CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO.
Jamal kept thinking about Adele throughout his meeting. Nothing the directors were saying made any sense to him. All he wanted was for them to finish talking so he would end the meeting and go meet Adele at Monteplaza.
He had made a special reservation at the lounge so they could eat and spend some time together. Adele had been very quiet and reserved ever since she got back from the hospital and he hated it, but he understood her that’s why he made sure he gave her the space she needed.
He loved his wife and he wanted them to be close again. That’s why he was starting to invent ways to have them spend time together.
The sound of his phone ringing snapped him out of his thoughts and everyone stopped talking and turned to look at him. When he checked the caller ID and saw Danielle’s name, he instantly ended the call.
“I’m sorry about that …please ride on wi…” his words were cut short from his mouth by the sound of his blasting ringtone. He angrily picked up the phone and answered the call.
“What?” He barked over the phone.
“Don’t you dare raise your voice at me.” Danielle warned and Jamal rolled his eyes hard at her.
“I’m in an important meeting right now, I’ll call you when I’m done.”
“I’m in your office and I have some very important information to pass to you. It has to do with your father and the thing he has on you. If you think you are too busy to come and listen to it, then ride on with your meeting, I’ll be on my way.” She threatened and Jamal closed his eyes as a heavy sigh escaped his lips. He leaned on the backrest and rubbed his forehead with his fingers, wondering what he could do to get that information out of Danielle and get her off his back.
“I’ll be right there.” He said and dropped the call. He looked up at the elderly men who were looking at him, probably confused. He was never the type to leave a meeting halfway. “Ride on with the meeting, I’ll be back soon.” He instructed and exited the conference room.
When he got into his office, he met Danielle comfortably seated in the sitting area with food served on the table and had a beaming smile on. The moment she saw him, she rose from the couch and walked over to him still smiling.
“Jamal.” She called and hugged him. Jamal quickly pulled her out of his embrace and stepped away from her, giving her a scornful look.
“I don’t have time for this, Danielle, what is it you wanted to tell me?” Jamal asked with a no nonsense look on and his eyes widened when Danielle calmly shrugged her shoulders, looking up at him.
“Nothing.”
“What do you mean by nothing?” He asked, almost enraged. “Why then did you call me out here if you had nothing to tell me?”
“To see you and give you breakfast. Shannelle told me you didn’t eat breakfast at home, so I took the initiative to make breakfast for you.” She said, pointing to the table where varieties of meals had been served.
Jamal could not believe what he had just heard. Danielle had just pulled him out of an important meeting for food.
“This is unbelievable.” He said as he chuckled in total disbelief. “Let me get this straight, Danielle. You knew I was in a very important meeting, yet you called and lied to me about having some very important information that I can use to save my ass, only for me to come here and see this?” Jamal asked in a quiet but deadly tone and the smile on Danielle’s face turned into a puppy look.
“Jamal,” she called and played with her fingers. “That was the only way I could think of. Please don’t be mad at me. I was worried you didn’t have breakfast, that’s why I brought you something to eat.” She pleaded and Jamal kept looking like she had lost her mind.
He couldn’t believe her level of egoism. He had thought she was just a desperate young girl longing for his attention, but after what she had just done, he concluded that she was a witch, because only witches behaved the way she did.
“I… I… really don’t have time for this. Get the hell out of my office.” He stated and began walking out the office but Danielle followed him and held his hand.
“Jamal I promise you’ll enjoy the meal…”
“Danielle, you are a mad woman. Get your hands off of me.” He said seizing his hand from her hold and exiting the office, but before shutting the door, he looked behind one more time to make sure she had not been hurt in any way.
Ever since the incident that led to Adele’s miscarriage, he never shut any door behind him without checking one last time to make sure he was leaving everything and everyone on their feet and in a good state. He didn’t want anything like that to ever repeat itself again.
When he got into the conference, he took his seat and his Personal Assistant handed him a notepad which contained what had been discussed in his absence. Just when he was about to start reading, his phone rang yet again. He heaved out a heavy sigh of exasperation as he looked at the elderly men who were giving him scornful looks.
“I apologise for the disturbances.” He apologised and was about to end the call, but when he saw Sean’s name on the caller Id, he picked it up immediately. Sean was one of the guards who had accompanied Adele to the hospital. He was definitely calling to report something relating to Adele. Adele was the first on his priority list, and he was interested in hearing anything related to her at any time.
He swiped the green icon and pressed the phone against his ear. He was going to answer the call in the meeting and he didn’t care if that was disrespectful or not.
“Hello Sean, is she done with her check up?” He asked impatiently.
“Yes Mr. king.”
“Have you guys taken her to Monteplaza as ordered?” He asked in a serious tone.
“Mr. King, I’m sorry but there’s a problem.” Sean reported and Jamal rose from his chair with so much force that made everyone on the table tremble.
“What problem? What’s wrong with my wife?” He roared over the phone.
“She…she’s nowhere to be found. She left for the restroom, but didn’t come back. We’ve searched the entire hospital, but she’s not here.” He explained with a trembling voice. Jamal instantly hung up and looked at the men who seemed to be terrified by his current deadly mood.
“Meeting is cancelled!” He deciphered and exited the office. He was so angry that his entire body was trembling. He failed his driver’s number and he picked up the first ring.
“Prepare the car, I’m coming down.” He said as he stepped into his private elevator. As the elevator descended, a million thoughts crossed his mind.
If Adele had managed to escape from her guards, she had been planning that for a long time and he didn’t even suspect.
“Arrggghhhh!” He let out a loud scream in the elevator and took off his tux jacket. He was feeling too hot to keep it in.
When the elevator door opened, there were guards already waiting outside. He threw his tux jacket at one of them and rolled the sleeves of his shirt as he walked over to his car with a group of guards following behind.
“I’m heading home now, I want to see you all there the moment I arrive. I’ll drive myself.” He said and got into his Rolls-Royce. The moment he kicked off, the rest of the guards got into other cars and followed his car.
Once his car drove into the compound premises, the other cars came speeding in as well and the moment he stepped out of the car, more than twenty guards were standing before him, each and everyone of them looking tense and ready to get the scolding of their lives.
Jamal stood before the men, legs closed and both hands shoved in his trouser pockets. His anxiety was almost taking over him at that moment. He was angry and confused. He was scared and worried about Adele’s safety.
She didn’t grow in the country and she was not the outgoing type. Ever since she came back from England, the only two places she went to were work and back home, but at that moment, she was out there on the streets in a town she had no mastery of and knew almost no one. Anything could happen to her at any time.
The thought of that sent chills down his spine and made his anxiety spike, but he knew he had to get a hold of himself if he wanted to find his wife and bring her back home safely.
He looked at the guards once more. None of them dared to meet his menacing gaze so they all had their heads bowed down.
“I’m not interested in knowing how she managed to escape, all I want is for you all to find her and bring her to me safely. Get in contact with the best private investigators. Search every hotel, every résidence in this town and country. I want my wife back!” He scolded at the top of his voice and the guards said a unanimous “Yes Sir!”, before dispersing to carry out his orders.
“Fuck!” He cursed in anger as he kicked a nearby rock. Pain coursed through his entire right leg, specifically on his big toe, but that was not close to the pain he was feeling in his heart, so he ignored it.
He got into his car and drove out of the compound. He had no idea where he was headed, but he needed to find his wife. He needed to find Adele and bring her back home else he’d lose his sanity.