Next day ....
Thursday 8:00am ...
Wilson Corporation Headquarters
Marshall cleared his throat lightly as he stepped out of the elevator, he slowly adjusted his tie on his well tailored suit.
As he straightened his tie, the fabric pulled taut across his broad chest and toned torso. He stood at an impressive six feet tall, with broad shoulders and a lean, athletic build. His suit hugged his frame in all the right places.
His face was just quite as we remembered it! But a little bit more matured and more manly, he still had his sharp, angular features that spoke of confidence and determination. His jawline was chiseled, and his cheekbones were prominent, creating a sculpted look that was both imposing and attractive. His eyes were a piercing blue, with a hint of steel in their gaze that commanded respect.
His forehead was smooth and unlined, and his hair was a well-groomed salt-and-pepper color, and even in his early old age he was still slaying looks!.
It was quite obvious where Arthur got his looks from.
"Good Morning Sir," Mathew his personal assistant rushed in behind him immediately as they walked towards his office.
"Morning,"
"Have you gotten the source of that picture?!" He asked as they walked into the office.
"Umm no, no sir," Matthew replied.
"What do you mean no?!"
"Two days now you still haven't found out the source,"
"I mean, whoever it is has to come out and make a public apology!"
"Do you know the amount of social bully my children have had to face because of those baseless pictures!"
"This isn't even about me!"
"I'll make sure Alexa gets to the root of this today!"
"You had better!" He snapped as he placed his bag in the table and took his seat.
"Meanwhile, what's my day looking like today?!"
"Stake holders meeting by ten, lunch meeting with Mrs O'Donoghue by twelve and board meeting by three"
"And then there are some property files that you still have to sort out, before we out them up for sale"
"Okay bring those files to my office let me get started on them immediately,"
"What about Mrs Taylor the investor from canada, has she gotten back to us?!"
"Not yet,"
"Okay, let's hope she does as soon as possible,"
"Yes boss," Matthew replied as he bowed slightly and stepped out yo go get the papers.
Hospital....
"Bestiee!" Eleanor squealed happily as Tyler walked into her ward room.
"Hey baby girl," he replied as she turned around and pulled him into an hug.
"When you told me you were getting discharged today I knew I just had to come visit," he said and she smiled.
"I understand,"
"You still haven't told me how you got here, are we keeping secrets now Eleanor?!" He murmured and she laughed.
"It was just a minor misunderstanding with Arthur,"
"Just minor misunderstanding and you have your head wrapped up in a bandage, what if it was serious," he said and she laughed.
"The injury is actually not serious,"
"I know you're lying bes, but let's just leave it at that" he murmured.
"Thank you," she whispered
"So Arthur let you leave work today?!"
"Of course not, he's not even aware, I just had someone cover up for me,"
"Tyler! Are you sure that's a safe thing to do!"
"It doesn't matter, all that matters is that I'm here!" He replied and she nodded with a smile.
"So how has work being?!"
"Having a great time yeah?!"
"If working under tension and pressure, with so much yelling and stomping of feet around passes for great time, then yeah I'm having a very great time!" He replied an. She bursted out laughing.
"It can't be that bad!" She muttered.
"What?!"
"It's very bad, like really really bad!"
"Everyday we pray that Sir Marshall comes back and be our boss," he said and she smiled.
"I admire your creative imaginations," she replied.
"I know right,"
"We stuck with him for God knows how long," he murmured.
"Don't worry we'll be fine," she replied patting his back, with a small smile, she had been done that smiling thing alot for quite sometime now, she had absolutely no idea why, nothing was funny!.
"And there's Hazel, trying to be little miss perfect!"
"I'm sure her long term goal is becoming the boss favorite staff," he said and they both bursted out laughing.
"Or she probably wants to get employee of the year at the corp's end of the year party!" Eleanor added tauntingly both of them still laughing.
"Well too bad for her, my homie's gonna bag that like she always have!" He said, her laughter subsided immediately and turned into a small shrug.
"I highly doubt that though, with the way Arthur is moving I doubt that!" She said with the side of her lips.
"He seems to hate me, I have no idea why,"
"He's just really close minded at the moment, don't worry with time he'll see what a gem you are,"
"I hope so,"
"I know so,"
"So are you done packing?!" He asked e she stood up from the bed.
"Actually no, and I should be done by now, but you just had to interrupt me with your gossip,"
"Ouch!"
"But you love my gossip, you live for it!" Tyler teased and she laughed.
"Whatever!...."
Cooper Corporation Headquarters .....
Some minutes past five ...
"Fred we need to talk!" Marshall said as he walked into Fred's office and slammed the door.
"It doesn't look like I have much of a choice," Fred replied with a smug smile, he dropped the pen he was holding cracked his muscle and reclined in his chair.
"I'm not joking Fred,"
"I don't joke with my children and you know it, don't test my patience!"
"Wait wait wait, hold up, I think that line should be mine!"Fred interjected holding up his hands, he stood up from his seat and walked towards Marshall.
"I'm the one with a battered and bruised daughter!"
"And if you don't control your daughter you'd end up battered and bruised too!" Marshall snapped.
"And what exactly gave you the audacity to waltz into my office and threaten to physically abuse me!"
"Threaten?!" Marshall scoffed as he stepped intimidatingly close to him.
"It's more like a warning!"
"Nothing is working between both our families!"
"Our daughters especially, it didn't work out so warn your daughter to stay a hundred feet away from my daughter!"
"My daughter will do as she damn well pleases!"
"Like father like daughter eii, both just an attention seeker!"
"I know you put those baseless pictures up on the internet and had your daughter bully Isabella with it,"
"Okay so now you're blaming your misery on me, I wasn't the one that asked you to be a national Man whore!" Fred snapped, Marshall balled his hands into a tight fist as he restricted himself from getting excessively angry.
"Just pray I don't find evidences against you, because if I do, you'd utterly hate the day you uploaded this pictures on line!"
"I held Isabella off yesterday, the next time something like that happens, you and your daughter might not have it that easy!"
"So I'm warning you now Fred!"
"Stay away from my family!" He growled and with that he turned around and stormed out, slamming the door shut in the process.
That same day ... Liberty High ... Closing hour .... "Isabella," Finn called as he walked up to her locker, she was trying to sort out her books and she didn't even react to her name or behave like she was being called. "Isabella, you can't tell me you haven't heard me call your name all day!" He said sighing frustratingly as he stood beside her. "Finn, do you happen to know me from somewhere before you came to this school," "If you do , can you please juggle my memory because I don't seem to remember," "We haven't met before," he replied, his brows creased in confusion. "Exactly! That's my point," "Why then would you not leave me the hell alone!" "Only yesterday we began talking, I got in trouble and detention," "This is pretty much not what I want for my final year as a high schooler!" "It would be totally unheard of that I'd loose all the reputation I've gathered in the last four years because of a guy," "Thank you for helping with my speech," "But Olivia she really wa
Next day .....Friday Morning....Dew droplets of rain fell on the ground as a small crowd gathered in front of Mr Smith - Eleanor's father's grave.They sang hymn of praises toGod and there after hymn for the departed soul.Immediately they were done singing, the pastor in charge stepped forward to and asked Eleanor to read a scripture in the bible, on which he was going to take his preaching from.Eleanor was dressed in a black long silk dress and her head was wrapped in a black scarf and a shawl draped over it, she stood on her mom left hand side who was also dressed in a back dress and her brother Aiden stood by Racheal's right hand side, he was wearing a dark sunshade as he stared at the coffin."Today we've gathered here, for the final burial of our Brother, Jayden Smith, we love him but God loves him more,""And we're quite sure that he was called home by God, his time here on earth with us was up and there's nothing that could have helped it,"He went on and on to say how he c
Later that night ....7:00pm ..."Get Isabella from her room to come down for dinner" Penelope said to one of the maids as they served their food."Yes ma," she bowed and rushed upstairs immediately."Hey What's up peeps," Isabella greeted as she walked down the stairs and towards the dinning, Marshall just nodded with a smile as he picked up his cutlery."And might I remind you young lady, there's no mate of yours here," Penelope said as she told her seat at the dinning."Jeez Mom, relax, it's just an harmless greeting," she murmured."Whatever,""Hey keep your voices down, I'm trying to watch the news," Marshall hushed as he pointed towards the TV."Canadian successful Entrepreneur who has been anonymous for quite sometime now, has finally moved into Los Angeles to invest," The news caster said begining another headline "Although, it's not sure yet, but we have rumors from a quite reliable source that she would be looking to invest in Wilson Corporation," the newscaster continued"
Next day ....Saturday Morning 8:00am ....Eleanor took in a deep breath as the elevator's door dinged, she exhaled slowly and then walked out of the elevator."What?!""Eleanor?!" All the staff called in surprise as the all stood up and rushed towards her."We heard about your Dad?!""So sorry for the loss,""May his soul rest in perfect peace," they all greeted and she just stood watching them with a small smile as she hugged them back."Bestie," Tyler finally called as he pulled her into a tight hug."Tyler, how have you been coping without me" she asked as they disengaged and they both bursted out laughing."Whatever,""How's your head feeling now,""Better like nothing ever happened,""Eleanor you still didn't tell us what happened to your head that sent you to the hospital bed," Lydia asked and she smiled."I already did, " she whined."It was just a little clumsy accident," she repeated and all of them stepped forward again and pulled her into another hug."Honestly, we missed
"What do you want here?!" Arthur asked as he dropped his phone and looked up at Eleanor."I'm- I'm sorry, I just came to drop today's report before going home ," she whispered, she slowly looked down at his wristwatch and took the drive from her."Whatever, get out from my office," "Sure," she whispered as she turned around and headed for the door."We have a meeting with my dad by nine on Monday morning, make sure to look presentable!" He said and she nodded slowly."Okay sir." She said before stepping out."What an assistant!" He exhaled as she stepped out.Later that night ....Wilson's Mansion ....Isabella heard her phone ring, she quickly reached for it as she gently pushed her canvas aside and stood up from the chair she was seating on"Finn," she called enthusiastically."I never thought you would want to call me,""I know right," he murmured and she could feel his smile over the phone."I just wanted to say Hi," he added"Well hi to you too!" She replied and they both burste
Monday MorningWilson Corporation Headquarters....9:33am ...."Is she really kidding us right now, delaying us on purpose?!" Penelope voiced out in frustration.Marshall looked down at his wristwatch watch for the umpteenth time and sighed heavily."She said she ran into a major delay," Mathew repeated like he had always being repeating for the last thirty minutes."Oh please, we all know she's trying to drive home a dirty point!" She snapped."Umm, I'll suggest everyone keeps on the vibrant spirit and remain calm," Eleanor said.Penelope slowly turned to her and threw some death glares at her, Eleanor cowered in fear as she moved her gaze away, Marshall quickly entwined his fingers in Penelope's to restrain her from saying anything, and it worked as she swallowed her words turning to look at him in the eye.The door slowly went open and they all turned to look at it, what first of all caught their attention was the shimmering fushia Pink Stilettos with conspicuous baby pink bow on i
"Oh shut up!" Penelope slammed as she reached forward and pulled her back by her cloth.Matilda slowly turned, she looked down at her blazer Penelope was holding tightly and she looked back up at her."If I were you, I'd choose my next words carefully!" Matilda growled."Stop it Penelope," Marshall said immediately."Oh you won't do shit!" Penelope yelled at Eleanor."You better listen to your husband Pen,""Desperate for a man in the past and you're still desperate now!" Isabella slammed "Between the both of us, we both know who's desperate for a man!" Matilda said calmly much to Penelope's irritation."You're still that slum Matilda girl! And the few thousand dollars in your account doesn't change that!" She said and Matilda bursted out laughing."Oh my God, you're so funny Penelope " she whispered still laughing."Actually it does!""Still living in denial I see," "That's fine," she whispered as she moved closer to Penelope and patted her shoulder."Get your hands off me!" Penelo
"I'm so sorry," Eleanor said with tear stained eyes as she pulled him into an hug."I did this to you, I'm very sorry" she whispered, she couldn't bring herself to look at him."We'll miss you Tyler," the other staff whispered as they hugged."It's alright, it's nothing to be sad about, this happens all the time" he said slowly patting Eleanor's back."But you didn't deserve this, I'm sorry""It's not your fault Please, don't even think it's your fault,""I promise I'll help you get another job," she whispered and he nodded slowly."Thank you bestie,""But I need to leave now, we don't want the boss to come here and aggravate your punishment right?!" He said and she nodded slowly."I'll call you," she whispered."What the hell is going on here," Hazel said as she walked towards them."If you don't have anything meaningful to contribute here, keep your dirty mouth shut!" The other staff attacked immediately and she rolled her eyes at them."Anyway , the boss is calling you!" She said t
Author’s POVOne year Later. Isabella stepped out of her room, her heart heavy with thoughts of her mother, today makes it one year since she was sentenced to life imprisonment. After everything that happened they had moved to a small apartment and led a much more quiet life. Thankfully she was already done with high school. Her, her boyfriend and bestfriend gained admission into the same school and will be leaving in a few days. She looked forward to it enthusiastically.She paused briefly in the hallway when she saw her father, Marshall, sitting on the couch with Matilda beside him. They looked so comfortable together, Matilda’s hand resting lightly on his arm, and the sight made Isabella’s stomach churn. The fact that Matilda lived in her own mansion did not stop their house from being her second home and she was there almost everytime. She knew she should be used to it by now—her father had moved on. But every time she saw Matilda in their home, it felt like a slap to her face.
Arthur. Meanwhile.The second we left the restaurant, my world felt like it had cracked open. My chest tightened with every breath, and the weight of the man’s words echoed endlessly in my mind. "My son."It didn’t make sense. None of it did. How could the man standing before me be my father? How could my mother have kept this from me? Lied to me every day of my life. From the look of things my dad was equally as shocked, she played the both of us.Eleanor squeezed my hand gently as we walked aimlessly, far away from the restaurant. I could tell she wanted to say something comforting, but what could anyone say to fix this mess? I didn’t want to hear the truth. Not from anybody."Arthur... do you want to talk about it?" Eleanor's voice was soft, like she was afraid I'd shatter if she pressed too hard. I shook my head. "Not now." We found a park bench and sat down. The late afternoon heat didn’t help; my shirt clung to me, soaked with sweat from everything that had just happened
Few hours Later.Eleanor.“We’re not going to the cafeteria?!” I asked as we walked into the elevator and he pressed on the ground floor, he slowly turned to me and shook his head slowly.“Ofcourse not,”“I’m treating my baby, to the best cheese in town,” he said to me, my face lit up in excitement immediately.“Ouuuuu, as tasty as Paris Comte?!” I asked snuggling closer to him, he turned to look at me and chuckled lightly. “I can’t give you my word on that though,” he said and we shared a laugh, ofcourse American cheese can beat Paris cheese, no matter who makes it. “Also my Dad wanted to meet with us, he said he has something to say,” he added and I nodded slowly with a small oh.“Yeah speaking about your dad, have you seen the accusations going around?! About the company and your mom?!” I said bringing out my phone to show it to him.“No I haven’t, and I really don’t care. I’m used to the rumors. They are not true anyway.” He said, I paused and slowly slipped the phone back in my
Eleanor. Next day. 6:30amMy eyes slowly fluttered open, it took me a while to adjust but immediately I did my gaze fell upon a pair of brown eyes staring down at me. My lips stretched into a shy smile and I slowly raised my hands to cover my face.“How long have you been staring?!” I asked in a mutter as I gently pushed myself up to sit on the bed, “Long enough to know you look extremely cute in your sleep,” he murmured in reply scooting closer to me, I felt literal butterflies in my stomach at his words, he gently raised his hands to my face and tucked my scattered hair carefully behind my ear,“Good Morning Sunshine,” he whispered and placed a small kiss on my forehead.“Good Morning Love,” I murmured in reply with a sweet smile.“Today would definitely be a beautiful day for me, I got to see your face immediately I woke up,” he said, I chuckled lightly as I gently pulled the duvet away from my body and got up.“Stop teasing me Arthur, we have work today let’s get ready,” I mutt
Meanwhile , 6:30pm Eleanor. “Alright then, I’ll take my leave now,” Lydia said to me, I flashed her a small smile and nodded slowly. “And please do the needful,” she whispered, I took my lips into my mouth and nodded slowly.“I’ll try,” I muttered in reply, she passed me one last tight lipped smile before walking out of my office. I exhaled deeply and reclined in my chair. It’s been the three days and Arthur hadn’t spoken to me in these three days, we walked past each other this morning at the entrance and he barely acknowledged my greeting, he seemed to be giving me space, a whole lot of space. He had been doing everything to avoid working together with me and it felt really obvious. I exhaled deeply again, I’ve been doing that a lot recently, I tidied up my work, picked up my bag and headed out. I walked past Arthur’s office, on a second thought I paused and walked back, I placed a small knock on the door before pushing it open and walking in. Immediately he heard my footstep
Three days later … Matilda.“I’ve spoken to Louis,” Camilla began, breaking the silence. We were currently sitting with Carson in his office, it’s been three days after our first discussion and now, based on more developments we have come to restrategize. “He did a thorough job. We have Fred’s financial records, including the transfers to that shell company tied to the mafia. It’s all there.” She continued.Carson stopped pacing and turned to face us, a glint of both relief and worry in his eyes. “That’s good, right? So we can take this to the authorities now? And end this once and for all?!” I shook my head slowly, my fingers tightening around the stack of papers on my lap. “Not yet. We have the proof, yes, but we need to secure a few more pieces before we make any moves. If we present this now without covering our tracks, I have a feeling it wouldn’t give us what we want.”Camilla leaned forward, her gaze serious. “We need to lock everything down. If we go public too soon, Fred
Minutes Later …Eleanor. I sat on the edge of my bed, my knees pulled to my chest as I stared blankly at the wall. My argument with Arthur was still echoing in my head. We had never fought like this before, not so raw and ugly. My heart felt heavy, honestly I thought I should be feeling angry but I was feeling something different, Guilt. He didn’t deserve the things I said to him.Thinking about it now, I said a lot of things I shouldn’t have, I said a lot of things I didn’t mean and I hurt him even when he tried to make things better. I took advantage of my anger and poured out all my frustrations on him, and honestly, I shouldn’t have. I heard a soft knock on my door but didn’t move. The door creaked open a moment later, and my mother walked in. She didn’t say anything at first, just walked in and sat beside me on the bed. The silence between us was thick, but comforting in its own way. She didn’t push, didn’t demand answers, just waited.“Mom,” I finally whispered, my voice bre
Meanwhile. 3:30pm.Arthur. The door creaked open, and Eleanor stepped inside without knocking. She didn’t look at me. She never did every single time since today whenever she comes into my office. Her eyes flickered toward the stack of papers on my desk—the ones related to the project we were supposed to be finishing. She crossed the room, her heels clicking against the hardwood floor, sharp and unrelenting like her silence.“Sir,” she muttered emphasizing in the sir like she had been doing since morning and it is killing me!“I need you to review the final revisions for the Miss Matilda project. The budget allocations are off by two percent, and she’s asking for an updated timeline by tomorrow,” she said, her voice steady, detached. She didn’t pause, didn’t give me a moment to respond, just pushed a file onto my desk and continued.“Mrs Penelope wants the project done and over with as soon as possible,”“The marketing team’s also waiting for your approval on the ad campaign for the
Next Monday.Matilda. “This way Ma’am,” I flashed her a hearty smile as Mr Jackson Assistant led me to his office. My grip on my bag tightened as she led the way and I followed behind her, I wanted to get everything I came here for done as soon as possible. My first and easiest Target was Fred. I had Camilla draw me up companies that Fred cheated is still manipulating to his own advantage. He makes them sign contracts and then goes against them, just because he knew they needed him to survive. This is the third CEO I was visiting today, his office was more modest office, tucked away in the industrial side of the city. immediately I stepped into the office, he looked up and gently got up to his feet to greet me with a small bow.Jackson Barnes, CEO of a local logistics company. “Matilda, I wish I could help,” he said as soon as we sat down, running a hand through his thinning hair. “But you have no idea what these people are capable of. They’ve already made threats against my