"Mother, are you absolutely sure that Father's signature was on that document?" Kristin asked again and again, packing her room endlessly. Her father had bypassed her and named Jacqueline as the heir to his share of the ownership of Petals after all she had done to please him.
"It was. It was his signature. Oh, God, how could Peter make such a decision without seeking my opinion? He called Richard but not me, not his wife who has been there for him through thick and thin." Regina broke down in tears, dunking her head on the table before her. Her shoulders shook with emotion and she wept bitterly. Kristin comforted her, massaging her shaking shoulders gently. "You need to take it easy, Mother. You have cried so much these past few days. You need a clear head to figure out what to do next." Regina got up all of a sudden and straightened her clothing. Her perfect face was streaked with tears but she remained the epitome of graceful womanhood. The bun on her hair was still fastidiously neat, with no strand out of place. "There is nothing to do next. Richard has named his heir and we cannot change the mind of a dead man. Just prepare for your flight tomorrow, my dear. Don't let this bother you." Regina picked up her clutch, kissed Kristin on the cheeks and left her alone in her room. She was headed for the library where she ran into Richard. "It seems like all I do today is run into beautiful women. How are you feeling, Gina?" Richard asked lightly. "Don't, Richard. Don't act like you are my friend and that you care about my welfare when we both know that you don't. Why didn't you tell me about that document when you first got here?" Richard pinched the bridge of his nose, his habit when frustrated. He had never wanted to hurt Gina with that document but it was not in his place to hide the truth. Peter had confided in him and not his wife for reasons best known to him which was no fault of his. "It was Pete's funeral, Gina. It was not the time to discuss such." Regina laughed shortly and clapped her hands thrice in succession. She was wearing an odd smile, an unfriendly rictus, disrupting her pretty face. "So you preferred to humiliate me in front of the entire conference room? That was the better option? Richard, you knew something that I didn't about my husband and you kept it from me. That is unforgivable. " She tilted her head to stare him down though she was of lesser height. "It wasn't my secret to tell, Gina. It was Pete's and you know that. I will leave you to rest now." Richard went around her, his footsteps almost silent. Regina made for her room and slamming the door behind her, she let out a loud scream.∆ ∆ ∆ ∆ Richard got to Kristin's room and immediately re-thought his decision. He wanted to know that Jackie was okay and now that he could not find out from Gina, he was left with Kristin. The girl was exactly like her mother, intelligence and beauty- a dangerous duo- but he was a renowned charmer himself. Gina probably knew all his tricks but Kristin was innocent bait. He knocked tentatively and almost lost his confidence when Kristin opened the door. She eyed him viciously and would have slammed the door in his face but for his foot in the doorway. "Hey, I just want to talk," he assured, seeming innocent. "Well, I don't want to listen to anything you have to say, not after what you did to my mother and I." Of course, Gina had obviously narrated the Tale of the Binder to her eldest daughter. No wonder she was this hostile. Usually, Kristin tried to flirt with him subtly, when her mother's back was turned and when her boyfriend was conveniently nowhere to be found. She constantly sought his approval but her anger was as fiery as brimstone. "Kris, you heard her side of the story. Let me tell you mine, please," he replied, his voice so soft to the hearing. Kristin's grip loosened on her doorknob and her frown disappeared. She thought about his words for a minute before throwing her door open. Richard bestowed her with a dashing grin that made her heart flutter carefreely. He was her father's friend but boy, did he look tasty. At that point, she would have done anything he asked. Her anger was long gone. She showed him to a chestnut wood chair and plunked onto another besides his. His cologne was distracting her senses and she wanted to twirl her tongue in his hollow dimple. Concentrate, Kristin, she berated herself. "You wanted to talk, so talk to me," she began, her eyes exploring his face. "Kris, I know your mother must have told you what happened earlier today. Gina is angry with me and that has never happened in years. Your father met with me a year ago and asked me to accompany him to a lawyer's chamber. I had no idea what he had in mind till we got there and he presented his case to the lawyer. It was like he knew he was closer to his death and wanted to leave things in order even in his absence. You know how he was." "Yeah. He would spend all night cleaning up his study while everyone was asleep. Sometimes, whenever I held a sleepover at our house, he would pick up after us and it was so embarrassing but you couldn't stop him. That was who he was, fastidious as hell," Kristin chipped in, falling into reminiscences for a moment there. "You knew him well." "Of course, I did," Kristin exploded. "He was my father and I always did everything I could to make him proud, to make him forget how much Jacqueline was messing up her life and her grades. NYU? What a joke." Richard took her hand in his and sized their fingers. Jacqueline's were longer than Kristin's but the latter's were tender and red at the tips, like a baby's. "I'm not the enemy, Kris. I am here to continue from where your father stopped and to be a guardian to you and Jacqueline. You can come to me whenever you need someone to talk to, alright? I care about this family a lot and I want to do what is best without compromising my right judgment." Kristin hugged Richard fiercely and he kissed the top of her head tenderly. "Have you called Jacqueline since she left home?" Richard asked, taking advantage of the situation. Unfortunately, she cringed and withdrew herself. She was irritated that he was with her and he was thinking about Jacqueline. "I haven't and I doubt that my mother has either." Richard was perplexed. He didn't understand why they were always pushing Jacqueline aside. Regina was her mother also so he could not tell what the issue was. "Is it because she was named the heir? Is it that bad? She is your sister, Kris." "She is not my sister. She stole what was legally mine as the first born child. Jacqueline is going to pay dearly for what she has done." Kristin scribbled quickly on a piece of paper and slapped it on his chest. "That's her number. You can call her since you are so worried. Now, please, I want to be left alone." She held her door open for him and looked the other way. Richard wanted to say something else but thought it better to swallow his words.Sorry for the delay, guys...my dad died and well, it's. ... it's been hard for me to come up with anything 🥺
"Hello, who is this?" Richard basked in the sound of her voice for a while. She sounded sleepy, her smoky voice enhanced in the process. He could almost imagine her, stretched across a bed, her long legs scattered every which way, the same with her long, blonde-white hair, her phone plastered to her ear. No matter how disorderly that picture would look like, he still longed to see it. "Hello? Who the hell is this?" she yelled, her shriek tearing through his imagination. She looked at the phone to know if she had cut the call without realizing. "Um? It's me," he replied stupidly. She is just a girl, he chided himself, slapping his forehead. Jacqueline sat up on her bed, yawning widely. She had fallen asleep, reading Pride and Prejudice and had slobbered all over the novel. "Mr Rossi? Is that you?" Richard did not know what pleased him more: that she did not cut the call on him or that she had instantly recognized his voice though over the phone. "It is. I was calling to know if y
The main lights of the library were dimmed but she could see the outline of a figure sitting at the front desk. Was that the librarian? she wondered. If she was caught by the authorities, it could spell doom for her. Perhaps there was an alternative way in but how would she know? The only other time she had been in that library was to collect a mandatory college library card which she had never had cause to use. "Hey, you! I see you. Over here," the person at the front desk called to her. Jacqueline stopped in her tracks. The voice sounded young and somewhat famuliar, like someone of her age but voices could be deceiving. Nevertheless, she made her way to the person, prepared for anything except the person she found in the chair: Camille Cage. Camille was like a doppelganger of Kristin, just less rich and famous. She was beautiful and yet so vain that she admonished everyone to call her CeCe (C.C) or so she had heard. She always had As and Bs but it had been generally assumed that
Leroy Gamble tapped lightly on his laptop, searching for information. He had been up all night. The lawyer whom Peter had created that document with had been hard to get hold of. It seemed like the man was trying not to be found. He had asked Rossi for the lawyer's phone number but Rossi didn't have it. In fact, Richard had barely participated in the contract; he was just a witness. It had all been Peter's idea, Peter's whole drama put together. "Luke Martinez," Leroy recited repeatedly as he scrolled down with his mouse. The search engine gave over a million individuals going by that moniker, only adding to Leroy's headache. He was an intelligent man though and had studied Law and Criminology as his minor. He tried to recollect everything Rossi had told him about this mysterious lawyer: "Peter met with me a year ago in Omar during vacation...we had a lawyer write up the documents contained in that binder...." Omar.... Quickly, Leroy erased his search log and retyped: Luke Martinez
Donovan slowed down as he got into the gates of Petals Pharmaceuticals and Cosmetics. Throughout the short journey, he had kept stealing glances at his mistress. She seemed too serene that it was scary. For days, she had refused to see anyone and now all of a sudden, she wanted to visit Petals? Very suspicious indeed "We are here," he said, for lack of words. "I can see that," she lightly rebutted, "Wait here till I return. I won't be long." Donovan scrambled out of the car to open her door but she beat him to it, pushing open the side door of the Lamborghini. He felt embarrassed at his incompetence and hung his head in shame. She barely took notice, walking past him to the great doors of Petals. The security at the gate had let her in out of familiarity but she did not know the doorman. "Aren't you going to let me in....Steve?" She inquired, reading from his worker's ID card. "Good day, Mrs Torres. I am deeply sorry to tell you this, ma'am but you can't come in without a worker'
The flight to Alaska was delayed at the airport for a few hours due to an unforeseen stormy weather. Leroy was frustrated and mopped at the sweat running down his chin with a scented handkerchief. He had called his contact, Foss, who had assured him that Luke Martinez was home at his apartment in Alaska. He had decided not to call him previously so as not to scare him away but as the weather worsened, he had no other alternative. He couldn't let him get away but something still troubled him. Luke Martinez was a registered state attorney so why was he trying not to be found? Who was he hiding from? Leroy had thought about it all week but could not come up with anything solid. Obviously, someone was either blackmailing him or perhaps his life was under threat. He took out his phone but there was no reception where he stood. "Stupid signal, stupid storm!" he cursed and tried to move around but he still had a flat bar. He glanced behind him, where equally frustrated passengers stood, r
Richard watched the news from the safety of his office. His office, he mused, almost hilariously. About a year ago, he was in the beachy wonderland of Hawaii, exploring the land, flirting with natives and trying new recipes. Now he was sitting in a mammoth office, stamping and signing file after file. The rain had begun a while ago and since he hated driving in the rain, he could not go home either. Home? Where was home? He had been a nomad for too long, never staying in a place long enough to develop any roots or relationships that would keep him in a place. Jacqueline had been right: he was a hopeless playboy with just enough money to back himself up. He and Peter had emerged from wealthy families and the best schools but choosing to be independent, Petals was born. It was just like yesterday when he and Peter had cracked open bottles in honour of their new venture. Regina was pregnant with Jacqueline then and bitter as ever, courtesy of her erratic hormones. When Jacqueli
Leroy Gamble sat in his Camaro, wondering how it all went wrong. Luke's cell wasn't going through anymore and the signal was still shitty."I had him, by God, I had him, exactly where I wanted him! Only for the flight to take off without me. Shit! Shit, shit, shit!" He banged his fist repeatedly against his steering wheel angrily. There was nothing for him to do now except to go home and raid his beer cellar. Maybe he would finally smoke that joint he had saving for rainy days. Even lawyers needed a good high once in a while. His car felt stuffy and he felt like taking his frustration out on something or someone. He pushed open his car door and stumbled outside. His reckless movement sent pangs of pain to his knees, reminding him of his age. Once in a while, his 48 years of age popped out of its hiding place, punishing him for overexerting his body. Evie would have to put up with his cramps all night long.Suddenly, his phone rang. He was reluctant to pick up, assuming it to be F
It was their annual company summer party and the hall was packed with people from all walks of life. It was not supposed to be a formal party as the theme was Legends and Myths but white collar people could make things seem uptight all the time. The co-owners of Petals Cosmetics and Pharmaceuticals were the chief hosts of the get-together though the public face of the company, Mr Peter Torres, was more appreciated. His partner was barely known to any, as he spent most of his time on the road, traveling the world. "Mr Torres, may I just say how lovely this party is? Everything looks well put together. You must give me the contacts of your event planner," Lady Carletta praised, looking here and there. "She probably wants everyone to notice her new diamond necklace," Regina, Peter's wife whispered to her eldest daughter, who tittered into her palm. "Thank you, Carletta but it was my darling Gina who did all the planning. Maybe you should talk to her about it. I'll give you ladies s