My surroundings seemed to close in on me as I sat in my office, my gaze intently focused on the laptop before me. I was going over the so-called ‘not impressive enough’ proposal. I wasted almost seven hours of a sleepless night only to be told this? My heart felt heavy as I tried to calm the anger brewing inside me. As my fingers aggressively pressed on the letters on the keyboard before me, the cunning voice of Listowell still echoed in my ears. I didn't miss the deliberate criticisms and coldness he passed on while I was presenting. But I had ignored it all. I thought he was only trying to be silly, only for him to dismiss the whole proposal! And for what? A flimsy excuse that even a three-year-old wouldn't believe. “Miss Muggins?” Yaw spoke for the first time after a long while since we came back from the conference room. Yes?” I replied, not raising my gaze to look at him as it was still focused on the screen.“I don't think it's a good idea to go through the project right
MELISSA’S POVThe low screeching sound the door had made caught me off guard. “Who would enter an office without knocking” I thought to myself as my eyes darted to the doorway, checking who the culprit was. For a couple of minutes, I stood still, expecting the person to enter but there was no one. “It probably opened by itself” inwardly saying to myself, I turned and headed to the door side to close the door. Just when I held the doorknob, twisting it to the left side, someone’s head suddenly peeped in between the door and the wall. “Oh my God!” I screamed as soon as my eyes met that of the head’s. My face turned pale while my heart raced in shock, causing me to stagger backward. It was Yaw!“Miss Muggins! Forgive me, I didn't know you were back there,” rushing inside to hold me firm, Yaw apologized before I could fall. Standing upright, I scolded, “You just scared the hell out of me, Mr. Agyei”So sorry miss, I didn’t want to disturb your slumber so I thought to open it slowly
MELISSA’S POVI couldn't really tell why my heart skipped a beat when I heard his voice. Hoping against hope that the voice I had just heard wasn't that of the person I suspected it was, I turned my head towards the direction from which the voice emerged.And it was indeed him. The CEO, or should I say. My ex-husband? Anyways, it was Listowel Gordon. I felt my muscles tightening as my spine stiffened when our gazes met. "Planning anything cool?" he asked again, an indifferent expression on his face. We all stood still, dumbfounded by his sudden appearance and more so, his question.How is it his business if we are planning anything?As he approached us, I cut him a deadly glare, expecting that he would catch on and leave. But he pretended as if he didn't see. Averting his gaze from me to look at Maxwell, he asked, am I invited?“Mind if I join you guys?”I felt the muscles in my shoulders tightening, and my spine stiffening as I processed his words. He walked past me with an unrea
MELISSA’S POVI knew he was only trying to be silly so I acted like I didn't hear and walked away. ******The ride to the bar was quiet and the tension in it was so thick that it could be cut with a knife. My colleagues, Gloria, Yaw, Max and Collins were acting as if they weren’t the one that had excitedly hopped inside the car earlier. I guess they were intimidated by Listowel’s presence. Meanwhile, I had also experienced my share of the stress. Listowel had sat close to me and our bodies had been brushing against each other whenever the car swerved. In as much as I tried to suppress my discomfort, Listowel was comfortably seated, pressing on his phone, refusing to shift to the side a bit. Soon, the car pulled up in front of the infamous Murphy’s restaurant. From outside, I could hear the classic music and buzz of conversations from the insides as we stepped down from the car. Yaw, noticing my nervousness, was the first to talk. He gestured for me to come closer and said, “Come
LISTOWEL'S POVI tried hard to dodge the curious stares from the rest of the staff and those who were seated at the long table.Some were whispering and murmuring, while the rest had their mouths wide open. The expression they had on their face spoke none other than "What the heck is the cold CEO of all doing here at a team night out?” I could even see some random people at the restaurant secretly taking pictures and videos of me.Gosh... How I hate crowded places. I mean, can’t I go to places peacefully without having pictures and videos of myself circulating the internet? I was tempted to grab and smash the phone of a certain girl, whom I think is a blogger as she had her camera a few inches away from my face.If not for Mr. Bellingham, one of my administrative assistants, who had led her away, I would have probably been a hot topic in the news by now.MELLISA'S POVGloria, the vibrant thought this to be fun as she had a mischievous smile while shifting to and fra. I tried pinchin
MELISSA’S POVMy neck stiffened at his words. What does he mean by what he said? He expects me to take the food meant for him? In front of everyone? What even was going on in his mind when he placed the food before me? The deafening silence that engulfed our table caused a sense of dread through my bones. Everyone had their eyes on us, watching us with puzzled faces. Feigning a smile, I said, “No, thank you sir. I'm actually very full right now”. I declined and gently pushed the plate before him with the tip of my fingers. I turned back to face my colleagues with a smile that did not reach my eyes. I guess nervousness was too detectable for them not to notice as they also grinned awkwardly. “Or do you need me to feed you?” Listowel’s deep voice came through again. This time, I froze, his words sending a shiver down my spine. Is this why he insisted on coming with us? To make me feel uncomfortable?My fingers trailed from the table down to the chair. Moving slowly under the table,
MELISSA’S POVMy heart thumped faster against my ribs as the question came through. It seems the heavens aren’t on my side today. Why is everyone trying so hard to get on my nerves today? Or did they all collaborate with Listowel to ruin my time here? Now that I really thought of it, everything looks suspicious. First, it was the impromptu proposal, Yaw had called me to work on yesterday.Next was the rejection of the proposal. Followed by the team dinner, Listowel insisting on joining us and now here I was, being asked questions here and there as if there’s nothing else to discuss. Was I just overthinking or these are mere coincidences?My eyes trailed to the end of the table, where the voice came from. It was Priscilla. I had heard someone call her that when we arrived. But I couldn’t tell if this question came out of sheer curiosity or if there was something more behind it. For a moment, I sat frozen, thinking of what to say. I indeed know Wendy. Although I had heard of her
MELISSA’S POVHis words rang consistently in my ears. What does he mean by “everyone here knows you're special to me”?But what he said didn't bother me as much as the loudness of his voice did. He had said it out loud such that everyone had turned to look at us again. This is very unlike him. The Listowel I once knew liked to keep his things private and was reserved in nature. The man I fell in love with years ago wouldn't want people to glare at his wife with judging eyes. But the one sitting by me was a totally different person. He has changed or perhaps, I never knew him at all. I tried to steady my breath but the food in my mouth suddenly choked me. I couldn't swallow it down nor could I throw it out. My fingers trembled violently as I fumbled for the glass of water. But Listowel beat me to it.He reached for the water and quickly held it to my mouth, urging me to drink. Like a flash I gulped down three glasses of water, desperately hoping that it would help ease the burning s
GIOVANNI’S POV It was a few minutes after the lunch break, I had just arrived in my office after going out to eat myself when I heard Leticia; my personal secretary, and another staff laughing and giggling about something. At first, their faces looked serious as they murmured something to themselves. Their actions were pissing me off so I had to stand up from my chair to go tell them off when I overheard Melissa’s name. I immediately confronted them so they had no choice but to narrate to me what had happened at the cafeteria earlier. Per what they told me it seemed Madam Gordon was here for trouble so I had to intervene. I'm aware Melissa was somehow involved with his grandson, Listowel Gordon in the past, so I wasn't much surprised to have heard she's here. Using the stairs, I made my way towards Melissa’s office. There was a deafening silence in the alley that led to Melissa’s office which I found suspicious. Just when I was about to knock on the door and enter, a shrill
MELISSA’S POV I was at lunch break, eating a roll of shawarma when I heard the canteen suddenly go silent. Curious, I lifted up my gaze and glanced around to see what could have probably caused such a deafening silence. My heart almost skipped a beat when suddenly all eyes in the room turned towards my direction. “What is it? What could I have possibly done to have secured this amount of curious stares.” I whispered to myself as swallowed hard the bite of the food I already had in my mouth down to my stomach. I quickly grasped the orange juice on the table to sip, while hoping against hope that this numerous stares were not meant for me. And probably for someone sitting behind me. As the stares persisted, I finally accepted that they were all looking at me and was probably waiting for my reaction. Finally summoning courage, I turned to have a look at what was possibly going on with me to have garnered so much attention and my heart nearly jumped out of my throat
LISTOWEL’S POV“As a child, I thought it was cool that you kept doing things to cover up for me. But it was only recently that I discovered you covered any mess I found myself in just because of reputation. A mere reputation. You did everything for me only to keep your name highly in front of others. Even on days when I was falsely accused, you never listened to my side of the story. You only assumed I was guilty and went ahead to use your connections to cover it up. Tears crinkled at the corner of my eyes, threatening to fall. Memories of the unjust situations I had to endure in my high school days sunk in, and if not for the fact I didn't want her to perceive me as weak, I would have broken down crying. I sniffled and slightly raised my eyes to stop the tears from rolling down my cheeks. Staring dead into her eyes, “But you know what? Those days are over and I’m glad to say it doesn't hurt anymore. And do you know what that means? Probably no. So let me explain. I don’t care i
Listowel’s pov "To do what?" I bellowed, my nonchalant face turning into a grimace. “What do you mean by to do what? Is it wrong that she comes to see her future mother-in-law?” “Of course it is wrong. I have nothing to do with her anymore so it will be good for all of us if you don't entertain her anymore,” I emphasized. “Oh give me a break! And why have you been embarrassing her like that lately?” Embarrassing her you say? I don’t even remember the last I saw her. Well, after tonight, I hope you'll stop pushing her to me. Grandma’s eyes narrowed as she asked, “What do you mean by that?” Pulling my phone from my pocket, I scrolled through my gallery to look for the photos of Wendy and Clinton that Kevin had sent to me earlier. “I mean, after looking at these, I'm not sure you'll view her the same, “ I said, slipping the phone on the table. The photos, displayed on the phone were She hurriedly grabbed it to look at what it was. As soon as she glanced through, her eyes f
LISTOWEL’S POV I was closing early today from work because of the call I received yesterday. She had called while I was in the car with Melissa and requested that I come to the family mansion tonight. “Kevin,” I called out. He was sitting on a chair in the corner of the room, reading through an ancient literature. He put the book aside and stood up on his feet and responded. “Yes sir” Throwing on my coat, I hurled my car keys which he caught in an impressive swift turn. I glanced again at him for a while and the hint of tension in his eyes ever since his recent behavior didn't go unnoticed by me. To be honest, I couldn't even bring myself to be angry at him. He's human and has feelings too so I find it quite understandable. Besides, his secret meeting with Wendy had yielded good results after all. “We will pass by Grandma’s place before I go home tonight,” I announced while fixing up the button on my sleeves. “Okay, sir. I will go get the car ready then,” he said
MELISSA’S POVMy heart pounded heavily in my chest, as I waited in the line. It was as if my heart was going to burst with each passing second.“Melissa?”Mr. Giovanni’s voice finally resounded after a while. “How are you?”Swallowing a chunk down my throat, I responded, “I’m doing well, sir. I’m so sorry for calling you on your break time.” “No worries, dear. I planned on calling to check up on you today. You’ve been absent from work for two days now without any prior notice.” His voice was firm and strict as he repeated the known. The sternness in his voice made my knee wobble a bit, but I clenched my teeth together to compose myself. I’m so sorry I couldn’t give a notice sir. I was attacked three days ago while going home from work. Everything happened abruptly and it skipped my mind to call. I’m so sorry—““Really? Sorry about that. I knew you wouldn’t just be lazy around without any reason. Were you severely hurt?” He inquired. I let out a heavy breath as his tone turned to
MELISSA’S POV “How did it go?” Listowel asked as he opened the car door for me. “I didn't meet him. He wasn't around?” I simply said, sounding restless. “Okay. But are you sure that is all? You don’t look okay. Did something happen up there?” He asked, concern evident in his voice. “Hmmm,” I mumbled, looking straight ahead. I didn't want to look at him because I knew that the moment I did, I would have started crying. The humiliation I endured from Leticia coupled with the fact that I might actually lose my job was too much to bear. I could only bite the sides of my lips to stop myself from letting out the tears. “Lisa, look at me and tell me what is wrong?” he asked as he gently placed his hand on my shoulder. I turned to look at him, and the tears I was fighting to resist started streaming down my cheeks effortlessly. “I don't want to lose it. I don't want to lose my job,” I muttered, shaking my head in sorrow. “Why what is it?” he looked confused as he asked. Wit
LISTOWEL’S POV “Please come with me. Let us go to your workplace together,” I said while cleaning off the tears from her face. She raised her vibrant eyes which were bloodshot a few minutes ago to look at me and nodded before rising to her feet. Holding her lightly by the waist, I walked her back to the car. The drive to the firm she works at, Legalstone Solicitors was very quiet and unsettling. I had attempted to break the silence that had enveloped the car with some silly talks and jokes but they all ended as quickly as it came. Even though Lisa was seated right by my side, she refused to look at the road ahead, she had her face turned to the door window. I figured she needed some time to herself so I let her be throughout the whole ride without further talks. With a low screeching sound from the tires, we quietly pulled up in front of Legalstone Solicitors. It was working hours so the compound was quiet and empty. Most of the staff were inside. Melissa grabbed
LISTOWEL’S POV Her sudden outburst caught me by surprise. Her expression which was both a mixture of worry and stress a few minutes ago had now turned into a dark grimace. I was about to justify myself when she thundered, “Does everything have to be on your terms? Why do you want to force your decisions on me? This is my life! My job! And I am the one to decide what is good for me. Just because I allow you to linger around does not mean you can dictate to me!” Her eyes had turned red and teary as she blurted out. My heart felt heavy and I could feel my chest tightening as the tears threatened to fall from her eyes. I had no idea this was what my actions had been like. I honestly thought doing everything she wanted and genuinely caring for her was the best. But how come I didn’t realize I was downplaying her decisions as well as her confidence? Oh God! Why am I this incompetent? Why didn’t I realize I was doing the same thing I swore never to do again? Why was I hur