Nathan Stratford looked on as if he had seen a mad man. Why was Ethan laughing in a situation as serious as that? When Ethan was done laughing, he looked at his puzzled father and said,
“What were you expecting from me? It’s good you found out on time, else, I would have destroyed you quietly, without your knowledge. I have come to take over that company. You can’t make me a second fiddle or just an ordinary CEO. The share holders can revoke the power and you…. hand Stratford over to me now, do it peacefully or we do it the other way round!”
Colour drained from the older man’s face. Fear and surprise were visible on his old face. For some seconds, he thought it was a dream.
Ethan looked at his father’s face and laughed louder.
“Are you surprised? Oh no? You shouldn’t be. Give that company to me, I want it to be my sole possession. Right now, you should be thinking of how to do that and nothing more. If I have to come here again, it will be to request for the legal papers that show that Stratford is mine!” Ethan finished and walked away proudly. Nathan Stratford slumped into his chair and held his chest. He grabbed his phone with trembling hands.
“Who’s going to be of help now? Goodness me!” he thought as he went through his contacts. It occurred to him that he had no definite explanation to make to whoever he was asking for help without giving a hint of some undercover deals.
“Ahhhh!” he screamed and threw down the bottle of water.
Ivan was seated in his luxurious office, operating his laptop. There was a knock on the door. Before he could respond, the door was pushed open and Katty entered wearing a sweet smile on her face.
“Hi Ivan!”
“Hello dear.”
“It’s been a long time since I last saw you. What have you been up to?”
“Work,” Ivan answered dryly.
“Ivan? What’s with your mood? Don’t tell me…”
“Don’t tell you what?” Ivan interrupted.
“… it’s Nelly. It’s been over a year, isn’t it? Why can’t you just move on?”
“I have moved on with my life, Katty. I have! Look at me, my life is back to normal, or doesn’t it seem so to you?”
“It doesn’t and you know it as much as I do!”
Many months ago, when it dawned on Ivan that he wasn’t ever going to find Nelly, he decided to quit as that was the only option. Daisy, who was helping him had exhausted all her means and she encouraged him to give up as well. To avoid thinking about her or anything related to the past, Ivan immersed himself in work. He worked overtime and worked his ass out. He didn’t care about anything else but work. He grew more distant but he was still the same old Ivan, the cold hearted and most powerful CEO in the country. His new life affected his family life negatively but there were huge positive leaps and success at his place of work.
“Look Katty, I’ll be home this weekend. I promise, I’ll come see everyone, okay?”
“That’s the problem, Ivan. I want you, what stops you from choosing me? I’ll be a perfect person and lady by your side. You won’t regret having me around, please,” Katty stated.
“Katty, I’m not ready for any commitments, okay?” Ivan answered without looking up from his laptop.
“It’s alright. It must not be a commitment. We can start small, a fling, friends with benefits, and then, we grow, like that…”
Ivan’s jaw dropped open. His hands were suspended mid air as he stared at Katty as if she were an alien.
“I want you right now, trust me, I really do. I’ve been around you for many years but you haven’t or you just pretend not to notice. I love you, Ivan. Please, I just want you inside me, you don’t have to make commitments if you don’t want to. I will not…”
“Enough! Damn!! Enough Katty! That’s okay! How…why… what are you even saying? Look Katty, you need to go home right now.”
“Ivan, swear you don’t want me too. I’m pretty sure your member is eager to ravage me but you want to play the though guy. I understand but please, just…ahhhh…” Katty screamed as Ivan pushed her out of his office.
“Listen! Don’t you ever spew such dirty and disgusting nonsense from your mouth. You are my sister! Gosh! How and where do you get such thoughts from? Who put them into your head?” he queried.
“So, you only see me as your sister?”
“Of course, that’s what it is. Isn’t it?”
“No, I want more than that. Please, it’s good that Nelly’s gone, I will be…” she paused when she saw the look on Ivan’s face.
“Katty, you are my sister, nothing other than that. Stop having amorous thoughts and fantasies about me. Next time, I will throw you down the stairs. Is that clear?” Ivan threatened.
“Are you going to throw your visitor out? I came to see you because you are working overtime. It’s long last office hours!”
They were almost in front of his secretary’s office. Ivan peered inside and saw the poor lady dozing on her seat.
“Poor lady, she must have been working her ass out with you for some months now,” Katty sympathised. Ivan kicked the door and the lady jerked awake.
“I’m sorry sir, I didn’t…” she began apologising.
“It’s fine. Pack up, you can leave for today,” Katty ordered.
“Ma?”
Stacy, the secretary opened her eyes in shock. It was just 8pm and she was being dismissed. Ordinarily, she worked till 10pm or even 11 pm or till whenever her boss deemed it fit to go. Katty frowned.
“I said, leave!”
Stacy stood there, unsure of what to do. Ivan didn’t utter a word, and that worsened the situation. Stacy wanted to hear it directly from her boss or he might fire her. Katty left her to her fate, pulled Ivan into his office and shut the door.