Chapter 5

POLLEN’S POV

I stared at him, dumbstruck.

He froze, then sat up abruptly to look under the sheets —just like I did.

“Damn it!” I heard him curse and shut his eyes tight.

“What have you done to me?” I screeched, at the same time jumping off the bed and racing around in search of my clothes.

“What do you mean? I can’t even recall a thing” He muttered— his voice, hazy and exhausted. Then he sat on the edge of the bed to run his fingers through his hair.

“ Ugh!—My head hurts” He groaned.

But I didn’t care. I was too confused to give a hoot.

“My dress!” I said frantically, pulling on the white duvet that was wrapped around my body.

“ Where is my dress?” I asked again, not looking at him.

My eyes were too busy rummaging the suite to do that. Furthermore, I was too embarrassed to look at him even if I wanted to.

“ How am I supposed to know?” Was his rude reply. He got off the bed and staggered to the restroom.

***

RAYMOND’S POV

Once I made it to the restroom, I ran my hands through my hair, then tossed the entire mess backwards. But it didn’t take long before they all fell back in my face.

My head was clamped, so I rested in front the mirror for some moments, scooping up handfuls of water from the running faucet. I splashed my face with it repeatedly, and tried to calm down.

I didn’t even want to go into the bedroom right now and see her. Not like I was being an avoidant, I just wasn’t ready to talk about what happened last night. I would be late for my morning meeting.

The fuzziness in my mind had subsided. After staring at my reflection in the mirror lazily for a few more moment, I walked back to the room.

“ I wanted us to talk about last night, but there is somewhere I need to be presently” I spoke in a muffled voice as I dried my hair with a towel.

“So I will give you my —”

A frown of confusion crept on my face when I took the towel off my face and found no one in the suite. “ Where did she go?” I wondered aloud as I walked around searching for her.

“ Why did she leave like that?” I asked myself.

The doorbell rang, interrupting my train of thoughts. I threw the towel around my broad shoulders and went to get it.

“Good morning Mr. Raymond” The suite attendant greeted me with a coy smile, and I nodded.

When I noticed she was forever going to remain in the same position gawking at my bare body, which just a towel draped around the waist, I asked her to come in.

She blinked awkwardly and mouthed, “Thank you”

Her smile broadened as she rolled in the rail of suits.

Without wasting time, I took out a Navy suit and pants before sending her away. I threw the clothes on and grabbed my phone by the bed stand. Just when I was about to head out, my eyes caught a neck piece in the rumpled bedsheets.

I took it out slowly and raised it up to take a closer look, it was an almond shaped pendant carved out of gold.

I left the suite and strode down the little foyer that led to the elevator. Once I was in the elevator, I flipped through my phone. I had missed tons of calls from my mum.

I smirked at how she must be dying of curiosity, too bad she would have to wait until I finished with the endless meetings I would be having that day.

The elevator dinged and I stepped out. I walked through the reception hall, sparing a glance here and there as the workers greeted me.

When I etched closer to the exit, the auto revolving door flung open and I stepped outside. Upon reaching my car, my driver opened the passenger door. I slid in, and he shut the door back before returning to his spot. The engine came to life, and we were out of the hotel premises in no time.

I rubbed my temple gently when the thought of the previous night fluttered through my head, I could not stop myself from wondering what dating agent my mother patronised.

How did she find a girl like that? She had always bragged about knowing my kind of women, but failed woefully at the only chance she got to prove that. As much as I dig civilised women, I also appreciate some sense of decency too. Getting down with me on a first date was a big turn-off.

Yes, I was that archaic when it involves intimacy. Anything long term should be taken seriously, not hastened, not treated like a piece of filth. Furthermore, I was one of those few who believed that the talking stage should be challenging. I should be given room to chase, placed on my toes, teased, and my elasticity stretched to its limit. That was the only way I could savour the surge of excitement that came with conquering a woman.

And the woman, or should I say the girl I met last night, was nothing like what I wanted.

She was just like every other girl. I knew that when I saw the look of loss in her eyes the minute I said I wasn’t into her. She was so broken that she gulped glass after glass of wine without a second thought. If she had handled her emotions well, we wouldn’t have ended up in a suite.

“Only God knows what happened,” I muttered to myself in sheer frustration.

I shook my head and closed my eyes while leaning against the seat in frustration . I had a very long day ahead of me, which would be rounded up with a tirade of nagging from the woman who bore me by the time I go to see her.

“ The Queen called,” Fred, my driver, announced.

The Queen, that was what everyone who worked under us called my mother, formerly known as Matilda Beckham.

Fred paused to peek at the mirror for my reaction. I nodded, urging him to go on.

“She wants you to call her immediately you retrieve your phone from whatever dungeon you must have left it” He said and quickly added” Those were her exact words, Sir”

I rolled my eyes and looked outside the window, this wasn’t the time for any of what he was saying. So I decided to distract myself, and at the same time meet up with my plans for the day. I brought out my iPad to work over the files my secretary submitted the previous day. That was until Fred spoke again.

“ Isn’t that your date from last night?” He asked, peeking forward with great intent.

“Keep driving” I growled, not lifting my head to look at the direction he was looking at.

“ Why is she taking a bus though?” He inquired, and my hands folded into a fist.

“ How can she take a bus, Fred? Do you know whose daughter that lady is?”

“ Right. I’m sorry” He apologized and rested back in his seat.

I sighed and went back to my work. But my phone started ringing. It was my mother again, I turned the face of the phone downwards and went on with what I was doing.

***

POLLEN’S POV

It was already 9:00am by the time I got to my street, so I asked the Taxi to stop a few houses away from mine.

Even though I knew the chances of me sneaking into the house without being caught was slimmer than a grapheme, I was ready to give it a shot. I clutched onto my purse and walked down the few blocks before mine. I lowered myself when I got to the plants hanging at the gate, taking cover under the flowers that adorned the front yard. In a short time, I was able to tiptoe into the yard.

I took off my stilettos and held them in one hand. With the other hand, I inserted the key in the lock hole and quietly opened the door.

Just when I thought I might get lucky, I was stopped by the sound of heavy breathing coming from my left side. I whirled around to find myself staring directly into my mother’s eyes.

“ Mother!” I yelped and jumped backwards.

“ Where are you coming from?” Her voice came out huskily.