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
When he stepped out of Xavier's office, he met Jaime making his way towards the elevator. Smirking, he went with him despite his protest. He was apparently enjoying the show that he was putting up. "Stay away from me." Jaime snapped. They were in front of the elevator now. "Away from you? Remember your boss said you should stay away from me else he will cut your pay. You should be the one stepping aside for me." He scoffed. Irritated and angry at the same time, Jaime was about to say something really nasty. Guessing his next move correctly, Raymond turned around, "I think I should speak with your boss." He smirked. Scared stiff of what would happen next, Jaime ran to his side. With pleading eyes and hands placed together he said, "I'm sorry. Leave him out of this." "No way. I'm beyond pissed now and before I regain myself, I have to speak to your boss." He scoffed as he brushed past him. "Don't do this. I promise I won't bother you. Just give me this last chance." "Last
Adam was not saying anything although he wasn't in support of Raymond working closely with Xavier. "I told him I was going to think about it and I guess he is already awaiting my response." "Don't accept. You have already given him a hint on how to go about it. It's left for him to wriggle around and come up with a solution. ." Adam snapped. For more than thirty minutes, Raymond was speaking to his friends since the cars in front of him had refused to move. Suddenly, Niko snapped his finger making the other two fix their eyes on him expecting him to spill the bean. "Accept his offer." He said. "What?" Adam asked, he couldn't believe his ear. "Accept his offer. This is another opportunity in disguise." He smirked. "I don't understand you, please explain," Raymond said "Strike a deal with him so you would be promoted at the end of it." The trio went silent. While Niko was smirking, the other two were staring at him and trying to connect the dots. "I will give it a s
The Brooks Mansion… As the sun began to set that evening, a gentle breeze which caused the trees and ornamental plants to rustle, producing a nice scent blew across the garden. That night marked the 30th wedding anniversary of the Brooks and they were set to celebrate it in a grand style. Their family and friends were not left out in the preparation. They were actively involved in the preparation to make the anniversary a successful one. At about eight pm, the invited guests who were all dressed elegantly and sophisticatedly began to make their way to the garden where they were greeted with a rousing welcome. A live band that had been invited began to play soft melodies, creating a welcoming air as more guests arrived and bonded in preparation for the night. The party was yet to begin but the garden was filled with laughter, joy, and the clinking of champagne flutes. At exactly 9 p.m., the party kicked off with a short prayer before Stella was called to the podium. Stell
"This must be a joke," Raymond muttered as he hurried down the aisle that was flanked on both sides with ornamental flowers. At this point, all he wanted was to disappear into the thin air never to return again but as it had always been, nothing happened. He was still on earth and was trying to get away from whoever was after him. "Mister, I'm speaking to you." The domestic staff yelled, causing some people to turn in his direction. Raymond was only lucky because the place had become rowdy and it was going to be difficult trying to pick him as the wanted man. The more he increased his pace, the more he heard the voice of the staff. He was closing in on him despite all his efforts to get away quickly. Finally, he felt a hand grabbing his wrist. "No way." He groaned in distress. When he turned around to see the face of his captor, he was taken aback for a moment. His captor was no other person but a man. All the while, he was thinking it was a lady because of his tiny v
Meanwhile, Julia was fuming with anger on her part. If she had known her family was going to do this to Raymond, she wouldn't have called him back. Earlier that day, she was doing her school rounds when she got a message from Stella informing her that she was needed at home urgently. Thinking it was something serious, she panicked for the rest of the day only to arrive at her family's mansion to see a merry air. She was staring at everything in confusion when Stella walked up to her with a smile. "You don't seem happy, is everything alright?" She had asked with her hand placed around her neck. "What is going on?" Julia asked. She was still trying hard to figure out the drama her family was acting or was about to act. "Nothing much. Can I have your phone?" She requested and without thinking, Julia gave it to her. "Say something." She snapped as Stella slipped the phone into her purse. "I will help you hold it until the party is over." She smirked then turned aside. J
To make it look more real to the guests who had stopped blaming him, he wrapped his strong arm around her waist only to deepen the kiss. Julia was enjoying every moment and was willing to keep going. She didn't want it to stop anytime soon. As for Stella and her mother, they were pissed. This was clearly not what they expected. Raymond was supposed to be shamefaced but instead, he was getting the attention of all the guests and also, and they were praising their chemistry. "Mom, we would have just allowed him to leave. What is this?" Stella cringed, unable to bear the scene anymore. "You are right." She muttered feeling defeated. Raymond has proven to them several times that no matter what they did to him, he would always find a way to wriggle himself out but they were too stubborn to let go of him. "I will get him in my hook someday and I swear to my maker, he wouldn't be able to wriggle away. I will make sure he wishes the earth swallows him." Mrs. Brooks scoffed. Sa
With the way Raymond had scurried off earlier, Julia was convinced there was nothing wrong with the food. She felt there was something up his sleeves but the issue was, she couldn't place her hands on it no matter her efforts. "I don't trust him a bit." She said, biting the corner of her lips. She tried to resume eating but she couldn't. She had suddenly lost appetite. Instead of waiting for the maids to carry the used plates, she grabbed the plate and then went to the caterers stand. "Thank you." She said, placing the plates on the table. "You are welcome. I hope you enjoyed your meal?" The lady behind the table asked, returning her smile. "I did, thank you." On getting to the table she was occupying, she met an unsolicited visitor, smiling at her as if she had won a lottery. Her visitor was, Asher. She was a close friend up until she married Raymond, the alleged pauper. "What do you want?" She asked, lowering herself on her seat. "Come on, stop acting as if we are fighting