At the Tn headquarters."I've got the files you asked for, sir." Jake looked up when drew drop the files on the desk. "I've also sent the soft copies to your laptop." Drew stood waiting for Jake to say something but he just skimmed through the files in front of him.Drew turned to leave, but Jake called him back."Drew?" "Sir.""I want to ask you something, come sit here." Jake said closing the file, he currently looked at.Drew sat on the office chair opposite Jake, wondering what Jake had to ask him."How do you tell a woman you love her, do you just tell her?" Jake had never been with a woman, he didn't know how these things worked."I don't know...." The words fell out of Drew's mouth, he never imagined his boss ask him such."What did you say the first time you met your fiancee?" Jake was looking directly at him, genuinely eager to learn."I...um, I think I said, hey can I buy you a drink." Drew recalled."It was at a bar." He added smiling."Do you remember the lady who entered
Three cars were parked on the road side, near one of the parks in city A. Gemma sat in one of them waiting for her nephew.One of the securities with her opened the door to the backseat of the car for Brown to join her."Auntie." Brown smiled on seeing Gemma. She was okay with his informality, so she reciprocated with a short lasting smile."How's my brother?" She asked."Dad's out of the country, i thought you'd know.""I know he's not in the country, I just haven't talked to him in a while.""Oh Okay. Why didn't you just invite me to the mansion, I still would have made it even if it were urgent.""I don't want Jake to find out that we met, any of the staffs could let him know. It's about your recent private meetings with him." She replied waiting for his reaction."Private meeting?" Brown asked with a chuckle." I won't call it that, I mean his assistant was there the whole time, except for that second time when he was asking about that lady and.....""Which lady?" She had to ask."
Next day.Tn studio."Brown you asked for me?" Someone walked into Brown's office.Brown looked up from the news magazine he was reading to see Chloe."Sit." She sat opposite him. Brown rubbed his palm against his face for a few seconds before he spoke."It came to my notice that you had a little brawl yesterday with some of our new models." Brown said drumming his fingers at the edge of the desk."Brawl? I won't call it that.""What was it about?""So...this girl bumps into me, normally you'd expect a person to apologize but she didn't, I just had to explain to her how to say sorry." "The CCTV says something different." He looked at her."Okay, we bumped into each other...." She was cut short by Brown."Chloe....just stop." She looked away in shame, she had forgotten about the CCTV. "Look, I know how much your career means to you.""It means a lot." She nodded."I want to plead with you, right here and right now, do stay away from this kind of trouble because the next time my team g
"it's beautiful right?" Chloe said from behind her."Oh yeah it is.""Beautiful enough for you to want to stay forever?" Chloe asked and Victoria found it weird."Not really." Victoria chuckled, wondering why she'd ask that."What about spending a night?""Hmmn?" Victoria got confused."You find it beautiful right, I thought you might like to spend the night here." Chloe smiled again and Victoria didn't feel like having the conversation anymore so she thought she should change the topic."I like the flowers here, the colours, and how they smell....""You should take pictures of them." Chloe interrupted."I guess." Victoria said reaching into her bag for her phone. It wasn't there."I think my phone's in your car." Victoria said even though she didn't remember using it in the car."Oh that's bad, let me go get it for you then." Chloe smiled. "Just wait here.""Okay." Victoria wondered what got into her to make her act all nice like that.**********Meanwhile, leaving the Tn headquarters
Victoria sat on the train just tapping her foot. It seemed to be getting darker outside. There was a teenager sitting next to her, who was texting on his phone, so she peeped to check the time, it was 6:14 since she didn't have a wristwatch on.'Twelfth station.' She heard the train speaker announce. The doors opened and she stepped out. Climbing up the stairs that lead out of the subway, she saw a cab parked, waiting for passengers."Can you take me to grande hotel?" She said at the driver's window."You've got fare?""Yes.""Okay get in." He opened the car lock and she got in and he began to drive.*********Tn studio"Who is it?" Brown asked looking up from his tablet, when he heard a knock." Oh, it's you, Amber, right?""Yes.""Why are you still here, it's..." Brown stopped and looked at the time."It's almost seven.""I know...I was waiting for Tori....""Tori? Who's that?""Victoria, She isn't back yet, I called her phone but she isn't answering, and Brie just called to let me k
Tn headquarters.Brown walked out of the elevator when it reached the top floor. Drew was waiting for him."Is he finished with his meeting?" Brown asked as they walked to Jake's office. "Yes, and he knows," Drew said, making Brown stop to look at him."You told him?""He was there, the whole time of our call.""Are you joking?""I'm not, when you called, he was having a virtual meeting, but signaled me to take the call since it was you.""Shit." Brown slapped his forehead."Good thing you said it was your fault the whole time," Drew said in a bid to ease him.Reaching Jake's office, Brown saw someone else talking to Jake. He turned back to Drew, with a ' Should I leave' look."Evan's here to help," Drew whispered to him."We've tracked the phone's location." Evan left a tablet on the table, so Jake could see for himself.After he had looked at it, he raised his head and his eyes fell on Brown. Brown immediately looked downwards to avoid Jake's dark eyes."How did this happen? You sa
"Mr. Topher! Quite an honor to see you here." Mrs Darnell smiled when one of her helpers walked in with him, but got no reply from Jake.He just stood at the entrance with his hands in his pocket, looking around."Is your daughter home?" Evan walked up to her."Yes, she is." She still kept her smile wondering if Jake came for Chloe." Go get Chloe." She ordered another helper who stood there expecting her order.A few minutes later, everyone presents looked up at the top flight of the stairs when Chloe screamed."Be calm Chloe." She said to her excited self. When she saw Jake, she didn't know when she let out a loud squeal. She had always wanted to see him in person, she even followed her dad to a business party once, hoping to see him but he didn't come, now he was at her house."Did he ask for me?" She whispered to her mother when she got to where she stood, her eyes still on Jake."Here's my daughter, may I know why you asked of her?" Her mother neglected her question and said to th
The next morning.Tn headquarters."I want her arrested," Jake said to Evan, typing swiftly on the laptop in front of him. He had driven to Grande Hotel alone as soon as Brown had finished talking to see Victoria, but he didn't meet her.He just parked at a corner and watched her friends gather around her asking questions. He was irritated at what they were doing, she looked cold standing there in their midst. He thought the least they could have done was to let her go and have a hot bath.Drew said nothing, he was trying as much as possible to be quiet around Jake since last night. When he came in this morning with Jake, Evan was waiting."We know she paid someone to impersonate an officer, yes, but her father would bail her out in a matter of hours," Evan replied Jake waiting for his next words."Then find a way, I want her to pay for what she did. She did all this intentionally." Jake stopped what he was doing on the laptop."At age nineteen, she once accused her English lecturer o
"So, how's my brother-in-law doing?" "O my god, Amber, it's just for some months," Victoria told her friend and heard her laugh out loud over the phone."Mark my words, it's gonna be longer than that, way longer. I know love when I see it.""Here we go again.""You know I have a way to detect love when I see it.""And is that because he's billionaire Jake Topher?" Victoria laughed back before getting a knock on the door."Who is it?! Cora? Emily?" She asked, but when she didn't get a response, she decided to go for the door, leaving her phone on the bed."Give me a second, Amber,""Alright..." Amber replied to Victoria who was already by the door."Emily, I told you already, I eat all the types of fruits, so anyone you use to make my fruit salad is okay." Victoria started to talk before opening the door."Please don't come up to ask me again," She said on opening the door but saw that it wasn't Emily and neither was it Cora."Are you busy right now?" Jake asked her when she stood for s
"How did I? I guess I have a superpower, like you do" he reminded her of what she told him yesterday when they were alone in the kitchen.She laughed shortly."Okay, let's do this..." She had an idea to get him to tell her more of the things she wanted to know about him."How about I tell you about my grandma and our not-so-good relationship and then you tell me about you and your mother, and maybe your brother too?"Jake nodded. He didn't need her to tell him about her grandma because he knew her well, he knew about her relationship with her grandma but yet he nodded, anything to please her."Okay, I'll start." Victoria smiled. "My grandma is a nice woman, the nicest, I love my nana but...I haven't been on good terms with her since I turned eighteen, I mean there were a lot of things that led up to that but when I became eighteen, it kinda got out of hand." She paused and looked up from fiddling with her dish. After seeing that he was listening, she continued."I was in my Nana's roo
At the Topher mansion.Victoria was in her room taking a quick shower while Jake immediately went to the kitchen to do what she wanted him to do; cook."Master?" Felix walked into the kitchen when he was walking by and saw Jake there. "Do you need the chef? I'll get him right away.""No. I don't need him Felix.""Oh." Felix looked around for a bit, not wanting to ask Jake directly what he was doing in the kitchen if he didn't want the chef present for his orders."I want to cook for my wife," Jake helped him out."Oh." Felix said again. He wasn't surprised, he knew Jake cooked with her the previous night. "Do you need me to...""No." "Okay." Felix left.Alone now, it occurred to Jake that he didn't even know what Victoria wanted to eat, he couldn't make a meal if he didn't know what she would like to eat.He knew he had to go up and ask her. He knocked on her room's door but didn't get a come in like he expected so he knocked again."Who is it?" He heard her ask but didn't say anythi
"Why did you let someone leave with her?!" Jake's voice was unusually loud, it made Brown shiver. He was mostly glad that there weren't any of the models around to witness what was happening; he was glad no one was around to see Jake talk to him like that, the receptionist hadn't let for the day yet but she wasn't at her post."I...I....""You what?!" Jake stopped his stammering."He said that you....that you sent him. He said Mr Topher wanted him to....""Did you ask which?""....." Brown grew quiet when Jake asked that last question. It just occurred to him that Mr Topher could be either Jake or Max or even Gregory Topher.‘The fuck is wrong with me!!!’ Brown asked himself in his thoughts. Jake gave him one last glare before walking out of the building the same way he came.****Max kept his eyes on the woman in front of him. She wasn't drinking from her glass, it was still half filled like it was when the helper poured in both of their glasses. He didn't need to be told that she wa
"Why did you let someone leave with her?!" Jake's voice was unusually loud, it made Brown shiver. He was mostly glad that there weren't any of the models around to witness what was happening; he was glad no one was around to see Jake talk to him like that, the receptionist hadn't let for the day yet but she wasn't at her post."I...I....""You what?!" Jake stopped his stammering."He said that you....that you sent him. He said Mr Topher wanted him to....""Did you ask which?""....." Brown grew quiet when Jake asked that last question. It just occurred to him that Mr Topher could be either Jake or Max or even Gregory Topher.‘The fuck is wrong with me!!!’ Brown asked himself in his thoughts. Jake gave him one last glare before walking out of the building the same way he came.****Max kept his eyes on the woman in front of him. She wasn't drinking from her glass, it was still half filled like it was when the helper poured in both of their glasses. He didn't need to be told that she wa
Hours later,The designers discourse took hours. This was because they had to explain to the model about the fashion week as it was the first most of them were having.They were assigned numbers and were detailed with the processes involved. Victoria was glad she didn't miss it all. She learnt some things she didn't know before then and was excited for the approaching summer fashion week.Some of the models would walk the ramp on heels, some on slippers while some would go barefoot depending on the apparel being modelled."Victoria?" Someone called her amid her thoughts where she stood waiting for Amber to use the restroom. She turned and it was one of her fellow models, she wouldn't say but she was surprised that the girl knew her name."Yeah?" She responded to know why the girl was looking for her."Brown wants you in his office right now.""Oh okay." She said following her to Brown's office. When they got there, the girl knocked and poked her head inside the office."She's here." V
"Stop the car here!" Victoria made Jake stop the car suddenly when they were almost at the studio."Did you forget? I can't have you dropping me off at the direct entrance."Jake actually forgot about that.She left the car in a hurry, her handbag almost dropping from her shoulder. She was almost at the entrance when she turned back to the car, Jake wasn't leaving, he was waiting for her to go in.‘Why is he waiting?’ Victoria asked herself and decided to wave at the car so he could drive away. Jake smiled broadly when she waved at him, one of his rare smiles but no one was in the car to witness it. Victoria saw that he wasn't leaving so she walked back to the car. Jake rolled down the glass to the car's window before she could knock on it."Why are you still here?" She asked with a bossy voice that only made Jake smile at her without giving a response."Urghh, don't you have to be in your office or something? Go to your office, now!" She ordered him with her hands akimbo."Yes ma'am."
Next morning.0 9 : 1 4 am.Victoria was laying in bed, sleeping peacefully when the phone rang loudly, it woke her up with a jolt. When she checked, she saw that it was Amber calling so she answered."Tori?""Yeah?""You sound sleepy, please tell me that you are not in bed right now." Amber said and Victoria realized that she was probably late again.'Shit.' She said in her mind."Tori?" Amber called her again."I will be there in the next twenty five minutes, I think?" Victoria said getting out of bed."O my god, she is still in bed." Amber could tell."It's not my fault." Victoria was now in front of the wardrobe taking out a dress."There are some persons here to have a talk with us, all of us and you're not here yet.""Have they begun?" Victoria threw the dress to the bed as she asked worried that she might not be able to make it on time."Not yet, I think they are waiting for one of their team member to arrive at the studio before they begin. Hurry up, okay?" "Okay." Victoria p
Holding his hands, she attempted pulling him up so he helped her out, getting up like she wanted but he was surprised by what she did next. She stood on her toes and put her arms around his neck, hugging him before proceeding to whisper to him;"It's okay." Jake haven't had someone hug him like that since he turned eighteen and had to kill all of his feelings to take on his office as the vice president of the Tn group.His mother hugged him occasionally but those were mostly for her own self- gratifications and they didn't come with the sense of care Victoria's hug came with. When she hugged him, it made him feel warm inside for the first time in so long, it took away the iciness he had to keep up with, she melted him.Still unsure if to return the hug or not, he heard her say;"Things happen for a reason you know, it couldn't all be your fault." With less hesitation now, he put his arms around her, pulling her closer to himself, he hugged her back. Their torsos pressed against eac