Einstein glared at Andrew as he walked closer, and his face showed the volume of his anger against the younger man. "I want to use this opportunity to invite the general manager of The Palace Hotel to deliver her opening speech before we proceed to the next program," the MC announced, and his speech was welcomed by another round of deafening clapping and hooting. Miss Simpson was dressed in a blue and white striped frock that displayed all her curves and shapes, and her eyes showed her excited state of mind. "Thank you all for gracing this occasion," Miss Simpson announced with a bow, smile, breath out loud and let out, "As you are all aware, the owner of this hotel had decided to give back to society, and because of this, our organisation will henceforth have a special treat for those who are not buoyant enough to pay for most of our goods and services." "That is beautiful... Now the commoners will be able to enjoy the serenity of this environment, " one among the guests cried o
Pride, they say always goes before a fall. This was the case of Einstein who stood confused when Andrew pledged a billion dollars to support the building of animal shelters. "Donate ten billion dollars, Einstein. Show them that you are richer than him," Stella who had remained on her feet shouted at the top of her voice. "This is very interesting," another young lady muttered, then peeked at Andrew and let out, "Who will believe such a poorly dressed man can afford to donate a billion dollars?" "Maybe he is not as poor as he looks," Stella's toothless friend mumbled. "Thank you, Andrew, for that fantastic donation," the MC collected the wireless microphone from Andrew and announced. He then turned towards Einstein, gave the microphone to him and said in a whisper, "Andrew pledge a billion dollars in support of our project. Luckily for us, you promised ten times his donation. Don't you?" "Em... Em," Einstein stammered because he was confused, and the realisation that he was abou
In truth, it hurt to love and not to be loved back. But what hurts most is to love and not have the courage to express it. Jackson didn't possess the boldness to express his feelings to Miss Simpson, and he would have rather died with his desire if Tommy had not taken the bull by the horns. Every step Miss Simpson took towards him increased his heartbeat, and he was as white as a ghost when she arrived beside him, stooped and whispered in his right ear. "Your son said you want to dance with me." "Em... Yeah, sure. Did you mind?" "I won't be here if I do. Now be on your feet and don't keep a lady waiting," Miss Simpson mumbled, then stretched her arm towards Jackson. "Wow! Thanks, Miss," Jackson announced as he held Miss Simpson's hand, and with fingers intertwined, both couples stepped into the middle of the hall and then moved in rhythm to the melodious voice of the musician. On the podium far off, Andrew peeked at Jackson and Miss Simpson as they held tight to each other, and
The whole hall turned hysterical after Einstein's speech, and some guests left in annoyance, while others uttered profanity words at the sad-looking man. During the commotion, Jackson pulled his two sons by their hands and then gestured to Andrew and let out, "Let's get out of here before it turned violent. I have kids here with me." "Let us go to my lodge so that your children can relax. It had been a hectic day for all of us." The two men wobbled among the crowd and were at the hall entrance when someone called Jackson's name from behind. "That is Miss Simpson's voice. Let's wait for her," Andrew let out and then smiled at his shivering friend. "Are you going without saying goodbye?" Miss Simpson announced. She paused, gawked at the identical twins and asked, "Which among you came to call me?" "I." "It's me." Miss Simpson looked at both twins, giggled and let out, "Are you trying to get me confused? Anyway, I love twins and I adored them when they were identical. She turned
"I suggest you go and meet her, she sounds autocratic, and I would hate to be on her bad side," Jackson muttered, and his speech seemed to pull Andrew out of his reverie. "I hate the way she is trying to order me around," Andrew answered back, standing up and pacing to and fro in the well-adorned executive lodge. "You don't have a choice, at least you ought to know why she called for you." Andrew nodded his head, peeked at his Thuraya satellite phone for a while, and then hurriedly punched some numbers on it. "Who are you calling?" Andrew ignored Jackson's peering eyes as the line rang at the other side, and then released the breath he wasn't aware of holding when a voice muttered. "You finally decided to call me since I gave you a phone... How are you, Andrew Elizabethans?" "I am good, sir. Isabella called and demanded my presence. May I know the reason why?" "All your sisters had been eager to meet you since I informed them about you. I think she just wants to see what you l
After several hours of driving, Andrew noticed a billboard that notified them of a mall half a kilometre away, and this made him turn toward Jackson and let out, "Drive into that mall so that I can pick some gifts for my family." "Good idea," Jackson let out, peeked through the left car window, branded off the highway, into the blue-painted open gate, and parked at their car park. "Stay inside the car, while I go into their stores for the gifts." "No, Andrew. I am hungry and need to pick some food to munch on the way. Let's go together." The two men disembarked from the Bentley and walked towards the blue-painted mall, and the sliding glass was opened by a middle-aged man in an impeccable white T-shirt and blue pants. He bowed to welcome them, and then let out, "Welcome to Santa Fe Mall, Sirs." "We are here to pick some gifts and something edible," Jackson answered back, and then asked, "This place is filled with several goods and will take us some time to discover what we need,
Joel picked up the Da-Vinci painting from the shopping cart, folded it and was about to hand it to Bush when Andrew stepped in his front, shook his head sideways and let out, "I have already bought this painting. Tell your customer to pick another artefact." "You must be a stranger at this side of the city," Bush shouted out in anger, pointed at Andrew and yelled louder, "You will be sorry for being at loggerhead with me." "Who are you?" Jackson stepped in front of Andrew and walked toward Bush. His tall and huge size made Bush cower back with fear. "Mr Bush is engaged to the Elizabethan family. As you are aware they are the most powerful family around here, being in his bad record will not augur well for us," the sales manager whispered to Andrew's right ear. He then bowed at Bush and mumbled, "They don't know you, but I do. Be patient and let me handle this." "Patient my foot. Tell these two strangers that I am related to the royal family by marriage, and annoying me will not end
Andrew and Jackson entered their Bentley and drove out of the mall, and their car accelerated towards Orange County. Because they had spent lots of time inside the mall, the sky was dark except for the stars and the moon, and the coolness of the night made them believe rain may fall over the night. Jackson turned toward Andrew who sat beside him at the front and begged, "Give me your phone. I want to call Miss Simpson and ask about my kids." "You want to ask about your kids, or you want to hear Miss Simpson's voice?" Andrew asked as he removed the Thuraya satellite phone from his pocket and dialled Miss Simpson's telephone number. Jackson collected the phone and muttered back, "Both. I would love to hear her voice, and also to know if Tommy and Jimmy are okay. He paused his speech as the phone rang at the other side of the line and was picked up by Miss Simpson. "Hello, Andrew," Miss Simpson's voice boomed out of the telephone's speaker. "This is Jackson. Andrew's friend. I wa