Trust.
1347 Words
"Will you abandon me if I tell you?" Brendan replied.
"No, I will not. I promise." Stephanie's heart raced in panic.
Brendan then took a deep breath. "Stephanie, I don't want you to leave if I tell you."
"Is it that serious?" she asked with a softened voice.
"Yes," he replied.
"Alright, then tell me what it is." She was seriously tensed, and her hands trembled slightly.
"I dated Melinda in the past."
"You mean you dated that evil stepsister of mine?" Her eyebrow furrowed deeply in anger.
"Yes, but I broke up with her because she was cheating on me. I became frustrated and began to have affairs with other women."
"So you dated both Melinda and Sharon?" she replied.
"Yes. I dated Melinda first before Sharon, but I broke up with Melinda because she was cheating on me."
"What of Sharon?"
"I dated Sharon after Melinda left my life, but Melinda could not fight me back then because I was dating her sister, and her mom was in support of it until they discovered that my dad had a fertility problem that can be hereditary."
"So now that you have broken up with both of them, Melinda now wants to fight back?"
"Yes, because my family doctor has given possible reasons that my father's heritable fertility problem can be cured."
"Okay, go on."
"So, when I broke up with Melinda, I didn't know that Melinda was secretly taking pictures and recording all my secret activities with other women."
Stephanie took a deep breath. "So, is she going to use it against you?"
"Yes. She sent me a text yesterday saying that if I don't leave you and go back to her, she will expose me." His eyes were shaking in doubt.
"So Melinda wants to marry James with her pregnancy and date you at the same time?"
"No. She told me that she plans to divorce James and abort her pregnancy to come back to me."
"She can't come back to you. It's late."
"Yes, she can't. I love you, but she still has my past in her hands," Brendan spoke.
"It's your past. You are a changed man, and the staffs are saying it."
"If she exposes me, I will lose my company, contracts, I will lose you, and also lose the trust and integrity of my customers," he replied.
Stephanie froze in shock. Her hands trembled.
"I will help you fight this. My talent in business will make this company grow." She tightened one of her hands in determination.
"Thank you for your trust." His heart softened.
"You don't need to thank me. I am always here to help you." Her cheek gradually widened a bit in smiles.
"There is one more thing." He took a deep breath as he closed his eyes for a second.
"What is it?"
"Your step mother Juliet is one of the managing directors of my company. She is presently on vacation and will resume next month because of her ill health." He looked into Stephanie's eyes as he tried to find doubt in her.
"That evil woman, you must remove her from the company. She doesn't belong there." Her eyes became wide as she raised her voice.
"I can't, because I inherited the company from my father, and it was my father that promoted her to that position."
"You have to do something really fast because I can't imagine myself working with that criminal." She stared downwards in worries.
"I promise she won't have a say in that company. We will be the ones in charge." He held the phone tightly as his eyes carried love and warmth.
"I believe your words." Her voice softened.
The next morning, Stephanie put on a red corporate office shirt and a black skirt that made her look attractive. Her transparent high heels clicked against the floor.
Her face was full of determination, fueled by vengeance.
When she got to the company, the place looked nice. The tiles, the decent environment, the cool air conditioners, and the elevators all made her feel she was coming to a better place.
She was directed to Brendan's office. She walked to the door and knocked.
Brendan said, "Come in."
As she entered, she saw Brendan looking like the CEO he was as he was seated. Brendan smiled at her appearance in his company.
His sweet smile softened her heart. She felt a deep relief from her pain.
"Good morning, sir," Stephanie greeted.
"No, don't call me sir. Call me Brendan or sweetheart."
"I will. Please, can I sit?"
"Yes, you can."
Stephanie sat on the chair opposite him. A flicker of hurt and sadness crossed her face.
"Why are you looking sad? Tell me what happened." His eyes furrowed.
"M-my company that my late father gave to me has been stolen by my boyfriend and Melinda." Little tears welled in her eyes as she tried to stop them.
Brendan stood up, walked toward her, and held her hands.
"We are in this together. I called you here to give you the job I promised."
"Thank you," Stephanie cut in.
"Alright. Because of what happened, you are going to be the head of admin," Brendan spoke.
Stephanie's eyes widened in surprise and shock. She blinked to see if it was a dream, but it was not. Her pain continued to heal as vengeance gradually came her way.
"Thank you so much." She stood up and hugged him tightly.
"You don't need to thank me. It's my responsibility," Brendan spoke.
After the hug, Brendan said, "Your salary is 100 thousand dollars monthly. I have increased it."
Stephanie took a deep breath. She felt excited. She looked at Brendan as her cheeks widened into a smile.
"I appreciate all what you are doing for me, my love." She gently held his face.
"You can use this to get back all what those people stole from you," he said.
Immediately, she remembered to call her lawyer, Robinson, to help her get back her properties.
She dialed Robinson's number several times, but it was switched off.
Suddenly, a message entered her phone. It was from her friend Valerie.
She said, "Steph, I saw your lawyer's dead body inside a canal."
She was shocked. Her face went pale instantly.
Brendan noticed the sudden change in her expression.
"What is bothering you?" he asked.
"My lawyer has been killed."
"What? I will help you get a good lawyer as long as you have witnesses in your company who can speak for you," he replied.
Her heart softened a little, but it was still aching with pain.
"Thank you darling." Her cheeks widened slowly.
"Let's go round my company so that I can introduce you to everyone." Brendan held her hands.
"Alright." She struggled to put herself together.
Brendan took Stephanie round his company that day. He called for a general meeting. It was held in a hall, and everyone was seated.
Brendan and his directors stood at the front of everyone.
"Good morning, everyone. I am here to introduce a new employee who just joined us." He paused as he looked at everyone's faces.
Everyone was anxious to know who the person was.
He continued, "Join me to welcome Laurent Stephanie. She is going to be your new head of admin."
Everyone began to clap with smiles on their faces. Some were not happy about it because she had been given a high position.
There was a woman named Lyla who was a close family friend of Jennifer and Juliet. Her face fell when she saw Stephanie standing beside her boss in front of everyone.
After the meeting, she planned to call Juliet to tell her what had happened at the company.
At Jennifer's apartment, James, Juliet, Matthew, and Melinda's sisters Veronica, Annabel, Clara, and Sharon were all in the sitting room.
Then Juliet's phone rang. A call from Lyla came in.
"Hello, good evening. How was work today?"
"It was fine. Something serious happened at the company today," Lyla spoke.
Tension settled between them.
"What happened? Tell me," Juliet asked.
- Writer
