CHAPTER THREE

Antiono flipping through the pages of files kept in front of him, tried not to groan aloud at the pains throbbing through his head.

  

  He has been at his desk for hours ,his gaze fixed to the gold watch attached to his wrist .Six hours to be exact .Yet even as he sat facing the man who held the company's annual profit firmly within his grasp , Antiono couldn't stop his thought from wandering to the petite blonde who was in his house.

  

  What was she doing? how was she coping with the twins? Antonio almost cursed out loud, how could he have left his kids with a complete stranger he didn't know.

  

Even as the thought passed through his mind, Antiono kept his face placid and calm.His guest didn't even appear to notice his distractions . instead he carried on talking .

  

   “Antiono the company’s sales is at a higher chance of increasing here ,if we invest with this Nitel brothers , I know you are new to this whole contract,but trust me, your still young, you don't know how this things work, it's not personal, it's just business”. Adan explained ,his hands waving through the air as he spoke .

   

   Antonio leaned forward and levelled his penetrating stare on the greying man before him. The man standing before him was one of the people Antoino found it difficult working with,not that he wasn't approachable ,Adan was one of the men that like seeing things going there own way , irrespective of other people’s opinions, especially those he considered young to the game. 

   At the age of forty two Adan was one of the wealthiest people in the world , not that he looked the part of a billionaire -if they was ever a look like that. Adan was dressed in a black knee length jean, white T-shirt and a pair of flip flops.He looked like he was going to spend the day at the beach rather than an office.

   

   “If it wasn't personal Mr Adan ,you won't be quoting my age back at me , I might be new to this Nitel brothers,but that doesn't mean I don't know what they do ,we all know that the Nitel brothers are already in collaboration with twelve different top companies across the world,so what makes you think we would get a good deal out of that -they cut too many corners when it comes to deals like this ,at the end you would be the one paying for the shortcomings”. Antiono said as he looked into Adans eyes. “If you where thinking like a business man , you would be the one waving off the contract .

   

   Adan was silent for several long seconds before he leant back to his sit,his whole body shaking with the force of his laughter, “I knew there was a reason i liked you”.

  

Antonio said nothing ,he just watched and waited.

  

“Alright then Mr Antiono, I would call the deal off but on one condition,you need to come up with a suitable deal,our company needs deals and we can't do that since we are already in collaboration with your company”. Adan said, leaning his elbows on the arms of his chair so he could rest his chin on his hands. “Antiono,I haven't told you about the company’s conference organized by my board ,that could even be your opportunity to call yourself a deal, they are older and more conservative men appearing in the conference form different companies.there must be no more of these women.

 “Antiono am sure you know what I mean by that”,if you're going to a function like this don't go alone, at least turn up with a woman . Half of business is keeping up with appearances- something I thought you understood already”.

      

  Antonio opened his mouth to defend himself,but he found himself pinned in place by the older man’s hard stare.

  

  “Don't even dare argue with me Antiono, that's the way the world works and so far you have done a good job at navigating things. To be taken seriously by my board you need to be taken seriously as a man”.with his wisdom imparted and with a last wave of his arm ,the older man got up from his seat. “Now if you don't have anything else to say ,I would be headed home now ,I have a wife waiting for me at home, Good night Antiono”.

  

  Nodding his head,nick offered a swift farewell ,when the door finally closed behind the other man ,he heaved a deep sign of relieve .

  

 Pushing back from his desk ,he spun his chair around to face the floor to ceiling windows,which offered him a clearer view of Spain. He could make out of the light in Spain Eye like stars In darkness,that was what he worked so hard for .

  

Getting up from his seat , Antiono slipped his hands into his pocket of his trousers letting out his phone ,he stared at it for several long moments and finally pressed call.

  

   “Hello, Antonio is that you ?”, an old feminine voice croaked down the phone line .

   

  “Yes , it's me Helen”,he replied after a long moment.

   

  “How's the kids doing”.he asked, waiting earnestly for the answer he had been expecting.

   

 “Doing fine,the new housekeeper is a God sent ,she handles the kids with so much ease .

   “Really”. Antonio said, jerking up from his chair.

   “The kids are watching TV now ,I won't want to bother them”.

   “Alright then,take care of yourself Helen”.

    “Umm Antonio”, Helen said from the other end lowering her voice.

    “Is there a problem Helen?”. 

   “Let this one stay this time,I know how difficult it may seem, considering all that has happened,but I know a good one when I see one”.Helen said with a lot of affection in her tone.

  There was a long period of silence.

  

 “We will talk about it later okay ,bye Helen”. He hunged up and heaved a deep sigh of relief.

  

  As hours went by Antoino was completely lost in his thought,he thought about different things, especially his late wife Elena who died of a lung disease,he spent all his time and affection on Elena, she was all he could ever want in his life,then his twins came along,they were so precious to him , sometimes he thought of giving up everything he owned just to spend more time with them. Elena died when the twins were just two years old. It felt as duo Antoino's world was all falling apart, it all felt like a bad dream. Helen Elena’s Aunt came to leave with them,she was the main reason Antoino hadn't given up on life. She took the twins as her own children, breastfed them and did all she could to make them happy. Many attempts were made over the years to introduce Someone else to Antonio,but it all proved futile .At some point Helen gave up on that thought,she knew she wasn't going to be able to care for the kids for so long .She always prayed for a girl like her Elena to come there way. Irene was just a perfect answer to her prayers.