Patricia grabbed her shawl from the chair and walked out of her bedroom. The sun was set high up in the sky, without looking at the time, you could tell it was mid-afternoon already. She still owed Rachel a heartfelt apology due to how she treated her the last time. This was a good time to see Rachel and talk about other things too.
Pulling the main door of her villa open, she stepped out, heading towards the intersection that led to George’s villa. The cold wind bit into her facial skin and she tugged at the shawl around her neck, wrapping it tighter.
Just before she could walk over to the other side where George’s villa was, Judith showed up, walking quickly till she stood at Patricia’s front, obviously blocking her path. Patricia averted her gaze, acting like she didn’t see what Judith was trying to do, she moved away from Judith’s front and stepped aside to keep walking but Judith blocked her path again.
Patricia clenched her jaw tight and closed her eyes briefly. Seeing this evil woman standing in front of her, especially after all she just discovered, was really making her pissed. She could as well just snap Judith’s head apart from her neck….
She deserved death after what she did to her son, George. In fact, after all she had done to her too over the years.
Flipping her eyes open, she glared at Judith who was smirking boldly. “Did you eat the wrong breakfast this morning?”
Judith scoffed, peering at her face “I see you got a new hairstyle. It’s quite weird seeing you with short hair after all these years. I don’t think Morris would like that.” Judith muttered, smirking at Patricia.
Patricia smiled. Who cared about what Morris thought right now? Something was different about Judith lately. She seemed to be on top of the world, even the way she walked was different. Patricia had been observing her from afar, wondering what was up with her.
“I don’t care what both of you think right now. Get out of my way!”
Judith kept her shoulders straight, her eyes seemed to be looking down at Patricia. “Why should I listen to what you say? Do you think you are still the boss here? You won’t remain this way forever. Someone else wi-”
“Someone else will take my place soon?” Patricia completed her statement, scoffing at her
“Is that what you wanted to say? And by ‘someone else’, you mean yourself, right?” Patricia laughed and shook her head. What a fool this woman was! Did Judith really think she would let her take her place so easily? She was so obsessed with her wealth and fame that she couldn’t even see clearly.
Judith blinked and lifted her hand, adjusting her hair to compose herself. “Well, I never said it had to me…. but when I think about it now, it doesn’t sound so bad. In fact, it sounds perfect.”
Patricia smiled at her “Judith, you are even more stupid than I thought”
Judith jerked her head sharply, glaring at Patricia “What did you just say?”
“I said you are more stupid than I thought? Do you really think I don’t know that you’ve always wanted my position? That you’ve always wanted James to take my son’s position? Do you think I don’t know you forced yourself on Morris and seduced him years ago? Why…so you could get pregnant and have a strong reason for him to bring you into this family and from there, you’ll be able to take what you have always wanted?”
Judith glared at her, her anger level spiking up “Don’t say what you are not sure of! Besides, you actually have a point! I am a good option to replace you. Everyone knows that you hardly do anything in the company anyway even though you are the chairwoman. All you do is stay indoors, looking beautiful everyday for a man who doesn’t even glance in your direction. I will be a better and more involved chairwoman than you will ever be. You should be getting ready to leave that position!”
Patricia rolled her eyes. She was sick of this conversation and this woman. “You will never get that position, Judith. Stop dreaming. And before Morris gained ownership, it belonged to me an-”
“Oh please!” Judith yelled. “That was all in the past. This company belonged to you before, not now. Not anymore! Morris is the rightful owner now, all thanks to your naivety and foolish decision years ago. And my son, James, is the one he wants as the CEO of this company. Anytime from now, James will kick out the ‘outcast’ and take his rightful place.”
Patricia glanced at her, the tip of her ears tingling. What did she just hear? “What do you mean?”
Judith laughed so loud, loving the look of confusion and shock on Patricia’s face. “What else does that sound like to you?! Jeez…I can’t believe you had the guts to say I am the foolish one. You are absolutely foolish! Did you really think that Morris would follow your order like a puppet forever? Of course not! Only the manager of a company can tell the next person who is fit enough for that role. George is clearly not that person!”
Patricia blinked hard, the realization of ‘everything’ hitting her. “Don’t tell me he plans to go back on his word? He must be joking! This company belongs to my son. Nobody else! There’s no way Morris would do that!”
“Oh please…” Judith said dismissively. “… instead of whimpering and whining like a child in my presence, why don’t you ask him yourself if I am lying or not?”
Patricia turned around, her shaky legs urging her on towards the direction of Morris’s personal library. Her eyes were livid with rage….
At this point, her meeting with Rachel had to wait. She had to deal with this monster first.
~~~~~*~~~~~
Morris jumped slightly from his chair when someone barged into his library with the force of lightning. Who on earth was that?
Stepping forward, his bodyguard standing at the far end of the library, he turned around to look at the intruder. Blinking in surprise, he whispered “Patricia….”
Patricia walked till she was close enough to where he stood. She glared at him and remained silent, trying to get a grasp on her emotions.
“Why did you barge in like that?” Morris asked, slightly irritated “You almost gave me a high bp level”
Patricia stayed silent, staring at him, refusing to say a word just yet. Dealing with this man was not as direct as she thought. To think that he was already looking for a way to kick George out of his rightful position! That means he was willing to go to any length to get what he wanted. Any length at all, even if meant harming her and her son…
Her first mistake was falling in love with a man like him. Her second mistake was giving George a father like him.
Morris stared at her, confused with her silence and the way she stood still just looking at him. He peered at her and asked “Is there a problem? What brings you here?”
“What is this I hear about you willing over this company to James?!” Patricia yelled, panting harshly. She had taken enough from this man in front of her. She wouldn’t take it anymore. “What did Judith mean by that? Huh! Explain yourself.”
Morris closed his eyes briefly. Judith!! Could that woman ever keep her mouth shut until he had taken action?
He glanced at Patricia and muttered as he walked to his chair “Your new haircut looks good on you h-”
“Just stop it already!” Patricia raked. She tapped her knuckles on the wooden table in front of her and glared at Morris. The sides of her cheeks were tense as she clenched her jaw hard. “Don’t play that stupid game with me right now. I didn’t come here for that! Answer me, what did Judith mean by what she said?”
Morris glared back at her. What was even the point of hiding it from her? She should at least know that he had no desire for George to be the ‘final’ CEO at the end. After all the ‘work’ he had put into raising this company far above where she left it, did she really expect him to hand it over to her and George? That was like working for ‘nothing’. Besides, he never saw her in his future. All he wanted was her company, her money.
“Yes, she is correct.” Morris answered nonchalantly, with a slight shrug of his shoulders. “After my assessment, my final decision is to pick James to lead this company.”
“What stupid assessment are you talking about here? When you were signing the contract years ago, did you read anything about assessing the next CEO? I made it clear! That you only get the company as long as George becomes the final heir. Did you forget what you signed?”
Morris chuckled. A slow, evil laughter. He skimmed his eyes over her angry face and chuckled again. “It’s not like I didn’t fulfill my part of the contract. I did. George has been in that position for five years, yet, he is not good enough. He doesn’t take his job seriously!”
“And by ‘seriously’, you mean?”
“He is always distracted during meetings, obviously thinking about his wife. Wouldn’t it be better if he just resigned and stayed with his wife as long as he wanted?” Morris let out a sinister laughter. “All I’m doing is for his good. I am making things easier for him”
Patricia took a step forward and looked down at him, sitting on his chair with a smirk on his lips. She bent closer, resting her hands on the wooden table before whispering;
“You look so proud of yourself right now. You really think I am going to let you do whatever you want and go scot-free, when I know all the dirty things you have done?”
Instantly, Morris felt his body go tense and his breath hitched. He jerked his head sharply, turning to her direction and his eyes widened.