NICK“Gentlemen, if this is what I flew all the way from New Village for, then I am not impressed. We have a reputation to protect, and you bring me ideas like this? Do better!” I stood and fixed my suit jacket. I walked to the door but turned to the group. “I want to hear something better tomorrow and it better not be a waste of my time.”I then walked out of the boardroom, I have been there for two days now, and they were yet to give me something I could work with. Just because Jones’ enterprise was a big company did not mean we should relax, there was a lot of competition out there. “Sir, I have ordered your lunch, it’s in the room.”I went towards the elevator but then turned around. “I want to eat out today, I need the fresh air, I need to clear my mind and think. Take me to those beach front restaurants.” Olivia liked beach front restaurants. She like the breeze coming from the beach, she would close her eyes and feel it caressing her face gently as it passed. Like a gentle kiss
OLIVIAI was busy showing the guys where to hang a painting in the reception area when Nick came in looking like he was ready to murder someone. “Everyone out, now!” The guys scattered leaving me standing by the reception desk wondering what the hell got into the man to act like that.He slowly walked towards me with his eyes locked on me like I was his prey. The look in his eyes got me thinking back to prison, to how those animals in there used to look at me when they were about the beat the hell out of me.I shuddered. He stood a foot away from me still not saying anything but looking at me. I didn’t back down either, prison taught me to face bullies head on even when I knew I was out matched and outnumbered. “Do we have a child together.” My heart grew cold, and I could feel my hands shaking a little.But I didn’t avert my gaze from him, I knew he found out something, but I didn’t know what. I bailed my hands into fists with my nails digging in the palm of my hands. The pain stoppe
OLIVIAI stopped myself right in time before I let it slip that I lost my womb in prison and a year and four months of my son’s life. “Go on, Olivia. Tell me what you lost; I want to know.” I turned giving him my back. “You lost the right to ask me questions the day you called the police on me and sent me to jail for two years. Oh, wait. It would have been longer if your parents didn’t come back, and you wouldn’t be bothered.”I sighed turning back to look at him. “Just leave Nick and never come back here again. When the divorce papers are ready. Send your lawyer with them and I will sign, there is no need for us to see each other again.” There we go again, a flash of pain in his eyes and it was gone before I could even react making me feel like I was seeing things.He looked at me for a while before turning back and walking out my door. The guys rushed back in surrounding me. “Mam, are you alright, did he hurt you? we can call the police if he hurt you.” I chuckled, clearly, they did
NICKA month has passed with my people searching the hole of Summer Strand for that boy but so far, they have not been able to find him. Ethan might have moved him somewhere else, but I couldn’t find any record of any other place he might have travelled to after leaving Summer Strand. The records show that he came back to New Village after leaving Summer Strand.I considered the possibility that he might have just let who ever was looking after the boy to travel with him somewhere else. But I checked for anyone travelling with a boy names Samuel from Summer Strand in that week but no luck.I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep, all I did was work and trying to find that boy. I tried seeing Ethan and asking him about that boy, but he would not talk to me. He just seemed like he resented me, and I didn’t know why. The man was worried about me knowing about his son yet, he didn’t know about the one who died.I wished I could tell him to stop being full of it and tell me what I needed to know.
NICKSilence followed the shuttered cup. The helper came rushing and cleaned up the mess. Even after she was gone, my parents still did not say a word. They must have been very shocked by the news. “Nick, what are you telling us, what makes you think Olivia had a baby in prison?”I sighed then narrated the story to them. Of how I saw Ethan and the boy. How he looked like me and even had my birthmark. Everything, by the time I was done, my mother was in tears. I didn’t want to hurt her again.“You are telling me that we might be grandparents and we don’t even know about it?” I nodded making my mother cry even more. “Oh, Nick. Do you see now why it was a bad idea for you to send her to prison? You would have been raising that child together now instead of looking for him.” my heart sank.If that boy was mine, then it would mean that she was pregnant when I sent her to jail. It would mean she had my son in that place. Oh, dear God, what have I done? I lowered my head, and I could not hel
OLIVIAI got out of a taxi in front of Nick’s home. Her mother called me to come and see them. She said they wanted to talk to me about something urgent. I wondered what it was, but I came up with nothing else other than that Nick told them about Samuel and they wanted to know if he was their grandson or not.I was not about to tell them either, I couldn’t talk about my son without thinking about what their son did to me. without resenting him and everything he stood for. I hoped for their sake they didn’t ask me about my son. I walked to the front door and Lupita their helper opened the door before I could knock. “Missus, you look beautiful and it’s good to see you.” I gave her a small smile. She was a nice old lady. “It’s good to see you too Lupita.”She led me to where the Jones where sitting, the atmosphere was tense, and I knew they were going to ask me something I was not going to like. Nick’s mother stood when she saw me. She gave me a hug and spoke. “I want you to know that I
OLIVIAThe dress Ethan sent me was out of this world. It was a long royal blue dress with a split going up to my thigh. Off shoulder showing off just enough skin to entice but modest enough to passed off as classic. The ladies who did my make up made it natural with a touch of nude lipstick.When they were done, I went and put on my shoes before going to look myself in the mirror. I didn’t recognise the beautiful woman who looked back at me. I couldn’t even remember the last time I saw her. well, I did. She was married back then; she had just decided to leave the corporate world to start a family with her husband.It seemed like a lifetime ago when that happened. I sighed. This was my first time being out in society and socializing after that incident. I was scared to death of the looks I was going to be getting from people. With them pointing fingers and whispering about me and what happened.Others pretending not to know me as if that would be a polite way to approach the situation.
NICK“Welcome to the corporate business annual gala, my name is Tom, and I will be your host this evening. Without wasting anymore of your time. I would like to call to the stage to open for us. New Village’s favourite billionaire. He needs no introduction as many of you already know him, some of you have had the pleasure of doing business with him and some know him through his good deeds around the city. Ladies and gentlemen. Let us put our hands together and welcome to the stage, Nick Jones of Jones Enterprises.”The room erupted in applause; I was annoyed in a second. I didn’t need to be there, but I didn’t attend the past two years and Sandra insisted we come to this one. I should have been at the office facilitating the search for my son.As I sat there watching people coming into the gala, my mind was on my parents, wondering how their talk went with Olivia. Also, I was curious to learn about what they knew about her that I didn’t. I took my time getting up on that stage after T