a ni-ght w!th him đ·đ
đChapter 15
____________________________đ±
âThe other firm is as competent as we are so we have to put in all our best. The contract worth lots of money and yâall know youâll get so many ti-ps off itâ Harold said,addressing his staffs in the meeting room.
They sat in a circle corporately dressed,Harold was seated on a high chair, facing them all.
They listened as he spoke professionally and most of the female employees gushed over him as usual.
Harold manages to avoid their gazes all the time cause they do nothing than cast s£dûçt!veglances towards him.
Another ro-mantic, action, thri-ller or family stories @:- Pizarena.com
âSo i hope we all work very ha-rd for this upcoming projectâ Harold said.
âWe will Mr Haroldâ They chorused.
âHave a great day, Iâll fill you in on more informations laterâ Harold said, dismissing them.
They all left for their offices and Harold sighed.
He loos£ned the t©p of his shi-t and pu-ll-ed the knot of his silver-grey tie away from his collar.
He picked the bottle of water on the table and then headed for the door.
Heâs still gonna drop by Haroldâs constructions later in the afternoon.
Thereâs another contract there too.
He exchanged smiles with Thelma, his secretary as he walked past her.
She has been working with him for the past five years,sheâs one of the females heâs sure of that doesnât have eyes on him.
Maybe because sheâs in her early forties or because sheâs happily married with four kids.
Aside from not having eyes on him,she has been a great secretary,so diligent. Always re-ady to work.
The glas-s door opened automatically and Harold walked into his mas-sively furnished office.
He dropped the bottle of water on the table and then headed for the bathroom.
He rinsed his face in the sink and sighed calmly.
The water refreshed him.
He wiped his hands off a clean napkin before walking back into his office and then sat on his soft leather couch.
He opened his l@pt©p and powered it.
It c@mÂŁ into life and he scrolled to his files.
He cli-cked on it and continued working from where he st©pped.
âCoffee!â Thelma announced, walking in.
Harold turned to her and salivated at the sight of the steaming coffee and hamburger.
She had made it a duty to bring that to him whenever heâs working and he enjoys it so much.
âThank youâ Harold said as she placed it right in front of him.
âYouâre welcomeâ She smiled. âHowâs Ivory?â She added.
âSheâs goodâ Harold smiled.
âMy regards to herâ Thelma said.
âAlrightâ.
He was still on his hamburger and coffee when the intercom buzzed.
He scowled and pressed the answering bu-tton.
âYeah?â He asked.
âYouâve got a call Mr Haroldâ Thelma said.
âFrom who?â He asked.
âTomâ
âTom?â Harold wondered.
Tom has never called him on working hours.
âPut him onâ He said.
âYes Mr Haroldâ Thelma said and the line went dead for a moment and then a voice said âHello Mr Haroldâ
Itâs truly Tomâs voice.
âTomâ Harold said.
âOur car was sh0t atâ He said.
âWhat!â Harold exclaimed, getting up from the couch.
His legs hit the table in the process and the whole coffee spilled but he was less concerned about that now.
His mind rose over what Tom just told him.
âI hope no oneâs hurt?â Harold finally asked.
âIrene⊠is in the hospitalâ Tom said.
âOh..my God!â Harold exclaimed slamming the receiver before rushing out.
**
Harold sat in Doc Fern office, he just checked on Irene.
Sheâs asleep.
He had left Tom and Eric at the reception, heâs glad they were not hurt.
Tom just had a slight cut on his cheek where the heat of the bullet had grazed him.
âDoctor Fernado, howâs her health?â Harold asked his pri-vate doctor who was seated in front of him.
Heâs so worried, guilty and hurt.
What if she had gotten killed?
Gosh!
Thatâs so ha-rd to think now.
âSheâs fine, the bullet didnât get to her. The shock only made her pas-s outâ Doc Fern said and Harold sighed in complete relief.
âI hope the shock didnât get de-ep into herâ Harold asked.
âIt almost did but we controlled it alre-ady,sheâll be discharged once sheâs awakeâ
âOhhâŠthanks so much Fernâ Harold said.
âYouâre welcome. Howâs Ivory?â Doctor Fern asked.
âSheâs perfectly fine, Iâm glad she didnât get to witness the incidence. You know how s-en-sitive she isâ Harold said, breathing out loudly.
âOf course, itâs gonna be on her mind for so long and it might affect herâ Doc Fern said.
Eric
and Tom walked into the office.
Of course they both looked unhappy and worried.
âSitâ Doc Fern told them, pointing to the empty chairs but Tom shook his head .
âWhy? You should relax even if you refused to allow us admit you â doc Fern said.
âReally?â Harold asked.
âYes, he refused to be admitted. He just insisted we treat his cheek and leave him aloneâ Doc Fern said.
Harold nods thoughtfully, he knew Tom to be that way.
âShould we involve the cops?â Tom asked.
âOf course, how else will i know who sh0t at my daughterâs carâ Harold said.
âTell me, how did it happened? What really happened?â Harold asked.
Thatâs the first thing he should have asked when he c@mÂŁ rushing into the hospital but he had headed to Ireneâs ward instead.
âWe were on our way home when i suddenly saw a man point his rifle at the car, looked like, he had been waiting for us. â Tom said while Eric contacted the cop.
Harold sighed and raked unsteady f!ngersthrou-gh his hair .
He knows someone is after him and that means theyâll hurt people close to him too.
He wonât forgive himself if any of his workers get hurt or killed just because of him.
Who the hell is after his life again!
âThe
cops are on their way with two FBI agentsâ Eric said.
âGood!â Harold said.
âNone of you should spill what happened to Ivory or anyoneâ Harold said and Eric and Tom nodded.
âIm sure you have other patients to attend to, weâll be at the receptionâ Harold said, rising to his feet.
âYou should stay here, you know youâre a public figure. I wonât want you causing hullabaloo in the hospitalâ Doc Fern laughed.
âEric get my sunglas-s and face cap from my carâ Harold said and Eric left quic-kly.
âTell the cops to hold on. We have to get home before discussingâ Harold said to Tom who c@mÂŁ to inform him that the cops were around.
âOkay Mr Haroldâ Tom said and walked outside.
Harold was seated in the reception disguised in his face cap and sunglas-s.
His head was bent and he had told his b©dyguards to stay outside.
Heâs so worried even after knowing sheâs fine.
He canât just wait for her to be awake so she can tell him sheâs truly fine.
He have to be super at alert now.
Especially with Ivory,if things get worst then sheâll be homeschooling .
âSheâs awakeâ Harold heard and glanced up.
Doc Fern was smiling in front of him.
âReally?â Harold rose to his feet.
âYeah, come with meâ Doc Fern said.
___đ
âDo you recognize the shooter?â An FBI agent asked Tom.
âDamn well! Iâd recognize him anywhereâ Tom said.
They were now at home and he was discussing with the cops outside.
He was filling them in on the incidence.
Other workers looked on curiously, not knowing what was going on.
Harold walked out, heâs changed into house wear.
He had watched Irene sleep in her room before coming to join the cops.
Sheâs still weak and Fern said all she nee-ds is rest.
Harold is so glad sheâs fine, he had almost hvgged her when he saw her awake.
âHow is it going?â Harold asked ~approaching them.
âWe sÂŁnt the bullet to the lab alre-adyâ A cop said.
âWeâll check out the CCTV footage of the street which the incide~ nce happened and weâll get back to you Mr Haroldâ an FBI agent said.
âOkay, thanks so muchâ Harold said.
___đ
Damien
sat in clas-s, completely lost.
What happened yesterday kept repla-ying in his head.
*Flashback*
âSo would you like to come with me now?â The man repeated and Damien nodded.
He followed the man with his heart beating fast.
âWhat had happened to Irene?â He thought fearfully.
âDid something happened?â Damien asked but the man didnât respond.
He was almost f0rç£d to go back but this is about his sister..
His sister!
The only one he loves most in the world .
The creepy man turned into a street and Damien followed.
Is he doing the right thing?
Following a stranger cause he mentioned his sister?
And he hadnât even mentioned Ireneâs name.
Damien suddenly st©pped walking and the man noticed that immediately.
He turned to him.
âWhy did you st©p?â The man asked.
âWhatâs my sisterâs name?â Damien said, prepared to run if he mentions the wrong name.
âIrene Noris working as a nanny for Harold Marshall daughter â The man said.
Itâs really his sister!
âCan we go now?â The man asked.
âWhat happened to her?â Damien asked but again the man ignored him and he had no choice but to keep following him.
He was surprised he was taken to Ethan Weston building.
This will be the first time sheâll be seeing him face to face.
âBut he doesnât look niceâ Damien noticed.
âI offered your sister to sponsor your education and pay for your mumâs surgery bills but she refusedâ Ethan Weston said, toying with his glas-s cu-p of wine.
âSo?â Damien asked.
âShe chose that nanny job over my great offerâ Ethan said and even if Damien was just seeing him for the first time,he can see that cruel look on his face.
âWhy did you gave her the offer out of the blue?â Damien asked.
The b©dyguards surrounding them was almost choking him.
âCause i want her to leave Marshallâs houseâ Ethan puffed out smoke from his cigarette.
âWhy?â Damien asked.
âQuit the foolish questions boy and have your drinkâ Ethan said.
âIâm fine, why did you want me here? â He asked.
âTo convince your sister of course, i found out you guys are quite closeâ Ethan grinned.
âWell, i canâtâ Damien said.
âWhat do you mean you canât? Just convince her to leave that job and youâll get something in return tooâ Ethan win-ked.
â I canât convince Irene cause she canât be f0rç£d to do what she doesnât want toâ Damien said.
âReally?â Ethanâs face grew angry.
âYesâ Damien said.
âThat means you canât convince her!â
âYesâ
âThen you should accept the fact that sheâll be in danger starting from now!â Ethan threatened and Damien looked lost..
He had cried on his way home knowing he caused all these.
If only he hadnât f0rç£d her to accept the nanny job,then she wonât be involved in this.
Itâs quite obvious thereâs a feud between Harold and Ethan.
Ethan had looked like a desperate person.
He can do anything.
He had sÂŁnt Damien out of his house and he had to start trekking.
Knowing Irene is in danger really made him sick.
He caused it all .
She had never wanted to go for that nanny job.
~End of flashback~
âDamien, you havenât answered the question i posed to youâ Mrs Maxine, the English teacher said.
âHuh?â Damien asked.
âDid she just asked him something?â He wondered until one of the girls crushing on him whispered the answer to him.
___đ
âAfter what happened today, i realised that just one b©dyguard is not enough, you guys safety matters a lot. Another b©dyguard will be joining you Tomâ Harold said.
He was in the living room with Irene,Tom and Eric while Alex and one other b©dyguard stood behind him.
âAlex, youâll be the one to join Tomâ Harold announced.
đ·đ a ni-ght w!th him đ·đ
đChapter 16
____________________________đ±
Alex, youâll be the one to join Tomâ Harold announced.
âHuh?â Irene darted her eyes to Harold and everyone turned to her.
âWhat?â Harold asked.
âUhm.. nothingâ Irene said.
âAre you sure you are fine? Will you go back to rest?â Harold asked.
âI think i will go backâ Irene said,her heart suddenly beating fast when she saw the stern look Alex gave her.
She has been right all along.
Thereâs something about him.
âI can go by myselfâ Irene said when Harold offered to help her.
âYou sure?â
âYeahâ Irene said and started walking towards the stairs.
âWhatâs with this lady looking suspiciously at him every time, does she knows heâs a spy or what?â Alex wondered as Irene walked to her room.
And she had appeared unhappy when Mr Harold announced that heâs gonna be the back up b©dyguard.
Seems sheâs starting to suspect him but he has not been acting suspicious. He has been very careful over the years and no one have ever suspected him.
Even Harold trusts him so much.
But this little thing suddenly comes from nowhere and changed everything!
What if Harold notices her behavior towards him, heâll definitely start watching him too.
He must start watching her every move from now on cause he doesnât like the look of things.
Maybe they should eliminate her before Harold.
Cause she might b!ow his cover.
Heâs gonna tell Ethan about it.
But heâs glad heâs now gonna join Tom.
Itâs gonna make everything much more easier.
The informations will flow freely.
Though he hates Tom, the guy do behave like heâs better than anyone else and it hurts to see Harold cherished him too and even Ivory who rarely likes anyone.
There are so many people on his death list and of course Tom is one of them.
âSo, Alex. Starting from tomorrow, youâll be joining Tom. plea-se make sure you and Tom protects everyone.â Harold said.
âIâll do my best sirâ Alex said.
âI trust you both to do a good job.â Harold smiled.
He didnât noticed the look exchange between Tom and Alex.
Tom hated the fact that Alex will be joining him.
They both know they donât like each other .
Tom has always had a bad feeling about him,he wanted to tell Mr Harold several times but he had no proof.
Joining him isnât bad after all, heâll finally get to study him and confirm if his thoughts about Alex are true.
âYou can all leave now, i have to go fill Ivory in â Harold said.
âOkay Mr Haroldâ they said and left.
Harold sighed and walked towards the stairs.
___đ
Irene breathed out loudly as she tossed in her be-d .
Sheâs yet to fully recover from the shock.
Why Alex?
Did Mr Harold trust him that much?
Why is she finding it so difficult to trust him.
Whyâs she so bothered even when thereâs no proof that the guy is actually bad like she thought but the look he had given her before she left the living room almost confirmed her thoughts about him but thatâs still no proof.
Her mind do seem unsettled whenever heâs around and that happens to her whenever someone has a bad aura.
Alex sure does but she doesnât think Harold noticed.
Should she ask Tom what he feels about Alex?
No. She shouldnât do that.
She resumed just few days ago, she shouldnât go about prodding.
Her mind trailed back to the incidence.
She had been so shocked to the bone when gunsh0t echoed in the car.
She didnât know when she pas-sed out.
Whatever it is, someone is obviously after them.
Harold had said heâs the one they are after and that means everyone around him is not safe.
Sheâs just so glad Ivory hadnât been in the car then.
Whyâs all these suddenly happening few days she got here.
Itâs sincerely ma-king her feel bad even after Harold had as-sured her that sheâs not responsible for it.
Damien and her mum mustnât hear this or thatâll be the end of her work here.
Especially Damien, if he hears she was nearly sh0t, heâll do everything to get her out of here and her mumâs surgery bill isnât even complete yet.
Everything was going fine and this incidence just have to spoil everything.
Now theyâre not safe anymore.
Knowing herself, sheâs gonna start panicking at every little thing .
She hoped the gunsh0t thing had been a mistake and it wasnât really aimed at their carâŠ
But who was she deceiving?
It had been aimed at their car!
___đ
âNo! No! Dadâ Ivory shook her head.
âComâon princessâ Harold said.
He was sitting beside her on the be-d.
âI donât want Alex to join Tom. Iâm okay with Tom aloneâ Ivory said.
âAlex nee-ds to . Just allow him plea-seâ Harold said.
âWhy does he nee-d to join Tom. Whatâs wrong?â Ivory asked, dropping her candy.
âNothing, absolutely nothing. I just feel like ti-ght£ñing your securityâ
âWhy? You were satisfied with just Tom aloneâ Ivory said.
âI was but now Iâm notâ Harold said.
âIs there anything youâre hiding from me again?â Ivory asked furrowing her brows.
âWell⊠thereâs nothing. But having two b©dyguards is not bad . So many kidnappers are all over the city nowâ Harold said.
âOkay but not Alex!â Ivory frowned.
âWhy?â Harold asked in surprise.
Ivory never had issue with Alex and she has never complained about him.
âI..do see him with Betty then. They were always togetherâ Ivory said.
âReally?â
âYes dadâ Ivory said.
âIs that why you donât want him?â Harold asked.
âYes, Betty is a bad person and anyone who as-sociates with her is one alsoâ Ivory scoffed.
âComâon Ivory, they might be spending time with each other cause theyâre both bored. That doesnât make Alex a bad person too. Heâs a very good guy and you know how much i trust himâ Harold said and Ivory shrugged.
âSoâŠ?â Harold asked.
âFine, he can be my second b©dyguardâ ivory rolled her eyes and picked her candy.
âThatâs my baby girl! Iâm sure you will really enjoy his presÂŁnceâ Harold smiled.
âI canât, i only said yes to obey you.â Ivory said plainly.
âThank youâ Harold sighed.
âI donât want my car getting stuffy and all!â Ivory complained.
âI should change your cars to bigger ones thenâ Harold said.
âNo, itâs fine. Weâre having ballet clas-s tomorrow and i nee-d to practiceâ Ivory said.
âOhhâŠi should leave you to it thenâ Harold pe-cked her cheeks and rose to his feet.
âIs Irene still asleep?â Ivory asked.
She was missing her nanny alre-ady.
She had selected her wears herself when she got back from school and she didnât feel so excited like she feels whenever Irene selects her wears.
âYeah, i think sheâs a bit ill. She nee-ds a lot of restâ Harold said.
âReally? But you didnât told me she was ill. You only said she was asleepâ Ivory said worriedly, getting to her feet.
âWhere to?â Harold asked.
âI nee-d to check on herâ ivory said and Harold watched as his daughter hurried throu-gh the adjoining door.
___đ
âWhat do you want for dinner? will you come downstairs?â Harold asked Irene as he walked into her room.
He saw Ivory with her and sighed,she had refused to leave Ireneâs room since then and it looks like they were both working on her homework.
âNo, i think Iâll just have fruitsâ Irene said.
âYou sure? You didnât have lunch tooâ Harold said worriedly, he doesnât like the new Irene, she looks weak and bothered.
WellâŠwho wouldnât look bothered after what happened.
âIvory, i think i left my wristwatch in your roomâ Harold lied.
âReally?â Ivory asked.
âYeah, go help me search your be-d for itâ
âOkay dadâ ivory said, she got down from Ireneâs be-d before hurrying to her room.
âIf youâre bothered about what happened earlier then thereâs nothing to worry about, Iâll make sure everyone is safe okay?â Harold said reas-suringly and Irene nodded.
âI trust you to do thatâ She smiled and Harold was glad.
âNow thatâs what Iâm talking about! You just smiled, your face has been sad all alongâ Harold said, smiling too.
âYeahâ Irene blu-shed.
The sudden lightness of her mood amazed her.
The weakness she was feeling was slowly diminishing..
She knew it was because of Harold.
He had lightened her mood only with his presÂŁnce, she had been feeling so down that ivory noticed and the little girl have asked whatâs wrong severally.
âIf youâre still feeling weak by tomorrow, then donât bother going with Ivory to school okay?â Harold said.
âNo, Iâll be fine. Like, Iâm fine alre-adyâ Irene said.
âYou sure?â
âOf course Mr Harold, thanks so much for your careâ Irene said, de-eply t©uçhed.
âComâon you were almost hurt in my possession, and Iâm still so sorry about that, Iâve checked on Tom and Eric too and they seem fineâ Harold said.
âIâm gladâ Irene said.
âSo should we go eat dinner now?â Harold asked.
âYesâ Irene nodded.
âGreat!â Harold smiled.
The adjoining door opened and Ivory stepped into Ireneâs room pouting.
âWhat?â Harold asked.
âI searched everywhere for your wristwatch but couldnât find it. Definitely itâs not in my roomâ Ivory frowned.
âOhh..i must have left it in my pri-vate living room thenâ Harold said scratching his head.
Irene smiled knowing he had deceived Ivory.
There was no lost wristwatch anywhere.
He only told her that so she could excuse them.
âOhh..so should we go to the dining?â Harold asked Ivory.
âNo, Iâll just have fruitsâ Ivory said, sitting back on Ireneâs be-d.
âWhat?â Harold asked.
âYeahâ she confirmed.
âOkay then , sit here alone and have your fruits. Irene and i will go to the diningâ Harold said and Irene laughed.
âWhat! Isnât she also taking fruits?â Ivory frowned.
âI changed my mind Ivoryâ Irene said.
âHuh?â Ivory asked, glancing at her dad.
âYesâ Irene said.
âLetâs all go to the dining room thenâ Ivory bit herl-ips.
âYou said youâre gonna stay here and have your fruits. Itâs not badâ Harold tea-sed.
âI changed my mindâ Ivory rolled her eyes and got down from the be-d.
She slide her tiny feet into her sli-ppers and walked out of the room.
âCopy catâ Harold laughed and Irene joined him.
___đ
Irene walked out of the door with Ivory and saw Tom andâŠ
Damn!
She had even forgotten Alex will be joining them.
Tom stretched his hand to open the car door but Alex beat him to it.
He opened the car door with a fake grin which annoyed Irene so much.
Ivory entered the car and Irene got beside her,then Tom.
Alex got in the front and Eric started driving.
The car seemed tensed and
Irene noticed no one had said good morning.
Alex presÂŁnce is such a bad one .
Her mind is starting to get unsettled.
âAnd why is Tom watching Alex that way?â Irene wondered.
She noticed Ivory doesnât look happy too.
Even Eric that do make them laugh just kept mute.
Uhmm.
___đ
They got to Ivoryâs school after long minutes of tensed silence..
âIâll take her to her clas-sâ Alex offered.
âNo! Tom willâ Ivory said, gr-abbing her backpack.
Tom grinned and held Ivoryâs little hand in his.
He win-ked mockingly at Alex before leading Ivory to her clas-s.
Irene and Eric saw what happened and Irene couldnât hold her laughter.
Eric did a good job in hiding his though.
Alex wore a visible angry look and Irene could see how cruel those eyes looked at that moment.
Like, thatâs the real him.
Tom returned,still grinning.
They all got into the car.
Irene and Tom at the back seat.
Irene smiled as she saw Damienâs incoming call.
âBut, shouldnât he be in clas-s?â She thought.
They were still in the car, on their way home.
đHey Damienâ she said and thought she saw Alex shifted in his seat but she shrugged it off.
đSisâ Damien said.
đHow are you? Whyâs your voice down? Shouldnât you be in clas-s? is anything wrong?â Irene asked.
đOne question at a time sis. Okay, i think Iâm fine Irene. Iâm actually on my way to school but i have something to tell you.
đYou have something to tell me?â Irene asked and Alex suddenly turned in his seat but Irene had not noticed.
She was worried about her brother.
Damien doesnât sound this way except if something is extremely wrong.
đFirst, i hope you and mum are fine?â She asked.
đYes weâre perfectly fineâ Damien said and she sighed in relief.
đ Okay,so what do you want to tell me?â Irene asked and silence followed.
đDamâ She called and noticed the call was suddenly disconnected..
Whatâs going on!
TbcâŠ
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