11.

I watched as the woman smiled flatteringly at Simon, her lips parted and her set of teeth revealing as she stood up and the rest followed suit.

“What’s going on?” Simon asked, his confusion obvious in his voice as he looked around with a nervous smile but the woman only smiled even more.

“You don’t have to be so humble,” she said amidst humble laughter but I knew really well that Simon wasn’t being humble, he genuinely doesn’t know what’s going on.

I don’t know what’s going on too but I wanted to know, I wanted to stick around to see why the woman gave Simon a better treatment.

“I really don’t know what’s going on, Daphne,” Simon chuckled as he walked past me with a glare and the woman only sneered, “please, hint me.” He added and the woman nodded.

“Sure, I will,” the woman, Daphne, responded. She looked happy and excited to tell Simon the news and even I was curious, I wanted to know why too.

“Mrs Georgina had hinted to us yesterday that a new CEO will be appointed. I was expecting a lot of people but I didn’t think it would actually be you, Me Simon.” She explained.

“WHAT?!” Simon exclaimed, his surprise and shock was heavy in his voice as he stared at the woman, blinking so many times that it’s a miracle he still had his eyelashes.

Did Georgina really do this? If she already knew that Simon would be the new CEO, why did she let me come then?

Did she bring me here to humiliate me like the others?

The questions ran freely in my head but I shook it off because I knew that Georgina wouldn’t do that, if that was her plan then she wouldn’t have moved Mrs Winkle to a new ward.

“Oh, that’s right, I’d totally forgotten about that.” Simon’s voice and a loud laughter jolted me out of my thoughts.

I lifted my gaze to see that he had totally recovered from the shock that had hit him when the woman had told him that he’s going to be the new CEO.

“No one is fit for the job other than me,” he said proudly and my stomach coiled as I shook my head, “I’m the only son of the Cavendish, if the role isn’t offered to me then who would take it?” He laughed.

It all makes sense now but at the same time, it still doesn’t make much sense because if Simon is the only son of the Cavendish family then who am I?

Something popped in my mind and my eyes widened a little as I looked up. I remembered Jenna saying that Simon is the adopted son of the Cavendish family.

It all makes sense now and somehow, I felt a warm glow coursing through my being, filling me up with more assurance than I thought I could ever get.

Maybe my sisters didn’t tell him that they’ve found their brother, me, yet. Maybe they wanted to use this as a surprise for him too.

“That’s true,” the woman quickly agreed with Simon, “I don’t think of anyone else better for the role than you, Mr Simon.” She added and Simon laughed.

“I’m sure Mrs Georgina is going to feel at ease because she sure chose the best man for the job.” She added and Simon smiled as he turned to face me.

His eyes glared at me, they glowed with a burning fire of hatred, irritation and utter disgust and suddenly, I didn’t want to be here anymore.

“Should we go and prepare your office?” The woman asked with a smile, “we can’t wait to have you aboard.” She added happily but Simon was too engrossed with me to answer her.

His eyes were boring holes into every fibre of my being and I saw his teeth grit angrily as his fist clenched and he walked towards me.

“Who is this and what the hell is he doing here?!” The words grounded between his teeth as he pointed a finger at me.

I knew that he knows me well because we met back in Jenna’s house and he’s only pretending not to know me.

Sighing, I made up my mind to walk away and tell Georgina about the development, I was going to tell her that I didn’t feel welcome and it’ll probably be a good idea to keep the fact that I’m the real son of the Cavendish family a secret.

“You know—”

“I don’t know who he is,” the woman cut in before I could say anything, “he just came to the last floor, I think he’s lost.” She quickly added.

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, I knew how easy it was for people to switch up as fast as possible but I just wasn’t expecting her to be so fast with it.

She bowed to and greeted me when I walked in because she thought I was the new CEO but when she saw Simon, she immediately retracted everything.

“Why did he come to the last floor? Do you think we accept people like him on this floor?” Simon sneered, none of them were giving me any chance to speak.

“We’re so sorry, Sir!” She quickly apologized as she bowed in front of Simon, “according to the schedule, a new cleaner is supposed to show up today, I think he’s the one.” She added.

My jaw dropped and I felt chills run through my entire body as I looked up at her. I didn’t blame her for mistaking me for a cleaner.

I’d ignored the pricey suits in my closet and gone with a casual dressing because I didn’t want to draw too much attention.

“Oh really?” Simon asked with a raised eyebrow and his eyes shining with amusement like never before.

“Yes Sir!” The woman was quick to say, “I mean, look at his shabby clothes, there’s no way he could be of importance. He must be the new cleaner.” She laughed.

Simon didn’t say anything, he only closed the gap between us and stared at me, his eyes burning with a fire that looked unquenchable.

“You, filthy dog!” His palm had collided with my fave before I could blink and I staggered.

I didn’t do anything, why did he slap me?

I had the answer to that question and didn’t need a soothsayer to answer it for me. It was because he’s the new CEO and he wants to assert his authority.

“I’m the new CEO of Zenith Global and you’re going to be nothing but a mere cleaner.”