Raymond called for his assistant immediately he got to work, anybody who saw him knew that he was angry and so no one tried to get in his way. A knock on the door startled him before he composed himself "come in."
The door was pushed open and a young man entered, he has a sandy blonde hair and light blue eyes, he was carrying stack of documents and snappily walked to Raymond's desk and dropped them "you...you...you sent for me sir?" He asked nervously.Raymond stared at him coldly "Morris, why did it take you five minutes to get here?""Em...sir, I was still on my way to the office when I received your call, so I hurried up to meet you. I'm sorry if I kept you waiting.""Kept me waiting? Which assistant stays at home until his boss arrives at the officer before him?" Raymond bellowed."I'm so sorry sir but the company resumes by eight hundred, it's still seven fifty five sir. I didn't know you will be here early" Morris tried to defend himself.Raymond eyelashes lowered and he stared at Morris coldly "so now you tell me when my company resumes work?""No..no...no..no...sir, I was just" he paused and took a deep sigh "I'm sorry sir, it won't happen again."After receiving his apology, Raymond looked away from him "a new uprising arose in my grandparents home this morning" he paused and pinched the bridge of his nose "they are giving me condition.""What condition sir?" Morris asked."I am to be the sole owner of the Baldwin Empire only after one year of my marriage.""What!" Morris exclaimed."Yes" Raymond stood up from his desk and walked to the floor to ceiling window, his hands in his pant pockets "now this is a really big problem. I don't see myself getting married soon and even I am to be, one year is way to long. I must be the CEO of the Baldwin, I must."Morris was silent as his thoughts run wild "hmm, as far as I know old boss Desmond, he will do as he say.""Exactly" Raymond turned to look at him "why do you think I'm worked up about this? He even said he will put it like that in his will" he walked to his desk, his hands on his chair with his brows creased, he was thinking really hard "something has to been done. I must own it before the anniversary next year because of that membership to the World Club, I can only be accepted if I own the Baldwin since they only accepts Legendary companies. I can't join with any of my own, it's not be long I set them up. The Baldwin has been around for a hundred years, I can only get Raymond Corp and the rest into the World with the Baldwin as their umbrella. So you see, I have to get married this year" he looked at Morris."So what are you going to now?" Morris asked before a new idea struck him "wait a minute, how about you fake a marriage?"Raymond looked at him with confusion evident in his eyes "fake a marriage? Is that possible?""Of course. You just need to find a girl, tell her about your plans, offer her some money which she can't refuse and you get yourself a wife.""Hmm" Raymond considered the idea until a sweet smile graced his lips "offer her money, ladies can't refuse money. I just need to hire a priest, fake the certificate and get a contract with the girl, once grandpa makes me the owner of the Baldwin, we will claim to have issue and request for a divorce. Grandpa and grandma will remain in the dark, I will pay the lady and she goes, life goes on for me" he laughed."This is why you are still by my side Morris, your brain is really why you are here" Raymond smiled and sat down on his chair.Morris don't know whether to accept his comment as a compliment or an insult but he still said "thank you sir.""Now, the problem now is to find a suitable bride" Raymond said."You have had a lot of flings sir, can't you choose one from your exes?" Morris suggested."No, no, all of them wants to marry me. None of them will agree to be Mrs. Baldwin for a year and let go, they might expose me to grandpa because they will like to remain my wife for good. I need to find a new girl, an innocent one who is only after money and not fame" Raymond looked thoughtful and a move at his office door knob caught his attention. He stood up and quietly walked to the door.Morris stared at him confusingly "what..." He wanted to ask when Raymond placed a finger on his lips.Raymond opened the door abruptly and an older woman fell into his arms. The woman stood uprightly immediately."I'm so sorry sir, it's... Its...it's not what you think" the woman apologized immediately.Raymond stared at her "what brings you to my office Mrs. McCarthy?""Em...em, this letter arrived and I just wanted to pass it to you" she fumbled with her cloth and passed an envelope to him nervously.Raymond took the envelope from her "okay.""I will return to my desk now sir" Katherine turned to walk away.Raymond stared at her leaving figure with his eyelashes lowered "I think she heard everything sir" he heard Morris whispered behind him and he nodded "I know" he replied."What should I do sir? Do you think she can keep her lips sealed?" Morris asked."I don't know. Even if she will, I don't trust her" Raymond answered "doesn't she has a niece?"Morris thought about it "yes she does. The daughter of her late brother, she has been taking care of her since she was little.""Hmm. I'm I not in need of a bride at the moment Morris?" He looked at him with a sly smile.Getting his hidden meaning, Morris smiled "yes you are sir."Raymond smiled "you can leave now, tell McCarthy to come to my office during her break period.""Yes sir" Morris nodded and left the office while Raymond shut the door and walked back to his desk, a sly smile playing on his lips.Katherine walked back to her desk with her heart in her throat, what did she just hear? The boss grandparents refused to hand over the family company to him unless he is married? And what is his solution? He wants to fake a marriage and lead his grandparents under the nose?Katherine shuddered, all these rich families and their problems. She sat on her desk and switched on her computer when a thought suddenly hit her, oh myGod! The boss is not a fool, it's a must he knew she was eavesdropping on his discussion but he just let her go? Did he really do that?Oh God, please help her, please save her job for her, what if the boss decides to put her off her duty? What is she going to do? How will she and little Felicity cope? This job is their only source of money. Oh heaven, she hope the boss will really let her go this time, just why did you eavesdrop on his discussion Katherine? She chided herself, just pray he let's you go this time.She put in her password and logged into h
Katherine got home looking lost, how is she going to go about this? What will she tell her niece? How is she going to put it so that it won't sound like she is giving her away for ten million and a promotion? But come to think of it, she really is isn't she? Katherine heaved a sigh and turned off her car engine, she grabbed her handbag on the passenger's seat and got out of the car.She walked into the house to see Felicity sleeping on the couch, she looked so innocent and naïve, her honey gold hair sprawled all over the couch and her face, Katherine chuckled and made a move to walk closer to her when she heard a sound coming from the kitchen, she changed her direction and walked to the kitchen instead only to see nanny Mercy cooking Hamburger "I wasn't expecting to still meet you since I run a little late today."Nanny Mercy looked up from what she was doing and smiled "I can't bear to leave her alone.""Thank you" Katherine returned the smile "sometimes I don't know how w
Katherine was at lost for words but decided to open up to her "I overheard his discussion with his assistant. His grandparents refused to hand over their family's business to him unless he is married, so he wants to rent a bride for a year which is the duration his grandparents gave him that his marriage will last before he becomes the owner of the Baldwin Empire. As a punishment to me for eavesdropping on his discussion, he decided to make Felicity his rented bride" she shuddered as she mentioned Felicity as a rented bride."My, my, that's a whole lot to take in.""Exactly!""Hmm, so what are you going to do now? You can't say no to a man like that and what's worse, he is your boss.""That's it Mercy, that's why I'm confuse" Katherine buried her face in her palms."But why would he choose to fool his grandparents like that?""I don't know. I guess he just doesn't want to get married for real.""So, his plan is to divorce Felicity immediacy after owning the comp
Six days later, Katherine walked into Felicity room at night, she had been thinking all those days concerning what both Mercy and Raymond said, Mercy was right in what she said and Raymond's deadline was tomorrow, so she really have to talk to Felicity this night if not, she doesn't even know what her boss will do.Felicity was flipping through the pages of a picture book when her door opened, she looked up and a charming smile graced her lips when she saw her aunt "why aren't you sleeping aunty Katy?""Oh my dear, I should be asking you that too" Katherine chuckled and walked closer to her bed, Felicity made a space for her to sit beside her on the bed which Katherine gladly took, she caressed her face with a sweet smile on her lips "you look so beautiful, just like your mother. I have always believed that her beauty was one of the things that charmed my brother to her."Felicity giggled "aunty, whenever you talk about how beautiful I am, you want to ask me for somet
"Why do I need to wear all these?" Felicity asked with a frown as she stared at the gown and high heels that her aunt brought into her room.Katherine sighed "again with this Felicity? I thought I told you that your husband to be is coming to see you today.""But do I need to wear all these before I will meet him?""Sweetie, you need to look good and charming for him okay? Now enough of this, he will be here any minute now and I still need to style your hair which God help me, takes a lot of time."Felicity pouted but she still let Katherine dress her in the beautiful long navy blue gown. She sat on her dressing table and Katherine helped her to brush her honey gold hair in a neat ponytail. The door was opened and Mercy popped out her head "he is here" she said."Now upsy daisy" Katherine helped her up after helping her put on her high heels. Felicity legs wobbled and she had to grab Katherine's hand to steady herself "come on my dear, just as we have been practicing.
Felicity nodded and Katherine helped her down the stairs. Raymond looked behind him when he heard footsteps, he froze when he saw the beautiful honey gold hair girl who was coming down the stairs with Katherine behind her and was holding her hand like she was keeping her from falling? His brows creased as he wondered why that would be a thing until he noticed how the young girl was walking. A strong force to laugh popped up in his throat and he had to fight to keep himself from laughing.Morris heard the soft sound almost like a stifling laughter coming from his boss, he looked at him from the corner of his eyes and saw how his boss was really trying to keep himself from laughing, wondering what could be the reason, he looked at the approaching women and immediately picked out why his boss was trying really hard not to laugh and he found himself in the same situation.Katherine smiled to them "welcome to my home sir, assistant Morris" she helped Felicity sit down and sat besid
Raymond took Felicity to one of the most famous amusement park in New York. Felicity gasped at the beauty of it and ran around like the child she was, she wanted to ride everything ridable and kept pointing at anyone she see, Raymond and Morris followed behind, acting like her body guards. They first registered for her to ride the Ferries Wheel, she got in happily but when she saw that neither Raymond nor Morris got in too, her eyes teared up."What is she doing?" Raymond asked with a frown."I think she is about to cry sir" Morris answered."Why?" Raymond frowned "wasn't she happy about this a while ago? Does she suddenly want to change her ride?""I don't think that is the problem sir.""Then what is it? Be out with it.""I think she wants us to ride with her" Morris answered carefully.Raymond looked at him unbelievably "I should get into that? When I was a child I didn't even ride it and you want me to ride it now?""It's what the lady wants sir."Raym
Raymond looked around but Morris was no where to be found, he cursed as he lean over to wipe her mouth and cursed again when he realized that her plate has stained his suit, right on then, he decided that one nanny is not even enough to take care of her and so he is going to get more, but getting more means exposing his secret and he couldn't help but let out a frustrated sigh.Felicity immediately jumped into her ice cream and Raymond couldn't help but sigh when he saw her smearing her whole face with it, he is in it, he shook his head and prayed Morris should just return and immediately picked up his phone to call him but unfortunately, Morris was watching everything through the window and when he saw Raymond's call, he didn't even think about answering.After she finished her ice cream, Raymond had to wipe her mouth again but this time, he stood up and walked closer to her, after that, he lifted her chin to look at him, their face were so closed and Felicity felt her heart
Eight months later, Felicity and Raymond were on a date, she had finally given into his persuasion three months ago and they have been dating for three months now. Although she was more matured and poised now but sometimes she still shows him her childish behavior which led him to believe that he now has three children.He has gotten a lot closer to his children and everyone found out that miraculously, Darryl was a daddy's boy. He always wants his dad around him and sometimes he claims to be sick just to miss school and then he will bug his grandaunt later to take her to work with him so that he will see his dad and will stay in Raymond's office the whole day till he brings him home. Of course he won't go to Felicity who was now working in the ICT department of The Baldwin's Empire, because he knows she will end up dropping him in the school.How did he know that?Because it has happened once to him.Although Felicity may be cute, but she didn't want to spoil her kids,
Three months later, Raymond pulled over in the driveway, he got down just as the door was opened and two children ran out shouting, "daddy!"He squatted and opened his arms for them and they slammed into him, he kissed both their cheeks, "how are you?""I'm fine" they both said excitedly."So, are you ready for a fun day?" He asked and they nodded vigorously. He smiled and kissed their head each. He looked up at the lady who was watching them, at his gaze, she turned and shut the door before approaching them."Now that we are set, let's give some rules, one, no running off, stay close where I can see you, two, no rough play and three, don't lose each other. If you obey these rules, then I will consider us going for another fun day" she said to the kids.The kids readily agreed to the rules and ran to Raymond's car while their parents followed after them. "Thank you" he said to Felicity but she ignored him.Raymond smiled, it's one step at a time, at least she
Getting to their destination, they all got down from the car and Hana looked at Raymond, "are you sure you should have come with us? I don't want little Lee rejecting us because of you.""If she doesn't want to see him, he would just stand outside and wait for us" Desmond said as they walked to the patio.Raymond said nothing but just walked silently behind them. Desmond rang the bell and the door was answered by Mercy.She was surprised to see them and she doesn't know if she should let them in or not, but at the end, she smiled and shifted aside for them to enter, "please come in."They walked in to first hear the voice of a little girl whining, "you said you will give me your cake.""You eat too much, very soon you will become fat" a little boy's voice reprimanded her."Alright hush you two, you mustn't fight all the time" a lady's voice was heard, they had made their way to the living room then to see the kids surrounding a woman who was placing two plates of c
Darryl tossed and turned on his bed, he couldn't get himself to sleep. He kept thinking of the gray eyes he saw today, the gray eyes that looked so much like his own. He has never been attracted to all those men that wants to see his mom like he was to the one he saw today. He wants to see him again. And after hearing his mom and aunt fight, he knew his instinct is right, that man is his father. Even though neither his aunt nor his nanny wanted to admit it, but he knew.He climbed out of his bed and approached his sister own, he gently climbed into it and gazed at her sleeping face, after what felt like minutes passed, he gently tapped her shoulder, "Sofie, wake up Sofie.""Mm, leave me alone" she pushed his hand away and flipped on the bed."Come on Sofie wake up, I need to tell you something.""Tell me tomorrow" she mumbled.Darryl pouted, "if you wake up, I will give you my cake in the morning."Sofia's eyes snapped open immediately, "you will give me your cake?
Katherine entered the house to see Felicity standing beside the sofa with her arms crossed on her chest, she sighed and knew she would be getting some questioning, "little Lee.""Don't call me that!" Felicity warned.Katherine heaved a sigh, "Felicity, I understand you are angry but, this is expected. You can't hide them forever.""I don't want him to know about them. For goodness sake aunt Katy, I don't want to have anything to do with him in my life again.""But you know that's not possible. No matter how bad you want to take him out of your life, you can't. As long as you still have the children, he is tied to you with them.""Not if he doesn't know about them. I want him out of my life and out of theirs. He doesn't deserve to be with them, he doesn't deserve to have them!""That's like saying it's not his blood that runs in their veins.""If I say it's not, its not."Katherine sighed, "Felicity...""Aunty Katy please" she raised her hand to stop her, "
Felicity and Katherine looked at each other before looking at him again, "why would you say that?" Katherine asked."Because I want to see my daddy. All my friends in school use to talk about how their daddy thought them how to throw ball and builds snowmen with them. I want my daddy to teach me too and build snowmen with me" as if that wasn't enough, he looked at his little sister, "don't you want to meet daddy Sofie?"The little glutton sitting on her Mommy's lap immediately nodded continuously, "yes, I want to meet daddy. Daddy will take me to amusement park and buy me ice cream and cake."Darryl rolled his eyes, "glutton, all you think about is food.""Mom, Darryl called me glutton again" she whined."Darryl, don't call your sister glutton again" Felicity looked at her daughter "but mommy use to take you to amusement park and buy you cake and ice cream.""Yes but daddy will carry me on his shoulder and spin. Then he will kiss my head and call me his princess" s
Four years later, Katherine was in her office when a reminder went off in her phone. She stopped going through the document in her hand and picked up her phone, when she saw the note in the reminder, she immediately dropped the phone and her writing pen. She took of her reading glasses and arranged her desk neatly. Piling up the documents in one side on the desk.Katherine stood up and put on her jacket, she grabbed her phone, her handbag and her car key. She rushed out of the office in quick strides that was surprising with her heels. When she got to the elevator, she saw Raymond walking out of it on call and she immediately took the stairs. She can't afford him seeing her now.Even though they had became quite closer with the years, something's are not in her power to decide. She came out from the stairway on the next floor and took the elevator.She rushed to her car and immediately got in, she ignited the car while dropping her handbag on the passenger's seat, she was s
A month later, Raymond was in the conference room of the Baldwin empire, having a meeting with the board of directors when the door was thrown open and stormed in a very angry Desmond.Everyone looked at him surprised for they hardly sees the old chairman so angry that it's as if smokes were puffing out from his ears and they all prayed not to be the reason of his anger."Raymond!" Desmond shouted "what is the nonsense I hear?"Raymond sighed, if his grandfather called him Raymond, then he must be really angry with him, "grandpa, I don't know what you are talking about.""What nonsense!" Desmond slammed his hand on the table causing everyone to jump including Raymond, "don't you dare act ignorant with me" he warned."Grandpa, why don't you calm down and let's talk in my office. Maybe you can tell me what have you infuriated this much.""Don't tell me to calm down. How could you break your grandmother's heart like this?"Raymond need no soothsayer to tell him wha
Raymond lifted his glass to his lips again, "bottom's up" he murmured and down his throat it all went. He dropped the glass with a thud on the table before picking up his whisky to fill it up again.Ha, he can't believe this, he has suddenly become a drunkard and he knows not the reason.Oh shit, he knows the reason, he just doesn't want to admit it. But it's not bad if he admits it now, after all, there is no one here. Not just anyone but one particular person. Katherine.She is not here so she is not going to look down on him if he should admit it, so he can, just for this night. Only this night.He has not stepped his foot in his mansion for the past one month now, why?Because he misses her and he is afraid of missing her more when he goes home. He doesn't want to feel the emptiness there now that she is gone.He can't believe it, it's only been a month and he is going crazy. He wants to see her.Hell, he wants to kiss her.To make sweet passionate love t