“You’ve always wanted to know me beyond the surface Avery and you have that right so I feel that attending this event will give you the chance to know me even better.” Nathan maintained.Avery’s brows went up.Nathan reached for her hand with a smile. “My parents and all the people I care about will be at the get-together party so I’ll love it if you’ll be there especially now that we are official.”Avery couldn’t hide her smile. She had been looking forward to this moment, the chance to connect with all the people Nathan cared about and understand where he was coming from.“Just give me the time and location and I’ll be there.” She replied with a smile.Nathan pecked her several times on her palms. She broke out laughing.“I’ll take you home.” He said and started the car.Nathan then drove to Avery’s estate and pulled the car to a halt in front of her house. She hugged him tightly. Nathan wrapped his arms around her.“I’ll notify you so you can get ready.”She nodded in understanding
“That’s none of your business.” Nathan fired back at the lady. He read the name tag on her left pocket. Her name was Maria Cole.“Can I get a means of identification?” She asked and flipped her hair.Nathan sighed and reached for his wallet from the gym bag he was holding. He pulled out his student ID card and slapped it on the table before her.She grabbed the card and after roving her eyes around it, she flung it back at Nathan. “I want something substantial and it seems like your card expired last month.”Nathan looked up to her but her gaze was averted from me. With her lips curled in irritation, she kept looking away.Nathan then pulled out his national ID card and presented it to her. “There you go. Now can you make the deposit?”She turned to Nathan with disgust in her eyes and didn’t take the ID card he was presenting. “Listen, you need to present something better for your evaluation.”“And what’s better than a national ID?”She crossed her legs and opened her palms wide open
“Is everything set?” Mike demanded when he stepped out of the living room.He had assigned Don, Jackson, and the other head bodyguards to arrange a standard convoy. While Mr. and Mrs. Smith with some of the members of the family will be leaving the Estate, Nathan will be picked up at his mansion.“Yes sir,” Jackson replied and moved away, giving Mike a clear view of the fleet of cars by the gate.Mike gave a satisfactory nod.There were a dozen vehicles aligned with fully armed men inside. Mike had requested that all the vehicles leaving for the Yatch party should be bulletproof.He inspected the convoy and then went to Mr. and Mrs. Smith’s chamber.A few moments later, the Alcantaras stepped out. While Mr. and Mrs. Smith took the limousine, some of the family members settled for the Land Cruiser and other exotic cars.When Mike gave the signal, the first escort vehicle took the lead while the rest followed. In about a minute, the streets were blown by a unique siren emanating from th
“Have you seen Nathan? I was supposed to meet him here.” Avery told Charles. “He’ll come around,” Charles responded with a nervous smile. He then pointed at an arched corner by the right where seats were aligned. “Let’s go have our seats. I think the event is about to kick off.”Avery sighed and went after Charles. She couldn’t stop roving her eyes around the yacht in search of Nathan. They got to the settling spot and Charles helped her to get seated around one of the comfy chairs. Soon, the seats were occupied by people ranging from kids, young men, and elderly men and women whom Avery had never met. She leaned toward Charles and was about to register her confusion when Mike suddenly appeared before the crowd. Avery sighed in relief. At least, there was another person she was familiar with on board. Mike flashed a quick smile and adjusted his black silk tie. Looking down at the small crowd, he cleared his throat loudly and began. “It is with delight and honor that I welcome yo
“Fine. I’ll let you be.” Nathan told Avery with his hands lifted. He sighed and stepped out of the restroom. Avery turned around and threw her head on the wooden door. Nathan then made his way to the table his parents were occupying. Mr. Smith was at a corner, speaking to some of the guests. When Nathan sat, his mother studied the gloomy expression spread across his face. “What’s the matter, son?” She demanded with her hand placed on Nathan’s right shoulder.He turned to her with a defeated sigh. “You know I invited Avery to the party right?”Mrs. Smith sat up. “Poor girl must be pissed at you for keeping this whole thing a secret from her.”Nathan slapped his forehead. “I don’t know what to do right now. She’s so mad at me and wants to be alone?”Mrs. Smith roved her eyes around the yacht. “You want me to talk to her?”Nathan sighed. “If that will help then why not?”“I’ll be right back.” Mrs. Smith said and stood up. “She’s at the restroom.”Mrs. Smith nodded and walked away. A
“All vehicles are set.” Mike supplied. Nathan and his parents were led out of the yacht. They got to the shore and after trekking for a few seconds, they were taken to the limousine. The escort vehicles took the lead while the limousine followed with the rest of the vehicles diving closely behind. It was a few minutes to 7 pm and the family get-together had come to an end. Nathan didn’t play any of the board games or eat any of the traditional meals. He only took a few sips of red wine. The drama with Avery had placed him on the edge and all he wanted to do was get off the yacht as soon as possible. As they drove back to the Alcantara estate, Nathan kept tapping his phone screen as he anticipated Charle’s call.After driving for about an hour, the vehicles drove straight to the estate and while they were headed to the parking lot, Nathan spotted several vehicles parked in the open space meant for guests. He got off the limousine and was about to reach for his face mask when his f
Nathan had to pull out a chair and sit beside his mother. “This is incredible!”Mr. Smith plunged his hand inside his jacket and pulled out a ring, carved out of ruby stone. He caressed the ring and walked up to Nathan. “This is an Alcantara symbol. It was handed over to the heirs of this family for generations and now that you have come of age and the heir of this empire, I want you to take this,”Nathan took the ring from his father and slipped it into his middle finger. Mr. Smith continued. “The ring is a symbol of authority. Any high-profile person out there will know who you are at a glance at the ring. It’s your identity as the Alcantara heir.”Nathan gave repeated nods. Mr. Smith sat opposite Nathan. He began to rub his hands against each other vigorously. “I want you to also know that you’ve got one thousand men at your disposal.”Nathan’s eyes widened. “Are they that much?”Mrs. Smith giggled and crossed her legs. “Of course. Each of them was trained and carefully selecte
Nathan woke up the next day with the thoughts of Avery. The image of her disappointed face, when she walked out on him at the yacht, was still imprinted in his mind.Before heading to the bathroom, he decided to try calling her. After dialing her number severally, Nathan flung his phone to the edge of his bed with a frustrated sigh.Her number was still unreachable.Nathan couldn’t help but wonder. Had she blocked him from accessing her line?He placed his hands on his hips and shook his head in filial objection. It couldn’t have gotten that deep. With a defeated sigh, he aimed for the bathroom.A few minutes later, Nathan stepped out and moved to one of his exotic closets. He had resolved to show up at Phoenix that morning. He needed something to distract him from his situation with Avery so he concluded that work would do the trick.After getting dressed in a grey Armani three-piece suit, Nathan hung his face mask, grabbed his briefcase, and dashed out.***Avery palmed her forehead