Not On Her Watch!
1108 Words
As she paces around the apartment, she wishes to all of the deities out there that the news she’s heard is completely NOT true.
It has to be a gossip that sprung up due to the messy end of yesterday’s wedding… but in all of her wishing and hoping, the pictures on the tabloid had not looked fake in no way. They were real, the duo holding hands, him pulling out a goddamn chair for her and they have a late lunch.
She is a workaholic and would never be caught out of the office anything before four pm on days she has appointments, but now? Elijah Richmond is toasting a glass of wine while she laughs at something he’d said?
Outrageous.
“Aren’t you worried about these rumors circulating around about Isla?” Anita Hall-Vale expresses, dropping the iPad in front of her ever busy husband.
Graham adjusts his glasses and pulls the screen closer, he reads the tabloid headline, taps each picture and as he does, his smile only get wider and wider. “Oh, to be young again. I envy them both, look how happy they are? It’s been a while since I’ve seen Isla laugh so brightly.” He comments, pushing back the IPad to her. “What seems to be the problem?”
Anita sighs heavily, “The wedding was just called yesterday. Yesterday! If things go south, she’ll be seen as promiscuous and as the one who cheated on that man with this one. Remember? She had specifically said that she had nothing to do with him at the reception? They would say she’s been lying and has really slept with Elijah Richmond.”
Graham turns to his wife, “Do you think she does not know that? Isla is one of the most intelligent ladies I know, not to talk about her being my daughter. And Elijah Richmond? He’s cool as far as I know, and I know a lot. You do not have to be worried about anything.”
“This could come back to bite her, and all of us in the backside.”
Graham laughs, not taking her seriously, “Honey, I am not trying to be funny here. If you don’t see a problem with that, what if because of this scandal, the shares of the company dips? That one would not be good at all.”
“Anita, you are bothering yourself a little too much about this.” Graham looks up, removing his glasses and setting them down on the table.
“But—”
Graham cuts her short by walking over to her. He pushes her gently into the chair he just stood up from and massages her shoulders gently.
“You really, really do not have anything to be worried about. I know you are just looking out for her happiness and I’m sure she’d appreciate it, but she’s a big girl now, capable of taking decisions and knowing the consequences that comes alongside it. It is all ok. Let me make you a cup of chamomile tea to calm you down.”
Anita chuckles, relegating her worries to the back of her head for the moment, “Don’t bother, I will make you coffee instead, I know how busy you are.”
Graham leans to her side and gives her a soft peck on the cheeks. “That’s why I love you so much.”
Anita chuckles and rises to her feet, grabbing the iPad on the table before exiting his study.
As soon as she gets to the kitchen, she puts in an espresso pod in the coffee machine and sets it up. It begins to whir softly in the background as she goes through the tabloid post all over again, and after that one, three more have sprung up, their headlines quite the sight.
“Daughter of Past President, Isla Hall-Vale and reclusive wealthy CEO, Elijah Richmond, caught together having laughs and lunch. Is this start of a new romance?” Anita reads out loud, her face contorting in discomfort and disgust.
She drops the screen quite harshly on the marble counter, reaching for her phone in her dress’s pocket.
“I know just what to do.” She checks her wristwatch before dialing. The line beeps three times before it’s picked up.
“Hello Mum!” An excited voice greets on the other hand, “You called at the perfectly right time. I just closed my last deal. I promised you a holiday right? I can fulfill that promise now. Where do you want to go?”
Anita waits impatiently for her to finish talking, “If you want to take me anywhere, come home and we’ll talk first. I have missed you so much, moreover I have a surprise waiting for you here. Just let me know when you will come over.”
“This is unfair Mum, you know I can’t handle my curiosity when it comes to surprises. Can’t you tell me what it is?”
“No, I can’t. Consider it my way of luring you home. And don’t worry, I am sure you will love my surprise.”
“Give me a hint then.”
Anita’s tight expression relaxes a little bit as she talks to her daughter, “When should I be expecting you?”
“Since I am done here, I can come over tomorrow. I’ll book my flight and let you know what the time estimate of my arrival will be. Please arrange for me to be picked up at the airport.”
“Sure Kelsey, I can’t leave my darling daughter hanging out in the sun after all.”
Kelsey laughs, “Alright, see you tomorrow Mum. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
Anita hangs up just as the coffee jug fills to its limit. She pours it into a cup, adds a spoon of sugar and sets it in a saucer. She takes it over to Graham, sets it beside him and pecks him on the cheeks before making her way out.
“It is not only your ‘darling’ daughter that will get everything. She already took the company from Kelsey’s hands, now it’s my daughter’s turn to take something from her. I will make it hurt as much as it did before.” She whispers out in the hall, picking up her phone to make yet another call.
“Yes ma’am?”
“Put me through to the tabloid that had published the news you sent to me earlier.”
Who, on earth, could refuse the order of the wife of a president? However past?
- Writer
