coffee and two croissants. It was the same for himself as well. The coffee was creamy and delicious against Oliver's tongue. He did not want to stop drinking from it the moment he tasted it.

"This is delicious. You were right. I think I'll get addicted to this coffee," Oliver said with a smile.

Jeff nodded in understanding. "The first day I tried it, I got addicted and it's the only coffee I want to have," Jeff told him.

They finished their breakfast and Oliver got up to leave. He put his hand in his pocket to get his wallet and pay. Jeff got up with him.

"You don't have to. I have already paid for it," Jeff said and started to walk away from Oliver. He knew Oliver would try to call him back.

Oliver on the other hand felt that he had been bested by Jeff. He now understood why Jeff had not once tried to protest. It was because he had something else up his sleeves.

Oliver only shook his head and followed Jeff out and back into the car. "I presume we're heading straight for the company?" Oliver asked as he got comfortable.

"Sure, except if you have somewhere else to stop at?" Jeff asked.

Oliver shook his head in response and Jeff knew that all he had to do was drive him to his office.

Jeff soon neared the great glass building. It was transparent and designed to resemble a jewelry. It was shaped like a diamond with reflecting and glowing glass walls. The architect that had designed it had probably tried to reflect the purpose of the building on it without having to read out the huge words that said "Diamonds & Pearls" on the center of the building.

Sometimes even Oliver wondered how he had managed to pull it off. How he had managed to own that building and have people working for him.

"That building on its own is the greatest jewel I have ever acquired," Oliver mentioned without realising that he had said it out loud.

"You earned it sir. You worked hard for it and you earned it. It is only normal for it to be your greatest jewel," Jeff told him.

Oliver only stared out the window as they approached it. It was true that he had earned it but some certain circumstances had led to it. The past had caused him to drive at owning something as great as this. It only saddened him that those he had worked hard for were no longer alive to enjoy it with him. In other words, he was lonely.

Apart from Jeff who reminded him of his brother and Anne who had always been with him, there was no one else in his life. There were women but there was no true woman. He never even planned on finding a true woman. Love was not real, it was only an illusion that misled people and when the veil was lifted, those people were forced to wake up and see the reality of things. Most times, they never liked what they saw and this caused them to lose themselves.

As he thought of people who had lost themselves to love, an image of his mother with a smiling face entered his mind. This immediately caused his eyes to water. Jeff noticed this.

"Are you okay, sir?" Jeff asked as he was genuinely worried.

This broke Oliver out of his reverie. He turned his gaze away from the window and stared at Jeff instead. Then he smiled.

"Never been better," he answered.

Jeff wanted to drop it but he felt compelled to add in a word or two. "If you ever want to talk, just know that I'm right here. I'm good at listening," Jeff offered. He knew about how lonely his boss could be even if he was always in the company of women. He knew that there was someone else deep down, the true Oliver that needed to be loved.

"Sure, I'll keep the offer in mind. Just get ready to listen to long stories of my boredom," Oliver said with a laughter.

Jeff joined in the laughter. He pulled into the company's property. It was busy with people who had come to purchase the jewelries at the shopping complex.  Jeff parked the car at the parking lot.

"We're here," Jeff announced.

"I'll see you soon, Jeff. I'll call you if I need you. You can take the car," Oliver told him and got out of the car.

Oliver had not even gotten a mile away when reporters surrounded him. It was as if they had been hiding, waiting for him to show up so that they would ambush him. Oliver stared at them in confusion. He had been hunted by the media before but never at this rate and it was mostly at gatherings.

"How do you feel about what you did to her, Mr Russell?" a female reporter questioned him.

"What are you going to do about the accusations she laid against you?" another demanded.

"Is this how you treat women behind closed doors?" another female questioned.

"Is this how you built up your company? With deceit and lies? Betraying women and playing with their feelings?"

"Are you a man who has no respect whatsoever for women and their feelings? Are you a monster? A man who uses women and dumps them?

Oliver only stared at them, obviously still shocked and confused as all the questions poured at him. He was at loss of words. He had no idea what was happening. He was beginning to hyperventilate as everything was becoming too much for him to handle. He felt himself sweating all over. The hot sun became too hard for him to bear. The questions became echoes in his head as they all circulated him.

Suddenly, someone pushed through the crowd. "That's enough! Mr Russell will not be taking any of your questions!" Jeff yelled as he started to lead Oliver out of the crowd. They tried to resist but Jeff used all of his force to push through them. It was a very hard task since there were many of them and just one of him

Fortunately, some security guards from the company came to help keep the reporters away as Jeff led him safely into the building. Jeff continued to the elevator immediately. The only safe place for Oliver was his office.

When they reached the elevator, they got in and it closed behind them. Jeff punched the tenth floor button and the elevator started to lift them.

Oliver rested on the wall as he still struggled to calm himself. His mind raced as he tried to understand what or where he had gone wrong.

"Are you okay?" Jeff asked as he watched Oliver.

Oliver nodded. "Thank you," he breathed.

"For?"

"Saving my ass back there."

"It's nothing."

As if on cue, the elevator door dinged open and they walked out. They had not even made it into the office when a smartly dressed lady in a burgundy suit and skirt, coupled with black heels walked up to them. She had a worried look on her face and her blond hair fell over her shoulders in bouncy and wavy curls.

"I've been looking everywhere for you Oliver!" she exclaimed.

"What is it Anne?" Oliver demanded. Anne was his personal assistant and she had been around him for as long as he could remember.

"I'll go straight to the point since I know how you hate it when someone stalls. As at yesterday, sales dropped by twenty percent. When I checked this morning, I realized that it has dropped to a total of fifty percent and it is still going down. Sales are dropping drastically. At this rate, if we do not do something, then we will lose the company," Anne announced.

"In other words, I will be ruined?" Oliver asked almost to himself than to Anne.

"Yes, we will be ruined," Anne made it official.