CHAPTER 2: A TRIP TO FLORIDA.

　　Mrs White had given them a phone call where they would meet their private jet.

　　Mr Richeal and his family had nothing with them as they left Otranto to Florida. They wouldn’t want to bring more shame to themselves.

　　Even though they were on their best outfit, to the people in town and outside the state, they looked like rags.

　　“Joyce, we are finally in your dream.” Mrs Sotomayor said, holding her hand. “ Flying in a private jet has always been your dreams, haven’t it?”

　　Joyce smiled. “ Yes, it has. But, I thought this era has no private jet. I mean, the ones from the newspaper were scientific research for the 20th century. And if my assume is right, then we’re are in the 19th century. “

　　Mrs Sotomayor sighed, turning her gaze to her husband.

　　“ Joyce, no one is doubting your assumption.”He said.

　　“ I never said either of you are. I was only being surprised, that’s all.”

　　“ Have you forgotten so soon that it was the devil himself who offered us this opportunity? He has the right to invent things even before the scientist does.”

　　“ I think I did forget that.”

　　*

　　*

　　SOMEWHERE IN FLORIDA***

　　*

　　Mr Richeal was taken to the complex house with five bedrooms, two dinning rooms, a sitting room with two pools at the backyard and the other left interior part of the house.

　　He had dressed up already on a blue tuxedo, his grey hairs were shaved neatly and his beard were trimmed.

　　“First day at work might look tough, but I assure you, you’ll get use to it.” Said a young lady who was actually his assistant.

　　“ Thanks, Miss… “

　　“ Call me Miss Templeton.”

　　“Thanks again, Miss Templeton.”

　　“ And by the way, you look smart.” She praised.

　　He smiled. “I’ll take that.”

　　She head to the door, opening it. “ Shall we?”

　　The ride to Publix Super Market was barely forty minutes. Mr Richeal’s heart was already beating against his chest.

　　He can’t believe he would be managing a well known Super Market. He was nervous at first, but just like his assistant had said, he definitely will get use to the job.

　　Everyone welcomed him as soon as he left the elevator to his office. It was like a dream come true to him.

　　Never have he thought he would get to this level. Never have he imagined himself on a dress like this.

　　Just yesterday, he was a man on rags. And for years he has never stared at himself at the mirror, sometimes he doubts his age.

　　But now, he was a man swimming in trillions. And one might mistake his age to be thirty.

　　“Welcome to the company, Mr Sotomayor. It’s nice to have you with us.” Mrs White stretched for a hand shake. She looks at the audience. “ We would love to hear a few word from you as our new chief executive officer.”

　　They filled the room with applause. “ We are listening, Sir. “ She urged him to go ahead.

　　Mr Richeal was nervous, but he didn’t let his nervousness over shadow him.

　　He was staring right into the eyes of his staffs. He knew that very soon, his relationship with them won’t have to be just the normal boss-and-staff kind of relationship.

　　He was gonna build a stronger relationship with them as the business wasn’t just his, it will one day turn out to be a family business enterprise.

　　He sighed heavily. “It’s a pleasure to be here not just as a stranger but as your manager. I have never thought of a day like this before, but here I am standing before my employees who has wholeheartedly accepted me even before I walked in here.

　　I wanna say a big thank you to you all. I just hope that my stay here will be for the greater good of not just myself, but for you all, the company and the state at large. I am the most honored here, because I know what the future holds for us.

　　Once again, I wanna thank you all, especially Mrs Melissa White for the promotion. I wish to work together with you all. Thank you.”

　　While they clapped for him, he waved a hand at them, before leaving to his new office.

　　Mr Richeal exhaled, silently blessing the young gentleman from yesterday for making him what he is today.

　　Mr Richeal underwent two week training on how to manage the company.

　　And after a year, his management grew rapidly, making the enterprise the second most richest and famous enterprise in the United States.

　　Just as the devil had promised him, he gained the fame and riches. Every continent learnt of his name.

　　And there was no business man of that time who never seek for his help. Most of them had to collide with him, and this made him famous than he already was.

　　On the second year of his leadership at the Publix Super Market, Mr Richeal changed the name into the “RS Family Business” (Richard Sotomayor Family Business)

　　After his days, he passed down the business to his daughter, Joyce Sotomayor who managed the enterprise for fifteen years of her life.

　　Mr Richeal died at the age of eighty five, two months after Joyce’s thirty eighth birthday.

　　Joyce on the other hand got married to Moses Martin, and they gave birth to two kids.

　　The business was later passed down to their first child, Kelvin Sotomayor who they named after their grandfather, Mr Richeal Sotomayor.

　　And so, that was how it all started with the RS Family Business Enterprise.

　　*

　　*

　　THE PRESENT DAY***

　　FLORIDA, 2025.

　　Sonia Sotomayor stepped out of the black limo, the flash lights from the numerous cameras plus the disturbing questions from the reporters ached her head.

　　The guards who escorted her were able to clear the way for her safe entry.

　　It’s always like this every morning she goes to work. “Send the securities to escort them out.” She ordered as soon as they finally made their way into the complex building.

　　“Yes, ma’am.”

　　Sonia was the only child out of the four girls of Richard Sotomayor who never participated in the family business.

　　She was a lady who handled her company single handedly. The rest of her siblings manged the family business along with her parents.

　　She paid less attention to the enterprise, her time, focus, strength were all in her business.

　　She was aiming for one thing, to blow like her ancestor, Richeal Sotomayor. All she wanted was the fame, and to be the world’s best fashion designer.

　　Though, she’s won that name for the State, she wanted the name for the world.

　　A staff called her from the caller section. “Miss Sotomayor, you have a call.”

　　“Connect it to my cell phone.”

　　“Yes, ma’am.”

　　She picked the call. “ Hello, Mr Dalton.”

　　“ Miss Sotomayor, I wasn’t expecting you’d pick my call.”

　　She scoffed. “ Wasn’t expecting you’d call either. What’s the business this time?”

　　“ There’s a wedding ceremony going on at Los Angeles in four days, they have ordered for two new styles for the wedding dress. I’ll send you the pictures now.”

　　Her phone beeped immediately, she checked in the pictures. “ Any decision yet on which to design?” She asked.

　　“Not yet, that’s why I called. You’re the designer here, you know the best.”

　　“ I’ll let you know when I’m done.”

　　“ Thanks so much. I knew I could count on you.”

　　“ Just doing my job.” She hangs up. Her phone rang again, it was John; her fiance calling. “Hello, sweetheart.”

　　“Hey, babe. How you doing?”

　　“Great. What about you?”

　　“Same here. How is the business going out there? Stressful?”

　　“ Yep, it always is. But, that’s the only way we can survive. You know my aim, John, I need to get to the top. Right now, I’ve got a lot of contracts from celebrities abroad, I just wanna win their heart and make them believe in what I am capable of doing.”

　　“ Come on, babe, you’re gonna reach to that level, okay. You just have to work hard for it. Your father did work hard for that fame, so trust me when I say you definitely will too.” He acknowledged her.

　　Sonia smiled. “ Thanks for this, babe, I really do appreciate it.”

　　“Just give me a call when you need my help. I promise, I’ll do whatever it takes to watch you smile. Can you do that for me now?” He requested.

　　She smiled, chuckling.

　　“ That’s it, babe. That’s it. Do take care of yourself for me, okay?”

　　“ I will. And you too. I love you, John.”

　　“ I love you too, babe. Bye.”

　　“ Bye.” She hung up.

　　*

　　Sonia pulled the car to the garage and opened the door and stepped out. Now, she could get some rest.

　　She picked her phone from her purse, dialing on her father’s number.

　　“Hello, it’s Richard. Leave a message, I’ll get back to you soon.” She grunted as she heard his voicemail.

　　“Come on, dad, just pick up already.” She dialed his number again, this time he did pick up. “ Dad?”

　　“Sonia, I saw your missed call, is there a problem?” He asked.

　　“ No, not at all. Actually, I was wondering if you’d be free tommorow, I wanna have a word with you. Will that be possible?” She asked.

　　“ Is it concerning John?”

　　“ John has nothing to do with this. Honestly, it’s about the enterprise. So, can we still see tomorrow?” She asked again.

　　“ Sure.” He agreed.

　　“Okay, thanks.” She sighed. “Tomorrow at what time? “

　　“ It’s up to you, you’re the one who wants the meeting. “

　　“ Can you for once act like my dad?” She grunts.

　　“ I am acting like one. “

　　“ No, you’re being so annoying. You’re the man here, you should make the time.”

　　“ Why don’t we meet at the hotel downtown, 8 o’clock. What do you think?” He suggested.

　　“ I think that would be great. 8 o’clock it is.”

　　Sonia barely had her father’s love. Back then at high school, she hardly saw him. He was always out for one business meeting or the other.

　　And when she got into college, she had to leave far away from home. Sometimes when she pays a visit, she would only see him once or twice which only lasted for hours.

　　And most times, he wasn’t around to hang out with. Sonia thought when she graduates, she would have the chance to see her father and have this fatherly love but no, it didn’t work out the way she had thought.

　　Two weeks after her graduation, she was called into the Sparrow Boutique at Texas where she worked for a year before she started her own business here in Florida.

　　Her meeting with her father wasn’t just because of the family business, all she wanted was to look into his eyes, to have an hour or two of his time.

　　To call him that name, “Father” right before his face. She knew if she didn’t see him now she has the chance to, she won’t anymore.

　　*

　　*

　　The next day, she shifted her work schedules to the following day. She spent the rest of the day in her penthouse, patiently waiting for night to come.

　　She wouldn’t want to miss her meeting with her father.

　　Her phone beeped, a message bumped in. She checked the sender, it was her dad.

　　?? I’m sorry, sweetheart, I don’t think I can make it tonight.

　　Her heart broke in tears as she read the message over and over again.

　　If she didn’t see him today, she would never have the chance to meet him again. Today was her only chance, why would he want to forfeit it?

　　She lost hope, and she was regretting why she had shifted her schedules. But, after all, this was her job.

　　She headed to her bedroom, throwing herself on her bed. She buried her face in her pillow, staining the fabric with her tears.

　　She was crying when her phone rang. She didn’t want to pick it up, she didn’t want whosoever it was to hear her cry.

　　It rang again, and when the caller seem not to give up, she decided to see who it was that was calling.

　　She dried up her tears, clearing her throat, then she picked the call. “Hey, babe.”

　　“Tell me you didn’t mean what you said earlier.”

　　“I did because I thought I couldn’t make it. Thank God it’s thirty minutes to eight, we can still make it, right?”

　　“ I was gonna go back to bed and act like none of this happened. Like we never talked about meeting at the hotel. Dad, I really wanna see you. It’s been years, like my whole life time I haven’t gotten the chance to look at your face.” She sniffed, cleaning her face.

　　“ It’s thirty minutes to eight, we can still make it up at the hotel. I’ll call you when I get there.”

　　To Be Continued

　　SEX

　　WITH THE DEVIL