CHAPTER ONE

Meeting at The Airport

10 years later.

Stephany came out of the car at the parking space near the arrivals gate. She was wearing a knee length pattern skirt, a yellow blouse with a black scarf tied around her neck, black heels and a black hat that covered the top of her waist length green braids. If not for her green braids, her attire matched the cabin crew ladies from a far.

On her hand was her cell phone. She walked gracefully, chest front, head up and face front like a fashion model on the runway towards the packed arrivals gate.

The airport was busy with activities, people. taking pictures, families welcoming and hugging their loved ones, cub owners racing for a passenger hunt and more.

What caught most of the people's eyes was the man kneeling on one knee proposing to his girlfriend who had just arrived still in graduation gown.

Stephany walking in between this busy place made her look more eye-catching not forgetting her long legs that attracted one or two pairs of eyes.

She spotted a security officer and went to him.

"Hello", she greeted with a smile.

"Hello lady. How may I help you?" The security officer greeted back and asked.

"May I ask if the ones who are exiting the airport arrival bay now are from India?" she asked without losing her smile.

When the officer heard her question, he was startled then recovered quickly. He thought she was one of the people organizing the ongoing proposal or a hiding celebrity only to find she doesn't even know the currently landed airplane and also looked like she hadn't been in an airport as a passenger.

"Oh yes. Are you here for someone?"

"Yes, I am here to pick my boss. Thank you. How should I. go from..." she said but didn't finish as her phone rang and cut her.

She excused herself and went to answer the phone.

The security officer once again was dumbstruck by the answer. 

'Her boss?' He thought to himself.

But quickly as the first time he chose to treat it as a passing wind carrying paper as there were many international and big companies in the country where beautiful graceful ladies like her would work at.

"Stella, the information about the CEO has been sent to your email, you can check on them and don't disappoint us. You are representing the entire company now. I hope you will complete it without any problem" a voice sounded from the other end of the call.

Stella was the name she had adopted after changing from her real name, Stephany, to make her disappear from unnecessary problems and tend to forget the past.

"Yes sir, I will. Rest assured", she replied.

The call ended and she browsed her phone, opened her mails and found the new unread email. She opened it with anticipation.

Her face showed shock and admiration. She had. opened the email and what caught her eyes was the picture of the CEO.

Be it front, side and back, the CEO was one handsome man. His jaws were straight and his stern looks were an enchantment to the eyes. She had to appreciate it loudly.

"What a charming prince. Would have been nice if he would have been riding the white horse" 

The man in the picture had exited from the gate and was looking at the crowd and his eyes stopped at Stephany.

He looked down at the tablet on his palm and looked back at her and strode forward towards her in large strides.

Someone was pushing his luggage behind him.

Stephany kept looking at the picture then started going through the orders she was given and the brief description details of the CEO.

The man was already closing in and noticing that Stephany was immersed on her phone he did not disturb and just slowed down to a stand in front of her.

Every female around stole glances and pics of him smiling like they had just seen an angel asking for their hands in marriage.

Stephany crunched her brows and her face seemed to whiten a little as she mumbled.

"Mr. Juma Cain Namu"

"Yes miss", a male voice replied.

She was startled and almost fell if not for the lamp pole on her back. Standing one step from her was Juma Cain in a brown suit with his coat on his right arm.

She looked at him trying to hide the raging anger in her heart.

"How unlucky! Why him! Why?" she screamed in her mind.

But the words from the HR sounded in her mind.

"You are representing the entire company now" were words that had made her look forward to this moment but now they seemed more like a curse and a mountain on her shoulder.

"Calm down and just face him. He might not even remember your name" she told herself.

If this could have been an interview, she would have jerked herself off the seat and out of the place without even looking back. But now...

She took in a long breath of air and smiled widely.

"Hi, Mr Namu. I am your new secretary and here to pick you up. Sorry for my incompetence, I had just received your information and was looking into it without noticing your arrival", she said forcing her tiring smile.

"I will not blame you. It's your first time meeting me. Can we?" He said and asked at the end.

He really did sound like a stranger and also a boss to his employee. He never spared her a second look and was already starting to walk.

"You can bring with you my luggage. Where's the car?" he said without turning back.

Stephany who had thought it might be great even if he doesn't get to remember her name was now showing anger betraying the smile on her lips.

She stared at his back and almost threw her shoes at him. She looked at the man with the luggage and took it from him.

"Thank you", she prepared to leave.

"1 hundred please," the man said.

"What?" She asked in confusion.

"1 hundred, for bringing the bag", he said pointing at the luggage.

"I heard!" She replied rashly, startling the man. "I mean, you haven't been paid?" She quickly rephrased.

The man was left with a blank shocked expression. Stephany knew how to change faces so quickly that he couldn't capture. He only showed his palm and didn't talk anymore.

Stephany was again enraged. She took off her phone case and gave him a 500 shilling note but the man did not take the money.

She knew the reason well that she didn't need someone to tell her why. The man had no change.

"Can I pay through m-pesa?"

"Okay. Send money with the transaction fee!" The man said as he showed a large card with a number on it.

Stephany paid and rushed to Juma without even looking at her phone for confirmation.

"How can he just allow someone to help him without paying, even walking a head without telling me the details. If not for the contract I could have thrown this luggage to the fence. And what is in here, a woman?" She kept mumbling to herself not noticing Juma who was standing waiting for her to finish with the man.

She bumped her back on his while she was pulling the luggage.

"Can't you watch where you are going?" Juma said expressionlessly.

"If your bag wasn't heavy I could have pulled it gracefully with eyes in the front but you had to place the entire Iceland in it. What do you think? Ooh you can't know, you don't even know the weight because you haven't pulled it" Stephany yelled in her mind.

"Sorry I didn't see you. I thought you..." she stated realizing that he couldn't get far without her help.

"Had gone. Then why are you here? Where's the car?" he asked.

"The black one at the second lane on the end," she said pointing it to him.

"Then let's go. I am tired", he said as he started walking again.

Stephany pulled the luggage and hurriedly walked  to the car behind him. Her feet were hurting and she regretted her choice of shoe. She regretted her choice for a highly paying job. She regretted ever knowing the man Infront of her. 

Her wounds had healed because she forcefully closed them out. She had never dated again and this was because she had never healed. She was feeling so strong but now, she felt the tears coming, the headache.

His every action was killing her and piercing her heart bit by bit. His back was haunting her and the fact that she had to pretend like nothing was wrong was even making it worse to bear. If not for the fact that he did not recognise her because of her name and also being involved with an international company, she couldn’t bear this haughtiness.

"It's work. It's work" she repeated in her heart.

There was still time to see through moving out of this mystery but for now, she had no choice rather than walking forward to complete her task.