“So, take…” he said to her, and she turned to him to collect the card he handed in her direction.It was a card and she suspected it was for entry. This art school they were in was the biggest in the state, and maybe this man didn’t know that he was healing her inner child as the day passed.She collected it with shaky hands, stared at her name that was imprinted on it, Leilani Wheelers, and then nodded her head.“Do you wanna look around?” He asked her.“You may resume whenever you want, and classes start from twelve till three PM. Is that okay?”“Of course!” She exclaimed.He nodded his head and smiled unconsciously at the smile that was on the woman’s face.He actually might have never seen such a huge smile on her face before. She had never seemed so happy as she was at the moment.He couldn't help but savor the moment as he watched a smile spread across her cheeks as she took in everything.It makes him want to go through everything because of her.“My driver will accompany you,”
They arrived home, and the driver hurriedly brought out Lorenzo’s wheelchair from the booth, helped him sit on it, and then moved away from him and his wife after he had bowed.“Where did you two love birds go so early this morning?” Came the voice of Martha and they both raised their heads to look at her.“Martha,” Leilani smiled.“And now, she smiles.”“What?”“You looked like your husband had been kidnapped a while back and had almost gone berserk,” she laughed.“Really?” Lorenzo raised his brows.“That is not true!” She defended and the man laughed gently.“She asked everyone in this perimeter where you were. It was as if she had received some threatening calls about you or something.”“Oh, Martha,” she rolled her eyes at the woman who wouldn’t stop talking and then smiled.“I was just worried, come on. It’s not really serious.”“Well, if you say so. Now, tell me, where did you go without informing anyone? All these while, I thought you were in the building.”“I had something to d
Leilani stepped out of the car gently as the man held the door for her, and then he bowed gently at her.“Thank you,” she muttered and then walked gently to the premises As she walked to the big glass door, the entrance of the art school, Leilani couldn’t help but take glances around. As she reached the glass door, someone opened it from behind, welcoming her in with a smile.The walls of the room were bright, well-illuminated, and filled with paintings assumed to be done by the alumni of the school.She spent about five minutes admiring the room, or even more but it still felt like it wasn't enough. She loved art so much, she couldn’t even hide it.Not at that moment.Oh, to finally be living in her dream!“You must be new here,” she heard an unfamiliar voice and then turned around swiftly.“Y… yeah, hi,” she blinked at the man who stood gracefully in front of her.He was fully suited up and she wondered if he worked here or if he was a student too."Hello, I’m Caleb," the young ma
Mia got out of the car stylishly, handed her car key to the security, and then rushed to the entrance after she had adjusted herself for the umpteenth time.Before she entered through the door that was held for her, she brought out her phone and a lip gloss, stared at her reflection on the screen, and then applied a bit of lip gloss again.Finally, she entered the restaurant, and then after she was attended to by the receptionist, she moved to her fixed seat which was closer to where she believed she could see the man.She settled in her seat, looking around for him, and when she didn’t see him in sight, she waved her hand at another waiter and he moved over to her.“Good afternoon, ma’am.”“Good. Get the hot waiter for me.”“Excuse me?”“I mean… get that waiter for me.”“Which one, please?”“Oh, he is not in sight, but there was one particular waiter here last week. He’s more finer than you, sorry, and he is extremely tall too. He is the owner here, he said.”“Ohhh…” the man drawled.
“I have heard that a lot of times,” she shook her head, giggling.“No, you really don’t understand me. I said you are so crazy.”“I know,” Mia shook her head again.“You go around telling me you wanna sleep with them?”“Oh, come on, don’t be an old man. I think you are hot and I wanna sleep with you. It is not something to…”“You should get going, please,” he cut her short.“I would only leave you alone if you agree to being married, or something.”The man looked down at the woman in front of him and he shook his head.He had never met someone as brazen as she was his whole life and he could not help but feel unsettled by her, actually.There was no way he had forgotten her.She was the first woman who had left such an impression and he just wouldn’t forget even if he wanted to.At first, he had no other choice than to laugh at her offer the last time she was around.He thought the woman was joking, or maybe nice by offering him a job from nowhere, but deep down, he knew the kind of w
“You’re really going to hang it there?” Leilani drew her brows as she watched her husband hang the frame on the wall across the bed and then shook her head.“We will see it every morning when we wake up,” he chuckled. “I don’t think I can stand seeing this thing when I wake up every morning,” she shook her head.He turned around after the painting was completely hung on the wall and then laughed gently. “What?”“I think I will be waking up every morning, pissed!”“Then, let it be your cue to do better,” he said.“Of course, I would. But, didn’t you say that I could stop doing this and just come home?”“And?”“And that means, I can suddenly decide not to do this again, right?”He bore his eyes and she smiled softly, knowing that he was going to say yes, and sweet talk her more.“My wife, I am sorry, but the man I was a few seconds back is not the man I am now. So, get your head in the game, okay?”“God, you are so two-faced!” She exclaimed and the man burst into laughter.“What?!” He
“Hold the fuck on, what is this?!” Mia exclaimed as they got out of the car and then walked to the gallery.“It is for my… painting,” she answered unsurely.Should she not have brought the woman here?Should she have informed Lorenzo first?“You paint?”Leilani shrugged her shoulders off as she entered fully, ushering the woman in.“Yes, and I have started taking classes to hone my skills more.”“So, this space is yours too?”“Lorenzo presented it to me.”Mia watched Leilani for a while, and then moved away, her eyes scrutinizing every bit of detail in the room, from the canvas to the brushes.“What is wrong?”“My brother is about to go berserk.”“Who? Lorenzo?”“No, Shane!”“I don’t… understand.”“I am not really certain as I wasn’t interested in the gist back then but after Enzo’s accident, Shane asked that Lorenzo give him the warehouse that was near his house.”“This one?”“Yes. I made my findings and it was this one.”For someone who was not really interested in the gist, she kn
Leilani dropped the brush, raised her brows and then sat upright before she turned her head to look around.She had been feeling, for a while, that someone was watching her, and she had even gone outside to check.It was almost eight in the night, and she had spent more time than planned.“Who is there?” She asked softly, still looking around.When she didn’t hear any response, she resumed her work, humming softly.Maybe it was all in her head that someone was watching her.Her guard was right out there, so there was no way anyone was there.Lorenzo was really thoughtful while he set up this place for her.Although it was dark, she wouldn’t know as the room was so bright that she could see the details of what she was doing and each stroke that her brush made.That was one of the reasons she first lost track of time. When she first checked the time, it was just Seven pm and she had planned to rush what she was doing so that she could get going.Now, it was almost eight and she was rea
“But… Benzo is not one common name. I mean, I have heard it quite a lot in the past but I can’t quite remember where,” Leilani said as she stepped out of the bathroom, wrapped in the bathroom robe.“Oh… yeah.”“What? You wanna say something?” She asked as she settled in front of the dressing table and then pulled forward her facial care routine.“Actually,” he started and sat upright.“What?” Leilani glanced at him through the mirror.“He works at my company.”“Who?”“Jonathan.”She parted her lips and then drew her brows together.“What?!”“So, the thing is, he works at my company. He recently got promoted to an executive, in fact.”“Lorenzo?”“I know what you’re thinking,” he raised his hands.“Trust me, you don’t.”“I have many companies to my name, you know? There’s Benzo electronics, pharmaceuticals, Architecture, mall… and a few like that, and he happens to work in one of them, Benzo Electronics.”“Why? I mean… why do you let him work for you?”“He has been a staff at the compan
“B… brother is Benzo?!” Mia exclaimed as she stopped in front of Leilani and then took her hands in hers.“That makes the two of us. I’m excited,” she sucked her teeth.“What? You… you didn’t know about it?” She asked, raising her brows.“I am finding out for the first time tonight just like every other person,” she shrugged.“B… but…” Mia cleared her throat.“Maybe he has his reasons for…”“Don’t take his side, Martha!”Mia and Leilani snapped.“Good, he’s coming. He has a lot of…”Leilani snatched her hands from Mia and then smacked, “I will head inside first.”Mia, with her mouth opened agape watched as the lady walked away and then shook her head.“She is so pissed.”“He should have told her, at least.”Mia creased her brows at Martha and then chuckled, “Were you not just taking his side?” “I just needed to make her calm down, of course.”“I think you only made it worse.”Lorenzo rushed to them and then panted, “Why didn’t you stop her?!”“Why should I?” “You are so…”“You are t
Arthur didn’t know he had staggered backward and the panicked murmurs from the others had snapped him back to reality.“Y… you…”He pointed his index finger at Lorenzo who looked really unbothered as he turned to look at his security team.“Are you ready, sir?” David asked, and he nodded his head.The men formed a proper barricade, and then began to push through the crowd, with Lorenzo, his wife and Nicholas trailing slowly with them.They kept waking, ignoring the crowds while Lorenzo moved over to Leilani, and then took her hand gently in his.She raised her head to look at him, sighed and he nodded his head at her, smiling softly.When the security team stopped moving, they stopped too and David who was leading moved over to him.“There are so many paparazzi outside,” he whispered in his ear.“Really?”“Yes. Literally all media companies are here.”He looked down at Leilani again and then leaned down, “Are you good?”“Yes.”“How about the back exit?” He asked David.“It is jammed t
“I am Lorenzo Byers, and I am the founder of the BENZO group of companies.”Agnes choked on the water she was drinking as she stood up gently from the couch with Aaron opposite her.“That is…”She coughed out loud, dropping the glass cup in her hand and not minding the way it shattered to the ground. She hit her chest and then coughed again.“That is…”“Lorenzo?” Aaron whispered, and then removed his medicated glasses from his eyes as if that was going to help him to see clearer.“That is Lorenzo?!” Agnes hollered and then widened her eyes.They had both settled in front of the Television to watch the event as they had hoped that Arthur would be receiving an award that night.“He is… Benzo?”“He can… walk?”Agnes and Aaron stuttered respectively.“This is wrong. There must be an error somewhere,” Agnes shook her head.But, Aaron’s reaction was different.He staggered to the big screen, touched it, and trailed his fingers down his son’s supposed legs.“He is standing!” He cried out an
David shook his head as his boss wouldn’t stop laughing and then shook his head.“Sir.”Lorenzo smacked and then exhaled. “All along… it was him.”“Boss.”“We suspected someone from the house, did we not?”“Yes, but certainly not Shane.”Lorenzo nodded his head in agreement and then dropped his head on the headrest, his eyes closed.He might have actually imagined it to be anyone, but never Shane.He thought he knew the man.He was reckless and sassy, but certainly not the type to commit arson or murder.Well, in the past.He had just assumed the man to be a jester as he used to derive joy in making fun of his condition by coming up with numerous ironies just to insult him.But never in his whole life had he thought that Shane would go as far as wanting to kill his own wife.“Boss.”“Yes?” He opened his eyes and then sat upright.“What do we do?”“Where is he?”“He is in the hall also,” he answered.Lorenzo nodded his head and then chuckled.“Give me your orders. What do you want me t
“Is that not… Enzo’s wife?”Shane chuckled dryly as he leaned in his seat and then nudged his brother gently.Arthur took his hand from the woman who sat beside him and then turned to look in the direction Shane pointed at.“No way.”“Look there. She is sitting with Nicholas.”Arthur squinted his brows and when he confirmed that it was truly the woman, he chuckled and then hissed.“Who is that?” The woman, Emily asked.Emily was his girlfriend and he had hoped that after the event was over, he would take her home and introduce her to his family.“Lorenzo’s wife.”“Your stepbrother?” She asked and he nodded his head.“Woah, she’s pretty,” she sucked her teeth.“I don’t see it.”“She is so pretty. She looks better in person.”“Whatever,” he rolled his eyes and then turned to look at Shane.“Why is she here though?”“Perhaps… She came out to cheer for Nicholas? No one needs to be told, we know he’s getting an award tonight again.”For the past five years, Nicholas had been receiving awar
“Are you ready?”Nicholas asked her and she nodded her head, taking a deep breath.“I don’t know what we’re doing, as Lorenzo wouldn’t say a word but, okay. I am ready.”“Don’t fret. It is nothing serious,” he shook his head and then curved his arm beside her.Leilani nodded her head and then breathed out again. “If you say so.”She linked her arm around his arm, and together, they walked to the press.The moment they sighted them, they all turned to look at them, flashing their lights at them which almost overwhelmed the woman.But, Nicholas was holding on to her tight as they walked down the red carpet.They kept walking, ignoring the literally provoking questions the press was asking till they walked in through the opened door of the hall.Leilani gasped softly as she entered the hall.It was the largest she had ever seen. Real or on the television. It was so bright too that it could blind a person, and the ornaments used to beautify the hall could not go unnoticed.Chandeliers hu
“Oh, how beautiful you are, Leilani!”Mia exclaimed as soon as she returned to the room and saw the woman standing in front of the dressing mirror.“Oh, how much you flatter me!” Leilani rolled her eyes and they both laughed.“I am dead serious, sis, you’re so gorgeous, Jesus!”“Uhm-hmm,” Leilani nodded her head, blushing.The make up artist moved over to her, did the final touch on her neck and then moved back.“You look like you walked out of a painting.”“That compliment beats it all,” Leilani groaned and Mia laughed.Mia scrutinized Leilani again and shook her head. “How did my brother get this designer? She is so good!”Leilani was wearing a fully beaded blue gown which flared from her waist and stopped above her knees. The V-neck of the dress was deep and was held up by two small spaghetti straps, but then there was also a drapey off-the-shoulder cap sleeveLeilani had first worried that the style would make her shoulders look huge, but now, with the pushup strapless bra that s
“Do you think he is going to show up at the event?”“Who?” Aaron asked after he drank from the glass cup and then picked up the serviette paper.“Benzo,” Arthur answered and then exhaled.“Are you still thinking about that person?”“Do you think he will show up?” He asked again.“I don’t know. He hasn’t shown up for once in over five years that he has been invited. Wonder if he ever got the awards, in fact.”“I heard no one even showed up in his place to receive his awards,” Shane butted in.“He is definitely trying not to leave any chance to be seen,” Aaron added.“What if he shows up and then considers you? You have been sending messages the longest, haven’t you?” Shane asked.Arthur nodded his head and then smacked. “I really wanna know who this person is.”“I thought he was found though. I heard someone claiming to be him.”“It was a lie. I went in search of the person and they were not real. Tch,” he breathed out in frustration and then grabbed the glass of water.“The event is i