Thelma’s POV
It was hot on a Friday afternoon. I have been making preparation and I was almost ready. The only problem I had was I have not been able to find a proper shoe colour that would match the costly beautiful short red gown Drake bought for me. Crazy right?
The Alpha’s convention and every shit about it would go down today and Drake didn’t want me to wear rags and come along with him. He wanted me to look different, I guess. I browsed through my cabinet for a while and finally found a flat red leather shoe. Perfect. My phone beeped twice, I walked over to the sofa where I had left it. I checked, it was Drake.
“Hi, hun,” I said.
“Pretty,” he said. “Are you done?”
“Almost.”
“Tick tock isn’t on our side. And guess what? He isn’t happy.”
I giggled. “Tell uncle tick-tock to wait then,” I said.
“He already told me to tell you to hurry. We might be running late.”
“Give me a few more minutes.”
“How long would be the minutes?”
“Ehm!” I murmured. “Maybe ten. I promise it won’t take more than that. I will meet you in the car.”
I pictured him nodding. “Okay.” He hung up. I dropped the phone on the sofa and hurriedly went to the wardrobe. I slid into those shoes. I picked a red beaded small purse. I opened it and took one chewing gum inside and flung it inside my mouth. I pictured what I could be forgetting but didn’t remember anything else. I hurriedly left for the garage. Getting close, I saw Drake and Simon standing up. Drake appeared to be the one driving while Simon was on the passenger’s side at the front. He was on a simple designer’s T-shirt, one arm on the door of the truck. Two fingers appeared to be on his lips, visibly holding a stick of unlit cigarette carefully.
I waved a hand. Drake smiled through his large dark shades, his lips parting in a gentle crease. He looked kind of cute. He wore a red suit, which covered his Hercules’s muscles. I thought that his trouser would be red but it was dark on red shoes- Italian designed. “You kept us waiting,” Drake said.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” I apologized. “But I didn’t spend more than ten like I told you.” I walked over to the Alpha and kissed him. “Hi, Simon.”
“Wadup, Thelma!” he said, saluting.
Drake opened the door for me. I looked at him and smiled while she bowed in return. “After you, Your Majesty,” he said.
I smiled again and went inside the truck. He closed it and went through his door. Simon slammed the door, winded down his window, and lit the cigarette. “Hey Bruv,” Drake said as he entered. “are you going to smoke in here? I want to put on the AC.”
Simon puffed out smoke through the window. “The AC should wait, I’m kind of feeling cold in here.”
Drake and I giggled. We spent a few hours talking and talking. I wasn’t sure how far we were to the destination point but one thing was certain. At a point, I wished we shouldn’t get there anytime soon. It took us one hour or two to we arrived. Drake stopped the truck in the seventh-floor garage. He squeezed the big guy in-between a black Mercedez Benz meanwhile on our right, it was empty. It didn’t take me long to guess what car it was. I had been good with vehicles. My father changed them like he changed his clothes.
“Are we there?” I asked.
Drake nodded. “Yes,” he said. “I think so.”
“And why the fuck do you think so?”
Drake killed the engine and moved the gear handle to park. “This was the location they gave us. The locations are not always static.” Simon alighted and I followed suit. The Alpha came out and closed the doors with the remote control. A white Ferrari drove close to us and parked at the space on our right. The glasses were tinted so I couldn’t exactly see who was there. The car stopped and the door opened, I was amazed. The driver stood taller than me, looks huge but older; like he was in his early sixties- maybe he got older than he was the last time. The scars in his bizarre cheekbones still looked fresh and visibly seen. Mr. Rudolph came down from the Ferrari in a grand style, his white shoe complimented his white suit. His perfume smelt rich and manly. “Thelma,” he said. “Been a whole lot of while.”
I swallowed and I felt the hairs on my back vibrating. “What-are-you-doing here?” I said, my voice trembling. “Where is my father?”
He laughed quietly. I barely heard him. “Impolite way of asking. I thought you should have changed or perhaps learnt a lesson or two.”
“Where is he?” I asked, ignoring his bullshit.
“When did you start caring so much about your father?” he scoffed. “I don’t think he gives a shit about you.”
Damn! I got offended. He could be saying the truth. To be honest, I really did miss my father but the problem was, I had no idea if he missed me as well. To that effect, I harbored the feeling to shut the fuck up and lock up. But again, I wasn’t sure if I had the heart for it. I wasn’t sure if I could just ignore asking about my father even if he told me straight in the fact that he didn’t care about me. I loved him. Before I met Drake, he was all I had. He raised me since I was a kid. He gave me all I ever asked for.
“I want to see him, Rudolph.”
He exhaled, narrowed his eyes, and looked at me for a while. “Here’s neither the place nor the time,” he said. “We should better hurry, we are late.” Mr. Rudolph flashed an impolite smile at Drake as he turned around, his head held in a rakish angle. “You must be Drake, I assume.” He offered his hand to shake him.
Drake looked at his hand. Instead of taking it, he smiled. “Maybe I am not,” Drake said and crossed his hand over at his chest. “Who knows, maybe my face had undergone significant changes within these few month.” He looked at Simon and said, “Simon, has it?”
Simon laughed horribly, one hand on his chest. He removed the unlit cigarette from his lips. “I think so. It might be you had a face surgery that made the fine gentleman not recognize who the hell you are.” They both laughed again mockingly. Rudolph smiled, seemingly embarrassed. I could tell that he wasn’t pleased by the approach both Drake and Simon had used on him. Another man in a black suit, dark shades, huge and gawky-looking man came out from the passenger’s side of the Ferrari. I recognized him almost immediately. He was one of my father’s bodyguards that were always stationed at the gate. He never smiled nor talked to me. HE never responded to my greetings, together with his partner that was always posted there alongside him. He looked at me, his expression consciously dangerous.
“Let’s go, man,” Rudolph told him. The adamant man gave us all one last look for almost ten seconds. He finally moved with Rudolph as he made his way to the door manned by one smart-looking security guard in suit.
“Who’s that fucking mean-looking guy anyway?” Simon asked. He put the cigarette back into his mouth but still unlit.
“You don’t want to know, Simon. Believe me,” I said.