Chapter Fifty-Five
Alexander’s POV:
I woke up to the bright light beaming through my window, my alarm clock was to beep at 7 a. m. but I woke up earlier than the alarm. I had woken up by 6:42 a. m. Funny right? But that was how it always was.
It was terrible the day my dad told me to leave his house and never return. I could still remember Mum begging him to have a change of heart, but he was adamant to all her pleas.
I left and it was like a call to freedom for me. That was the first time I lost everything.
Father only took me back then because mom had died, and he had no one else to call family.
And he was trying to do that again the second time only that I am no longer a child and won’t let him go easy.
My weekly routine was always the same but not the same. I had to attend a series of board meetings for the growth of the company, and I also had to look over the affairs of my boys who were working for me in pushing drugs.
We never got caught anyway, and I always had to bribe a ton of people to conceal our activities. I also paid my lawyer handsomely just in case I got caught.
You can’t blame me, I had gotten so used to being called ruthless, wicked, arrogant, evil, name it and it no longer bothered me.
The only person I cared for was my love, Fiona. She was my sunshine and one of the reasons I kept trying not to fail.
As I was so deep in my thoughts, a beep from my phone jerked me out of my thoughts to reality.
If this call wasn’t important or worth it, whoever called me by this time was surely going to pay for it.
I picked up my phone and looked at the caller ID. It was no one else than my best friend Arnold. We did a lot of dirty kinds of Stuff together anyway. I hit the answer button on my phone and the conversation ensued.
“Hello, man,” I said as the line went through.
“Alex, where are you at the moment?” He asked as soon as my voice came in line, he was the only one who had the audacity and effrontery to call me by my first name. No one else would dare it.
“Where else other than in my house?” I fired back sarcastically.
“Really? In your house? You maniac! Have you forgotten that you have to meet up with Mr. Bruno and his team today or are you still under the influence of some alcohol you took last night?” he ranted over the phone, it’s his audacity for me anyway.
“Shit.” I cursed; I had forgotten that I had to attend a meeting today scheduled for 7:30 a. m. I looked over at my alarm clock and it read 7:18 am. Wait a minute, was it not supposed to beep at 7 a. m.? How come I didn’t hear it? What have I been doing for the past 35 minutes?
“Alex! Are you still there?” I heard Arnold’s voice call out. I had been silent over the phone for a few seconds or let’s say minutes.
“Yeah, I’m here. I’ll be at the office right away,” I said and with that, I ended the call. Now, I have to race to work.
I went into the bathroom and had a quick shower, after that, I went to my closet and picked out a co-operate trou suit. I brushed my hair and now I’m all set. I looked at the alarm clock again and it said 7:23 am. I immediately raced down the stairs to my daughter’s room.
I got to Fiona’s room and surprisingly, she was nowhere to be found, I immediately went downstairs in search of my driver, and he was nowhere to be found too.
What the heck is up with everyone going missing today, even my driver and most importantly, my Fiona? I didn’t even think of breakfast because I had fired my cook for adding ketchup to my pasta. I had to look for a chef today, or else I’d have to go on an empty stomach.
I think it’s not only my cook that needs replacement, I also need to replace my driver and almost immediately, my driver drives into the compound.
“Good morning, Mr. Harrington,” he greeted me when he had parked the car at the garage and then walked up to me.
“Where have you been, Ash?” I asked completely, ignoring his greetings. I was so furious, but I tried my best to stay calm.
“Mr. Harrington, I drove your wife-to-be to the office,” Ash said as simply as he could, trying hard to conceal the fright on his face.
“Shit!” I cursed again. Yeah, Fiona should be at the office. What’s up with me forgetting things today? I think it’s due to the hangover from the alcohol last night.
“Mr. Harrington,” Ash called, jolting me back to reality.
“Yeah, Ash, I have to attend a meeting at the office but I’m running late already. Take me to the office,” I ordered as I walked up to the garage.
I got into the car and Ash sped off to the office.
{At the office}
We arrived at the office at 7:52 a. m. to an angry-looking Arnold. I alighted the car and walked up to Arnold. If he looked angry from a distance, he looked quite furious when I got nearer.
“Arnold…” I tried saying but he immediately cut me off.
“Don’t even think of explaining right now Alex, Mr. Bruno, and his team are on the sixth floor waiting,” he said as he moved towards his office.
I made my way to the elevator and then to the sixth floor. As I stepped out of the elevator, I saw my secretary, Taylor, right there already waiting for me. She raced up to me and took my briefcase.
“Good morning Mr. Harrington,” she greeted him, and she gave a warm smile.
“Good morning, Taylor,” I answered as I walked up to the office where the meeting was to be held.
“Mr. Harrington, you’re unusually late today. Is there any problem?” she asked as she walked alongside me.
Taylor dressed provocatively today to the point that I began thinking if she was trying to seduce me.
“No, Taylor. I worked up late last night,” I answered as I gave her a warm smile which she returned.
We were at the door of the office; Taylor raced ahead of me and opened the door as she waited for me to walk in. I walked in and went ahead to take my seat at the head of the table.
I stealthily looked at my wristwatch and it said 8:13 am. Woah, a meeting that was supposed to commence by 7:30 a. m.