Harlan waited until the last person in the bar had gone some distance away from the bar before he opened the car and got down from it. He walked inside the bar and saw Jack and the two guys sitting across one another. Harlan went to them and sat down beside Jack. The two guys were smoking heavily. Harlan wasn't going to mind that if it would make him get something about the Alberts to help in Wallace Stone's revenge.Harlan cleared his throat and folded his hands on the table."What is your name?" He asked the guy whose tooth had gone off earlier.The guy shrugged, "I don't think that matters..." But when he glanced at Jack, he shrugged again, "Simon is the name."Harlan glanced at the other guy, "you?""Andrew.""So the two of you have been working for the Alberts for twenty years?" Harlan asked even though he knew it wasn't necessary. He was just trying to get the guys to talk. Their
Harlan stared at Simon in surprise, "this is no betrayal. I am only asking you to tell me about yourselves!""Telling you about ourselves involves talking a bit about the Alberts. I'm sorry, we can't divulge any information about the Alberts to strangers. Count yourself lucky to have Jack LA with you. If not, it would have been another story entirely by now." Simon grabbed the reluctant Andrew by the arm and walked off with him.Harlan continued staring at their back even after they had left."Sir?" Jack called.Harlan closed his eyes and opened it slowly with a sigh."I can go stop them and make them tell you whatever you want to hear from them," Jack suggested."No need to do that. I won't get the information I need from them if you forcefully make them talk.""If I may ask, why are you interested in their story? There are some pieces of scumbag," Jack stared at Harlan, wondering why
"I need the list of names of people in this college, especially the names of the students in our department," Adrian told Elizabeth when they got to a quiet place and away from any prying eyes."Are you planning a surprise for us?""No. I need to get someone's name."Elizabeth frowned, "you can ask for anyone's name if you feel like it and they would tell you.""You don't get it... I want to see the name for myself and confirm it.""Why? You are pretty popular with your hair so I don't see any reason why someone would deny telling you their name if you asked," Elizabeth said."I just want to confirm a name. I need the list of names urgently.""If you can't tell me a convincing reason for what you need the name for, then forget about me giving you the list," Elizabeth said and started walking away.Adrian was going to tell Elizabeth that Harlan is claiming to be Harlan Smit
Harlan walked over to Kelvin, pulled him in a bear hug, not caring if anyone was watching. He had missed Kelvin too much to be concerned with what others thought."I am sorry for what I said the other day," Harlan said ruefully."I overreacted. I shouldn't have behaved that way, but you know, the workload has increased in the bar where I am working and my boss isn't making things any better. He makes a big deal out of whatever I do," Kelvin said."I couldn't get you a post at the Jay Team hotel but I found you a job elsewhere." "I really appreciate the effort, man.""The appointment letter is in the car, let's go there so that I can show it to you. The money isn't pretty much but it will be able to help you take care of things till the end of the month.""How much is it?""One point five million dollars."Kelvin hit Harlan playfully, "I have never received that much money
"I am really grateful for this, man," Kelvin said with a wide grin."This is the least I can do for you." "I will call you later in the night so that you can come get the car.""Man, you aren't running away with it, are you? I will get the car from you tomorrow," Harlan said."I am really grateful, man."Harlan smiled and bid Kelvin goodbye. He called Jack and told him that he was going to board a cab.Once Kelvin had seen that Harlan had left. He smiled to himself and drove the car where he had planned— a place without a surveillance camera.He imagined how it feels to have a car like this to himself. He couldn't help but smile.He brought the car to a halt in an isolated street. He got down and looked around to be sure no one was around to see him carry out his plan. When he was sure that the place was empty, he got into the car again and drove toward a w
"What? You don't mean that! How can you give a Rolls Royce Phantom car to me?!"Harlan only smiled, "you have given more things than that. I owe it all to you, man."Kelvin walked over to Harlan and pulled him in a hug."I am sincerely sorry for what I said to you that day," he said over Harlan's shoulders."I thought we were done with that."Kelvin smiled and gave himself the credit for what he had done. He would get over the pain soon. What a nice idea he had! And, it worked out perfectly. That is what you get when you have spent a lot of time with someone. You are able to predict what their actions are going to be.Harlan board a cab to drive Kelvin home after promising him that he would get the car repaired and send it to him. He called the Alberts car agency and asked for when they would be available, but he was told that they were on a short break and wouldn't be back until the
She rested her head on Harlan and some moments later, she slept off. Harlan glanced at her face on his shoulder and couldn't resist touching it. He took his hand off her face almost immediately. Gently, Harlan dropped the cup of coffee on the small coffee table near him and made Elizabeth rest her head comfortably on his shoulder. Some hours later, Elizabeth was still sleeping and Harlan didn't want to disturb her. Plus, it was already late in the night. He decided to carry her to one of the rooms in the house.She had a considerable amount of weight that made Harlan wonder if she would have seemed lighter if he had been serious with hitting the gym.He dropped her gently on the bed and covered her with a duvet. He closed the door gently behind him.He knew better than anyone that Elizabeth would need a change of cloth when she woke up.He searched the internet for clothing stor
She opened the door and quickly walked outside. She met herself in the sitting room. It spoke volume of wealth and luxury with its rich velvet curtains and plush leather sofas. The walls gleam under the soft glow of crystal chandeliers. There were no paintings or photographs, making Elizabeth more anxious to know who the owner of the house was.She rushed to another room. She noticed a door opening in the opposite direction and rushed to it. She saw a guy coming out of the room. She waited.The guy raised his head and their eyes locked."Elizabeth? Are you okay?"Elizabeth blinked her eyes repeatedly. What the heck is Harlan doing here? Or... The question should be, what the heck is she doing in Harlan's house.He walked over to her and gave her a searching look."Are you okay?" He asked again.Elizabeth muttered "yeah.""I got some clothes for you at the front of the door
"The award of the best student in this graduating set goes to… before I call his name, I would like to add that he is the most handsome guy I have ever seen on earth —because I see a lot of things in my imagination. Combine his handsomeness with his being a genius and you have…" "Harlan Smith!" The audience and the graduating students shouted, completing the MC's sentence for him. Harlan came on to the stage, dressed in an academic gown. "Hey, Harlan, where is your cap?" Mr Healy asked in a whisper as he was about to hand over the prize to him. "Mrs Smith is wearing it," he said. "Now, you have to snap this picture without the cap," Mr Healy pretended to sulk. "Even with that, I still stand out," Harlan said and smiled. Mr Healy smiled and handed him the prize as camera light flashed on him. The MC called on Mr Healy to give his speech after prizes had been handed over to students that merits it. Mr Healy was given a standing ovation as he stood up from his seat in t
Harlan dropped the envelope containing all the cards on the table. On the same table was his car key, his ATM card and a note which read: goodbye. Thank you.He remembered the exciting feeling that he felt on the day Mr Smith gave him those cards. He shook his head quickly to get rid of the thought. This isn't time to be emotional. He just cannot forgive his parents for what they did. He had always hoped that his father would never have peace, just look what happened. All these while, he had been Harlan Smith without knowing it.He opened the door and went outside. He only took four clothes and a extra pants. He would start from scratch and go back to living the life he used to live before Mr Smith came into his life.The light in the compound made it a very beautiful sight to behold. The first time he had come here, he had almost thought he was imagining things. Funny how those days had passed really quickly."Sir, where are you going early in the morning?" Jack asked as Harlan was
Harlan almost choked on his food. He grabbed a cup of water and drank from it. She made a tsk tsk sound. "You are just like your father. Your face is flushed.""I am eating mo… Mrs Smith!" He almost called her 'Mom'."Does that mean you are studying law?" She asked."Yes. I am in my final year.""Wow! I can't wait to wear your graduation cap."Harlan found himself laughing in between eating. Throughout the rest of the day, he and Mrs Smith were discussing. She told him about her perfume company about how much she loved what she was doing. Harlan found out that she was a very easy going person. He had missed having her in his life all these years and he found himself wondering how great life would have been if she had been part of his childhood days.Later in the evening, Mr Smith came back home and the first thing he did was to turn on the television. The case had been a really fast one. Harlan would bet that everything was possible only by Mr Smith's influence. All the people that
"I just wanted to check on you to see if you are getting it, Sir," the Cctv footage officer said. He could not help thinking the CEO had come to check on his girlfriend who had come here with another man.Harlan stood up and left. The footage officer stared at his back. The CEO doesn't seem to be in the same mood he had been when he came in. He shrugged.****Harlan found himself at the large field where he already went whenever he was overwhelmed. He had had a lot of surprises in the past six months but none of them has even been as shocking as this. He rolled on the field and faced the sky. He heard the sounds of birds nearby and wondered if he would have any problem if he were a bird.He replayed all he heard from some hours ago in his head. The conversation between Mr Smith and Mrs Smith. His father and mother… he closed his eyes. So all these while, he had those two people's blood flowing in his veins and he wasn't aware of it.He took his phone from where it was lying beside him
Harlan crossed over to where he had parked his car. He got inside and looked out through the window. In the next seventy two hours, he would be buying up all what the Alberts had. Through the help of Mr Smith, he had been able to refile the cases that the Alberts had been guilty of but had won. Mr Smith had told him how difficult that was, but he had not taken no for an answer.He took a deep breath and silently prayed that all these would be over. He had been able to get the victims of the Alberts and had convinced them that they would be duly compensated if they came back for their cases again.As he was about to turn on the car. He saw someone familiar pass him by. Mrs Smith? The fact that she was alone, with no bodyguard, made him more curious to know why she was at the hotel. He waited for some seconds before coming down from the car. He walked in the direction she had passed and saw her enter the hotel.When got inside, he could see the receptionist go pale as he walked toward
Harlan's phone beeped. It was his personal assistant from the 'where talent glows' calling. He answered it."Hello?""Is there any problem?" Harlan asked."Not really. Mr Richard Albert has been meaning to see you all these while. He asked for your number but I didn't want to give him until I asked for your permission first.""Tell him to meet me at the Jay Team lounge," Harlan said and hung up."Drive to Jay Team," Harlan told Jack."I checked into the company where you made your friend the manager, things have gone really wrong there. Lot of workers have quit," Jack said as he turned the car in another direction."So?""He has done worse things than you are aware of," Jack said."Whatever he has done to me is none of your business," Harlan said.Harlan searched for his personal assistant's number of the company where he made Kelvin the manager and sent him a message to call in the evening.Harlan had informed his personal assistant at the Jay Team hotel to make sure no one other tha
The Alberts were in a pensive mood as everyone of them sat in the family hall. Unlike the other meetings where there would be chatters before the meeting started, today, everyone was focused on the phone, reading the various posts on social media that had managed to circulate around in the last three days. "Richard, how many companies don't want to partner with us anymore?" Grandfather asked."Seventeen."Grandfather sighed. "Let them go." "What are the updates about those riffraffs?" Grandfather asked."The TV station where they went refused to disclose anything about their identity. I have met with the owner of the station but he isn't saying anything," someone said."I have a friend there but he is more clueless than we are about the matter," someone else added."I have checked into it but there is really no one I suspect to have done this among our business rivals," another person said.Richard felt a feeling that he had missed something out... Funny how he seemed not to have th
Another movie had begun on the television and they both watched it as they ate the pizza Elizabeth had ordered. She kept stealing glances at Harlan. She had a lot of questions to ask him but she didn't know which one to ask first. "Stop staring at me," Harlan said without taking his eyes off the television."Huh?" She blushed and looked away.She looked back at the television and reached out to take a slice of pizza. At that same time was when Harlan was going to take one too. Because he was looking at the television too, he grabbed Elizabeth's hand. He glanced at her and for some unexplainable reasons, her face flushed."Hmm, I need to get something inside," she stood up and almost ran to her room. She locked the door behind her and held her fast beating chest. "Darn!"Harlan is in the sitting room… Why the heck is she over-thinking it? She shook her head and turned on the light in her room. She glanced at her face in the mirror. It was flushed. "No. This can't be happening!" She
Elizabeth didn't know how long she had been staring at Harlan's picture on the poster that had been placed in different places all over the campus. In the poster, the pictures of the six of them that had won the competition were there. When Harlan and Roger wouldn't show up, herself, Jason, Cecilia and Adrian had taken the picture. Roger had sent his picture and she had given Harlan's picture from the ones posted on the group chat when the gossip about their dates first started. Some skillful graphic designer had managed to put the pictures of the six of them together. In the picture, Harlan was the only person that stood out to Elizabeth.She looked around to be sure no one had been looking at her. There was no one. She sighed.Her phone beeped. It was a message from Harlan... No, a message from Jack because he is the one with Harlan's phone now. She checked it and saw a picture of some guy in a suit and tattoo on his neck. Under the picture, it read : would you recognize me if you s