Chapter 3

    Jaclyn nodded and let go of Max's hand, said hi to Jake who was still looking at her and then she walked towards Mr Howard's office.

She knocked twice when she got to the door,

"Come in." The man said from inside,

She opened the door and walked in.

Mr Howard wasn't alone in his office,

The other man was inside the office,

Tyrone Grayson.

"Good morning sir." She greeted her boss, not minding the other man who had his eyes fixated on her,

"Morning Jacky, how's your father?" Her boss asked her,

"He's stable now,"

She knew he was going to ask why she didn't stay her day off as he'd told her in the morning,

"My uncle's watching over him." She replied the man to abate further probing question on her father,

He nodded.

"And those files?" He asked,

"I'm done with them, just handed it to Max immediately I came in." She replied him,

He nodded still.

Tyrone did some sort of a gesture to the man and he nodded, then turned to her.

"Jack,

My friend here Tyrone, need a police report on an accident that just happened to his driver,

The man got shot accidentally while the security men already having their shoot practice and the hospital has required a police report before to treat him." Mr Howard explained to her.

Jacklyn looked at the other man,

"Okay sir, I'll be doing that in my office." She said and turned to leave,

"And tell Jake to finish with the target I gave him earlier." Mr Howard said behind her,

She nodded, opened the door and walked out still feeling Tyrone's eyes stripping her body.

   After writing the report,

She went to her boss's office and gave it to him,

"Here you go sir." The man took it from her,

She immediately turned and left the office.

"Here you go Ty,

Your police report." Mr Howard handed the paper to Tyrone, who took it immediately and stood up,

"Thank her for me." He picked up his cellphone from the man's desk and turned to leave.

"How's your boss?" Mr Howard asked him,

Tyrone turned to the man,

"The old man's good,

He's retiring soon and luckily I'm next in line for his position and gracefully I'm so lucky." He said with a wide smile.

"Indeed very lucky." Mr Howard said,

He nodded,

"His divorce is a very rocky one and I don't think Pamela would want to leave him without having enough money to tide her over till she finds another man to hook up with." Tyrone said playfully,

"But nevertheless,

I'm still the only successor to his position at the company." He said proudly and he was very right.

    Lionel Baird is among the top billionaires in New York.

Gracefully to say,

He's the CEO of Nathason, Fleming and Baird.

His position in the company of his late father in-law increased as time goes by.

He started off as an assistant manager,

Then his boss's daughter Clarion Nathason fell in love with him and he was promoted to manager.

They got married a few years later,

But Lionel couldn't balance family and business,

So their marriage didn't work.

They got divorce after two years,

Clarion wanted a marriage and not a business home,

She couldn't keep up with Lionel's constant working and rumors she heard he was cheating on her with his secretary Wendy Martinez, she filed for an annulment of marriage.

Lionel signed the annulment papers like they meant nothing to him order than a business deal and their marriage was over in a twinkle of an eye.

Mr Nathason who wasn't as much concerned about his daughter as he was about his business saw Clarion at fault and to compensate his most loyal worker, he added name to the company's shareholder and he retired.

Everything was left to Lionel to handle and he did it perfectly well.

A few years later,

Mr Nathason passed on and that was Lionel entrance into the upper class world.

Everything was left for him since Clarion the old man's only offspring was far in Canada trying to create a life for herself.

The man handled the business so well, it became the leading financial house in New York,

He got married to a banker awhile later Cynthia Smithson and after five years together,

They got divorced.

But before that, they’d a daughter and after Cynthia blew the whistle on the major drug line and cartel lords in New York.

She was killed alongside her daughter a few days after the drug lord Big Ray was arrested. It was a real pain for Lionel especially for the fact that his then two year old daughter had died too.

The next two marriages he went through ended up in a divorce like the others till he met Pamela Churchill and they got married,

The both of them had been together since then and the secret to their marriage longevity was that she never interfered with his life or business and he never interfered in hers cause it was clear they were cheating on each other.

It was so for the several years they've spent with each other till of recent when Pamela had fallen head over heels for one of the senators Sixto Julius Hernando and had been asking for one thing from Lionel.

The one thing he'd given the other women freely without much questioning but had refused to give it to her for some reasons best known to him and that was,

Divorce.

        Jacklyn came out of her car an walked into the airport.

It’s been almost one week after her father got involved in the accident and he's fine now.

Still that one week she found out the dirty possibility of her parents not being her real parents but she hadn't asked her father or even talked to anyone about it.

On so many occasions, she'd tried to talk to him and ask him if her assumptions were true but all the same,

She couldn't do it,

She could have just entered into her father's study and search for her answers there 

But still she couldn't do it,

She wanted to believe all this are just assumptions,

Maybe she has her mom's blood type.

She consoled herself.

Cause it would be hard asking them,

It was just like asking a landlord if he's the real owner of his house or not.

It's so absurd.

Her mom and her brother were scheduled to be here by twelve,

She checked her watch,

It was 12:20 pm.

She sighed,

"Maybe their flight is being delayed." She said to herself,

She was turning to go get herself some snacks from the cafeteria when she heard someone call her name,

"Jacklyn!" The voice called her,

She turned and scanned through the little crowd to see who just called her,

She caught sight of the man waving at her from a relatively close distance,

She preened her eyes to see the person's face,

It was Tyrone Grayson.

She sighed.

She could have just left and act like she didn't see him but out of respect and for the fact, he forgave her when she bumped into his car almost a week ago,

She waved back with a very obvious pretentious smile on her face.

She stood back and waited for the man who was now walking towards her.

"Hey Jacky, how're you?" He asked her when he got closer,

She faked a smile,

"I'm good you?"

"I'm a okay." Tyrone replied her,

"You're waiting for someone?" He asked her,

She nodded,

"Yeah, my mom and my younger brother,

They'll here soon." She said to him.

"Where are they coming from?" He asked her,

"India,

My brother's surgery." She replied coolly,

"Oh! Is he okay now?" Tyrone asked her,

"Yeah,

The surgery was a success." She almost sighed.

"Congrats,

Well, I'm waiting for my younger sister." Jaclyn looked at him,

"You have a sister?" She found herself asking,

He nodded,

"Yeah, she just graduated from University of West London." He said,

"That's good." She said,

"Announcement please,

The flight number Boeing A042 has just landed,

All passengers would be out soon,

Sorry for the time wasted." The airport microphone announced,

"Oh! That my mom's flight." Jacklyn said to Tyrone.

"And my sister's too,

What a coincidence?" He said smiling,

They both smiled to each other as they went to the Arrival post to wait for the passengers of the flight to come out.

Both stood side by side when she sighted her mom,

She was wearing the swed jacket she'd given to her as her birthday gift,

She waved at her mom to indicate where she was.

Immediately the woman came out of the bound,

Jacklyn let go of Tyrone's side and ran to her mom and her younger brother who was in a wheelchair.

"Jacky!"

"Mom!" She took the woman in a warm embrace,

"Jacky, you’ve become thinner,

Aren't you eating properly?" The woman made motherly fuss on how lean she's become and Jacklyn sighed,

"Mom, I’m fine." She slightly pushed the woman away and bent to her brother.

"Hey Ed,

How're you feeling?" She touched the boy's bandaged head,

"I'm good sis,

Flying in first class sure made me better.

How've you been?" Fourteen year old Ed asked her,

She pecked his cheeks,

"I'm fine,

Welcome home." She whispered to him.

Tyrone cleared his throat and both Jacklyn, her mom and her brother looked at him,

"Good day ma'am." He greeted Mrs. Chisholm,

His younger sister was beside him, so she greeted the older woman,

"Good day ma'am." She greeted,

Mrs. Chisholm nodded,

"Mom, he’s my friend Tyrone and his sister..."

"Jane." Tyrone helped her out,

Mrs. Chisholm radiated a heartwarming smile.

"Tyrone and Jane,

Nice to meet you guys,

I'm Katy and this is my younger son Ed." She pointed at the boy,

Ed smiled but didn't say a word.

Tyrone came to where Jacklyn was and slipped a piece of paper into her palms,

"See you later." He whispered to her, then turned to her mom,

"Mrs. Chisholm,

We'll take our leave now,

Nice meeting you." He said to her and took his sister's arm,

"Jane, let’s go." They left immediately waving at the mother and her children as they left the airport.

     When they got to Jacklyn's car,

She helped her mom put Ed at the back seat and helped them put their luggage inside the car.

When she came to her seat,

She opened the paper Tyrone had slipped into her hands,

'Let's meet for dinner tomorrow please,

Call me if you're interested.”

He wrote his cell number down.

From T.G.'

Her cheeks turned crimson red as she finished reading it's content.

"He wrote that?" 

Jaclyn turned and saw her mom peering down the paper,

"Mom!" She called the woman feigning anger and the woman sat down immediately,

"Just wanted to see why you were smiling." The woman said in defense.

Jacklyn sighed and ignited the car,

"Mom, maybe she doesn't like him." Ed said from the back seat,

Jacklyn turned to him,

"Are you siding with mom?" She asked the boy,

He shook his head immediately,

"No and never will." Jacky started driving.

When they were almost home,

Her mom whispered to her,

"I think you should go,

He'd nice and handsome and seems rich too."

"Mom! Stop it." Jacky cried,

The older woman sat still smiling mischievously,

"My daughter has a boyfriend.

 My daughter has a boyfriend."

She chimed as Jacklyn continue to drive,

Jacklyn didn't bother say anything to her cause she knew so well her mom won't listen to whatever explanation she'll try give her.

      Jacklyn called Tyrone the next morning being Sunday.

She'd just finished doing her laundry and had just a few more things to do,

So she called him to tell him she's interested.

"You mean you'll come?" He asked her,

"Yes, I’ll." She repeated,

He shrieked with happiness as she repeated the words,

"Okay,

I'll come pick you up at your apartment,

Just forward your address to me and I'll there by seven pm." He said,

She nodded and ended the call, sending her address afterwards.

"Jacky, you just have relax and everything would go out fine." She assured herself immediately after the message was indicated delivered.

The date was a great success,

Tyrone took Jacklyn to his favorite restaurant for dinner.

They talked a great deal and that was when she found out he's working for the famous Nathason, Fleming and Baird and he was a senior manager.

She told him about her work and a little about her family.

He said his parents were dead and it was just himself and his sister Jane,

"My father died when I was thirteen and my mom, two years later,

I had to work my way up to be able to take care of myself and Jane." He said to her.

"That's so touching,

I'm so sorry." She said to him,

But he laughed it out,

"You shouldn't be, that was a long time ago." He told her.

"Can I make a call with your cell phone?

Mine has low power." She pleaded,

He gave the one to her,

She wanted to call her neighbor.

Not Stacey, the woman isn't back from her art exhibition.

While she was going out earlier, she took Bruce to her neighbor’s house.

Mr Mandolin is a divorce and has a daughter that's almost same age as Bruce.

She'd taken the boy there, so she wanted to call to know if Bruce was already asleep,

The man told her he wasn't.

He was still watching cartoon with his daughter in the living room.

She thanked the man and hung up.

"Here you go,

Thanks." She was giving Tyrone back his phone when her eyes caught sight of something,

The wallpaper of his phone.

In it, Tyrone was standing with another man and with the way he stood,

One could tell the other man is his superior.

"He's your boss?" She asked him and he nodded,

"Yes,

Mr Lionel Baird." He replied her with an air of pride in his voice.

"Wow, he looks younger than I thought." She exclaimed.

"Yeah, all because he's being cutting peoples asses and feeding on their money.." He mouthed to himself but unfortunately, she heard him,

"Why do you say so?" She asked him,

"Cause that's the type of person he's,

Selfish and cruel,

Never cared about any other person than himself. " He said.

Jaclyn didn't want to pry further but looking at the man,

She felt a bit of a connection with the man.

"Does he have kids?" She asked him,

"Nah,

His current marraige doesnt have any kid, ahough he'd had a daughter but she died alongside her mom years ago." Tyrone explained to her.

He didn't like the fact, he was talking his selfish boss that's about retiring soon but Jacklyn kept asking questions about him.

"What killed them?" She asked,

"His wife ex Cynthia blew the whistle on the major drug line and also accused him of laundering money to the cartel of the Walls.

After being a witness that send the main drug Lord Big Ray to prison,

She was killed by explosion with her daughter a few days later in their home." He explained.

Jacklyn was quiet,

She didn't probe further but deep down she pitied the man,

It's always hard losing the ones you love.

Wait!

This man's wife was Cynthia Smithson?

What a life?