Chapter 25 Chapter 24:
Anna:
I stare at the screen of my phone, blinking twice to make sure I am not dreaming. Axel Williams is the new CEO of Noble Craft? I can’t believe my ears, that nerdy kid from high school is the new CEO of a multi-billion company, I don’t know why a laugh escapes out of me.
Clara had been elated yesterday when she received an invitation from Noble Craft to attend the coronation of the new CEO. She couldn’t believe it, after all, her fashion brand was just a small company, only known in some parts of the U.S and not expanded abroad.
I try to picture her face as she sits there, I can imagine the terror running through her bulging eyes as she sees Axel standing there, maybe she might even faint out of shock. Is that possible? I hope so.
Now I know why he invited her, so he could see the look on her face when she finds out nerdy weird Axel is a CEO. Oh damn, I probably shouldn’t have treated him badly at high school, maybe if I hadn't, I would have tried to seduce him and rank up just like that Arya did.
I continue watching Axel speak.
“During my undercover at this particular design house, many of you are curious to know the name, but I am personally making it anonymous. I met some really incredible people, they have been my solid rock, and while they were good people, some people didn’t exactly treat me well.” That dipshit better not be talking about me.
“So, I want to make Noble Craft a place without enmity, somewhere everyone can be free to be themselves, no matter their position in the company.” Another round of applause before I toss my phone to the other side of the bed.
I put on my knee length boots and I stand in front of the full length mirror in the bedroom, checking myself out, not bad actually. My thigh length sweater dress hugs my curves, revealing a deep amount of cleavage, just enough to tease.
However, it makes my stomach seem really flat and I don’t want to meet anyone who knows me, explaining why my stomach is as flat as a board. I grab an overall coat and wear it, hiding what’s underneath.
My honey blonde hair is pulled into a high ponytail, earlier. I had considered dying it flaming-red, it might make me feel more...sexy, but I discarded the thought right away. My lips, painted in a cherry plum lipstick makes me look more favorable to the eye. Done, perfect. Now, I can leave.
I start to walk towards the door, but it’s pushed open and Kevin saunters in, like the asshole that he is, reeking of alcohol.
“Hey, babe.” He slurs, brushing against me to sit on the bed, his hair frames across his face and I shake my head, ever since he lost his job, he has relapsed into his drinking habits, it’s frustrating to deal with him all alone, which is why I am going to fix that for him today.
“You have been drinking, Kevin!” I say with a hint of distaste. “We’ve talked about this, you are addicted to alcohol.”
“No, I am not an alcoholic!” He yells, trying to stand up, but he falls back to the bed. I am sure he’s burning hot from the amount of alcohol he just consumed. He better not throw up in our bedroom.
Fuck, it’s a mistake getting married to him.
“Well, all alcoholics always admit their problems, which is why I registered you for rehab, you leave very soon. If you don’t quit your drinking problem, and our child gets born, I am not letting him or her get close to an alcoholic father!” I yell, my eyes getting misty with tears. It’s all an act anyways, damn. Hollywood do need me, at the mention of our unborn ‘fake’ baby, Kevin’s eyes lit with regret, the only thing he seems to care about is our baby, thank goodness I had the sense to lie to him.
“Okay.” He nods soberly, “I will try to be good for our unborn baby...Also, I was thinking, can I accompany you to the hospital tomorrow? We could check out the scan again tomorrow, just to make sure the baby is doing well.” He says, though his words barely make sense because of how drunk he is.
Ever since I got ‘pregnant’, I haven’t let Kevin accompany me to the hospital because I don’t really go to the hospital.
“Maybe when you have learnt not to rely on alcohol, then you can come.” I say with a straight face.
“Why, babe?” He asks, shutting his eyes, “why are you denying me this?”
I restrain myself before I tell him to fuck off. Ignoring him, I come out of the bedroom and slam the door shut, he could drown in his alcohol for all I care, I don’t give a damn about him.
Golden Retreat is busy tonight; I show the host my ticket while she leads me to my seat. I remove my coat and go over to the bartender, the young man, in his twenties looks at me.
“Hello, sweetheart, what can I get you?” He asks, his eyes devouring me. I lean in, letting him take a look at my cleavages before I straighten, my tongue moves over my lower lips and his body stiffens. Damn, it’s just too easy.
“Actually, I am waiting for someone here,” I smile, still staring at him with my cute eyes. Apparently Mr. Darcy is the only reason I am here, if not for him, someone like me can’t even dream of being in a place like Golden Retreat.
Mr. Darcy is in his late forties, and he works as the vice chairman for a company, we met in a party last week and hit it straight off, the only reason I am here tonight is to convince him to give my good for nothing husband, Kevin a job in his company, of course, I have to give Mr. Darcy a night he will never forget.
Though, it seems like he’s nowhere to be seen, looks like his wife has already held him down, just fucking great. And I can’t even afford the drinks here.
My phone rings, the caller ID displaying Clara, I can imagine her frantic, trembling, maybe even crying as she calls my number in the bathroom, biting through her nails. The scene is quite enjoyable to imagine.
She must be calling me to tell me about Axel, too bad I already watched the fucking news; I mute her call to a few hours, preventing her from calling me during those hours.
Someone sits in the barstool beside me, gazing straight at the bartender. “A glass of pinot noir, I am going to need it for tonight, Mike.”
The bartender smiles at him before preparing his drinks, I take my time to ogle him, he’s broad-shouldered, wearing a suit, and glasses that make him look less intimidating and sexier are pushed up his nose. Forget Mr. Freaking Darcy when I can have eye-candy right here.
“Hi there.” I say first and he cranes his head to look at him, his eyes linger on my bare thigh and I smirk, his eyes roam my chest until they stop at my eyes.
“Hello.” His voice is deep, almost magical if I believed in the prince charming bullshit.
I stretch out my arms, “Anna Lere, pleased to meet you.”
“Theo.” There’s a tiny smile playing at the corner of his lips as he accepts my handshake. “Theo Duncan.”
That sounds like a good name but I don’t say that to him though.
We talk for some while, mostly just flirting. The bartender comes back with his glass of pinot noir; he orders a glass of whiskey for me. Later on, when we are done with the drinks. I keep looking at him, “why don’t we get a room, Theo?” He’s handsome enough for a one night stand.
“I can’t.” He stands up, adjusting his tie. “I have a funeral of a colleague to attend.” There’s something rough about the way he says funeral but I keep in my smile.
“Well, I love funerals.” At least that part is true.
“Really?” He seems taken aback, “Okay then, will you like to accompany me to the funeral?”
“No problem,” he pulls me up and I deliberately grind my body against his. His eyes darken as he whispers in my ears.
“Don’t be a desperate kitten, Anna. You make me want to eat you alive.”
“Then eat me.” I chuckle at him, I don’t even care if Mr. Darcy doesn’t show up, I have a funeral to attend.
\--
Devon:
People commit suicide because they are fed up of life but Maryanne Anderson was everything far from fed up, she has money and if by any chance she won the election, she would have become the CEO of a multi-billion company.
So no, Maryanne couldn’t just take her own life, we just talked recently and even from the gleam in her eyes, she was always thinking about ways to win the election, besides she’s practical, if she wants to kill herself, she wouldn’t even slit her own fucking throat. She would have been more practical.
Since Maryanne doesn’t have any kids or didn’t even bother to get married, her possessions would be sent out to her family in the Philippines.
The mourning room consists of only people that are close to her, only her younger sister flew in as her family. Maryanne’s casket is on the wide table at the end of the room, a large portrait of her smiling is beside the table, along with flowers- roses, they are her favorite. She even listed it in her suicide that she wanted to be buried with roses. There are some colleagues from the company, but very few, everyone’s dressed in black, including Daphne who arrived a moment ago.
Her suicide note consists of how she feels like she hasn’t really achieved anything in life, the police confirmed it, it was her handwriting.
It’s really weird; the police has crossed out homicide, and decided to close the case as suicide.
“Everyone struggles with their own internal battles.” They said.
Mr. Cole is here, embracing Maryanne’s sister. I can’t bring myself to watch them lower her into her grave, so I am going to stick around for a while before I go home, besides it’s late.
The door opens and Theo walks in, looking smug as usual, he’s holding a woman, who’s whispering in his ear. He laughs, and our eyes meet. We both share a deep frown as he pulls the woman away.
Smug bastard. The woman that he’s holding is Anna. I recognize her immediately, but why is she here, especially in Theo’s arms?
Mr. Cole and Maryanne’s sister start walking towards me, their eyes are puffy and red from crying. Mr. Cole might be Maryanne’s ex-lover, but it’s evident that he still loves her, such a shame they didn’t have a chance to get together.
“You must be the CEO, lovely to meet you.” Maryanne’s sister says, though her voice is not cheerful. She’s Maryanne’s build, same chestnut hair; she’s in her late forties. “I have heard so much about you.”
I shake her hand, “I am really sorry for your loss.”
“Yes, yes.” Her eyes start to get misty and Mr. Cole hands her his handkerchief, she accepts it and dabs it at the corner of her eyes. “In all my life, I couldn’t believe Meg could take her own life.”
“Meg?” I ask, staring at Mr. Cole; he shrugs, clearly not knowing what she means.
Maryanne’s sister nods, “back home, we called her Meg. She was Meg to everyone. “Meg always wanted to see the world beyond the Philippines; she came to the U.S when she was twenty, I wanted to tag along, but I was sixteen and our mama won’t let me out of her sight. We still kept in touch, exchanged letters constantly.”
She dabs at her eyes again, “all I could afford to give her as a gift was this vintage camera, still, she wore it proudly around her neck, damn. I already miss her so much.” She sniffles, and Mr. Cole puts a hand on her shoulder, offering comfort.
“Thank you.” She smiles up at him. “Where was I? When we communicated with her, she said she was taking photos for the Brookes, they paid her handsomely, she went to school with the money.”
She took photos for us? This is definitely the first time I am hearing about this.
“After she graduated business school, the late Mrs. Brookes hired her to work in the company.” My body tenses up when they mention my mother, but Mr. Cole and Maryanne’s sister don’t notice. “But, when Mrs. Brookes died. Meg just stopped associating with Mr. Brookes and Barbara, you were around twelve that time, so you might not remember, she worked her way up to the company, she was really smart.”
“Did she tell you why she stopped associating herself with them?” I ask, brimming with hope. Maybe Maryanne had a reason to cut them off, maybe she knows something and I am really hoping she told her sister before she died.
“Unfortunately, no.” The woman’s face crosses with regret.
Maybe I had over judged Maryanne- Or is it Meg? To everyone, she’s considered a loner but her sister sure has some good things to say about her, and honestly, it shocks me to know that Meg has known me since.
“She took a lot of family photos, the late Mrs. Brookes even told her to keep some copies.”
“And, she told you all this?” I ask.
“Yes, yes. I told you. We talk constantly, she’s my best-friend, and I didn’t know she was struggling like this, I would have moved away from the Philippines and joined her in the U.S.” She regrettably says.
This is huge news for me, I had no idea. Maryanne never even talked about my childhood to me, she acted like we were complete strangers, who could have known that she was taking photos for my family until I was twelve?
“Thank you so much.” I shake her head but she embraces me instead, patting my back and whispering into my ear.
“Don’t worry, I didn’t tell the police any of this, whatever Meg did with her life was her business, I am sure she wouldn’t want us discussing about her, let her rest in peace.”
I nod my head, suddenly feeling overwhelmed. “Is it okay if we meet for tea sometime before you leave? Maybe talk about Maryanne a bit?”
Her eyes water and she gives me a grateful smile. “I would love that, dear.” She and Mr. Cole walk away.
When she’s gone, my phone rings with a call from Leto.
“Hello?” I say. I told them to look into Maryanne’s death this morning, so now I am hoping for a response.
“Hey, no time for discussions, Xavier and I found out what happened, Maryanne didn’t kill herself, she was murdered, and Xavier and I know exactly who killed her. Come to the underworld in Golden Retreat, we’re waiting for you.” And just like that, she hangs up.