Chapter 3

MASON’S POV

Ring Ring

“Arrgh, who is that ?” I reached for my phone to pick the call. “Hello sunshine” a high pitched feminine voice said from the other end.

“Why are you calling me so early?”

“I want to hear my baby’s voice before I start my day”

“Not today, Dave” His laugh is so loud and annoying, and this is not how I want to start my day.

“How's your new secretary?”  The question brought back memories of the incident, “Why did you send her to the house without informing me?”

“She walked in on me naked, well not fully naked, but I was only wearing my underpants”

He starts laughing again, at this point I felt like stuffing paper into his mouth.

“I guess everything is funny to you” 

“Sorry” He chuckled

“Why would you assign someone like that to me?”

“There’s nothing wrong with her. Yes, I know this is her first time as a secretary, but she aced the interview.” 

“Besides she was not originally meant to work for you, but no one was willing to apply for the post of secretary to the CEO because of the rumours of you firing your staff, so I had to assign her to you. Give her some time, she will catch up.”

There was a knock on the door. “Come in”  Mrs Martha walked in with a glass of water and some fruits.

“I have to go, Dave,” I said as I cut the call

“Sir, Miss Mia is around,” she said as she placed the tray on the table.

“Ok, I will be there in thirty minutes,” I reached for my crutches at the edge of the bed.

“Do you need any assistance, sir”

“No Martha, you can leave”

I limped to the bathroom, showered, and got ready for the day. 

When I got to the study room, she was already sitting at her desk. Her eyes were glued to her phone, it took some minutes before she noticed my presence in the room.

 “Good morning sir” She smiled at me but I  ignored her and went to my desk.

As I sat down on my chair, I noticed a pastry bag and a cup of coffee on my desk. I called for Martha through the intercom.

“Sir, you asked for me,” she said as she entered the office 

“What's this?” I pointed to the pastry bag and coffee on my table, Martha looked confused “I did not put that there sir” 

“Then who did?” 

“It was me sir” I turned to look at the culprit

“I was the one that put it there, I wanted to apologize for the incident sir”

“You may leave Martha.” I waited for Martha to leave the room before I turned to her.

“Miss Mia.”

“Sir”

“ Is it hard for you to understand that I don't want to talk or think about the situation that occurred in my room or is it the image of me you can't get out of your head?” I said with a stern look.

She stood there in shock trying to process what she had just heard, after regaining herself she picked up the pastry bag and coffee and hurriedly left the room.

As I picked up a file from the documents she placed on my table,  the door to the study room opened wide, “Hey Mason.”

 It can only be one person.

“Must you always be dramatic “

“Is that how you welcome your only sister”

Jade is the most dramatic person I know, growing up she made it her goal to annoy me, I guess that's what younger sisters are meant for.

“What do you want?”

“Can’t I visit my brother without wanting something”

I didn't say anything, I know when she's lying

“Okay, I came to take you to the hospital for your last appointment”

“Why? Thomas can take me there”

“Going with family won't kill you, you know”

Jade hates hospitals, she would never volunteer to go there “What do you want to buy?”

“ I want to change my car”

“You changed your car six months ago”

“I know but I'm no longer vibing with it” 

“Why haven’t you bought it?”

“Dad seized my card”

“ He seized your card” I looked at her in disbelief 

“What did you do?”

“He wanted me to go on a blind date but I refused”

“He's trying to marry me off”

“You won't blame him, you always have a new dating rumour on the internet and it is not good for his reputation”

“When a man does it he's a player, but when a woman does the same thing she’s a whore”

“How are you going to survive without his card?”

“He said I should get a Job”

I laughed at her comment. Jade working, that's a disaster

“It's not funny, so will you buy it for me”

“No!”

Jade noticed Mia entering the study room “Is she the new secretary?”

“Yes”

Jade walked up to her “Hi, I'm Jade, Mason's sister” She gestured for a handshake which Mia accepted. 

“Hi, I'm Mia, his secretary”

“She's so beautiful,” Jade said as she looked at me, I didn't say anything.

“Do you mind joining us for my brother’s last appointment at the hospital”

“Jade,” I said in a strict tone, she waved me off and continued pleading with her 

“You know he needs his secretary” 

“No, I don't mind”

Jade did her victory dance as she walked back to my desk.

“Tell Thomas to get the car ready?”

“Ok sir” Mia picked up her bag and left

“Hope you won't fire this one too,” 

“Shut up and stop interfering in my private life”

“Well, your life isn't really private.” she stuck her tongue out at me as she left the room.

The drive to the hospital was exhausting, I wonder why there's so much traffic today. From the side mirror, I could see Mia singing quietly to the song playing on the radio. Her face lit up as she sang the song, and for the first time, I noticed her dimples.

We finally arrived at the hospital,  “Mr Mason from the results of the X-ray, your right leg has healed. As for the left leg, you would still experience some sort of discomfort when walking. I will advise you use a walking stick”

“Is it safe to resume work at the office?”

“Of course. The leg has healed and it will be a form of exercise for the leg. But I would advise you to continue therapy”

Jade was so excited about the news, she left the room to call our Mom.

The thought of not using crutches was soothing to me, they are one of the reasons I haven't been able to go to the office, I did not want to get pity looks from my employees.

We left the hospital after the X-ray examination. Jade was so excited about my recovery that she suggested we have lunch at a restaurant owned by a family friend which was not too far from the hospital. 

“Mr Mason, it's nice to see you again.” The head manager welcomed us and took us to our table, he ordered the waiters to bring the menu. I already knew what I wanted but Jade was indecisive and Mia kept calculating the price of each meal on the menu.

We ended up ordering different food, Jade wanted to try the new foods on the menu. She took pictures for her food page, and after numerous photos she finally allowed us to eat. “Umm.. where do I start? '' Jade said as rub her hands in excitement.

The food was delicious, I was happy to eat outside, not that Martha's food isn't good, I just wanted to try something different. 

Jade kept adding to Mia's plate as she moaned and nodded in approval to the food placed on her plate. For some weird reason, it was pleasing to watch Mia eat, I could see the joy in her eyes as she tried something new.

I felt a hand gently squeeze my shoulder

“Hey Mason”, my body stifled as it recognized the voice.

Fuck!