With the connections Dustin have earned, he quickly got to work. He didn't want to have to involve Alara so he decided not to. Besides, she was enjoying her one leave break.Dustin couldn't deny it but he missed not having her around sometime. He called Bobby and Vincent and they were already at the office.His secretary called, “hello sir, your guests have arrived. Should I send them in now?” she asked.Dustin nodded, forgetting for an instant that the secretary couldn't see him. He cleared his throat and said instead, “Yes. Send them in.” Soon, Vincent and Bobby were in his office.“I see you acknowledge our presences around you now and have stopped seeing us a weirdos.” Vincent said.“Oh please, don't get your hopes all high. I still see you guys as weirdos. Aren't you?” Dustin said and they all laughed.Finally, he went straight to business. “The blue team project, what do you know about it?”“It's hosted by Mr. Tomar, an Indian billionaire. He wants just one person on his list,
“Just as I have said, to prove you guys wrong, Alora will receive a call soon about the blue teal project.” Dustin started.They said nothing but he could see the disbelief in their eyes.“So, that's why I called Alara I wanted to come over. Also, I would like to have dinner here as well.” He said.Ella broke the silence. “What did you just say? How are we supposed to believe what you're saying now? You don't know what yours saying.” She said and Paul instantly backed her up.“Blue teal project is very reserved. There's no way someone like you could have access to earning the contract!” He said.“How exactly are you going to win it? Although nothing will change even if you don't win and all.” Esther said, ignoring her sister's warning look.“You'll see soon. Meanwhile, let's talk about something else. Paul, what are you working on at the moment? In the business lane.” Dustin asked.“Why is that any of your concern?” Paul snapped back.Alara stepped in. “He works for a rich man, he's a
Esther was so excited that she could take her sister's car for a ride. Even though Tania was always so stubborn, she still loved her baby sis. “Wow thank you so much, Tania.” She said, excitedly. “You are the best!”“Stop getting all excited, Esther. I'm only doing this because I need you to realize that no matter what, you are part of this family too.” Tania said.Ella was angry. “I can't believe that you get to enjoy a sweet ride alone, mom and not me.” she said pouting.“Oh don't be too angry. Maybe tomorrow it can be your turn.” Esther said, she ignored the side glance that her sister turned to her.“Just listen, I need you to be very careful with this car, okay? And don't fucking call me that something is up. I probably won't even pick up your call.” Tania said.“I am not a baby, Tania. Come on, stop embarrassing me.” Esther said.“I'm serious. Alora is busy and Paul is back with Mark. Maybe you can call your daughter though. She might come to your rescue.” Tania said.“There is
“Dustin! Wait up. Oh what am I doing? Can he even help me.” Esther thought to herself but she chased after him at last.Dustin was a bit startled to see she was the one calling him. He frowned but decided to be a bit formal. “Hello ma'am, how can I help you? It's quite surprising to see you here.”Esther began to say, not knowing what exactly to tell him or how to tell him. Lastly, she was able to give a fake narration of how things had happened. “Well, you see, your girlfriend’s mother was able to help me out today to make my day a lot more fun. So she helped me by giving me her car to go for a ride today, only with the condition that nothing must wrong.”Dustin rolled his eyes but not visible enough for her to see. He realized that now, something must have gone wrong, despite the innocent woman's warning. “But as you must have been guessing right now, something went wrong. I ran into some sons of a bitch and was even trying to help them settle their fight, but guess what? They tra
“What are you saying? That bastard man named Dustin? Oh you don't worry, I'm going to deal with him by myself. Who the hell does he think he is?” Mark yelled out angrily.“Mark I don't understand what is happening but I'm sorry. And I know we can settle our differences but I love this man and I'm not getting married to you.” Alara said.“Huh? What nonsense is this?” after everything that I've done for you? And you and your family still treat me like this?” Mark yelled out.“Treat you like what? We didn't do anything wrong, Mark. And as for my son, I have no idea he had wronged you. Or even my foolish sister, I didn't know she had wronged you and your men. And like Alara said, we can apologize and make up for that. But not by marriage.” Tania said.Mark roared out in laughter. “And I will deal with this man, don't worry too much about it. All I want you to know is that I will make you mine, and very soon, Alara. Because you should know that I can't
Dustin was already expecting mark. He walked in, not hiding the anger that resided in his eyes. “Let's get this over with, shall we!” He roared out as he picked a seat and sat on it. Dustin was wondering why a strange man like mark would hate him, but he remembered what his uncle used to tell him. “Jealousy is often an expression of insecurity and thus its fixing requires internal reflection and addressing matters of self esteem.” He smiled as he spoke out. This only made mark to frown very hard. “What the hell are you talking about now?” he rolled his eyes. Dustin knew exactly what he was talking about. “Is this really because Alara and I are dating?” he spilled out and nearly bursted out in laughter when he saw Mark face turn red. “See I guess that's why.”Mark laughed out loud. “You really are a prick, aren't you? A fool even, thinking that you're so important and even someone as rich and influential as myself to fear and worship you, cowering under your feet?” he shot an arch
Even after Alara tried to hide the worry in her eyes, she knew her mother could tell she was worried about something. Her mom could see her emotional current like it was lightning. She often guessed that was how she was always the eye of her storms, a little clarity and perspective could always do that.“Mom, stop staring like that. I really am okay.” She said to her mother.“Well I can tell okay, no matter how you try to hide it, I can always tell, ever since you were little. And you were so bad at hiding your emotions.” her mother said to her and Alara found out that she was laughing now.“Even Dustin makes that joke every once in a while too mom.” Alara said, grinning foolishly now.“When my Dad skipped out of our lives you became our mom. Not because you haven't always been our mom even when dad was around, but because you spent every waking hour earning enough money to pay the mortgage and buy groceries. Sometimes I think back to how I used to whine for the cool stuff other kids
The umbrella snapped closed, releasing a gravity defying plume of small droplets. Dustin pulled down his hood and shook his hair to gain some life back into his flattened locks.Alara hugged him as he came back. “Wow, you need to get yourself all dried up!” She exclaimed upon seeing him. They went up to her room together and got him changed. She had to get one of Paul's clothes so Dustin could get changed into it. Meanwhile, Mark had just come in. He was soaking wet but he just took off his coat and sat down. His mouth salivated as he saw the delicious looking meal that was presented before him.“Wow, all this for me? I must say that you are now very smart, miss Smith.” He said to Tania. “Just seat down already. This dinner is not for just you. We have a very important guest in our midst too.” She said, not looking nice and reserved at all. “The way you talk sometimes, it's scary. You know that, right? So tell me, why have you been waiting for me since then.” He asked her.“We were
Dustin tried to calm his wife down. He realized that she had been truly angered by Esther sudden behavior for wanting to create a grand wedding for Tom and not her. It was truly devastating and he couldn't deny that. "Alara?" He called out to her, knocking gently on the door. His voice remained as warm as early spring, as if her heart beat so steadily even though she took a different view from him. She simply said this was her way of doing things. He could see her balk at first, so accustomed he was the to ways of Alara and her fiery temper. He was different, because he absorbed things and then responded more than reacted, dampened situations rather than adding to the flames. And so before he knew it everything was happy again, it was love all around instead of the bickering he was so accustomed to. It was a sense of calm he grew to love.And he would be teaching it to his wife now. "This path of life is challenge enough," he began to say. Dustin remembered a little of what his moth
On this cloudy morning there are growing patches of blue, the sort of hue that is soft and bright at the same time. Though beneath the sheet of cloud is a grey that deepens to steel, the leading edge is a brilliant white, as if it is the pages of a new book ready for any curious eye. So, on this day that could bring rain or sunshine, I'm hoping for both, for the chance of a rainbow and to feel so much more because the day is blessed with clouds.Light grew steadily outside until the curtains glowed just the same as stained glass. Kevin stuck his head behind the fabric to survey what the day might bring. The road was slick with water, though the puddles remained quite still, no hint of rain still falling. Above the clouds were still grey but without the denseness of yesterday, allowing patches of blue to form.In good moods a writer may paint words that are fine wine and soft music; words that contain more healing medicine than all the drugs created by man. They are clear water over ro
Paul set out to visit Dustin that day, and as he arrived their doorstep, he decided to make a phone call to his sister so she wouldn't say he came in unaware. The phone rang a few times and she still hadn't picked up. When he learned to soothe his impatient self, the rewards were significant. His focus improved, and his relationships became more mellow, and everything in his day worked that little bit better. It made all the difference. Over time he saw others learning from him, relaxing, and the vibe of his family took a turn for the better. She still wasn't picking up for whatever reasons. Finally at the last ring, she picked up. "Yes, Paul ? What do you want?" Asked her voice in a quite impatient manner, like she had been in a hurry. "Where are you to be hurrying me like that?" He asked, wondering why his sister was using that manner to refer to him. Then it hit him. She didn't really like him as well as her husband, and he certainly couldn't blame them at all. He probably would
Esther was with her other queens, and they had nearly ended their meeting. She listened carefully to Regina's silly talks about how she was powerful and well respected. She purposely pointed fingers at Esther, stating that she had been less important just because she was going through some rough times. Esther was silent all through the time because she didn't even bother to pay attention to their silly talks. All she could focus her kind was on her family. She realized that her family had been falling apart slowly. He husband had been acting strangely towards her for reasons she couldn't even explain. But then, she hoped it had been for a great cause. She couldn't even put her mind on that for long. Then there was the issue with her daughter and then with her enemies, Fernando and ezra. alara wasn't safe at all. And she felt like a terrible mother for not being able to do anything about that. There was always something to do. She would gain power no matter the cost. What she needed
"Well, we don't have a head queen so technically, I'm speaking on behalf of her." "Well I don't agree. Until we have a head queen, you don't have the right to strip me off my membership." She said, still standing strong on her word. She was terrified on the inside of course! But she would not show her weaknesses. Regina frowned. "Well until then. But for now, being the owner of my house I say this to you. Get out of my house!" She ordered and more laughter grew wild again. Esther couldn't help but feel nothing but shame. But she wouldn't be waking away just like that. She strode over to Regina then stood face to face with her. "You're going to regret this Regina. In fact, all of you will regret this. I will make an attendance of everyone of you in this room. Regina, Dana, camera woman Anna, Rachel, Danielle, in fact all of you. And I remember vividly of the faces in the room here. I know all of you. Mark my words, you will regret this." And with that, she stomped out sitting the do
Alara and her husband had been expecting the peculiar twain, Ezra Alonzo and Trevor, his son in law. Why they had been asking for an audience with Dustin , he didn't know. All he knew was that they were up to no good. Finally, they arrived and he led them to the living room. He had told Alara to remain inside because his instincts had been right. They only wanted to scan around to check everywhere, and most importantly, they wanted to find out what his wife knew. He was almost certain that they would try to find out a little too much and he didn't know how, so for that reason, he had asked that his wife remained inside. "Welcome Mr Ezra Alonzo and Trevor." dustinsaid, and this brought both faces to exchange awkward stares. dustinknew they were probably wondering how he had known their names. He decided to ease the tension a little. "I was told of your names before you arrived." dustinsaid, and he could see the calmness in their eyes as they each have a sigh of relief. Ezra bro
For the first time in weeks, Mindy made her way over to Dustin again, and she couldn't even explain how exactly she was feeling. For one reason, she was angry. Very frustrated that he was still married to his goddamn wife! She loved him and would always do. And yet, not even for once had he reciprocated her feelings. Heaving in a deep sigh, she advanced forward to make a knock on the door. "Don't worry, Mindy. Breath it in," and with that, she made a knock on the door. It hadn't been a loud bang, rather barely more than a slight knock, but almost immediately, the door had flung wide open. "Oh God, you're back..." He was standing before her, staring like he had been day dreaming, probably wondering what the fuck she had been doing at his footstep. "Oh I thought you were someone else," he said so apologetically. That frustrated her even more. He had probably been excited thinking that she was his dear wife! She had better not show her true emotions to avoid failing on the first day o
"This relationship, Dustin, should be a relation-ship, or a kinship - something that makes us family. I want it to be something that unites our friends, our relations, and not become as a boat cast adrift away from those we know and love. What is good builds up goodness, heals and includes others. What is good is a benefit to us and our community, to the world. It is how we let this love for one another spill out, make a light for others to share. So, my love, hoist the sail; we're homeward bound.""Wait you just thought of saying something as compelling as this to me because what?" He said to her, half shocked. She only smiled back, her eyes and dimples crinkling as she did. Alara was very beautiful although she never seemed to listen to him whenever he made mention of it to her. "Thank you a lot for the comforting words. I won't forget. You know," but he stopped then grinned as he thought of what to say and he knew already that she might have not been too impressed. "But then, e
"Sir, I have done as you've asked. What is your plan now?" Mindy asked as she saw Dustin talking to himself. She sat with him. He didn't even do as if someone was there, just minding his own business and calculating now and what he would do to his rival. Sometimes she always wondered what it was that was truly going on in that mind of his, but she knew he was very smart and full of advices and plans. And she was always so glad that she was now on their team.Business had to ask themselves if they were exploiting the population or uplifting them, especially in relation to the young and if not, it failed. For what is psychological maturity other than learning how to make wise choices to protect others? The glorification of greed was as a golden tricycle being pedalled in circles at the end of a cul-de-sac... yet believing itself a fancy car shooting into the far horizon. Greed is always the product of a brain with underdevelopment of its more highly evolved features. But there he was