TRENT POV
"What are you wearing sir?" Clarence's voice came from behind me.
"I think you mean just Trent, Clarence." I smirked. "You scared me there. What's up?"
He looked confusedly at me. Probably wondering what I meant. Then continued;
"I called you all day, sir. I have been looking all over for you since the afternoon. I had to hold a meeting between Otega Group and our board myself." He said frowning.
"And how did it go?" I asked seriously, even though I knew what was coming.
"We secured the deal sir, but it wasn't easy, I could have really used you there today."
"Yes. But I wasn't there and it seems like you had everything under your control. That's impressive Clarence, I know I can count on you any time." I said, giving him a slight pat in the shoulder. He smiled warmly, Clarence always beamed when he was complimented for a job well done and I always appreciated his efforts.
I had known Clarence for a while now. We had graduated together in the University Of England, and when I came back to America to start building on my vision of Suntech Tower, there was only one man I could appoint as my managing director.
"Are you planning to tell me why you're wearing overalls and a hard hat by this time sir?" Clarence asked, raising an eyebrow.
"The office server was malfunctioning a little so I thought I'd just pop up there and fix it up. Why?"
He stared at me.
"Things are bound to have a little malfunction here and there sir, that's why we have a tech team to fix things like that. And I don't ever remember you ever putting this on before let alone trying to fix something on a ladder." He said, giving me a quizzical look.
I smiled at him. I'd have to tell someone anyway and else but Clarence.
"I'm going to have to start working here from now on."
"Isn't that what you've been doing ever since you built the company or am I missing some… information." He asked, his left eyebrow was so raised, I thought it would disappear into his hair.
"I just want you to pretend like I'm a worker here for a while. Don't address me as sir or boss or anything. I want to go undercover for a little while." I said, hoping he'd understand.
"Undercover all of a sudden? Did anything happen?" He asked looking concerned.
"No nothing happened, this is just for me. I'll just need you to take care of some of the affairs in the company for now."
"So you're going on holiday or something." He asked, still looking unsure.
"Umm something like that but I'll be around sometimes just not like always. There are some personal things I want to take care of at the moment, when I'm done, we can go back to normal."
"Okay. But I will still need a little guidance sir."
"You bagged first class honors in business, Clarence, I think it's safe to say you are probably the best man for the job." I coaxed him. Clarence had to hear things like this more often to reassure himself. "Tell me, I can trust you to keep it up right? Just for a little while? You can…"
I got distracted and trailed off when I saw Alina getting into a taxi downstairs. I looked down and smiled to myself, totally forgetting that Clarence was still waiting for a reply from me.
Clarence followed my gaze and saw Alina just before the taxi drive off. He stared at me.
"Is this about… her?" He asked wide-eyed. "I think I get it now. You don't want her to know who you are."
I looked at him quickly. I was surprised by how fast he put it all together. He really was a smart man and he wasn't wrong either.
I really didn't mean for her to see me when I climbed up to fix the server. I just got down from the ladder and saw her there, staring at me. I had to think fast, I knew if I told her who I really was then she would treat me more like a boss than a friend. That's why I just told her that I worked here.
I didn't lie technically, apart from when I left out the part that I owned the entire company.
I knew it might have been stupid. Okay… maybe it was. But here we are. I felt bad for not saying the entire truth but that was the only thing I could say at that time if I wanted to get to know her better and I did.
"When did she start working here?" I asked Clarence.
"Just this morning, I interviewed her yesterday, she said she wanted to start as soon as possible."
"Interesting. What do you have about her?" I asked, taking the portable ladder down from the roof and folding it back into its normal size.
"Nothing exciting really, just that she's Colombian, she used to work in the grocery outlet store in Pullman. She gave birth after she moved to San Jose. Now she lives with her little child."
"She has a kid?" That was surprising, considering that she looked like she was in good shape. "Any idea how old the child might be?" I asked on.
"A son. I think about two years old or something. Why are you so interested in this lady sir?"
"I'm not sure." I said. I really wasn't sure why. There just seemed to be something very interesting about her.
I smiled.
"This could end badly sir, I don't know if—"
"The workers here don't really know what their CEO looks like now do they, Clarence? I could still be in England for all they know, relax. I'll just put in a disguise for the time being that's all." I said, taking out a pair of glasses from my breast pocket and putting them on. "Trent Williams, the technician nobody knows about." I smiled.
Clarence sighed.
"I don't know sir, what if your cover blows and she finds out? You could look really bad."
"This is a big company Clarence, if anyone asks, I'll just say that I was transferred here from the branch in the UK and you'll have to do is back me up. Besides, who'd think that Mr. Suntech would be this young. Or handsome." I pointed to my face and we both chuckled.
"I can't say no. You're still the boss." Clarence surrendered finally. "I'll be off now." He said and made his way to the elevator.
"See you tomorrow… Sir!" I called as he left.
It was already evening. I changed to my clothes and headed downstairs. I had called Cyrus, my driver and told him not to worry about picking me up. I had to learn how to live low, and as weird as that sounded, it also seemed fun.
After bribing a greedy teenager for his bicycle, I pedalled down the street. The weather was a bit hot and I was craving some ice cream. But instead of going down Park Avenue where I'd normally go, I turned the bike towards Broadway. For my plan to work, I had to start acting and sending like a middle class guy. That shouldn't be so hard. Right?
I saw a pastry shop towards Gordon's Drive and headed there. It looked less expensive and more like normal place to have some cake and ice cream.
I went inside the shop and luckily, there were some other people there too. I stood in line and waited for my turn. All of this didn't seem so bad. I looked around, it was a fairly small place, it smelled of vanilla, chocolate and strawberries. It wasn't very fancy but the feel here was nice. I drummed my fingers on the counter waiting for the vendor to take my order.
"Um… hi!" A familiar voice called from beside me.
I looked and saw Alina. This meeting would make it three times that we had bumped into each other today. It was almost like it was all planned.
"What are you doing here?" She asked, looking very surprised.
"I thought I'd just pop here and have some ice cream." I shrugged. "What about you?" I asked as my eyes fell to the little guy by her side.
"This is my son, Niguez. Say hello, Nigo." She said and brought him forward.
I squatted so I could be his height.
"Hi Niguez, I'm Trent. It's nice to meet you." I said and stretched my hand for a handshake and to my surprise he took it and shook it like a grown child. "He's a big boy." I said facing Alina.
She managed a smile.
"I couldn't get him a nice present on his birthday last weekend so I thought I'd get him a nice cake." She said, lifting the little box in her hand.
"Birthday cakes go best with some ice cream, do you like strawberry flavor?"
"Oh no, it's okay. You don't have to." She laughed uncomfortably.
"Well it's a birthday cake isn't it? Then he should have some ice cream too. It's just a little something from me to him." I insisted. I bent down towards Niguez and pointed at the pastry showcase. "So what do you want —this? Or this?" I asked Niguez pointing at vanilla and strawberry respectively.
He squealed more when I pointed at the strawberry ice cream.
"That's settled then. Strawberry it is." I said and gave him a cone of strawberry ice cream. I looked up at Alina and saw her smiling.
"That's very nice of you Trent but you should have just respected what I said earlier." She said, looking at me.
"I know." I said, trying to pout. "Do you want one too?"
I smiled when she laughed at what I said.
"We should probably start going now. Thank you for the treat." She said and left with her son.
I watched them leave till they were out of sight, then heaved a light sigh. Three times in one day. That was more than a coincidence…
"Here's your order sir." The vendor said, handing me a large cup of vanilla and butterscotch ice cream and some beagles.
*****
"I made a casserole sir. Should I send it up now or do you want to freshen up first?" Gilbert asked when I came into the mansion. He was wearing the tuxedo he always wore even though I told him there was absolutely no need to wear a suit everyday to stay at home.
Gilbert was my butler. I saw him as a father figure after my parents passed away when I was a teenager. He had been my adviser ever since. He took care of all the activities in the mansion. I never said this, he was pretty much my best friend too.
"Don't worry, Gilbert, I've already had dinner."
"You never have dinner outside. What changed?" He asked me.
"Nothing much." I shrugged. "I guess I just felt like it."
"May I ask what you had?"
"Ice cream and beagles." I said dreamily.
He nodded suspiciously but said nothing.
I looked at him. Looking ever smart in his traditional butler attire as he called it. I wanted to tell him all about meeting Alina and going undercover. I was sure he was already aware that I told Cyprus not to pick me up. That was also something I wouldn't usually do. But Gilbert wouldn't question. E until he thought the time was right and right now all I wanted was to bathe and sleep.
"Is my water heated?" I asked.
"Just as you like it." He replied. I always respected him for how efficient he was.
"Perfect." A warm bath was exactly what I needed after today's experience.
"Was it butterscotch or vanilla?" Gilbert asked behind me. I turned to see him smirking.
"What do you think?"
"I think you probably had both." He said and back-walked out of my room.
I laughed. I should have been surprised but that was just Gilbert being himself.
ALINA POV"Can I get everyone's attention please." Clarence Jacobs said as he stood in front of the crowd of workers in the firm's large hall. "Some of you might be wondering why I we are all gathered here today. The company will be throwing a party to celebrate the completion of our latest high-speed, 4G telecom tower in San Jose!" He announced.There was a loud round of applause from the audience including me. When the applause had died down he continued."This new tower will enable a faster, stronger and more secure connection for us to work better and more efficiently while also serving our customers better. It is a major breakthrough here in the minority part of California. There is no doubt we will be having more investors from far and wide and eventually overseas. So the management has decided to throw a bash tomorrow evening in honour of this achievement. You all deserve it." He said and there was another round of applause, and cheers from the crowd."Be sure to attend the par
TRENT POVGilbert had proposed that I moved out of the mansion for now go keep my cover hidden."Move out?" I asked, bewildered when he came up with idea."Not technically move out, just to find a place to lay low now that you want to keep your identity hidden." He said."That doesn't sound like a very good idea.""Just think about it. Imagine if maybe someone followed you and you were unaware of it. You'd lead them straight to this multi million dollar mansion here in the GRA. I don't think that's a good idea either." He pressed on. "Trent Williams is a technician working at Suntech right. But Trent O'Neil is the CEO, the main man, the alpha of the company. Keeping your identity a secret will not be easy but at least we can try. First off, you'll need to move to someplace less… exotic." He said, motioning around the living room.I thought about it. He was right. As always.If I stayed here, it would pose a bigger threat to revealing my true identity and as soon as it was out, the med
ALINA POV"Hey are you okay there?" He asked, racing across the street to help me up.I closed my eyes in embarrassment, he hadn't seen me yet but there was no escaping now. My hair was messy, I was in my pajamas and worse? I didn't have a bra on. How delightful.He helped me up to my feet. His eyes widened when he saw my face."Alina?!" He asked, visibly shocked. What… what are you doing here?" "Oh, Trent." I said, forcing a smile. I was embarrassed and I couldn't help feeling annoyed that he had seen me just when I prayed he wouldn't. "Uhh.. I live in Gordon's Drive, that's about two blocks away.""Wow." He said smiling. "So, What's up? No work today for either of us huh?""Nope." I smiled. Uh.. Trent?" "Yeah?" He answered."You said you live here but I don't think I've ever seen you around this area before." I said. That part didn't quite make much sense to me."Oh, that. I just moved in. Actually I just moved in this morning." He smiled. "Soni guess we're kind of neighbors now o
ALINA POVOn Monday morning, I got to work later than I usually did."You're a bit late, Alina." Gloria, my coworker said when she saw me."Sorry about that, I think I overslept." "We shouldn't form a habit of arriving for work, there's always someone watching and if you keep it up, you could be leaving here far sooner than you think." Gloria said."Noted." I said and gazed around the floor I was in. The offices were full, employees were already in their offices working, with a laptop in front of them."Hello there." an unfamiliar voice said from behind me. I turned around and saw a man in a suit, probably a department head or assistant judging by his suit."Good morning." I replied.He smiled, showing a bright set of teeth. I had never seen him before. He had black hair, brown eyes and was about my height, he also had a very deep voice when he spoke. He was obviously an important person in the company so why was he talking to me? Was I in trouble already?"You must be Alina." He sa
TRENT POV"Trust me these burgers are good." I said as Alina and I took our food trays over to a free table in the cafeteria. "They do look pretty big don't you think?" She said as we sat down on a table and began to eat."This is just the normal size. I once had a triple decker. It was fantastic, although I needed about an hour of rest before I could do literally anything." She laughed as a few crumbs of bread landed on me."Oh my God! I'm so sorry." She apologized, getting up with a napkin."It's alright." I waved it off. "No biggie as long as it's not ketchup."After slapping off the crumbs from my jacket, I got back to destroying my burger."It's nice." She said."My shirt or the burger?" I joked."Your old looking shirt?." She chuckled. "I meant the burger.""The first time I ordered these, I had to order extra. When I was done with that, I went for one more but it was already finished. I remember being grumpy the entire day." I recollected.The entire day? Just because you cou
Alina's POV I watched Trent's body go limp against mine as he slumped to the floor. I had to use my body to brace his fall, allowing him to rest on my lap. I looked at his bleeding stomach, panic seizing my senses. Oh, goodness! Why did all of this have to happen? I was bad luck. Now, Trent was wounded and bleeding so badly. I was terrified but the little knowledge I had about these kinds of things was enough to let me know that trying to remove the knife all alone was a bad idea. I glanced around the dark alley and fear clawed through me. There was no one to call for help. The only person else in the alley was the other kidnapper that Trent had knocked out earlier. It was a miracle that Trent had come in at the time he did. Who knows what would have happened to me otherwise? Think, Alina, think. What was the name he mentioned before he passed out? Right, Gilbert. I pulled out his phone from his pocket and, with shaking fingers, opened it. I was surprised the phone had no pass
Trent's POVThe throbbing pain in my gut was the first thing I felt as I slowly regained consciousness. The repetitive beeping of the monitor that stood beside me soon became a nuisance. I just wanted it to stop. I glanced beside me and saw that I was connected to a drip. It was very early in the morning, I could tell because the sun rays filtered in through the white blinds on the automatic-sensor louvred windows. I was in a hospital, alright. The next thing that slammed into my head was the woman I had almost sacrificed myself for. Was she safe? Had those cruel men taken her?"Alina!" I whispered. My voice came out hoarse. My throat felt parched and I wondered why.Just as I made to get up and jerk away the drip from my hand, even though the pain in my belly at any slight movement was maddening, the door slid open. It was Gilbert. He looked surprised to see me awake. "You're awake, sir? Let me go get the doctor."I clenched my teeth to fight the pain and gestured for him to w
Alina's POVI watched Trent, fascinated as he wolfed down all the food I'd brought. He also fed Niguez bits out of his hamburger. Even though he still looked pretty banged up, hooked to all those machines and all, I was glad that at least his injury wasn't so bad that he couldn't eat. I was even more glad that I met him conscious. I don't know how I would have felt if he was still unconscious. As he ate, I had to hold back Niguez from climbing on top of him on the bed. He wanted to protest that I could leave him but then he choked on his food and began to cough. I poured him a glass of water. "I am sorry for what happened to you. It was all my fault," I said in a dejected tone as I watched him gulp down the water. He gently lifted my downcast chin to look at him. "No, it wasn't your fault. We should just be grateful that it didn't end up worse than this."His steady eyes bored into mine as if he wanted to swallow up all my guilt. I felt like I could get lost in his mesmerising