The next morning Elliot left for his work after we had breakfast and I was left home, all alone with my thoughts. Mother had gone to a last-minute meeting with her client who was showing her the site which needed some refurbishing. Dad went to do dad things. Elliot went to his factory.
And I have nowhere to go.
That thought makes me laugh.
Imagine!
In my world, I was the busiest person. If I were to invent a term for myself, I would say 'hustle-a-holic' and now, I was so free.I feel so creative instead of gloomy. It feels like a vacation to me.
I think back to my project of making mini-nuclear reactors and means of cleaner methods of electricity generation. A thought crosses my mind which dampens my mood. Fear of getting deceived and my ideas being stolen by someone, slipping inside my brain. How naive I was, trusting James with my future goals and ambitions. I know he holds reliable information that can crush my dreams if he were to act with ill intentions which I do not doubt that he would.
I know I have been sacked from N.N.P.O. and I no longer owe my allegiance to that institution so it should not be my business to try and find who has been stealing uranium, but I can't help but wonder that the person stealing it as well as the one trying to ruin my life, could be same.
Anybody who is not your friend does not have good intentions for you in their head. Either they have no intentions, or they have ill intentions, it's always one out of them.
It's about time I made a conversation with Mr. Robert Wright. He is my lawyer after all.
For now, I need to work on my true calling, nuclear physics and for that, I require a laptop. Since I had no chance of bringing my belongings along with me, I am left to borrow them from my father.I take my phone out of the pocket of my mid-thigh, muddy brown colored dress shirt that I was wearing. I called him and waited till he picked it up.
"Charlotte?" He greeted me with my name. He's busy. His tone tells me that.
"Dad, I needed a laptop. Is there any that I can use?" I ask him, getting straight to the point.
"Yeah sure. Do you like any of them specifically?" He asked me.
"I don't know a lot about them, dad. I'll be fine with any," I answered him honestly.
"Okay. Tell me what kind of work you want to do?"
"Umm..I'll be using some heavy tech apps on it," I tried to tell him in basic English. I don't think he would understand the scientific terminologies if I started explaining everything to him in detail.
"Would that account for fast work or slow work?"
"Extremely fast," I answered without thinking.
"Alright. Then pick the white Dell Inspiron 15, 5510. It'll be best suited for your work."
"I thought you would tell me to choose Apple," I replied while picking up the laptop from the drawer where Inspiron was written. Geez! Dad names them all!
"Nah. Apple's good. But some features are better in Dell. Enjoy working," he tells me and I hear ruffling on the other side of the phone.
"I see you're busy, dad. I'll leave you to it."
"Yes. If you need any help in working on that laptop, feel free to call me. It's pretty advanced," he offers.
"Thanks, Dad," I say and cut the call.
I snort after ending the call.
If this shit is advanced, he hasn't seen the things that I work with at N.N.P.O.
Used to work, I reminded myself.
Funny, it doesn't even hurt to say that. It's almost like I'm relieved to get out of that place.
I fire up the laptop.
Okay, time to fill it with pirated apps, junk software, and virus-laden programs. Let's test the metal this laptop is made of!
I didn't realise how soon the time had passed, my eyes catching the timing on the bottom of the screen. It was already noon.
"Wow, you know how to welcome somebody home," I hear my Dad's voice as he enters the gallery. I was sitting and working on the table in the centre that we keep in the waiting gallery usually for visitors.
I remove the spectacles from my face.
"I didn't know you wore them," dad says as he joins me on the table, grabbing one of the only two chairs by the table.
"I don't. These are just to cancel out the blue light from the screen," I tell him.
"Laptops have that protection already on their screens," he banters.
"I know Dad. Extra protection never killed anyone," I shoot back.
He raises his hand's mid-air.
"So what is this that you're working on? It's like papers rained down on you," he looks at the papers surrounding me that I had been scribbling on.
"Sorry, dad. I stole your stuff," I say before arranging them in order to show him what I was doing.
He opens his mouth in shock, "what kind of a terrible daughter you are! Stealing papers and pens from your father. I should disown you for it!"
I look at him in shock and start to laugh. He had a point.
"Don't be stupid Charlotte. Everything in this house is yours," he replied with a smile as he pulled the file of papers towards himself. He sat straight with his nose into the file, eyes taking in the notes.
With each passing second, I can see his facial expression change from curiosity to pride.
"So you are developing technology and what I understand is that...say electricity is your product that you will be selling...at a subsidised rate to the people directly and later on you will give its franchises in different countries and obviously if it does well, government authorities would want in on it. So, you plan to make it worldwide?" He sums it up in the best way that he could.
A smile breaks out on my face.
"So what do you think?" I ask him, my lips clipped together.
"Brilliant but very, very, very, hard to do. And a very long journey," he says, a smile rolls on his lips too.
I know then, that he sees my vision.
"Two years old, dad. Just two years. I promise you I will change the world."
Either the world will change me or I will change it.
"When did you become so intelligent?" He says but the surprise that shines through his eyes warms my heart.
"Why so condescending dad?" I called him out.
He lightly smacks me on the back of my head, "ow! What was that for?"
"My intelligent daughter can't understand how proud I am of her!" He compliments me.
My cheeks turn red because I am not used to all of this. But it feels good.
"I know my line of work doesn't match yours but I understand good business when I see it. If you need any help, just say it. You have your whole family's backing now. Do whatever you want to. We'll be the first family to show that nepotism is not always about keeping the money in the family but also about collectively earning it to do better for the society that we live in. After all good genes will always be passed down," he says and gets up to go to his study after patting me on the head.
It was nearing 1'o o'clock. I decided to call Elliot because I missed him.
"Hello," it was a woman's voice.
Oh!
"Hi," I replied unsurely.
"I wanted to talk to Elliot. Is this his number?" I inquired. I wondered if I had dialled the wrong number but it was impossible because I had saved his contact and I have called him so many times before on this very specific number. So who is this woman?!
"Oh yes. I'm his mother. He got sick and he's asleep right now." His mom had a sweet voice.
"Oh, Mrs. Walters, I hope he gets better," I say, guilt seeping into my stomach. He got sick because of me!
"I am Charlotte. I....work with your son," I decided to play it safe with his mom because how am I to say anything to her when he hasn't told her about me? I don't hold him accountable for anything because I know we weren't in a position where he could tell her about me.
"Did you need him for anything," his mother bought it.
"Yes, I wanted to ask him about the design that he had me working on," I made up a lie right on time.
"Is it urgent?" she asks me tiredly. I could sense the tension of a mother for being put in a spot where she was under a conflict of putting her son first or her son's work first.
"He said-it was a fleeting idea," my tone suggests that if he wasn't informed about this project then it would be a discoursed matter, and luckily for me, his mother knew how much her son's work meant to him.
"Is that so? Well then you must come here and inform him about your progressions," resignation was clear in her voice. She had just made a very tough decision as a mother.
"Thank you," I exhale a large breath after placing the phone down.
I clutch my chest while reclining against the chair.
Mother of unicorns, I just talked to Elliot's mother.
I rashly fly across the stairs towards my room. I slide past the bed to my closet. After opening it, I make haste in finding something to my appropriateness. I hated these clothes!
This was the first time; I was missing my place in the two days that I have been here.
I end up wearing a loose baggy Gucci sweatshirt with baggy pyjama pants.
"Dad, I have a business meeting. I'll be back in some hours," I shouted while exiting the house.
"Be back before ten," he shouts back.
I can't help but laugh as I shake away the old man's comment. He forgets I am not a teenager anymore but anyway I will return before ten because I don't think Elliot's mother being at home and her not knowing anything about us is going to allow me to stay over there for a longer time than half an hour. So I should expect myself to be back in an hour at the max.
***
As I pulled my G wagon in front of his house, the first thing that I noticed this time was the number of RITZ-ELTY cars that dotted the long driveway. This time, the driveway felt like one because the last time that I drove here, this area was so dead that it felt like a simple road.
Men dressed in black waved in front of me to stop my car.
Does he even have bodyguards now?
I pulled the windows down, " I have come here to see Mr. Elliot." I inform them.
As soon as the guards saw my face, their mouths were left open but the one who appeared higher in rank than the other one closed his mouth pretty soon, flipping back to his no-nonsense demeanour.
He backed off and waved his hand at the watchman to let me in. I felt my cheeks heat up in humiliation. Ever since the series of catastrophic events have rained down on my life and vicious media has left no stone unturned in tarnishing my public image, I always feel like everybody has formed the worst notions about me in their minds. I imagine for it to be real that the guard judged me.
I enter his house and I am blown away by the changes. His house is on point with the furniture, I must say. I see a lady in the centre of the room, giving orders to the numerous men and women. Her powerful body language informed me that that must be his mother.
As soon as she catches my sight, her face looks perplexed. I think my choice of clothing confused her. She walks towards me, her gaze travelling from the Skechers in my feet to my baggy clothes. As soon as her sight lands on the snake of Gucci, a look of satisfaction reveals on her face.
The woman loves her brands. It gave me an odd feeling. She was judging me by type of clothing, I was judging her by my understanding.
"You must be his assistant?" She began the conversation.
I know she wasn't purposefully trying to belittle me but the fact that she assumed that I was an assistant to him irked me. I decided to flip it away because how was she to know that her son and I had signed a business deal?
"No. I am an engineer and I work on this project with him," I smile and tell her.
Her proud demeanour and next words vividly confirm the type of person she is, "you mean you are an engineer for him, in his company?" She asks as she glares at me, daring me to counter her claim.
Oh! But I dare. She chose a wrong day to mess with the wrong person, I think to myself.
"No ma'am. I work with him. If you don't believe me, you can ask your son to confirm that for you. I'm sure he won't mind," I challenge her. My eyes speak the language of my heart and the smile on my lips follows my brain. My heart dislikes her and my brain tells me to be jolly with her because she is his mother after all.
"Why do you lie, child?" She laughs off my statements as she swipes them away from her brain.
I no longer wish to change a narrow-minded woman's brain who thought that if his son was the richest person in the world, all the other people working with him were working for him.
"Can I meet him? I'm afraid I'm running out of time, I have other matters to attend to," I say and look her sharply in the eyes.
She locks her eyes with mine and the scowl on her face tells me that she thinks I am a fraud, impersonating someone that I'm not.
"You can meet him- on one condition," she says as she folds her arms in front of her chest.
I raise an eyebrow at her.
"I will stay inside the room."
"Alright," I answered. This cunning woman didn't believe me at all and wanted the last laugh. She wanted to see Elliot treat me like a regular employee.
Now everything depends on Elliot. Hopefully, he won't let me down.
She leads me to his room. As she opens the door, I see that his room is pretty much the same. My eyes landed on his sleeping body which was underneath the mountain of grey velvet comforter. My feet understood what my eyes saw and started walking on their own towards him. Till my eyes won't capture his face, my feet won't stop.
As his face came into my view, my heart sped faster. I was feeling two emotions. I was annoyed at his mom for being in the room and I was feeling guilty now that I had to wake him up for nothing. All I wanted to do was snuggle up to him and take care of him.
"Step away. I will wake him up," his mother spoke, as she took her place next to him on the bed.
"Honey, wake up. Your assistant is here to talk to you regarding some urgent work," she cooed at him, making me roll my eyes. This coy woman!
I can't help but find his mom infuriating!
He's going to hate me for not liking his mom!
He groans and turns straight. His hand reaches his forehead and he rubs it a few times over his eyes and sits up straight. Still rubbing his eyes and groaning softly, he says, "my assistant is on a vacation, mom." He looks up after saying that and the expression that crosses his face makes me want to dance like a ballerina.
"Baby," he says and opens his arms for me to come closer to him. I giggle at his childishness and start to move closer to him but I am forced to cease my movements because of his mother.
"Elliot?! Stop this madness! I think the fever has gotten to your head! You can't be cheating on your wife with this homeless girl and that too in front of your mother! Do you have no shame?!" His mother scolds him, her anger directed at the obnoxiousness of the scene that she was faced with.
Before Elliot could respond, I gave her a share of my mind as I started to talk without a filter, "do you wish he cheated on his wife behind your back with this homeless girl who wears Gucci pants to meet your son when he's sick when his so-called wife- wait she isn't even his wife yet--she hasn't even bothered to come here?!"
Her mother looks at me with wide eyes. Disbelief laced her face as the colours on her face were wiped by my outburst, "would you allow her to embarrass me like this, Elliot? I am your mother," she starts the same old emotionally-blackmailing-the-son trick to get him to hate his girlfriend.
I cross my arms, ready to accept Elliot's disapproval.
"Mother, I would find her at fault if I believed she was rude to you first. How can I be angry at her, when you started this?" He pleads softly with his mom.
His words show me how mature he is in reality. Till now, I was just viewing him as a confused boy but maybe he needs some guidance.
"You believe her? Over me?" She still sticks to feigning disbelief.
"I only believe what I see, mom," he answers her honestly.
"I raised you better than to be a cheater," she blames him. I roll my eyes. Just when she was going to get caught in her dramatic lies, she tried to guilt trap him knowing full well that he is a man of honour. Well, I won't let him get played by another woman again.
"I am not a cheater. I was going to call off my wedding with her, but my bad luck, I got sick," he says. I can hear the guilt in his tone. I decided to question him about that later.
"And this girl? You could've chosen a girl of better status. Look at the way she dresses, not at all ladylike. She's not even a professional. She should know how to dress when one is going to meet their boss," his mother scoffs, giving me a disgusted look.
"I think you should tell her that she could've chosen a man of better status because I cannot even begin to tell you mom, how much this woman has done for me," he looks at me with starry eyes. I smile and nod at him, letting him know that I appreciate the way he has stood up for me.
An agitated look crosses his face," and what is this boss-assistant that you've been constantly talking about?! She is Charlotte Jones, a nuclear scientist, Nobel prize winner, with extraordinary expertise in automobile machinery, and owner of two companies, one of them being the biggest smartphone seller of the year. The same phones that all of us have. Including you."
His mother is frozen on the bed like someone said freeze on her. The poor woman forgot to breathe with all the information thrown at her.
"What sort of magic has she done on you?" She scoffed at him as she rubbished his declaration of feelings for me.
"Only the best kind. Her magic has saved me," he looks at me with the biggest smile on his face. He was joy and I was wonderstruck by it.
"She has bewitched you for your money," she continues to rot our magical moment with her sour words.
"She's dressed in clothes worth hundreds of thousands of dollars that she bought with her own money and yet you believe me that she would want to be with me for my money," he tells her politely. He's so calm about this whole situation.
I can't stop myself from cutting in, "I was coming here to meet my man, not my business partner. I'm dressed just fine. And don't imagine me begging for your approval, I will wear what I want."
Now it's Elliot's turn to look at me. The proud gleam that is reflected in his eyes when I call him my man is going to be the achievement for my whole life that I was the one who made him feel that way.
"Enough. I want this girl out, Elliot. Right now," his mother stands up while throwing the ultimatum at us.
"I can't," his voice cracks. I walked fast to give him a glass of water that was on the table by his bed. I handed it to him. As he takes it from my hand, he gives me a thankful smile that makes me feel really special. I'm flabbergasted at the longing for care that I see hidden behind his eyes. He appreciates the small efforts that I make for him telling me that I am the first one to do this for him. My heart aches for him and beats for him at the same time.
Frankly, his mother's threat just doesn't have as much weight and effect as she imagined.
"Mother, please don't make me do this. I have given her my word to stay by her side for life. You taught me never to go back on my word. How can I forget something that you taught me just because you don't approve of it?" He tells her, his voice confident and smooth after drinking water.
His mother's jaw clicks and she locks her lips.
"When keeping the word is the only choice, only choose it. If it requires you to die for it, sacrifice anything and yoirself gladly without any regret," Elliot says while looking at his mom.
As his mom hears the words, her eyes start watering and she blinks her eyes to blink away those tears. It seems like the words that Elliot chanted had some hidden meaning behind them.She places her hand on his cheek and bids him an emotional adieu.
"I still don't like you. My eyes are still on you. If you break his heart or try to use him in any way, I will not let you live in peace for the rest of your life," she whispers into my ear as she hugs me. She pulls me in tight, showing her son that she has accepted me but only I know the truth.
Well, I will keep a lady's promise. This conversation will stay between us. At that moment, I promise myself that she will be the one to tell Elliot about this warning that she gave me along with the changed opinion that sometime in the future I am the best daughter-in-law she could ever have.
***
Author's note
Feel free to point out any mistakes.
Feel free to give me notes.
Have fun!
Please bear with the unbearable mother. She's just a concerned mother or a clever vixen, you never know 🤣😂
My favourite line----
"He was joy and I was wonderstruck by it"
Luv, Leena ❤❤
Bye-bye, until next time.