Chapter 24

As she walked into her home the next day, Rita answered to greetings from the workers. She was glad to be home. Rodrigo and her spent a lot of time in the private place the previous day, talking about how best she was to inform her father.

"Hey Dad", Rita beamed.

Her father was sitting on a reclined chair, going over the morning's paper. He looked up and when he saw his daughter, he smiled.

"Darling, how are you? How was your trip", he said, sitting up.

Rita took the seat beside him, placing her clutch purse on a nearby table. She stared at her father and couldn't help but give a sad sigh. Her father was getting on in years and it was evident from his behavior.

" How are you, where's mum?",she asked.

"She's fine. Went to gossip with Senator Brabra's wife yesterday evening, I'm expecting her this morning", he said.

"Okay. Father, there's something I would like to discuss with you. That's why I came this early before you go out", she said.

Sensing his daughter's change of mood, Lawrence sat up, putting his paper away. He knew that from the look on her face, it was a serious issue.

"I'm all ears child, go on", he said.

Rita began narrating all that she had discovered. She left Edmundo's name behind because she wanted to deal with him personally.

For several minutes, Lawrence remained quiet, mulling over her words. He fisted his hands as anger took over him. For many years he struggled to build his empire and when it was at it's success stage, someone decided it was best to rub him off his hard work and profit. No, this was too much for Lawrence to bear.

People who were really familiar with him knew that the patriarch easily forgave but when it comes to something that would affect his empire, he was a tiger who neither forgave nor forget.

Gabriel Roland had just drawn the line with the elder state man and there was way he could escape from it as Lawrence Anderson already had his eyes on him.

"Father, please say something. You're scaring me", Rita said.

She didn't like the look on her father's face. She knew her father could be ruthless when it comes to his business but the look on his face now was one of pure hell.

"Call a meeting of the board members by ten a.m sharp tomorrow. I won't really have time today as I need to see the Senator at the golf club. I don't want Gabriel there", he said.

Rita didn't expect the meeting but she nodded nevertheless. She didn't have the stomach to argue with her father especially since he was tensed up.

"Okay Dad, I'll do just that. Please, you need to calm down. I'm happy we got the culprit, it's left for us to deal with him", Rita said, giving his hands a gentle squeeze.

That seemed to calm the patriarch down as he smiled at his daughter, squeezing her hands back. He got up from his seat, leaving her there. Rita sighed as she watched him leave, noticing the slight stoop in his back.

Few minutes later, she left the house heading to her office. When she got into the car, Rodrigo droved off.

Rita remained quiet for a long while, staring out of the window. Rodrigo looked through the rear view mirror, wondering what was going on in her mind.

"You okay?",he said, quietly.

"I will be when this whole fiasco is over", she said.

"What did your father say?"he asked.

Rita narrated all that had happened between her and her father. Thinking about it now, a cold shudder ran down her spine. Her father had been known to kill before and Rita feared that he might do the same to Gabriel. Though the rumours about it weren't confirmed, deep down Rita knew that some of it might be true. Even though he might not be directly involved, he had people at his neck and call, ready to do his bidding.

Rita shuddered, thinking about the power her father held. Another thing that creeped up her mind was him going to see the Senator. She didn't want Edmundo to have any idea of what was going on. If her father informed the Senator, she was sure that Edmundo would get wind of it too.

"Rita... Rita", Rodrigo shouted.

Rita jerked, suddenly realising that Rodrigo had been calling her name. She smiled, squeezing his shoulder from the back seat.

"I'm sorry, I spaced out a bit", she smiled.

"Come back to me sugar girl, I don't like the way you're thinking about this", he said.

"I'll be fine Rodrigo, trust me", she said.

"Okay", he said.

"What did your father say concerning the issue", he said.

"He instructed me to call a board meeting over this issue tomorrow morning. But Rodrigo, I'm scared. I fear what he'll do to Gabriel. My father could be ruthless at times especially when it comes to his business", she said.

Rodrigo pulled up in front of the reception, turning back to grab her hands. He gave it a gentle squeeze, silently reassuring her that all would be well.

"Gabriel is already guilty. There's no use feeling sorry for him, he stole from you. Imagine all these years when we didn't know what was happening and now that we know, I think it's time for him to face the punishment".

"But what about Edmundo, he needs to be punished too but I don't want my dad to know about it, I want to deal with him in my own way before I finally hand him over to my Dad", Rita said.

"One step at a time baby, one step at a time. We'll figure everything out bit by bit, trust me", he said.

Rita sighed, some of her worries ebbing away. She gave his hands a gentle squeeze, loving how considerate and thoughtful he was.

"I'll be working really late today, I need to catch up on all the work I've missed. Please, you don't need to wait on me, I'll drive myself home", she said.

"No way in hell am I leaving you to yourself. Whenever you're done, I'll wait for you", he said.

"But what about your mother, she needs you".

"Don't worry about it love. Thanks to you, she can take care of herself now", he smiled.

"Okay, thank you. I won't stay up so late because of you".

"Take all the time you need, I'll be here waiting".

Rita smiled, giving him a passionate kiss. She held on to his jacket, loving the way he made her feel, strong and powerful.

He bit her lower lip, gaining more entrance into her mouth. Rita moaned, tangling his hair within her hands.

Unknown to them, a camera flashed, taking pictures of the scene.