Party Crasher

Andre watched keenly as the men poured out of the stairwell into the garage, they looked every bit as menacing as they had when he had encountered them outside the hospital, he wondered what they could possibly want with the woman and her child. He wasnt going to let himself believe the bogus story that the man had told him about a debt and some sort of settlement. Paul's words kept ringing in his ears as he watched the men fan out into the garage, in search of the woman and her child. 

This looked like a very well choreographed play, the only thing stopping him from reaching a conclusion at this moment being the tears he had seen on the lady's face.

" Mommy, you're crying", the little girl whimpered in the back seat as she noticed the tears flowing down her mother's face. Andre stopped a moment to look at the lady in the back seat to see that she had pulled her child close and was now gently rocking the girl to put her at ease. He didn't consider himself heartless enough to ignore the silent plea in the lady's eyes.

" I'll get you out of here, but that's it", he told her in a strict tone.

" I don't know what's going on here, and it's none of my business. I want no part in it, Do you understand?", he asked her, staring into her eyes as he did. He had seen enough fake tears from Tanya to not be fooled by these.

The lady who was still clutching her child close to her body nodded her head as she tried to wipe the tears from her face, it was a pitiful sight and Andre wished he could afford the luxury of pitying her. However, when one was a member of one of the richest and most powerful family in this city, pity was a luxury you couldn't afford as it would get you exploited more times than not.

The windows of the car were tinted, giving them a very clear view of the approaching men without giving away their location. Andre watched them for a little while, and when he had spotted the sleazy looking man that had approached him much earlier, he decided he had seen enough, it was time for them to leave the garage and hopefully never come in contact with these characters again.

At this point he didnt care whether the woman in the back of his car was lying to him or not, he just wanted to leave and drop them off, put the whole incident behind him and get back to the restaurant. Much of his time had already been wasted by the incident this morning and he wasn't even sure he would be able to meet up with recovering his ring from Tanya, all thanks to the lady, her child and whoever these urchins were.

" It's okay baby, we're going home", Jane whispered into Stephanie's ear as she tried to calm the little girl down. Andre started up the car engine and let his foot rest on the accelerator as the car inched forward slowly. He watched as the men who were standing at the various corners of the garage all turned their attention towards the moving vehicle, there was no doubt in their mind that the quarry they were seeking was within the moving car.

" Stop right there!", one of them yelled as they gathered in front of the vehicle to stop him from exiting the garage. 

Andre paid no mind to them and kept driving, increasing his speed as he approached the men who  had gathered themselved and were trying to block his path to the exit. They jumped out of the way upon seeing that he wasn't willing to slow down.

He sped past them and only slowed down when he neared the exit, there was one man standing there, the sleazy looking man from before who he now understood to be their boss. He slowed the car down and let the window glass down just enough for the man to see that he was the one behind the wheel. A quick smile from him in the man's direction and he sped off again, through the exit and out of the garage.

" Till we meet again Mr Fernandez", a very annoyed Adrian screamed. He was sure that the young heir had helped Jane and her daughter escape and even though he couldn't do anything to stop it, his anger still boiled.

" What are you looking at?", he screamed at his men who were all standing around and watching him react in frustration to losing the lady and her kid.

Jane remained quiet in the backseat of the car as Andre drove away from the hospital building, she was grateful that he had at least taken her up on her request to get her away from the garage, and now that they had escaped the clutches of Adrian and his men, she knew that it would be expedient for her to part ways with him, he already suspected her of framing him to get some sort of reward and it hurt her that this was the case.

" What's your name?", Andre's suspicious voice came from the front of the vehicle as he spared her a look through the inner rear view mirror. He turned his focus to the road as he waited for her to speak.

Jane hesitated a bit before she responded to his question.

" I'm Jane, Jane Moss", she responded, turning her gaze toward the buildings on the exterior of the vehicle. She was many things, but a liar was not one of them, and if that was how Andre chose to see her, then she didn't owe him any sort of respect.

" Well Jane, where can I drop you off? I have somewhere to be", he retorted, his eyes still focused on the road ahead as he spoke.

" We'll be fine at the white lotus", she responded quickly. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of thinking that she wanted anything more from him asides the transportation he was providing and the medical bills that he had paid.

The white lotus was the name of Andre's new restaurant and from the way she said it, he reasoned that she had no idea that he owned the place, he intended to keep it that way.

" I'm headed in that direction", he said in a low tone, trying to stop himself from looking in the mirror one more time, he didn't want to make eye contact with her and begin to feel sorry for something he had no part in.

Stephanie had been quiet in her mother's arms all this while, not saying anything but enjoying the coziness of her mother's embrace. She cast one more angry look at the "bad man" who had hurt her mother, she wondered why her mother was being so nice to him after what he had done.

" We're here", Andre announced as he slowed to a stop and parked a little distance away from the restaurant. He looked into the inner rearview mirror again as he waited for Jane and her daughter to alight.

Jane was moving as quickly as she could as she tried to get all her stuff from the car seat and get the door open. She couldnt wait to part ways with the arrogant man who taught she was some sort of swindler.

" Hey, hang on!", Andre called.

Jane had managed to get the door open but she froze upon hearing his voice.

" Is something wrong?", she asked as she looked around in the back of the vehicle, she thought she must have forgotten something for him to be calling her back.

" Here, take this", Andre said as he handed her some cash.

Jane glared at him with pain in her eyes, she felt insulted that he would do this, offer her some money to validate his reasoning that she had really gone through all this trouble just to get some money from him.

" I know I've been a jerk about this and I'm sorry. Get something nice for your daughter please", he said in a much more kinder tone than he had been previously speaking to her.

Jane stared at him for a while and when she was convinced that he was being genuine, she took one look at Stephanie and then proceeded to reluctantly collect the money he was offering before she alighted from the vehicle. Andre stayed in the car and watched them walk away, he could see the little girl Stephanie making faces at him as her mother carried her away. He let a little smile tug at the corners of his lips as he watched the little firecracker.

His amusement with the little girl was shortlived as he was reminded of the urgent reality he was about to face when he saw Margaret walking towards his parked vehicle with his security detail in tow. The paparazzi outside told him that the event was well and truly in full swing, he hoped he hadn't missed much of the ceremony due to his engagements with Jane and her child.

" Welcome back sir, they're ready for you", Margaret said as she walked up to him, he had alighted from the vehicle and handed the keys to her.

" Is my father here yet?", he asked as he walked towards the entrance, trying to stay in the circle formed by the bodyguards.

" He has managed to keep the guests occupied boss", Margaret responded, walking beside him.

" Of course he has", Andre frowned. 

Much of this evening had been planned by Andre to ensure that it did not happen the way it was happening at the moment, but it seemed fate had other ideas.

 " There he is, my son, the man of the hour. Ladies and gentlemen please put your hands together for Andre Fernandez", a loud male voice bellowed from the centre of the hall as Andre walked into it. Margaret and the security detail halted their advance and let Andre walk on to meet his father at the centre of the filled hall unaccompanied.

The hall erupted into a loud applause as he walked. If not for the antics he suspected that his father had begun to pull, he felt really happy being received like this as he had waited a very long time for it, the moment he would be recognized for all the work he had put in in setting up the white lotus, it was by all standards a success.

Andre walked up to his father and turned to face the audience from beside him. 

" This is a proud moment for me as a father", Carlos Fernandez continued as he put his hand down on his son's shoulder.

" I propose a toast to the future of the Fernandez group of companies", he said as he lifted his glass.

Everyone in the room followed suit with smiles on their faces, all except one; Andre. He had worked so hard to step out of his father's shadow and in that moment, it was all gone, his restaurant, his sweat, had been incorporated into the "Fernandez Franchise".

" I propose another toast, to my son and his hard work in setting up the white lotus", a familiar feminine voice came from the other end of the room. Andre allowed a smile to spread across his face at the look of shock on his father's face upon seeing the owner of the voice, it was none other than Andre's mother.

Carlos reluctantly raised his glass in agreement with the toast and everybody else followed suit. Andre smiled at his mother as the toast was received, he could tell that she was so much more drunk than she had been during their phone call in the morning, she was seated and struggling to maintain her composure.

As soon as everybody was distracted and beginning to pair off to mingle, Carlos pulled his son aside.

" Get her out of here immediately", he snarled.

" What's the problem dad, you don't seem happy to see your ex-wife", Andre responded cheekily, snatching his hand from his father's grip.

" I know you can see what I see. If you choose to be a child about this then that's on you, you know what the papers will look like by the morning if you let her indulge herself any further. This conversation is over", Carlos spat with a tone of finality as he walked away from his son towards his current wife. Andre followed his father's path with his eyes to glare at the woman who had undoubtedly been watching them and observing their exchange. He had seen enough, the party was over for him.

He stopped one of the waiters as they passed and snatched a full glass of champagne from the tray he carried, downing it in one gulp before he began walking towards his mother. He signalled his security detail of his intention to leave as he walked.

" Let's go mum", he said softly as soon as he got close enough to his drunk mother, he looped an arm around her and helped her stand to her feet, his security detail had already swarmed around him and shielded the both of them as they moved. 

" I'm so proud of you my boy", she said in between hiccups as they walked.

Andre felt a tear sting his eyes as they made their way outside. He knew his mother had come here with the best intentions but she pretty much couldn't help herself whenever she had access to liquor. Andre was quite relieved that all the members of the press had followed his arrival inside the hall, but still he kept looking around to ensure that nobody was taking pictures. 

The car was already waiting by the time that they got outside and Stanley held the door open for the both of them to enter the car. Andre helped his mother into the vehicle and entered after her, waiting until the door was closed behind them before he spoke.

" You shouldn't have come mom", he began, already planning a speech in his head.

" I'm dying Andre", she spat angrily at him, her bloodshot eyes silencing his thoughts. There was a deathly silence within the car, only interrupted by the driver Stanley entering the vehicle and starting the ignition.