Chapter 44: Just us

LATER SAME DAY.

"Do you all have to go? I'll miss you terribly. In fact, I'm actually missing you guys already." Paige complained as she saw Anna and co off to their car. Sherman and the maids busied themselves with their few luggages by parking them inside the booth of the car.

"I actually wish you could come along. But Anna made me understand that you need to rest and you also need a little time away from our troubles and I couldn't have agreed more." June replied smiling.

"Nobody stresses me at all. What then should I be resting from?" Paige asked.

"If you don't want to rest, might I suggest some strenuous activities then; you can play tennis, the volleyball court won't mind a human presence, we've got the disco room beside the mini cinema too. You can also sleep at the gym, cook for the whole house throughout the week we'll be staying at Acubana,  tend to the garden and lots more." Anna said laughing.

"I might actually consider doing some of them." 

"Consider what? Don't even dare. I was just joking. Please, get some rest! You need all the rest you can get." She told her.

"Alright!, It's time to go." June called from the car as Nicon took a seat at the driver's.

"I'm coming!" Anna replied. "Let's take few pictures Paige." 

"Alright." Paige replied hurriedly as Anna positioned her phone for a selfie. They took few shots together. She also took couple of pictures for Paige as well as she helped teach or show her rather the various ways to pose for the camera. As the shots were going on, June kept smiling at them from her position beside the car.

"And..... We're done." Anna said taking the last shot. "I'll send you the whole pictures P. We need to go now. It's getting late. Bye baby." She said as they hugged each. "When I send the pictures,  post the gorgeous ones on Instagram Sweetie. The pictures are lovely and post our selfies too." 

"I will. I'll tell them to meet my bestie." Paige said smiling.

"You'd better girl cause I'm here to stay and I'll always watch your ass." She replied smiling. Anna went to the car and Nicon started the engine. Emily and June waved at Paige through the window and she waved back. She had mixed feelings watching them leave. Just then he phone beeped and she saw the pictures from Anna. She looked up and smiled at her. Anna blew her a kiss just before their car passed the main entrance gate. She focused back on her phone to check the pictures again. Another text message came into her phone from Stefan her boyfriend which read; "pick my calls or reply my messages Pai, you can't keep ignoring me." She placed the phone on sleep mode ignoring the text. Then she went back to the mansion and met Simon coming down the stairs with lazy strides.

"Hey, you just missed your mother and siblings. They left barely five minutes ago." She told him.

"Good for them." He replied yawning. "Let's enjoy some quietness in the house.

"What? You're so weird, gosh!" 

"I've been told that a couple of times." He replied. "I'm famished. I'm heading out for Lunch and dinner. Do you care to tag along?" He asked her.

"Sure, I'll love to. Let me quickly change into some more presentable." She replied heading to the stairs.

"You actually look great. I love what you're wearing." Simon said with a warm smile. Paige had on a blue cotton jumpsuit with a golden ring design placed towards her belly button and a pair of black sandal. Her hair was packed up in a messy bun and her lips were moist with a lip balm with it's color still pink as always.

"I look crazy." She replied moving her hands up while looking down at her outfit with a serious face.

"I love crazy people." He replied.

"I love crazy people." Paige mimicked him while laughing mischievously. Simon smiled at her. She looked up at Simon and noticed that he wouldn't bulge. "Okay, fine. Let's go then." She finally said with resignation. Simon stretched out his hands and Paige slipped hers into it absent mindedly. He helped her into the car after collecting the key from Bruce his personal driver.

Once he settled into the driver's seat, he started the car engine and they drove out of the mansion. "I love it when you smile like you just did few minutes ago. Especially, when I'm the reason for the smile." Simon told her making her blush.

"Oh please, stop it." Paige said blushing harder when he turned to look at her. "Focus on the road Simon, you're driving." She said.

"Okay ma'am." He replied with a smile turning his attention to the road.

"I've been meaning to ask you about Charlotte." She said while Simon who had no idea who she was speaking of stared blankly at her."

"Who's Charlotte?" He asked.

"My car. Charlotte is my car." She answered laughing at his clueless face.

"Wow! You have a special name for your car. Do you have a special name for everything around you. Do you also have special names for the people around you too? People like me maybe?" He asked with a grin.

"Just be serious for once please." She said laughing.

"She's been cleaned and packed at the bigger garage behind the gym. That's where we pack most of the cars we don't use often." He explained.

"Alright. I just wanted to know. To be sure that my baby haven't been discarded by the great Simon Kentley." She said the last two words mimicking a deep tone voice. Simon looked at her and smiled even more. He's never seen her so free and happy neither has he been this free and happy with any lady for a very long time. "Where are we going?" She asked him.

"To a simple and less crowdy restaurant. Somewhere we can just be ourselves and eat to our fill without the prying eyes of the society. We're almost there." He replied.

"Sounds like a fun." 

"It sure is. Let's listen to some music. Do you mind?" He asked and received a positive approval from Paige. He immediately turned on the music and increased the volume up to seventy percent. He sang along to the song blasted through his car speakers. After about two unbearable minutes, Paige who couldn't bear the noise from the music. turned down the volume of the song.

"This is the craziest song I've heard all my life." She complained bitterly. "And must it be so loud?" She asked in annoyance.

"Uhhh, you're indeed a kill joy. It's so glaring right now. You were the one that permitted me to turn on the music remember." He asked.

"I remember vividly. I said music. I never said noise." She replied.

"No, no, no. You didn't just call my favorite song noise. Did you?" He asked.

"What? That's your favorite song? Oh Lord! I can only imagine what your favorite playlist look like." She said with a sorry face.

"Are you trying to say that my playlist is wack?" 

"Why will I say that when I'm yet to listen to your playlist? Is your playlist wack." She asked with a smile that formed a thin line on her lips.

"You've just drawn a battle line Sunflower. We'll listen to your own favorite playlist together when we get back then." Simon said as he made a turn to their right driving into a car park. "We're here." He told her. They made their way inside the restaurant. Simon was putting on an ash tracksuit. They sat comfortably while they got attended to by the waiter. Simon settled for a plate of casserole while Paige went for macaroni with shrimps. They got a bottle of wine too. Paige have always been a light eater hence her little delicate body frame. So, she didn't eat much of her food whole Simon who was very hungry ate like his life depended on it.

"You can swallow a whale if they serve you one of it right now." Paige told Simon with a smile.

"Hmmmm," he said smiling. "Thanks for the compliment. When I said I was hungry, I meant it." He said cleaning his mother with the serviette. His phone beeped as a result of a text from Charles his head guard at his Lakeview apartment. The text read; "she is proving very difficult to leave the house. She refused to leave. What to do?" He read the text over and over again. Suddenly, he became angry. He looked up across his table and saw Paige still eating her food calmly. He took his phone and replied Charles. "Get her out of my house by all means possible and make sure she's blindfolded." He replied Charles dropping his phone.

"So tell me Sunflower, what's your answer to my proposal? About the extension of your services." He explained to make her remember.

"Will you take back everything if I said no?" She asked calmly.

"Anything I give to you, I honestly do not want them back. You need to know this. But it's rather honorable to pay back what you owe since I gave them yo you on that note.