Chapter 10 A gift from Sterling
During the weekend and even to the new week, reviews from the official opening of Cooking Fest came kept pouring in and it overwhelmed Phoenix so much so that she couldn’t get to the office on time. It amazed her that people watched it and even anticipated the coming weekend and like the production crew had said, it really was a breath of fresh air to the audience and even to those in the nursing homes.
ENTRANCE OF PHOENIX CORP;
When I got to the entrance of the company’s building, all the heads of department were outside and I didn’t know why but I was about to find out soon enough.
“Why are you guys outside? What was so important that you guys couldn’t wait for me inside my office? Did someone get involved in an accident? What happened?” My staffs were acting all strange and it looks as though they want to deliver a bad news. Liyah was spearheading this whole thing.
“It’s really nothing ma’am, on behalf of the entire staffs, we just want to congratulate you on the successful launch of Cooking Fest; the reviews were great and we all can’t wait for the weekend, that’s why we are out here,” Liyah said and the various heads of department nodded their heads in agreement.
“Come on you guys, you all are going to make me cry here. you guys know that I couldn’t have done it without your support and nee I remind you that the victory is ours and we’re going to celebrate it after office hours todays. You guys are the best,”
“We will continue to do our best to make the company proud,” they all said in unison and I couldn’t have been more proud of them.
“Okay, let’s all go inside and not create a scene out here; it’s still working hours,” everyone laughed and went right away to their various duty post.
After the grand entrance, I went into my office and still got a huge surprise! I was surprised with lots of flowers and each flower bouquet had a letter attached to it and again, I was overwhelmed with the amount of love I was getting for just achieving this small fit. Gosh, my staffs really were trying to kill me with excess love.
I looked at every letter and it came from different sub-superiors from almost all my staffs across the country. Still engrossed in looking at the letters and admiring the flowers of different kinds, with my peripheral vision, I saw a silhouette standing at a corner and I got alarmed and looked up instinctively only to see Sterling.
‘What was he doing here?’ Phoenix thought
“Sterling, what are you doing here? It’s quite early and shouldn’t you be in your office?”
“What a way to greet someone and what a lovely time to get to work,” Phoenix knew that he was making a sarcastic comment and she was even more stunned when he looked at his wristwatch “some minutes past 10am, what kind of boss does that?” he raised one his eyebrows at me in a questioning manner,”
“I’m not going to make excuses for myself but you still haven’t answered my question; what are you doing here?”
“I have been here since 8am to give you my present and you were nowhere to be found,”
“Oh, you didn’t have to do that; it’s just a small fit that isn’t supposed to be noticeable at all but thanks anyway. Where is the gift?”
“Be patient little tigress, check the lower part of the shelf behind you,”
I swirled my chair around and saw the neatly wrapped tiny box and I wondered what was in it. I turned to look at him and he had already made himself comfortable in one of the couches in my office. I raised an eyebrow at him as if asking him ‘what is this?’
“Would you open the present and stop giving me those looks; tsk, so impatient,”
I hurriedly destroyed the gift wrap and opened the box in anticipation. When I opened the box, what I saw melted my heart in an instant; a pendant with the word BRAVE engraved on it, I didn’t even want to ask him how much he got it because after being friends with Sterling for almost 3 weeks, I know that he wouldn’t go for something less expensive.
“I won’t even bother asking you how much you bought it but I love it, thank you so much,” I wasn’t done thanking him for the present he got me, Sterling brought out a blue rose out of nowhere and gave it to me… A blue rose! Those are pretty expensive and rare to find..
“You’re welcome. I stopped by to give you those. Well, I gotta head back to my office and get actual work done,”
“Thank you so much, I appreciate it,”
After Sterling left, I was amazed at how loved I felt, the love could almost drown out the pain and hate I felt but no, I don’t think any amount of love can drown the hurt, the pain and the hate out. Nothing will make me forgive that my man I call my father, nothing will make me forgive Allen and nothing will make me let another man come close to me. I’m done with men.
“Liyah, don’t let anyone in,”
“Yes ma’am,”
I couldn’t believe how I left my mood get ruined by that pathetic creature, I guess I can never forget it, huh? But who forgets such horrible experience without going through a lifetime of therapeutic session? Wait, I haven’t called the private investigator to find out the latest.
“Mr. Dave Moss, it’s Miss Phoenix, do you have any new update or anything you want to let me in on?”
“Miss Mills, I’m at the SweetBrew Café, care to meet me there?”
“Sure, when?”
“Now will be fine,”
“I’ll be there in the next 10 minutes,”
SWEETBREW CAFÉ (At a far end corner of a booth)
“Mr. Moss, it’s been a while,”
“Miss Mills, yes, it has; please have a seat,”
“Care for anything?”
“No, I’m okay. What do you have for me?”
“About you mother, nothing has been heard about her. I have my men on ground and there can’t seem to find her. We don’t want to give you false hope but we don’t know if she’s still in the country or not or if she’s alive or not. We’re taking a huge leap here and still keeping the investigation going on but our chances of finding her are slim seeing that you have not seen her for almost 15 years now,”
“Hmmmmm, so I shouldn’t be hopeful? Truth be told, I can barely remember what she looks like. Thank you, Mr. Moss,”
When I got into my car, I hit the steering with everything I had. That ruthless man did this; he caused everything that’s going on right now. He’s not here and he still manages to make me unhappy. What kind of a horrible person is he!!
He probably killed her after the divorce and buried her somewhere. There’s no need continuing this investigation cause it only leads to dead ends and no tangible results. I miss her, so much; it’s sad that I can barely remember her, it’s sad that the only dreams I have are nightmares.
My dreams are like wilted roses, nothing to desire in them but thorns. I thought Allen would come into my life and make me blossom once again but he did the same thing my dad always did but this time, he crushed the wilted flower and left nothing of me but broken pieces.
Pieces gone with the wind with no hope of being mended and whole; tsk, such pathetic live I’ve lived.
