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The CEO'S syndrome CHAPTER TWENTY: Trouble in paradise?
"Jesus! You startled me".It was six in the morning yet the whole household was asleep as usual. The whole household except the newcomer.Fyodor jumped as he saw the woman who sat on the floor close to the floor to ceiling window.He had worn a gym suit with converse to match, he was preparing to go for a morning run. Unlike every other occupant in his household, Fyodor jogged every Sunday morning to clear his head."I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you", Alina said as she stood up, she was three months gone and her baby bump was beginning to show. Her belly seemed somewhat… weird? Coupled with her tiny frame.Wait.. what has gone wrong?She sounded sad and her voice sounded like her vocal cords were swollen. Was she crying?Now that Fyodor scanned her features, her eyes were puffy and glistening like she was crying a few minutes ago. Trouble in paradise?"Are you okay?", he found himself asking even though he just made fun of her. He couldn't walk out like it was none of his bu
The CEO'S syndrome CHAPTER TWENTY ONE: I'm going to church!
"Ivan, what are you doing out here? The whole family is preparing for church", Mr Babanin asked as he walked to his eldest son.He was checking the shrubs he had planted with the gardener two nights ago and saw his son idly muttering rubbish to himself.Ivan shrugged his shoulders, "Everyone except Fyodor. He is allergic to God". Mr Babanin snickered at his son's words. He is a happy father of two grown sons and he's even happier that he knew his sons well. Ivan always acted like Fyodor is a bone in his throat but his father knows that deep to the bottom of his heart, he knows every single dislike and liking of his younger brother, in other words, he loves his younger brother."Father, I am clearly not in a good mood", Ivan crossed his arms like only a three year old would."I can tell. I can", Mr Babanin feigned a solemn expression and sat next to his son."Now let's see what we can do to this ugly mood of yours".Ivan huffed angrily, he had come here to talk to the trees and shrubs
The CEO'S syndrome CHAPTER TWENTY TWO: My Lollipop
Fyodor was his mother's favorite person throughout the journey to the church. She walked by his side and sat by him in the car as she continued to make him see more reasons why he should attend the church regularly and of course punctually as she made sure everyone was ready in time to meet the praise and worship program.Fyodor was attending church today because he was bored. He didn't have work to do and decided to come along. His whole family thought that he never attended church services because he doesn't believe in God. Fyodor stopped going to church because he got too busy at work. He runs an Artificial intelligence organization, he doesn't have all the time to himself. In his own view, it wouldn't hurt to spend some time with God since he has nothing else to do. Besides, he needed ideas, he was thinking of making more Christian apps or machines that could serve the church or improve the Christian life and there was no better place to get ideas if not the church itself, was t
The CEO'S syndrome CHAPTER TWENTY THREE: Watch how I carefully unwrap you. In one piece. Trust me.
"Hmmm. Now let's check our To do list", James said as he picked the list of chores-he had written- from the table.Joseph had come to visit early and James brought the idea of cleaning and preparing for a barbecue evening. Joseph liked the idea, he enjoyed stuff that included his father. James made a list of things they had to do. They cleaned the whole house and went grocery shopping. James raised his pen ready to mark the ones they had done."Clean the patio""Done", Joseph yawned. They had been working as early as nine in the morning and it was almost four in the afternoon. Naturally, they could afford a cleaning service but Joseph knew how much his father delighted in carrying out small tasks by himself. Besides, they get to chit chat as they work."Clean the kitchen area""Done""Fix the faulty bulbs""Done big man""Wash the utensils""Done sire", Joseph jested.James laughed and continued, "Wash and arrange the veggies""Done"James scanned the concluding part of the list and
The CEO'S syndrome CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR: Who calls their mentor Tea?
"Angie! Join us at the table, you have cooked enough meat", James hollered."Just a sec!"Angela carried the remaining cooked meat to the table.Joseph stood at once and moved a chair backwards for Angela to sit before seating next to her."Beer?", he asked warmly."Nah, coke would do. Thank you", Sophia answered for Angela.She "Haha, very funny but I wasn't talking to you", Joseph rolled his eyes in circles and offered Angela a smile, "What would you like to drink, Angie?" "Thank you.Water would do for now".Sophia scoffed and played with her phone.Joseph unscrewed the cap of a bottle of water and passed it to her.She smiled in appreciation and drank from the bottle.James watched them amused. Joseph clearly likes her, he would definitely be a passionate lover and James would be happy to play matchmaker."I'm bored", Sophia announced as she dropped her phone noisily on the table."Let's play waltz", Joseph suggested."Who plays waltz nowadays?"Sophia rolled her eyes. How she wish
The CEO'S syndrome CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE: Trouble in Omar's paradise.
Omar spent his Sunday in a tight corner. Unlike his other two friends who had fun with their loved ones, he got tangled up in business affairs.Omar just had a bath and was preparing to take his cute little sister out for shopping.The shrill ringing of his business phone cut his preparations short.He suspiciously eyed the phone and answered the call. "Blake?"His assistant never called him during the weekends except if it was important, that was the protocol. He wondered what had gone wrong."Good afternoon Sir. I apologize for interrupting your Sunday but there's something you have to see", Blake rushed his words like a madman."What is it?", Omar questioned. His assistant was not one to call for irrelevances.Blake swallowed the lump in his throat, he had nothing to do with the problem but he was terrified to bring to the notice of his boss, but that was the right thing to do, he couldn't just allow someone to shut down the business."Sir, I found something fishy, you need to see
The CEO'S syndrome CHAPTER TWENTY SIX: Nora's fiance.
His phones rang incessantly, more mails popped up, his voice assistant wouldn't stop talking, the intercom buzzed repeatedly. Omar himself is found around all the mess as he talked to a man on the phone. "Ha, Mister man, you need not worry. You know I always take care of the bills". Omar ignored the state of his office. He too felt like a mess. After dealing with his drama queen aka Farah, he had dressed in a fine tailored suit to find his missing money on a Monday morning. The girl wouldn't allow him to leave home, it almost felt like he was a single dad. He chuckled at the memory and all other ones they had created."Don't worry. Mister man, I will get everything ready. Everything ready for your magic hands", Omar said as he laughed.Mister man is a friend he met at a bar, who understands numbers better than any man Omar's ever known. In other words, the man is a genius.Omar wanted him to look at the records and spot the hints he may have overlooked."Now do not patronize me. S
The CEO'S syndrome CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN: No more Friday parties.
Tuesday was not any better for Omar, he still hadn't gotten a substantial lead. He still had no idea who the enemy was. He spent the wee hours browsing through the files till noon time.Omar would have continued to work till nightfall like the previous day, but his friends called him to lunch. They hadn't heard from him since Sunday and wondered what had gone wrong. They met at a restaurant and ordered light meals with only Joseph having the appetite of a wolverine."How are you both doing?" Fyodor looked from one friend to another. He didn't know of his friends but he did not feel happy at all.Joseph raised his head to look at his friends before bending again to enjoy his food.Omar sighed and ate a pea, "Someone is stealing from my company"."Someone?" Fyodor shook his head. It was totally unbelievable."Here I thought I'm the only one with problems. But my issue is quite manageable, might I add"Omar rolled his eyes, sometimes Fyodor could sound like Fyodor."How much? How much ha
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- The CEO'S syndrome
CHAPTER SEVENTY SEVEN: The breakup
Her feet felt heavy with every step she took afar, her heart was drumming wildly within her ribcage and it felt like she was nauseous. As she ran, all she thought of was Joseph, he'd definitely misunderstood. Fate was cruel. Too cruel. Things were only just beginning to look bright only for this to happen. Angela didn't even care when her legs stopped moving or when her butt cheeks found comfort on the floor. She cried as the turnout of events replayed in her head, mocking her. When Joshua had noticed her unenthusiasm in whatever he had to say, he had proceeded to physical contact and just before she could have acted on his inappropriate manner of touching her, he had forced their lips to merge and enforced a rhythm. Angela regretted her decisions, she shouldn't have acknowledged his message when he'd sent it and even if she had, she ought to have picked a cafe that was packed with customers, not to reserve the most remote seats just so they do not get distracted easily with the da
- The CEO'S syndrome
CHAPTER SEVENTY SIX: A change
The next morning, they took a bath together again. Even though Joseph's eyes twinkled with interest he didn't do anything out of question. He still respected the distance between them but he was insanely aware of her naked body throughout. After the bath, he made breakfast while Angela watched.Angela was happy. She was so happy that she couldn't control it when a tear slid down her face because she thought she wouldn't see a day when Joseph would be capable of taking care of his daily needs, talkless of another. Even though she had promised Joshua brunch, she ate a lot. After breakfast, they cleaned the dishes together and that was when she saw it again. That undeniable gaze that said it all. She had noticed it when they were taking a bath and how it didn't disappear when they broke their fast. Joseph would secretly watch her and shyly take his eyes somewhere else when she caught him.She held his hand in hers and smiled before she whispered with all alacrity, “I'm all yours. Foreve
- The CEO'S syndrome
CHAPTER SEVENTY FIVE: The devoted caretaker
Like a cycle, days turned into weeks and weeks to months but Joseph still didn't get better. He still said close to nothing to Angela. He'd rather spend his time in his study. He had turned lean with time, as he barely ate. He barely associates with anything or anyone apart from his study. Angela has had enough. She didn't care what Joseph thought anymore or what her next actions would incite. Because he was slowly losing it. He needed help. And so, that fateful morning, after preparing a hot soup with easily digestible contents, she marched straight to his study and tried to force her way in but the door was locked. With no other plan but to scream, shout, cry or even use force if she had to, Angela marched towards the familiar corridor. Her next destination was his room, still no Joseph. She forcefully pushed the slide-in door that led to his bathroom and there he sat. Joseph sat like a fetus in its mother's womb as he wept. Like a child.Her eyes lost all the fire and she somewha
- The CEO'S syndrome
CHAPTER SEVENTY FOUR: Grief
“Oh, I've always had a thing for grotesques but for work, it'll always be romance”, the writer chuckled to the camera as he adjusted his sitting position a few more times to look good for his audience.“What inspires your books then?”. Angela read out loud, totally uninterested. Joshua, the writer looked at nothing as he tried to form the right words or what he believes is right. “Love inspires my book”, he smiled to himself like he had just found something no one would ever find. “Love is real. Now, not the kind between siblings or relatives. The simple attraction you feel towards someone you don't even know too well”. He frowned as he continued, Angela almost thought he was already possessed by what made some writers write so well. “That wanton feeling is power. It's so powerful and beautiful and there's a lot to unravel, so yeah. That's why I always find myself writing about it”. He smiled finally, awarding himself marks for a test no one gave him. Angela nodded when she was su
- The CEO'S syndrome
CHAPTER SEVENTY THREE: The Funeral
Mr James Wilson was buried on Friday. A very sunny Friday. It was so sunny that Joseph wished that it was raining. They had set up a small gathering, rather too small for a man established as Mr James. But still, many came to pay their respects, some even flew in that morning just to pay their last respect to such a kindhearted man like Mr James. As the priest said the prayers and Mr James' coffin was leveled into the ground, Joseph only prayed to wake up from this dream. He still hadn't accepted the news. He still remembered the conversations he'd shared with his father prior to his surgery. The words he had shared with Angela up to the time he had patiently waited to be reunited with his father once again. Alive. Not dead. But Dr. Murphy's downcast look had ruined it all. Joseph had waited patiently all for nothing. Had believed Angela's words before the surgery, all for his father's death to drive him to the end of time. He had killed his father.No. Not the doctor, at least J
- The CEO'S syndrome
CHAPTER SEVENTY TWO: Horrid mistakes
Accuracy. That was definitely Dr Murphy's best word. He was always accurate. He knew the human anatomy like the palm of his hand. As a career man, he was never wrong, and has never lost a single patient during his thirty six years of treating patients. Dr Murphy was literally known as an aldonis in the surgery room.As he scrubbed in and entered the operation room, he said a little prayer to God that he’s kept his nickname this long. Inside the OR, he shook his head vehemently like a boxer ready for battle and whispered “Let's do this” to himself after washing his hands and went in where a nurse came forward to help him wear his sterile gown.A nurse eyed his scrub cap knowingly and turned to share smiles between her colleagues. They all knew Professor Murphy to be present for only very important surgeries and whenever he wore the specific cap on his head, it meant real business. That means the patient on the table would survive no matter the cost. The patient's lucky, she concluded
- The CEO'S syndrome
CHAPTER SEVENTY ONE: An hopeful day
Morning came, even though Joseph was sore, his whole muscles ached and he had barely even slept, he was glad that an hopeful day had come. A day, he was allowed to dream. That morning Joseph prayed. He hadn't prayed for a long time but he found himself kneeling on the floor as he prayed for a successful procedure.Omar and Fyodor, Angela and Sophia had spent the night at the hospital but Omar had to leave because he had a meeting that couldn't be postponed, he had to be there. But he promised to return as soon as he could.Joseph watched Angela quietly from his side view, he hadn't said anything to her after crying at the garage, now, they were no different from two strangers. Or that was what he thought. She was saying something to Sophia before Sophia left to take a phone call.He watched her as she rubbed her eyes sleepily and sank deeper to the seat, she raised her legs from the ground and folded them to cross one another. These past few days, he had been rough. Very rough with he
- The CEO'S syndrome
CHAPTER SEVENTY: LAST MOMENTS
Joy. Ultimum joy. Not the kind you feel after bagging a million dollar deal or getting a scholarship but the kind you feel when a ray of sunshine graces your head and suffices your skin with vitamin D, the kind of happiness you feel when the calm breeze grazes the short hairs on your skin. That kind of joy that bubbles from within, that shows itself even when you have a straight face. And that was all the duo felt as they watched intently.Fits of laughter, though weak, rumbled from Mr James chest as he watched closely. Upon his request, his son had transformed his hospital room into a cinema room. The lights turned off, except the lights sourced from the machines attached to him, Mr James relaxed into his bed folded halfway to allow him see the screen comfortably. Joseph was surprised when his father told him where he'd kept all the video clips in his house. He had thought naturally, that clips as such would have been lost. His parents hadn't parted in good times and his mother clea
- The CEO'S syndrome
CHAPTER SIXTY NINE: Death, the inevitable
And there he sat. Like the dutiful son that he will always be. After the little episode at the garage, under the pretense of getting some air, Joseph returned to his only reason for both his unshed and shed tears of agony. Joseph adjusted the duvet that covered his father's body a few times. Afterwards, he'd stand and walk around a few times, he'd grit his teeth a few times, sometimes, torturing his poor nails as well. Only to look outside the window again, rake his hair frustratingly and then sit again. Joseph messed up the routine a few times, willing to do everything to while away time, he only wondered when his father would wake up again. He had to try again.He had to try to convince his father again. He just had to do something. His hands raked his hair again before a sob broke out. A second followed.“Son”, though hoarse, his father’s voice called out. Joseph jerked up immediately and covered the little distance between them.“Big man! Big man!!” His voice was hoarse too. May
