Chapter 75 Patricia's Objection
It was five minutes after five in the evening when Zora returned to her apartment. She opened the front door and entered her room to find Angela still lying on the sofa where she had left her.
"Hey, girlfriend, don't tell me you haven't moved since I left," Zora said as she kicked her shoes off her feet, carrying two paper bags in her hand with her bag hanging from her shoulder.
Zora walked to the sofa and placed the two paper bags on the centre table, leaving her shoes at the door. She dropped her bag on the sofa, and she sat down on one of the sofas. She then tapped Angela on her shoulder.
"You are back," Angela opened her eyes and turned in the direction of where the tapping had come from, only to see Zora sitting on the sofa next to where she was lying asleep.
"Yeah, I am, and it looks like someone just slept off as soon as I left," Zora said and opened the two paper bags, releasing the aroma of French fries into the air.
"I am tired. I can't cook, so I ordered something from KFC," Zora announced and brought the items out of the paper bag.
Angela squeezes her face as soon as the aroma of the food enters her nostrils, making Zora frown.
"What is it?" Zora asked, picking one of her French fries and tossing it into her mouth.
"I don't like the aroma. It's making me nauseous," Angela complained, covering her mouth and nose.
"Oh, sorry. I forgot. Mr Moore turned you into his baby factory," Zora said teasingly and quickly put the food back into the paper bag. "I will get you some soup," she said and stood up, making her way to the kitchen.
"Don't bother," Angela said as she sat up on the sofa with her legs folded under her. "I am not hungry," she added.
"Oh hell no. You will not go on a hunger strike in my house. If you want to starve yourself, there is a place for that. Diamond Corporation, or Mr Moore's home," Zora said, and Angela frowned.
"What gives you such an impression?" Angela asked, wondering where Zora was getting such ideas from that in Diamond Corporation or Bryce's home, no one is allowed to eat.
Zora likes to make jokes out of things, but sometimes her jokes are based on facts.
"Well, last I checked, my eyes and ears are good. I know how Diamond Corporation packs employees with so much work and insists no one stays beyond closing time, which is 5 p.m., making it difficult to have lunch breaks and still complete tasks for the day," Zora said and brought Angela a glass of water.
"Hmm, it's not true. You can take your lunch break any time," Angela defended and stared at the glass of water Zora was offering to her. "What is this for?" she asked.
"Errr, something for you to wet my carpet with. You have been sleeping for hours now. What do you think?" Zora replied with a straight face, and Angela rolled her eyes at her accepting the glass of water.
"If you don't like soup," Zora said, staring at her face. "What would a month-old pregnant woman like to eat?" she said, her fingers moving on her phone, and Angela just shook her head in disbelief. "Oh! Fruits, watermelon. I have watermelon," she said and left for the kitchen.
"Here is some nicely chopped melon. You want an egg to go with that?" Zora said and got a smile out of Angela.
"Finally, somebody smiled," Zora said and sat down next to Angela, who picked one of the sliced melons from the plate to eat. "For once, I thought I needed to get myself an umbrella. Or get you a pack of toilet paper or maybe get a generator on standby?" she said, and Angela wondered what Zora was thinking.
"Why?" Angela asked and took a bite of her melon.
"Well, looking at your face, I am not sure if that was a heavy cloud indicating heavy rain, or if you are constipated or if it's a general power issue," Zora replied, and Angela just shook her head in disbelief.
"So now, what happened?" Zora asked with a face of expression of concern as if she hadn't said anything just now.
Angela sighed and decided to tell Zora everything that happened, not leaving any detail out,
At Devon's home, Elena had just descended the staircase and was about to head for the dining area when she heard a knock on the door. She walked to the door and answered it.
"Oh, Elena, you are here. When did you arrive?" Susan asked with a broad smile plastered on her face, but Elena kept a straight face.
Susan was Bryce's friend, something Elena was very much aware of, but she never liked Susan's domineering attitude.
"This dawn," Elena replied, staring at Susan with no expression at all.
"You are welcome home. Is your brother around?" Susan asked, and Elena frowned.
"You know my brother doesn't live here," Elena replied.
"What! He stops visiting in the evening?" Susan asked, still standing at the door.
"I don't know about that," Elena replied, her voice void of emotion.
"Aint you going to invite me in?" Susan asked and walked in before Elena could reply or react to her statement.
"Ah, Susan, you are here. Welcome," Devon greeted, descending the staircase into the same space.
Elena closed the door and walked away, leaving Susan with her father.
"Had you come a little earlier, you would have met my son, Bryce," Devon said and stopped in front of Susan. "Were you at the office today?" he asked with a smile.
"Yes, but Mr Moore didn't come to work today," Susan reported.
"Yeah, he was here. We had a small discussion," Devon replied and began to walk Susan towards the dining area. "I want to use this opportunity to appreciate what you did. Thank you for bringing Bryce's inappropriate behaviour to my attention," he added.
"It was nothing. Your son is more like a brother to me. If I don't look out for him, then I don't understand what family and friendship mean," Susan replied.
"Oh, Susan, you alerted my husband about Bryce's marriage?" came Patricia's voice.
"Yes, ma'am. I did realise the girl was up to no good, and I thought it wise for Mr Moore here to know since Bryce refused to listen to reason," Susan explained.
"Oh, I see," Patricia said, her hostility evident in her voice. "I will be in the dining room," she said to her husband and walked past them.
"Why do I get the feeling, Mrs Moore is unhappy with me?" Susan asked Devon.
"Just ignore. My son was upset about my decision for him to leave that gold digger, and my wife doesn't like seeing my son upset," Devon explained. "Join us for dinner. I have an announcement to make," he said, and Susan just nodded.
Patricia and Elena were both sitting around the dining table when Devon walked in with Susan. They both stared at him, wondering what was going on.
Devon made the servant bring an extra plate for Susan. There was a deafening silence in the dining area as everyone focused on consuming their food.
"Okay, I have something to say," Devon began, and Patricia turned to look at him. "I see my son, Bryce, is looking for a partner. So I have decided to find him one. Susan McClean here is someone we have all known since she was little, and she grew up together with Bryce. They have worked closely together and achieved a lot of success. Susan is a good woman and would make a fine wife. I think she makes a perfect partner for Bryce. We will have the engagement party this weekend," he said, and Patricia frowned.
"Hell no," Patricia objected. "Does Bryce know about this decision you are making for him? Or is this decision yours? As in you are looking for a second wife?" she growled in surprise, and Susan was surprised by the intensity of Patricia's disapproval.