Chapter 10

★★★★★

~THE NEXT DAY~

•ROYCE B & CO•

"What do you take me for, a fool?!".. came a yell from a huge and tall man whose towering figure portrayed his commanding charisma..

He goes by the name Johnson Sam and is identified as the managing director of the Royce B company, a distribution company under the Daves conglomerates.

Gilbert's eyes dropped in speechlessness as he kept avoiding the boss's piercing gaze, as if he was searching for an escape from an impending storm.

"A fool that you can deceive?, huh!" Johnson yelled again, slamming his fist on the mahogany desk and causing the pens and papers to jump and scatter.

"That's the truth sir. The car was stolen" Gilbert replied, still with his eyes avoiding his boss' gaze.

"Unbelievable!" MD Johnson as he's always called, thundered. His face was madly red and his veins were bulging out of his neck in fury as his deep voice echoed off the office walls.

Gilbert trembled like a leaf, hoping he wouldn't receive the most merciless judgement..

How was he supposed to survive without the company?..

For Pete's sake, the company was his backbone!

The house he lives in also belonged to the company and certainly, if he gets sacked, he's losing everything..

"You managed to lose the company's prized BMW! A vehicle worth thousands of dollars, yet you still open your mouth to speak. Are you insane?!" Johnson yelled with his eyes blazing with fury.

Beads of sweat ran down Gilbert's forehead despite being under the air conditioner.

"I'm deeply sorry sir.." he spoke in a gentle and innocent voice like he was the best man in the world with the best heart.

"It was a mistake.." he stammered, speaking in a barely audible voice.

"I left the keys in the ignition, and—" he wasn't done giving his flimsy excuse when MD Johnson cut in.

"It is not a mistake, Gilbert Williams!! A mistake is forgetting to file a paperwork. This is gross negligence!"

Gilbert couldn't say a word.

"Who knows, You might have collided with the thieves to steal and sell the car!" the director spat.

"I swear, I didn't. My phone is gone too" Gilbert responded quickly.

Johnson sucked in a deep breath, feeling so annoyed and trying to control the urge to do something silly..

Silence took over for a few seconds before he finally spoke.

"That car was the company property, Gilbert" he said, pointing his forefinger at him with a cold voice.

"And do you know what?.." he asked with a dangerous smirk.

"You'll keep working with no salary to pay for that car. Even if it will take a year for your salary to equate to the cost of that car.. and listen, anytime you skip work or come late to work, you'll be sacked and thrown into prison till your family clears your debt!" Johnston said fiercely.

"But sir –" Gilbert tried speaking.

"If you say a word, you'll have yourself to be blamed" Johnson threatened.

Gilbert tightened his fist.

"How am i going to tell Nina to stop spending lavishly till I'm out of this debt" he sighed, feeling his tears welling up in his eyes and regretting his actions of running after Iris.

"Now get out of my sight!" Johnson ordered and without a word, Gilbert headed out of the office..

"I'll make sure you don't go scot free, Iris"

*

•WHITE HOUSE, KAREN'S ROOM•

"Since my stepbrother arrived, Dad had really not welcomed him nor had he treated him like he exists".. Karen typed and sent to her online best friend whom she had never even met before..

Right..

Her friend was of the male gender but none of them knew each other's name except their ages and yet, she had grown so used to him that she tells him every single thing that happens in her house.

Perhaps it's because he's the only friend she's been communicating with for almost a year now unlike Kathy who moves with lots of bad girls in college..

"No need for further confirmation, apparently, he isn't your father's favorite" her friend, whose user name was Tiger responded..

"I've always suspected that. But then, why does he yell,scold and threaten my brother everytime like he hates him so much?.." Karen asked. Her username is Veekee, the short form of her middle name, Victoria.

"I guess he has his reasons.." Tiger's reply came in immediately and before Karen could type another message, the door flew open immediately..

Karen sat up immediately and her eyes darkened on seeing Kathy..

"And what happened to the ethics of knocking before barging into a room!" Karen said angrily..

Kathy smiled secretly, chewing her gum in an annoying way..

"I lost those manners, maybe?.." she replied in a questioning tone.

Karen grunted in disgust on noticing a white stain on her cloth..

"Eww.." she muttered, before taking out her pointer finger..

"Is that not.. sperm?.." She said slowly and Kathy quickly looked at what she was pointing at..

"Oh, I haven't washed up since I lost Tristan's room" she muttered but Karen heard, clearly.

"What the hell!" she mumbled. She was a science student so she could recognise such things..

"Dad needs to know about the whole shit going on in his house" Karen said..

"And what's so wrong in pleasuring one's self, huh?.." Kathy eyed her..

"By the way, can you help with some cucumbers?.. I feel like eating them" She lied, irritating Karen more and more..

Of course, she wasn't daft!..

She knew what she wanted to use it for.

"This is more serious than I thought." Karen mumbled under her breath..

"Just one is fine and I'll love it cold" Kathy moaned..

Without giving her the slightest warning and unable to take the disgust anymore, Karen stretched her hand towards her shoe rack and in the next three seconds, she threw the shoe at her twin.

"Get out!!.." she screamed, rushing over to the bathroom to vomit immediately..

She gets irritated easily and to ease herself, she has to vomit everything in her stomach.

Thinking she was now free, Karen headed out of the bathroom after wiping her lips..

However, as if the heavens decided to punish her for all her past sins, she found Kathy sitting on her bed with widened legs..

Worst of all, she wasn't wearing anything and her clothes were laying aimlessly on the ground.

"Come to mama.." Kathy said shamelessly, sucking on her middle finger..

Karen couldn't take it anymore..

She fainted immediately.

*

•NOVASPIRE INC•

Talk of wealth..

Power..

Classiness..

Exquisite…

Even perfect itself, this building will pass for all definitions despite being just one of the hundreds of branches under the JB consortium..

Three cars drove in at once and in the next minute, they were all parked in the vast garage..

The cars were black in color, except the one at the middle which was a sparkling silver car.

The guards were the first to alight from their respective cars before Harrison's private guard and then, him himself..

He was cladded in a wine bespoke suit that made him look like a million bucks.

As usual, his outfit was matching and so his shoes were the same color as his shirt.

"You'll be meeting the agent today for the apartment. My employee can't spend another night in the hotel. If it means buying the whole house then do so, she's moving in today!" he said to one of his two private guards.

"Alright sir. I'll contact him now for an appointment" the guard replied before Harrison headed towards the main entrance of the building..

He had been the manager of the father's companies for a few years now and all he's waiting for, Is for chairman Brooks to fully inaugurate him as the CEO but it's obvious that that won't be easy especially when he's refusing the betrothal..

All staff bowed in greetings as he walked in with his men. It was well past nine in the morning but who dares question him for arriving late?..

He replied a few greetings before heading into the elevator, proceeding to his office and of course the only person that had the fortitude and privilege to enter the elevator with him was his second private guard..

The elevator was quite fast and in the next minute, they were already on his office floor alongside his other guards who stepped out from the other elevator at once..

For a reason he couldn't tell, his heart kept beating fast as he approached his office door..

Was it because Iris was in there?..

Or because it was his first time having a female secretary?..

Or because –

He just couldn't tell.

All guards, including his private guard, appointed themselves to different corners of the floor while Harrison walked in alone..

The secretary office was located right before his so apparently, he had to walk into the secretary's office before heading for his.

Iris wasn't there as expected and so he proceeded into his, feeling so sure about her presence at work.

Just before he left for work, he had actually instructed some of his guards to go pick her up from the hotel she spent the night in..

Unbeknownst to him, Iris was right in front of the door, feeding her eyes with the artistic works on the wall…

And so..

As he opened the door, it hit her and she almost fell but before she could, he caught her in his arms immediately..

The band which she packed her hair with, fell off and her long hair scattered on his chest..

Their gazes locked for seconds or even minutes?..., bringing back the awkward feeling between them.

"Good morning boss!" Iris said cheerfully, balancing on her feet immediately..

Her long hair fell prettily on her shoulders and as if the suit and suit trouser was made for her, it fitted her perfectly, hugging her curves moderately..

"You look so good in this.." Harrison found himself saying..

"Thank you so much sir, it's one of the ones you ordered to be delivered to my hotel room yesterday" Iris said, bending over to pick her fallen hairband.

Obviously, she was trying not to bring alive any awkward sensation anymore..

"Boss-to-staff relationship should remain as boss-to-staff relationship" she had told herself this morning.

"I love pink that's why I decided to wear it on my first day.." she spoke again while Harrison kept staring..

She proceeded to pack her hair the way it was before but before she could, Harrison collected the band from her and threw it into the bin immediately.

Her eyes widened.

"But sir, it's unofficial to keep a long hair unpacked" she said..

"That rule is an exception for you" he replied thoughtlessly..

"Huh?." she blinked repeatedly like a doll

"And as from today, I want to see you in trousers only.." he said thoughtlessly again and immediately he realized what he had just said, his eyes widened..

Wait..

Was he turning to a flirt because of this lady?..

Or had she possibly charmed him?..

"Trousers only?.." Iris repeated innocently..

'No, don't mind me. Dress anyhow you want to'..... ought to be his response to her question but instead, he found himself muttering something else..

"Yeah, trousers only. They'll hug your curves better than some church-girl skirt.."

Their eyes widened at the same time…