Rafael spent the past few weeks searching for June and Mrs. Evelyn – all to no avail. In a bid to recover his wife, he searched all the hotels and lodges available in South City but it all proved abortive.
He was sulking in his office when the door was forced open and Clarence walked in with his assistant hot behind her. “You can’t go in there! The Boss is-”
Rafael raised his arm, dismissing his assistant, who bowed and left the room murmuring under his breath. He had been instructed never to let her into the office but the woman was making his life miserable with her stubbornness.
“You told him not to let me in?!” Clarence yelled, shaking with anger. “Your pregnant wife? How can you be so cruel, Rafael?! How can you be this irresponsible?!”
“You don’t take my calls or check in with me! I am carrying your baby for crying out loud! Money is not everything! I don’t need your dirty money! Be a present father to your child, Rafael! Do better!”
Rafael watched her blankly as she rained hailstone and fire upon him. “I told you! I was willing to overlook your crimes! I was willing to wait until you are over that silly girl but it seems I have wasted my time!”
“You have refused to be a man and fill your shoes! You have refused to step up!” She growled, hitting the desk with anger. “That’s it, Rafael. I’ve had enough! I’ve had enough of waiting for you to see the reason. Since you have refused to come for me, I involved my lawyer.”
“I will not take on this responsibility alone, Rafael! You just wait!” With that, Clarence stomped out of the office, her blood boiling with anger.
Rafael remained silent as he watched her leave. His mood was worsened with her visit and he tried to remember the details of that night for the nth time.
He picked up his phone and sure enough, his lawyer beat him to the call. “I’ll be at your office by noon,” Rafael said as soon as the call connected.
“Yes sir.” Came the lawyer’s response.
Time passed it was noon. Rafael left the office in a tinted black jeep, headed for his lawyer’s appointment when he drove past the JL Architectures company building.
“Stop!” He ordered his driver, eyes fixed on the building a few metres away. “Reverse! Park in front of the company.”
The driver did as directed and soon enough, he stood before JL, wondering how he had missed something so critical. He had been working hard to get across to June and conveniently forgot her workplace.
Rafael walked into the company, stopping at the lobby. “Take me the CEO.” He instructed, tapping impatiently on the marble floors.
The young lady looked up and caught Rafael’s striking good looks. A smile appeared on her face and she leaned across the table. “Welcome to JL Architectures! I’m Caroline, and you are?”
“Not interested,” Rafael threw his card across the table. “Take me to June Ambrose.”
The lady looked at the table with a sullen look. Her eyes widened when she realised he had thrown a black card across the table. Her heart shook when she saw the logo of Ambrose Corporation on the card, alongside the name – Rafael Ambrose.
She was looking at the CEO of the biggest Corporation in South City! Her hands shook as she tried to organise herself. “D-Do you have an appointment, sir?”
“I will take it up from here.” Lucy stepped in, having watched the situation for a while now. Rafael recognised her instantly.
“Where is she?” He asked, his tone left no room for refusal.
“I do not believe you are entitled to any information concerning my boss,” Lucy said in a professional tone. “Is there a reason you are here?”
Rafael scoffed at her tone. “Is she here? Take me to her office. I need to see her.” He said with an urgent tone.
“If you have a job for us, you can book an appointment, or better still, have your subordinate contact us. I doubt we have space for more projects this year but if you get an appointment, we can slot you in for never.”
Rafael was not pleased with Lucy’s attitude. “I want to see my wife.” He gritted, “Who are you to come between us?”
“No one.” Lucy responded with an aloof personality, “I am no one to butt into marital affairs. Why don’t you reach out to her directly? Or better still, wait until she’s home.”
Lucy smirked. “Oh yeah, you can’t.” With that, she walked away, speaking with her back to Rafael. “This is not a place you can come and throw orders. If you need our services, please go through the formal process and refrain from stopping by without prior appointments.”
Rafael remained in the reception, stunned beyond belief.
“Consider yourself out of employment the next time you are caught flirting with a client,” Lucy informed the receptionist, her words delivering a firm warning. “Is that clear?”
“Yes ma’am!”
Rafael left the company with a grotesque look. He couldn’t believe what happened a few minutes ago. No one had ever given him such an attitude after knowing his identity.
The worst part was he didn’t get any information about June. He didn’t even see her. It seemed like his trip over there was in vain. Rafael tapped his feet on the ground as his driver drove out of the car park.
He entered the car and continued his journey to the lawyer. While they drove past the city, Rafael called Carson who picked at a heartbeat. “Are you okay? Do you feel pain? Where are you? I will come over immediately.”
Carson sounded panicked. His friend had never taken the initiative to call him, hence, he believed something might have gone wrong with his health. Mrs Beatrice had called him earlier too, inquiring about her son’s health.
“I need you to find my wife.”
Carson – “!!!”
“June would be more open to meeting you, and I don’t want to result in underhanded means in searching for her. Can you do that, Carson?”
Carson blinked, unable to understand. “You haven’t called your friend since you were deemed fit to leave the house and the first time you do, it’s about your ex-wife?”
“Wife.” Rafael corrected. He was growing tired of the misconception around his marriage. June was still his wife. He would make sure of that. He just needed to find her first.
“I don’t care! You are such a heartless friend! Don’t call me anymore!”
“Are you willing to help me?” Rafael gritted, impatient.
“Not if you sound like that.” He spoke with attitude. “If you were a good friend, you’d know am not in the city. I’m vacationing in North City. I even have a birthday party to attend over the weekend. So until I return, I can’t help you.”
“You should have started with that,” Rafael ended the call before Carson could think up a meaningful response.
“So troublesome.” He muttered as the driver parked in front of the law firm. Although Rafael seemed irritated by Carson, everyone knew he loved his friend and would do anything for him within a heartbeat.