For the next two days, Raymond refused to open his eyes, heightening the fears of his friends and his wife. Only the doctor in charge of him was unmoved. He tried to explain to them that he would recuperate and that he was just regaining his lost energy but they wouldn't listen. "I'm going to go to Dexx tomorrow to confront that damn CEO. Who does he think he is to put Raymond under some unnecessary stress?" She snapped, fist-pumping the air. Even in their sober state, Niko and Adam couldn't help but chuckle at her funny demonstration. "Are you sure it's his boss that's behind this?" Niko asked, covering up for his laughter and to keep the conversation going. "Of course. For weeks now, he has returned late and tired from traveling via air in the intervals of two days. My husband is just an HR assistant and not his personal assistant. I'm going to make that clear to him when I arrive at the company tomorrow." She scoffed. "What makes you think he will give you an audience?"
To Raymond, a short time to live meant an increase in the pace of plotting revenge against his family and that of Julia. He was shifting uneasily in his seat, trying to come up with ways on how to increase the pace. He couldn't afford to die when he hadn't achieved his goals. He was determined to make his family and Julia's family pay for hurting him. Suddenly, Niko pulled up in front of Julia's school. He was about to ask what was going on when she took his rough hand in hers. "Please, refrain from working while I'm away. I have a test by ten a.m." She said "Oh, okay. Good luck." He said, relieved that he would be able to pour out his heart to his friend the moment he got home. "Please, you guys should monitor him. I will be back before noon." She rapped, turning to face Niko and Adam who were staring at the couples. "No problem," Niko replied while Adam, who had been staring at his watch said, "You have ten minutes left. You got to start going so you won't be late."
Raymond woke up with a large scowl on his face that morning. "Day three." He muttered, wiping his sweaty brow with the tip of his fingers. Despite the cool room, he was sweating profusely. Since Xavier had given him a week's rest, Julia had decided to turn him into a child she would dote on. She was all over him just like a mother hen with newly hatched chicks. Raymond hated this attitude. He had tried to tell her off severally but she would pretend as if she wasn't hearing. He had no choice but to bear the brunt of everything as he waited for Monday so he would resume work and would be free. After his morning routine, he made his way to the kitchen to assist in making breakfast but immediately Julia sighted him, she led him to the dining room. "Breakfast will be ready before you know it." She said with a bright smile. Sighing, he buried his head in anguish. It was another morning to stuff his belly with excess food. A few minutes later, she arrived with a steamy plate
"What happened to your tongue?" Julia asked, still waving the receipts in his face. "It's not what you think. I don't even have the money to buy an engine not to talk of freezer and washing machine." He said in self-defense. "So why is your name appearing as the customer or do you want to say it's wrong?" "I can explain." Crossing her hand across her chest, she said, "Go on," "I told Niko about your frequent trips to the laundry so he decided to get a washing machine for you. You see, it's a gift." He said, flashing a smile at her which she refused to buy. She remained in her position, glaring at him as if he was from another planet. "Come on," he groaned. To make her believe him, he decided to invite Niko over after giving him a rundown of everything that had ensued between them. That morning, after cleaning up, he joined her at the table for breakfast. "Eat up." She said placing his plate in front of him. "Want to go to Zeline?" He asked, trying to start up a co
While Raymond was working, his phone beeped in his pocket but he didn't bother to check the message until he had finished working. "Thank you," Mayor said, looking closely at him to see if he was stressed out. "If I were you, I wouldn't do that," Raymond smirked. He had caught him staring. "But…" "I'm fine, okay. Stop acting like a mother hen trying to protect her chicks." He scoffed and then stormed to his table. It was when he decided to take a cat nap that he suddenly remembered the message he received while he was working. Smirking, he brought the phone from his pocket. "I know." He muttered after reading the content of the message. The message was from Xavier, reminding him of their meeting by noon that day. Meanwhile, Xavier had been making inquiries about Raymond from his PA since the day began. He wanted to be certain that he was in the company. Jaime had just returned from one of the errands and was standing behind the mahogany table, watching Xavier who w
"Do I look like a child?" Xavier asked with a large scowl hoping it would put fear inside of Raymond and then he would confess. "I never said that. I was just clearing the air. I don't want you to be thinking things." He said offhandedly, making Xavier more confused. He strongly believed Raymond was the same man on Dulo's magazine but his contradicting statement was messing with his resolve. "You are on a mission." He snapped. "Yes." Xavier recoiled at his words. Just as a little smile was creeping to his face, Raymond said, "A mission to save the falling company with you by our sides. A mission to save Dexx and place it in the spotlight which was stolen from us, a mission to…" "Raymond." Xavier snapped, sending his fists to the hard table. "Sir," he replied, wearing an innocent face whereas he was glad that he was getting Xavier more confused. His face told it all. "That's good. I hope all the staff can be like you." Xavier managed to say. "Thank you, sir. I will tr
After work, Raymond returned home so tired that even when Julia was talking to him, he wasn't listening. Thinking it was because of her recent attitude, she grabbed his hands, causing him to stare at her with a shock-filled face. "I'm sorry, okay. I felt you were not sincere that's why I was acting that way toward you. I'm sorry." She rapped. The first thing that came to Raymond's mind was to laugh out loud but he had to contain himself by biting his lips. "What's it? Why are you biting your lips?" She asked, separating his teeth from his lips. "Nothing." He muttered, suppressing the laughter that was hurting his chest. "Come on, you are going to bruise your lips. Hold on, let me get dinner." She said before taking her leave. Immediately she left the living room completely, Raymond burst into laughter. He had to bury his head in the chair to stifle it. "What happened? I heard a loud noise." Julia said, running to his side. She had heard him when he initially began to l
Raising his head from his laptop, Niko asked, "How are you able to pull all these within a few days while we are unable to get even a byte of your findings?" "For real. Despite your tight schedule you still outshined us." Adam added. "I have to do this okay? Remember, I have limited time." Nodding, Niko asked, "What about Julia? Is she still suspecting anything?" "I don't know. Sometimes I feel she knows what I'm up to and just pretending to be unaware. At other times it's as if she has no idea about the whole thing." He shrugged, wiping his brow. This was the hundredth time he was doing this under the AC making Adam turn on the fan. "Thanks." He muttered. "Are you sure you are alright? These days the rate at which you produce sweat is alarming." Niko said. "I'm fine." He replied, flashing a smile at them. He didn't want to tell them his body was heating up because it was a sign of the latter stage of the disease. He talked some more with them before he left for Dex