Withdrawal

She looked at the plates she was washing silently. She had remembered her mother. She had barely known her mother growing up as she had died when she was still at a tender age.

She grew up to know Carly's mother as her mother. The woman never maltreated her even for one day,but she was not so naive to believe that the woman took her as her daughter entirely.

She could still feel the silent animosity emanating from her whenever she caught her gaze. She was however grateful for the treatment she did receive, it taught her to be an independent young woman but sometimes, she stilled wished she knew her real mother.

Lionel studied as her washing pace reduced,she was in thought.

"Did I say something wrong?", he asked,his tone soft and prodding.

She burst out of her thought when she heard his voice. She looked at him and forced out a smile.

" No,its nothing, I was just.., you know what,it's nothing ",she said and turned back to face her dishes.

He looked at her for a while observing her. He wanted to ask her more questions but decided to leave it at that.

She washed the plates and when she was done, rinsed her hands before going to the table to drink more water.

She went over to her sofa to take her handbag that she had placed earlier advancing towards the door when Lionel's voice stopped her.

" Have you forgotten that your car is at the automobile's",he asked causing her to stop in her tracks.

She muttered something inaudible under her breath before turning to look at him. She didn't believe that she was put in a situation of dependency such as this,she hated the fact that she would have to ask him to drop her off.

He didn't wait for her to ask,however,he just simply pulled his car key out from his back pocket and walked over to where she stood and opened the door for her.

She thanked him for the gesture and walked outside,he was trailing her from behind. He locked the door and followed her to the car, pressing a button on the key to open up the car.

She got in and a few seconds after she was seated,he got in as well and closed the door of the car. He handed over the contract document to her and she collected it,thanking him. Cilia was yet to come pick it up.

He started the ignition before pulling the car out of her compound onto the road,relying once again on the car's mapping system for directions.

He drove silently for a while,neither party speaking to one another and Lionel felt like he was in an odd situation so he decided to start a conversation.

"So,when are we going to see your father, my new father in-law?", he asked in a light tone.

Jema who didn't like that he addressed her with such clauses,frowned when she heard what he said.

" We are not really married Lionel,remember,this is for the time being,I don't want you addressing me using such tone ever again",she replied instead,authoritatively.

Lionel wanted to say something as a retorting statement but he decided to keep mute and said nothing.

Jema straightened in her chair when she felt like her message had been passed across effectively.

"About going to see my father,we would be going later this evening,the only downside is that I wasn't able to think of a decent profession for you", she said,nibbling her bottom lip.

Lionel wanted to ask what was wrong with the profession he already had but he kept mute on what she said as well,trying to obey her wishes.

She looked at him when he didn't respond.

" So you have any ideas?",she asked pestering him.

He still kept quiet and ignored her question, keeping his focus locked in the road.

She furrowed her brows when he still didn't reply,it was odd of him since he had been chatting merrily all morning.

"Lionel?", she called and he slowly turned to face her before returning his gaze to the road.

" Come on Lionel,is this about what I just said,you know exactly what I meant, I didn't mean for you to keep mute",she said but he still didn't reply her. His face regained the stoic composure it had the first time she saw him and she didn't like it.

She pressed her lips in a straight line,frustrated by his stubborn behaviour and turned to face the road when she realised that he might never let up.

He continued driving silently and they arrived at her office complex after a while. He parked in front of the complex before opening up the door for her silently. She looked at him once again.

"Come pick me by four in the evening", she said sighing before leaving the car into the building.

Lionel closed the door and smiled as he watched her walk away. Then his phone beeped and a message appeared on his screen.

His smile disappeared on reading the content of the message and was replaced by a cold,blood hungry glare.

Jema walked into the building with her usual authoritative demeanour. She knew that her employees had heard of her escapades but she didn't mind. She just ignored all the prodding eyes and walked to the elevator.

She was about to walk into her office when her personal assistant,Jim,approached her.

" Uhm,Miss Malteng, there is a situation that arose this morning",she said following her into her office.

Jema placed her bag on the office desk before sitting on her chair.

"And what might that be", she asked wondering what might have sprung up to have and taken priority on her schedule.

Her personal assistant looked at her,unsure of the perfect way to tell the situation at hand to her employer.

" Three of our company's main business partners have withdrawn their stakes from the major ongoing project",she said in one go,clutching her files to her chest as quickly as she said it.

Jema looked at Jim in shock,she hadn't expected what she had just said.

"What!,What complaint did they file concerning the project to have made them withdraw under such a very short notice", she said,feeling herself tense up by the horrible news she had just received.

Jim couldn't bring herself to sy the reason but instead scampered through the file in her hands,drawing out a document and placing it on her boss's desk.

Jema took the file and quickly opened it,really wanting to know what her company had done wrong.

Her face darkened on reading the contents in the document and her breathing pace increased. She had only read the first few lines and she already knew the main reason for their withdrawal.

She raised her head up to look at Jim who faced the floor on noticing her raised head.

" This complaint is based on impulse,it's preposterous, unprofessional,simply irrational",she said,her voice raised and she stood up from her chair,running her hand through her hair.

"How can they base professional matters on media gossip", she said pointing to the document on her table.

She turned her back at Jim,still racking her hand through her hair,thinking of a way out of this mess. If news like this circulated,her company would be ruined as other investors might also withdraw their stakes.

She shook her head not believing that something like this could be happening to her. She had been in several controversial situations in the past regarding her relationships.

Her last relationship being her worst. She had been so open to her ex boyfriend, Bill that she his absolutely nothing concerning anything from him. He had however betrayed her by withdrawing millions from her company's account in her name and disappearing.

Then,her father had been active so he found a way to manage the situation. She had been so remorseful and vowed never to have anything to do with men until now and now this happened.

She looked back at her Jim.

" Place a call to them,tell them I would like to speak to them virtually ",she said and Jim pressed her lips into a straight line.

" I already have miss and they...they put you on their waiting list,they said I should call tomorrow afternoon",she said and Jema allowed a groan to escape her lips.

She went over to her chair and sat down,her head flung backward and her fingers tapping the desk.

"Okay then,postpone all my meetings for this morning and all documents that need to be signed should be scheduled for Monday", she said and looked away.

Jim wanted to ask questions but reserved it to herself.

" Yes Miss Malteng ",she said and left the office as quickly as she could.

She relaxed into her chair and closed her eyes and on opening it,her eyes caught the contract on the desk.

She suddenly remembered Cilia, she hadn't come pick it up yet. She reached for her bag to withdraw her phone, when she heard a knock on her door.

She looked at the door and asked the person knocking to come in. Cilia opened the door and stepped in walked to the front of her desk in a haste.

" I'm so sorry Miss Malteng, you know I am not normally this unprofessional,there was a...",she paused when Jema raised her hand.

"Save it,I am not in the mood for excuses right now,just take it and leave,...and also, can you also get me a spot in the state's marriage registry list tomorrow afternoon", she said and Cilia nodded her head.

" And Cilia,I beg of you,no hiccups whatsoever,please",she said and turned away from her. Cilia took that as a dismissal and left the office.

Jema sighed,thinking of her next line of action. She picked up her phone that she had placed on the desk and dialed Lionel's number.

The line rang for a while but he didn't pick up. She called him again, and this time he hung up. Jema stared at her phone,she didn't understand why he wasn't picking up her calls.

She had decided to go see her father earlier and to finalise the processes for her marriage,by making it known to the world.

When she saw that her calls weren't going through,she decided to call the only person that she knew might be able to get across to him,Adam.

She dialed his number and he picked up with a few rings.

"Miss Malteng, so glad that you called me again...",

"I need my car,you promised I would receive it today", she cut in.

"One of my boys should be parked in front of your office tower by now", he said and she stood up to verify by checking through the window,it was indeed there.

" I've seen it Mr Adam,thank you,send me your account details and the bill..",

"No,no Miss Malteng,you don't need to,I would deal with everything for Lionel",he said and Jema thanked him.

She wondered what exactly Lionel was to him to make him go through all the trouble.

She took her handbag and headed to the elevator. She got to the last floor and left the building in a haste. She saw a young man leaning on her car. He greeted her when he saw her approach and she thanked him as he handed her the key before taking his leave.

She entered the car and zoomed off to her house wondering what Lionel might be up to. She arrived at her house moments later and hurriedly got down from her car.

She didn't know why she was in such a haste,she just found herself hurrying. She brought out her spare key from her bag and opened up the door.

She walked inside and called for him but she didn't receive a reply. She checked round the whole house but there was no sign of him,in fact,it didn't look like he came back to the house at all.