The New CEO
The next day, in the evening, seated on the bed, in her room, Sylvia’s mind wondered in thought to what Douglas said to her yesterday. It was a few hours before the night event. What did he mean by he wants her? At first, thought he could be taking her as a mere commodity but when she began to think deep, she understood what he actually meant, and still left in shock.
Could it be that he had been waiting for her for the past four years? Sylvia spent some hours of the night researching his company, and it turned out Douglas was doing pretty well in his real estate business with international recognition. There was no way he could want her because of material gain from her family. So, what could be his motive behind this marriage? These thoughts were clouded in Sylvia’s head.
She was quickly jolted out of her reverie by a sudden knock at the door. “Please, come in,” she said, turning to the door. It opened, revealing Allison who held a box in her hand, walking towards Sylvia with a smile on her face.
“What is that, girl? Why are you smiling like you’ve won a lottery?” Sylvia asked, and Allison stretched out the box to her. Sylvia narrowed her eyebrows, clueless about what that was all about.
“It’s a gift from Mr. Brooks,” Allison winked at her sister and Sylvia’s eyes widened again.
“We aren’t married yet, and he is already sending me gifts?” Sylvia said and dropped the little mirror she was holding.
Sylvia asked her sister to open the box as she wondered what could be the content. Her eyes widened in shock and her hand flew to cover her mouth. It was a gown – a beautiful blue gown. She joyfully pulled the gown out of the box. A note fell from it to the floor. She picked it up and read:
“Dear wife, I would love to see you in this gown at tonight’s event. As the CEO, you deserve all the eyes on you tonight.
Your love, Douglas.”
Her heart melted at his words not knowing when she reeled with a smile. She dramatically took off the clothes she was wearing and slid into the new gown. It was as if her measurements were taken to make it. It was beautiful on her, accentuating her curves in all the right places.
“You look stunning, Sylvia,” Allison gushed.
“Thank you,” Sylvia replied, still staring at herself in the mirror. Allison helped her arranged her hairs and her legs with a silver heel, a good match for the blue gown.
“Have you gone true the list of the guests yet?” She asked Allison and she nodded.
“Yes, and you can’t believe it. Amanda is going to come, and since she is your ex-husband’s new chick – “
“He will come to the event with her.” Sylvia completed the sentence. They both laughed hilariously.
She picked the divorce papers from the bed which she signed last night after giving it much thoughts. She was entering a new phase of life – one in which she didn’t want any stinky gold diggers around. With a smile, she dropped the papers inside her bag, giving a smirk.
……………………………..
Sylvia and Allison arrived the company, walking and looking around like the first ladies of the city. The place was filled to the brim with different businessmen and women. Some were in a heated discussion, while others just made connections, with glasses of wine in their hands.
It was obvious most of them didn’t know Sylvia in person. They only knew her father had two daughters. Some only barely knew Allison and of course, they must had been expecting her to be the new CEO to be announced tonight. What a joke!
Sylvia scanned through the crowd, hoping to see Douglas, but he seemed to be nowhere around. She wanted to send her appreciation for the gown. She was still looking around when a strange hand tapped her shoulder from behind.
“Sylvia?”
She turned only to behold the presence of Jasper, and just as expected, his hand was wrapped with that of Amanda. Amanda scanned her from head to toe with her eyes snorted.
“I almost didn’t recognize you. What the heck are you doing here? Are you probably a servant to one of these influential men?” Jasper asked, mockery dripping from his tone.
“Oh, goodness! She even borrowed a dress to fit in. Or did she steal it because there is no way she can afford this dress!” Amanda said, laughing out loud.
“Are you done?” Sylvia asked the two mockers, and they blinked at her. “Not everyone is a broke ass nigga like the two of you. This dress can buy you two, so watch your stinking mouth.” Sylvia threw back at them and turned to leave, but Amanda held her hand.
“I’d let go of that hand if I were you.”
They all turned towards the direction of the baritone voice. There stood Douglas Brooks. Sylvia observed he was dressed in a black suit and was even hotter than yesterday. Could it be because he gelled his hair or something else?
Amanda quickly let go of Sylvia’s hand and beamed at Douglas.
“We were just sorting some issues out, Mr. Brooks,” she tried to explain, but he said nothing and held Sylvia’s hand as he took her from there.
They both immediately halted. Douglas looked at her for a while, taking in her beautiful figure. “You look stunning.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ears.
“Thanks. You look good too. And thanks for the dress. I deeply love – the color is catchy,” Sylvia smiled at him.
Douglas was about to say something when the sound of the mic stole their attention as they faced the stage.
“Ladies and gentlemen, before the event begins, I’d like to introduce you all to the new CEO of Winchester Enterprises. Let’s make welcome Winchester Heiress, Sylvia Winchester!” All the hall thundered with applause.
“Now, that’s you,” Douglas said, turning to Sylvia, beaming a beautiful smile. “I’m proud of you.”
“Thank you,” Sylvia said, returning the smile as she made her way to the stage. The clapping increased and cameras flashed in different directions as they tried to get a shot of her.
She got to the stage, taking in the overwhelming sight of the crowd, she gave a slight bow.
“Hello, everyone. I am Sylvia Winchester, Heiress to the Winchester Enterprises and now the CEO!” She announced, and the claps intensified.
Sylvia’s eyes went to Amanda and Jasper, whose eyes were wide in shock.
That was exactly what she wanted!
She has risen and no longer the lady they looked down on.
Now it was time to make them pay for all they did to her!
Kendra looked at Brian and he nodded vigorously, which made her shiver. “Philip?” She said softly, almost in a whisper. “Oh, yes, Mom. Uncle Philip was very kind to me, he almost ran over me with his car but he managed to swerve and stopped the car just in time then he alighted to check if I was alright.” Kendra's mind was reeling. Philip? Here? After all these years? She breathed in deeply as she tried to calm herself down. “Mrs. Winston,” she called the nanny. ”How could you allow this to happen? Brian could have been injured badly.” “Oh, Ms. Williams, I am so sorry. You see, he was playing with his friends and the next thing he is running towards the street, and before I know it, I was struggling to catch up with him.” '‘What am I paying you fo r?!’ Kendra said, her fear translated to anger. ”I handed over my son to you and you were meant to protect him!” “Mom, please do not be angry with Nanny,” Brian pleaded, pulling her hand gently. ‘'It was my fault, I saw a puppy across
Philip's POVI was standing in front of the mirror adjusting my tie. Today, something seemed to be off, but I couldn't quite think of what it was. My phone vibrated breaking me from the train of my thoughts. “Mr. Brooks,” Adrian’s voice came through the speaker, “I think the board is panicking now, the sales are down and they want an emergency meeting, like, now. ” “Christ,” I said aloud, as I raked my fingers through my thinning hair. ”I’ll be there in twenty.“ Taking the keys, I ran out of the house with streams of thoughts in my head. It could not be this bad, could it? We used to dominate the market for quite a number of years. This could only have been a blip, right? Staring off into space, I nearly ran into a kid. I hastily held the brakes and shuddered at the close proximity that nearly claimed th child's life. '‘Bloody hell!’' I cursed as I slammed the car into the park and got out. "Hey, kid! You okay?" The boy then raised his eyes towards me and I could see he was on
Kendra’s POVI lost my breath the moment I heard Brian utter that name – Philip. A name that I had tried so hard to leave in the past, a name that I had wanted to wipe off my memory. But there it was, rearing its ugly head once more, and from my own son’s mouth at that. I got engrossed in my mind when I heard two young ladies talking near the door of the conference room. “I heard that Mr. Brooks,” one of them said to the other. ”Some people said he owes his employees several months of unpaid salaries.”‘‘Oh, really?’’ The other one said, ‘’I am not surprised. A friend of mine in the account section told me that he always boasts of firing anyone who dares to question his authority.” ‘’Oh well, typical Philip Brooks,” The first woman said. “He just likes to bully people around with his muscles but he cannot even pay his workers their salaries when due.” This made me shiver with cold blood. Philip Brooks – it could not be the same one, could it? I muttered to myself, annoyed by my
Philip’s POVI was at my desk, head resting on my hands, staring at the piles of financial statements that lay before me, wondering how things had got this out of hand. I remember we were on the top and enjoying our success and now... bankruptcy? It didn't seem possible. A knock on the door brought me out of my spin cycle of anxiety. “Come in,” I said as calmly as I could despite the stress building up in me. Lillian, my secretary, leaned in through the door. ”Hello, Mr. Brooks, the conference room is free and available for the meeting. Right. The meeting. I'd almost forgotten. “Thanks, Lil I will be there shortly.” I sighed, adjusted my tie, and left for the conference. When I entered the conference room, it was quite evident that the heads of departments were stressed up. Everyone was looking at me with the expectation to deliver answers I was not certain I had. “Okay, everyone,” I said, attempting to sound much more certain than I actually was. '‘There will be no need to mince
Ghosts and GamblesAs Philip drove into the casino parking lot, his thoughts were a blur of whiskey and what-ifs. He got out of the car and left the door open with the aimlessness in his eyes that comes with worry and the sense of seeing a familiar figure. This silhouette could only belong to a woman he regretted ever leaving.Kendra. His ex-wife. The woman whom he had treated so despicably. “Kendra?” he tried to call her name but it died off in his throat. As he moved closer to her, his phone rang loudly in his pocket with a disturbing tone. When he reached in to pull it out, the ghost was no longer there. "Yeah?" he answered gruffly. Phil! Where the hell are you, man?” Jacobs’ voice came through the speaker. “The game’s about to begin!” Philip touched his temples and scolded himself for daydreaming. “Yes, I’m on my way.” It was a sea of lights, the blinks from the slot machines, and the sound of low voices and dreams being lost and dreams being made. Philip tried to move and
Philip’s POVTo my surprise, I literally could not believe what I was seeing. And there she was, Kendra – my ex-wife – pictured on every television and in every magazine. The woman I’d so callously tossed aside was now a global icon, a self-made billionaire. I felt a lump in my throat as I came to the terrifying reality of what I did wrong. “How the hell did you get these?” I whispered to Adrian. Adrian looked at me and raised his shoulders. “It’s all over the media, man, she is all over the media!” I sat down at the table, the burden of the past deeds weighing down on me heavily Jacobs my friend and a business partner frowned at me in silence. ”That’s her, isn’t it?” Jacobs finally spoke. "Your ex-wife?" I looked down ashamed and just nodded. Jacobs huffed deeply, irritated. ‘’You’re one complete and utter fool, Philip. Why did you do that?’’ “I was…” I said, rubbing the back of my head. “I was young, silly, and had no idea what I was doing. I was pursuing something I beli
The Divorce“You good for nothing!” Elena poured and in turn, Sylvia felt the hot palms of Elena connecting with her cheeks – a resounding slap that sent her ears ringing.Sylvia gasped as her hands ran up to hold her cheeks to mellow the impact of the slap. She looked at her mother-in-law with teary eyes.“How could you be so clueless?” Elena barked, her whole body shacking as a result of her raging anger. “Don’t you know how to do anything right? How dare you tell me you want to quit your job? Do you have any idea how much help that particular one has been to us?” she yelled at Sylvia, with reverberating sound echoing through the hallways.Sylvia couldn’t help but stare at her mother-in-law as tears began to roll down her succulent cheeks. She just couldn’t bring herself to utter a word. What had she not done? Sylvia worked four stressful jobs weekly and practically provided for the family. Ever since her husband’s company went bankrupt, Sylvia took over the breadwinner of the house
Sign the Divorce“You and I know this sham of a marriage isn’t working, Sylvia. And I’m tired of trying to make it work, and…”“What are you saying, Jasper? I’ve been the one working my ass work up for the past four years, trying to fix our marriage. You can’t call for divorce out of the blue, not for everything I’ve done for this family, for this marriage to make it work.” Sylvia explained, hoping he had got a clear picture of her sacrifices, but his expression was far from it.He stared at her, his face contorting into a stern frown. “What did you just say? I have tried. How dare you tell me you are the only one making an effort? I still kept you under my roof after you ruined me, my company went down in shambles because I married you, yet I put that behind me and tolerated you for four fucking years. What more do you want from me?” His yelling drew the attention of his mother and Thomas, his younger brother.Out of their rooms, they came upon me like swarms of locusts.“What in Go