CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

CRAIG's POV

It was 2 am when I woke up sweating profusely. The cooling system in my room was working perfectly. It took me a couple of minutes to think it through and figure out what woke me up.

It was a nightmare and in it, everyone in the fashion industry I worked with were wearing clothes with holes in them and throwing insults at me. A lot of them were calling my wife a whore or a slut while the rest were simply laughing and saying I bought her but unfortunately, I bought an already used product.

Before now, I had not really thought about the impact of Kim being on the news on my mental health. There had been talks since the release but none of them came close to the nightmare I just woke up from.

A lot of the struggles I had about Kim's negative publicity were in my mind. A lot of men had a lot to say but none had the courage it took to say it to my face so all was good and fine.

What I however did not acknowledge was how much that media release was mentally damaging to me. Before I fell asleep, I made a note to get an appointment with a shrink. I clearly needed one. I was at a loss for why I was this affected. It was probably something about childhood trauma but I couldn't be sure unless I made that appointment.

I woke up the next morning to an impromptu meeting with this staff at one of my hotels. It had come to my notice that my staff was stealing. It was so bad that my branch manager was contemplating releasing the entire staff of their roles. In his treat-as-urgent email, he had emphasized having tried countless times to find who the culprits were but it seemed they were either protecting them or they were all in on it.

It took me five minutes when I got to the meeting to realize that the person sitting on that crime was a threat to the entire staff. He had them, all of them at tight ends. I didn't know what force he was using but whatever it was, it ensured that everyone else shut the fuck up.

My second theory however was that it wasn't one person but a group of people. This particular hotel had about two hundred people on staff, men and women inclusive. There was no way I was going to relieve everyone of their duty so I had to act fast. It was either the truth serum or the compensation method but I feared that the compensation method may still put innocent workers in trouble with the set of people terrorizing every one of them.

"The manager has only just informed me that the staff of my own company is suddenly growing wings under his supervision. Last year I made a raise to staff salary and added benefits, so it beats me to think that the same people I'm doing all these things for would turn around and slap me in the face."

I paused for good measure, watching for everyone's reaction. I had taken a couple of courses in psychology back in my college days so I figured it was time to use it.

"So I have decided that I'll put out a notice that Hotel de Logia needs a ton of staff and applications are open. You know what that means? It means I'm relieving every one of you of your duties at the company." There was a collective gasp of utter shock.

There there, that was the reaction I was looking for.

"I'm going to give everyone a last shot at telling management the truth about what is happening to everything we buy for running the hotel." I was using my most intimidating voice and hoping that I was getting my point across.

I knew the threat may achieve nothing but I was willing to wait and see what my outcomes were going to be. For now, I wanted to call the meeting a wrap and wait for the next time. Hopefully, the theft would stop, and if I didn't, then truth serum.

When I got home Jason was in the living room with Kim. He was so happy, singing songs with the kids on the television.

"Daddy you're back!!" He jumped happily at me.

I caught him and swung him midair. He was gasping, giggling, and asking for more. I finally set him down and got a chance to look at Kim out of the corner of my eyes. She was looking at the both of us with a small smile on her face.

"I've noticed a red sports car following me for the past two days. At first, I made no issues of it but I have started to realize that the driver may be intentional. I didn't particularly note the make and model but I'll be more careful to do that if it follows me again or you can just tell Hugo. He also saw the car." Kim was speaking to me and she was saying something about a threat to her safety. All the hair on my skin stood in anxiety.

"I'll speak to Hugo. I don't believe it's something to be worried about. I'll handle it."

With that, I was headed to my room taking two stairs at a time. I was such in a hurry to get there and speak to Hugo that I almost knocked Agatha down.

"Oh Ags, I hope you're alright. I'm sorry about that," I apologized profusely.

Since I started keeping my distance from Kim, I rarely ever saw Agatha. She was a lovely young woman and had a degree in minding her own business. She lived with us but it was quite hard to tell. Agatha was a textbook definition of 'seen and not heard.'

"No, it's fine. I was lost in thought as well," she apologized.

"I hope you've been fine. How is school coming around?" I enquired.

"That's going well, and I got the allocation you sent for that. I'm super grateful."

"Ah, that's nothing. Take care of yourself." And with that, I was rushing back up the stairs.

"Hello Hugo, why didn't you mention someone trailing my wife?"

"Sir, I was going to. She told me not to say it because she wanted to mention it to you first."

Women! Just why did she want to be the one to report a security situation? One in which her life could be in danger? Why she would want to do that?

"Give me the details."

"I first noticed a car trailing us exactly two days ago. It was a black Honda Civic sedan. I trailed to lose trail but the driver persevered. I eventually gave up and the car has been following us ever since. Like I said earlier, I was going to tell you," he finished.

I was seething but at the same time, I was darn confused. Who was following my wife and why exactly?

"That's alright, Hugo. I'll speak to you later. I ended the conversation with Hugo and immediately reached a private detective I had worked with in the past.

"Hello Morris," I greeted.

"Hello, Mr Craig," he responded promptly.

"Someone had been on my wife's trail. I need you to find out who the bastard is," I said in clipped tones.

"I will see to that immediately sir."

Morris was efficient so I knew my wait would not exceed 24 hours. I didn't want to spend my idle time thinking about the matter so I decided to take a nap. A lot of matters were taking up space in my head and I couldn't wait to have it all sorted out. I really wanted to spend quality time with my son. Before I finally fell asleep, I made a mental note to carve out a routine time to spend with Jason.

The next day Kim had a meeting with the award planning committee and that meant she was going to leave the house again. I really kept my hope high that Morris would figure out whoever it was and on the other hand, I also hoped that whoever it was wasn't clever enough to stop trailing Kim now that I had someone on his trail.

Before she left the house, I was tempted to let her know to not be worried but I decided against it. I didn't want whoever was following to notice any changes in vulnerability and decide against his actions.

It bothered me but I simply just let her go trusting that by the end of the day, I would have the correspondence I needed to take immediate action.

By four in the evening, Morris called me to inform me of his findings. It was Keith. It was that bastard. I was amused, then curious, then worried when I remembered the atrocities that the idiot had committed in the past.

I decided the best course of action was to simply trail him and see for myself.