CHAPTER Fourteen

Raymond's POV

The plane rides through the clouds, finally it lands on the run way and comes to a stop. Exhaustion washed over Me. I staggers down the stairs, the air hostess his support. The cloud was dark, the moon hung up above the horizon. Its soft rays brushing on the floor. I went into one of the rooms in the hotel and collapsed on the sofa.

The cool breeze from the Ac washed me,I and I felt refreshed. I moved to the television and tuned to my favorite program.

I lay there, eyes heavy, watching the television as my mind slowly drifted into slumber. I felt myself sinking into the cozy warmth of sleep, my body relaxing as my eyelids grew heavy. The television played in the background, but my mind was already drifting off to dreamland.

A loud, shrill bell pierced through the silence, jolting me awake from my slumber.

"Who the heck is that?" I muttered, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

"Sir, your ride is ready," a tiny female voice said from outside the door.

"Don't you guys ever sleep?" I grumbled, my voice still hoarse with sleep. I rose from the bed and headed to the bathroom, letting the warm water from the shower cascade down his body. The water gradually washed away the last traces of sleep from my limbs, and I felt myself becoming more alert. He dresses up and heads out. He felt no need to eat food.

I stepped into the elevator and the metallic box descended to the lower earth. I didn't notice the Italian man that was with him in it. My mind was reeling in thoughts. How would he rebuild the company to fit his taste? How was Roselle coping? Even if I wanted revenge, I couldn't shake off the love he had for her.

Roselle's a girl who gets manipulated by riches. If I forgave her, how certain was I that Roselle was Inlove with me and not his fortune? She craves a high class life. A life, higher than her earnings. Her taste for expensive things is unending.

Ping! The sound of the elevator drags me to reality. The elevator had just reached the last floor. I came down and moved out, ignoring the greetings of the receptionists and workers. I climbs into his ride and zooms off, weaving through traffic.

" Traffic! " the driver said, his voice barely audible.

" What's wrong? " I asked. my brow furrowing. It was obvious that there was traffic. The last time I checked, there was less traffic.

" There's traffic. I think we would waste a few minutes, perhaps hours here." The driver replies.

"An hour?!" I exclaimed, my expression a mixture of surprise and annoyance. I hated traffic, and the thought of being stuck in it for an hour was less than appealing. The minutes dragged on as we inched forward, and what felt like an eternity later, the traffic finally started to clear. The car engine purred back to life, and we began to race towards the office.

I arrived at the office to find everyone working away, seemingly unfazed by my arrival. My presence didn't seem to disrupt the flow of work, and I couldn't help but admire the sense of order and efficiency. It was impressive, to say the least. But there was one nagging question on my mind: who were they working for? I hadn't given them any banking information since I took ownership of the company. Was someone else pulling the strings?

"Hello, Mr. Raymond," a voice said from behind me. I turned to see who it was.

I turned around to see the detective who had arrested Roselle's father standing behind me. I couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding.

"I know what you're thinking," he said with a knowing smile. "You want to know who they're working for, right?"

"How did you get in here?" I asked, trying to mask my confusion. I wasn't sure how he had managed to enter the building, and it made me uneasy.

"Why don't we take a seat in my office?" he suggested, his smile still fixed in place.

I bristled at his nonchalance. "What are you smiling about?" I snapped, trying to keep my anger in check. "If you don't tell me how you claimed my company, I'll make you suffer the same fate as Roselle's family," I threatened, my voice growing louder and more intense.

"I don't want to cause a scene here," he said calmly, refusing to rise to my anger. "Let's go to my office, where we can discuss this in private." His smile never faltered, and his voice remained even and controlled.

My anger bubbled beneath the surface, but I knew I needed to keep my composure. I followed him into his office, which was spacious and immaculately clean. Everything in the room seemed to be polished to perfection, and the decor was impressive. Despite my best efforts to remain calm, my mind was racing with questions.

I had never been to the office before. I had simply claimed ownership, and now I was being confronted by this man, who was sitting across from me, smiling like he had no care in the world. It was a surreal and almost comical situation, but I couldn't find it funny. I was filled with a mix of anger and confusion.

He sat down in the chair across from me, still wearing that infuriating smile. He didn't say a word, and I felt like I was about to burst with frustration.

" I'm sorry for the inconveniences I caused... " before he could end his statement, I shot at him my anger.

" Move straight to the point pal. Your appologizes are baseless. "

He smiled and continued.

" Roselle's father wanted to reclaim the company due to your absence. I didn't want to disturb your get together with your father. I had to act fast and I told him you appointed me to take care of the company in your absence. "

His words melted my resolve.He was actually looking out for me. The disgrace wasn't necessary. He did what a friend would do.

"And what about the money that was generated in my absence?" I asked, trying to hide my embarrassment.

"It's all been put into an account in your name," he said, still wearing that frustratingly friendly smile. "I can transfer it to you as soon as possible."

I wasn't sure how to feel. Part of me was still angry, but another part of me was feeling a bit guilty for my outburst. I wasn't used to feeling this kind of conflict of emotions.

"Please do it immediately," I said, giving him my account number. I felt bad about the way I had behaved. Why had I snapped at him like that? I felt ashamed.

" I want to apologize For…" before I could finish, he cut me off.

"I appreciate your apology," he said. "But you don't have to feel bad. I know you were just concerned about your company. I think any CEO would have reacted the same way in your position."

He laughed, and I couldn't help but smile back. Maybe I had overreacted, but I was still glad he hadn't taken it personally. I received an alert. At Least he wasn't a fraud.

"I should be going," he said, rising to his feet and heading for the door. It would be rude not to thank him, but I wasn't sure what to say.

"Wait," I called after him. "I'm sorry, but I can't let you go without saying thank you."

He turned back, his face open and friendly. "You don't need to apologize," he said. "I'm just glad I could help."

As he opened the door, I blurted out, "I want to offer you a job! Please come work for me!"

The look on his face was priceless. He raised an eyebrow, clearly taken aback. "Thank you for the offer," he said, "but I'm happy where I am. I love being a detective, and I don't want to give that up."

"Are you sure?" I asked. "I could really use your skills. And I'd pay you well. Think about it, okay?"

He shook his head. "I appreciate the offer, but I'm happy where I am." With that, he walked out the door and was gone.

How dare he decline Such offer? I'd pay handsomely. His intellect would help in this firm. Well, he must walk for me. Definitely.

I picked up my phone and called the chief police.

" Hello. I want the current inspector that helped catch those goons to be sacked from work today. I've forgotten his name. I'll pay handsomely. " With that, I hung up the call.

I moved around the company, supervising the works and to my amazement, the workers performed excellently.

Bored of staying in the company, I entered into my car and zoomed off. I wanted to get a rest.

The ride was a very peaceful one as we wove through the traffic.

Few kilometers from the hotel I stayed, my car ran into a lady.

" You bloody fool! " I yelled at the driver as I got down, to see Roselle lying in pull of blood.