The gentle morning breeze was what woke Anna up the next day: the sound of bird chirping and leaves rustling in the quiet morning breeze.Usually, the kids would be up and about in her room by now, but seeing as they were nowhere near, they must have found a new prey in Loveth.“Good morning, sunshine, you look well rested,” Loveth said as Anna came down the stairs about an hour later.“Yes, it was a long night,” Anna replied as she kissed her kids on the head.“Morning, Mom,” they all chorused.“How was your first night with grandma?” Anna asked them.“It was cool,” James responded.“It was great!” Jayden shouted“I liked it,” Jasmine said“Nice,” Anna muttered as she took a sit to the right of Loveth, opposite her children.“I assumed you guys had gone off to a meeting again. Funny, Clayton is not down at this time,” Loveth muttered.Anna could hear the slight concern in her voice, so she placed a hand on her arm and said, “I’m sure he would be down shortly, probably a lot tired tha
“Stop that!!”That was the scream that woke Simon up the next day. He sat up suddenly in bed, lost for a few seconds as to where he was.Then he remembered he was at his house, and the last time he checked, his neighbor didn’t have children.“I am going to catch you!!”Another scream pierced his ears, coming over the wall at the back of his house. He had slept off with the terrace door wide open last night.“F*ck!” He muttered under his breath, knowing full well he would not be able to go back to bed.He rose out of bed, clad in nothing but his shorts; he walked over to the large glass wall, which spanned a major part of his bedroom wall.“There goes my peace and quiet,” Simon muttered under his breath as he padded on bare feet to his kitchen to get a cup of coffee.His mind was clouded; he had fallen asleep with one thought in his mind—Why now?“Such a good time; everyone has chosen to be back in town,” Simon muttered, rolling his eyes in irritation.He closed his eyes, savoring the
“Clayton?” Anna called out again.“Over here,” Clayton responded.“What are you doing? What was that sound?” Anna called out.“Sorry, that came from there, and we are just trying to make sense of some of the things we will be doing for the next few weeks,” Clayton responded with his nose buried in some documents.Anna walked around a shelf of books before she finally saw the table. Beside it, a trolley with a pile of books had fallen to the floor. Behind him was a large window that looked out at the back of the house.Clayton bent down, trying to raise the trolley with the books that had fallen, and after a few grunts, he succeeded.“Hi Anna, where did you go so early?” Nat asked, scanning through a book with her.“I went to see my mom,” Anna replied, totally engrossed with the view through the window.Nat looked up, her brows raised as she glanced over at Anna and asked, “Your mom? You went to see her without the kids?”“Yes, I went to the cemetery, Nat,” Anna replied, finally lookin
When Simon walked through the Parker Group head office on Monday, there was a new gait to his movement.“Good morning, Mr. Parker,” several employees greeted as they passed.Simon nodded his head in response as William hurried to catch up with him.“Did something happen over the weekend?” William asked, eyeing him curiously.“No, why do you say that?” Simon asked.“You have that look you usually have when you are about to defeat a competitor," William replied as they stepped into the elevator.“You think so?” Simon asked with a shrug.“Yes,” William replied.“It’s that time of the year, William; there are a lot of competitions coming soon. It's always a rat race at this time of the year,” Simon stated.“Of course,” William responded with a nod.If there was anything that could make Simon smile, it was the satisfaction of winning over a competitor.“Like the Kids and Comms program that we are about to kickstart,” Simon stated.“Well, it’s good to see we are starting off the week on a g
Anna turned to Clayton as they drove into Gary's head office, stopping him in his seat with a hand on his arm as he tried to get out of the car.“Remember what we discussed yesterday,” Anna stated, narrowing her eyes at him.“Yes, Anna, I do, for God's sake; Mom is hypertensive, and adding all this would not be a good idea,” Clayton muttered."Just wanted to make sure we are on the same page," Anna muttered, letting go of his arm,.Loveth’s words layed in her mind again: “The scan showed there might be a little bit of an issue with my heart, although it’s not serious,”“I’m not going to let Simon push the last family I have to the grave,” Anna muttered under her breath as she got out of the car.They walked into the building and headed to the reception, where Natasha was already waiting for them.“Someone is coming down to get us,” Nat informed them.“Okay,” Anna muttered.Just then, someone called from behind them, “Mr. Fisher?”Clayton turned back and replied, “Yes, I’m Fisher.”“Ok
The whole room was silent as they turned to Anna. Nancy had a scowl on her face while Michael looked puzzled.“Please go ahead; what might this condition be?” Michael asked.“I would like to get the chance to pick my own team members, permanent members,” Anna stated.“But you already have those who…” Michael said.“I only work with those who I decide are competent enough,” Anna said, cutting him off.“Are you insinuating that we do not know what we are doing? Or that we are incompetent?” Nancy asked, scoffing in anger.“I mean, considering the competence of the team lead, it is only right for me to have my reservations,” Anna responded with a smile of amusement.Nancy’s hand balled into a fist as she stared at Anna with so much contempt.“How do you intend to do that? I mean, choose your own team members,” Michael asked.“I will get back to you on that; for now, I would like to see my workstation,” Anna said, standing up.Michael was taken aback for a few seconds as he realized she ha
Jasmine walked into her mother’s room, with James and Jayden right behind her.“Are you sure you saw it in Mom’s room?” James asked.“Yes, I did,” Jayden told them for the hundredth time.They didn’t believe him, which was why they were there to prove him wrong.“It was a picture,” Jayden insisted.“Where did you see it?” Jasmine asked.“In a box, Mom likes to keep it away from us,” Jayden replied.“How then did you see it?” James asked, rolling his eyes.“I saw Mom crying that day with the box open. You and Jasmine were sleeping,” Jayden explained.“What if the box is at home?” Jasmine asked.“I don’t think we can find Daddy like that,” James stated.“We can, if we see the picture Jayden is talking about, we can use that…” Jasmine said, trailing off.“Shhh, you said not to say it,” James said, placing a hand on his lips as his small eyes rounded in surprise.“Okay, okay, I’m not going to say it,” Jasmine said, her eyes filled with amusement.“See!” Jayden shouted suddenly.“What?” Ja
Anna smiled at Clayton and Natasha as she asked, “Let’s see who can provide a solution to our need.”“Okay,” Nat muttered, still confused as to what she meant.“We have an investor's bid coming up in two weeks; I need a list of some of the organizations that would be at that bid.” Anna instructed.“Okay, I’ll get right to it,” Nat responded.“No, why would you do that? I’ve got more important things I need you to handle. Instead, have everyone interested in working for me gather here in the next ten minutes,” Anna stated.“Okay,” Nat said as she typed the mail.“Also, let’s not restrict it to just Nancy’s department; anyone who is competent enough within the firm is free to come try,” Anna said, smiling, a mischievous glint in her eyes.Clayton shook his head and muttered under his breath, “Oh god save us.”In ten minutes, they had a total of ten people in the room already, including Evelynn and Felix, who had brought them up earlier.“I see you are all interested in joining my team.
By the time Nat and Anna got back to the office, they didn't find Clayton in the office. Nat had waited for Anna at the rooftop elevator, not wanting to leave her alone."He must have left early," Nat said with a shrug.Anna cast a glance at her with a shake of her head as she headed to her desk."What? It's possible; we both know he does not really have a knack for hard work," Nat stated, sitting down.Anna didn't respond as they both got back to work, with Anna constantly catching Nat's eyes straying to the door and Clayton's table."You know you can just call him," Anna said, after about thirty minutes of silence."Why?" Nat asked."I mean, you obviously feel guilty about what happened," Anna muttered, looking up from the document in front of her."Guilty? Me? Of course not," Nat murmured with a roll of her eye."We both know you were kind of harsh with your words, Nat. And before you say more, I know Clayton can be a handful, and we both probably still blame him for all that has h
“Good morning, Grandma,” Jayden said with a grin that morning as Rosa served them breakfast.“My lovelies, how are you guys?” Loveth said with a grin as she kissed them on their heads.“Fine, Grandma,” Jasmine replied.“That’s good to know; this house is less as quiet as a graveyard since you guys arrived,” Loveth muttered happily.“I’m sure you love that, Mrs. Fisher,” Rosa responded with a grin.“Of course, who wouldn’t love them? Just look at how cute they look,” Loveth said proudly.The triplets grinned, knowing how cute they looked, while Loveth and Rosa stared at them. They had breakfast, which was made up of bread and tea with a plate of omelet to go.“Can we go check it now?” Jayden whispered to Jasmine.Jasmine leaned close to him and placed a hand on his ears as she replied, “Shhh, Grandma is going to hear you.”“What are you two whispering about?” Loveth asked them.“Nothing, Grandma,” Jasmine said with a broad grin.“Okay, if you say so,” Loveth stated.After about twenty m
Simon looked up while William turned back at the sudden burst of the door.“Who is that?” William called out just before he saw it was Gideon.Simon’s brows went up in confusion as he saw Gideon walking towards him.“What do you want, Gideon? I am busy at the moment,” Simon stated.“F*ck you, Simon Parker!” Gideon shouted.“Whatever this is, I’m sure it can wait,” Simon responded just as Gideon got to his desk.“No, it cannot,” Gideon shouted.From all indications, all h*ll was about to break loose, and there was no telling how it was going to turn out.“We have had a discussion today, William. I am not in the fr*aking mood to deal with you again today,” Simon said.“Well, f*cker, you have no choice but to deal with this now!” Gideon shouted.He looked so pissed his nose was flaring with his eyes locked on Simon like a loaded gun.“Hmm, I will be outside if you need me,” William said, turning to leave the office.“Stay right there,” Simon said, his voice ice cold.William turned back
For a moment, Lily’s face filled her mind, from her gentle smile to her eyes. Anna’s’ knuckles turned white from holding onto the desk.“Can we please not talk about this?” Clayton said, staring at Nat.“It’s not like I want to talk about it, but he just had to come do that right before us,” Nat responded.“For f*ck’s sake!” Clayton exclaimed, flipping a hand through his hair.“Shut the f*ck up! The both of you!” Anna shouted, slamming her fist down on the table.Nat and Clayton turned to look at her, having been too engrossed in their argument to notice the change in her face.“Anna? Are you alright?” Nat asked.Anna shook her head, picked up her phone, and walked out of the office. Being back in New Jersey suffocated her. She walked into the elevator and headed for the rooftop.She needed some fresh air, something to ease the pain. She had set a reminder for Lily’s birthday, a small way for her to remember and celebrate her.“I’m sorry, Lily,” Anna muttered as she walked out of the
Anna looked from Nat to Clayton and asked, “If you are going to speak in riddles, then maybe don't speak at all.”“Clayton, if it is something that is going to help us, then you should say it. We all agreed you would not keep any secrets from us again, didn’t we?” Nat stated.“So, it is common knowledge around here that the Hawthorne’s have a close tie to the Parker group," Clayton stated.Anna was silent, trying not to show how pissed she was by that information even though she already knew. That was more reason she was h*ll bent on ensuring they lost the bid this year.“Are you sure? You mean the same judge Anna irked at the last event?” Nat asked in shock.“Yes, and if rumors are to be believed, it’s not just an ordinary connection.” Clayton replied.Nat and Clayton turned to look at Anna, waiting for her to say something.“You don’t look surprised.” Clayton muttered; his eyes narrowed at Anna.“You already know?” Nat asked.Anna nodded, moving to the board, which had been placed t
“Looks like you are hiding something,” Paul said, moving closer to the table.Noah unfolded his arm and responded, “I am not hiding anything, Paul, for God’s sake. Are you always going to be this paranoid whenever you don’t get to have a say?”“Yes, I am, and more, Noah, tell Simon he is to know his place and seek counsel if he does not want all this to go bad for him.” Paul responded.“Know my place?” Simon's voice echoed from behind them.They all looked back to see Simon walk into the office. So engrossed were they by their conversation that they didn’t hear the door open.“Hmm, Simon, Paul, and Gideon were just about to leave,” Noah stated, raising his brow at Paul.They stared at each other silently for a few seconds just before Paul turned to Simon and said, “What is the promotional offer for?”“Damn it, Paul, we already talked about this.” Noah cursed, knowing fully well that discussing it with Simon was not a good idea.“Hmm, what else could it be for if not to get more client
“Good morning, Father. Did you get my message yesterday?” Gideon inquired as he entered the building the following day, accompanied by his father."Yes, I did. Although it does not explain much. Are you sure?” Paul asked.Gideon had dropped a message for his father last night after he had been unable to reach him.“Something seems fishy with Simon, and I think it has something to do with the group.” Gideon replied.“Good morning, Mr. Parker,” some workers greeted as they passed.Paul nodded in response, casting them a smile before glancing over at Gideon.“You know you can’t make a case with just your feelings, right? You need to find out what exactly he is trying to keep from you.” Paul replied.“I will, at least I intend to,” Gideon responded.Just before they got to the elevator, Paul looked down towards the end of the lobby and saw a standing banner.His brows furrowed as he squinted his eyes and said, “What is that?”Gideon looked from the phone he had been pressing and saw Paul
“What message?” Simon asked, his voice rigid.“Hmm, I don’t think there is any way to explain this; I’d rather you have a look at it yourself,” Hillary replied, her voice filled with creepiness.A ping sound from the phone signaled that she had sent them a message. William opened it, and it was a picture.“What does that mean?” William muttered under his breath as he passed the phone over to Simon.Simon took the phone, looked down at the picture, and in the first few seconds, he could not make any sense of what it meant.“Is that a skull I’m looking at?” Simon asked, his brows squeezed in confusion.“Apparently so,” Hillary responded on the call.The images were emojis: a skull, a smiley face, and then a laughing one. It all looked as creepy as Hillary had made it out to be earlier.“Is there supposed to be a meaning behind this?” Simon asked.“Well, there is, and we would have to decipher what that could be. The skull emoji is usually a sign of threat, but the following emojis do no
Gideon’s brow went up in suspicion as Simon’s voice dropped a notch. He was unable to make out his words.“Is everything okay?” Sophia asked from behind again.“Looks like trouble to me; what’s going on?” Gideon asked, his eyes narrowed at Simon.Simon kept listening without saying a word, and after several minutes, he ended the call.“Sophia I’m afraid I need to attend to something; can you go on without me?” Simon asked.“Sure, it’s not a problem. I wouldn’t want to keep you from work, especially since it seems urgent,” Sophia replied, patting his arm.“Okay, I’ll see you around; let me get someone to drive you,” Simon insisted.“Last I checked, I was not invincible, and it looks like you are trying to keep something away from me,” Gideon stated, folding his arm on his chest.Simon turned to him and responded, “It’s best you get on your way, because there is nothing to keep from you, Gideon.”Simon turned and walked back into the building without as much as a glance back.“Shhh, I te