Mr. CEO, I Cannot Be Hidden Anymore

Chapter 5

Amaka's POV:

I kept going with the rest of the day, working away, but I felt Simon's gaze on me all the time.

'Why was he always looking at me?' I wondered, but I didn't ask him.

My phone rang, and I unlocked it to see Maureen calling. She must've taken Jason to school by now, but I didn't want to chat about him here.

With Simon's scrutinizing eyes on me—and knowing Joseph was in his office, monitoring everything—it made me super uncomfortable.

"Hello, dear. I'll call you back later," I told Maureen, and she said, "Okay."

I glanced at Simon, and he frowned before looking away. I didn't get why he was frowning, but then the buzzer went off.

"It's break time," Simon told me, and I sighed. "Okay."

I turned off my laptop and stood up from my chair. "I think we're heading to the cafeteria, right?" I asked as he rose from his seat.

"Yeah. Or you can just request your meal here," he replied with a smile, and I nodded. "Fine. I'm still new, so I'll go to the cafeteria."

I left Simon's office, sucking in a deep breath of fresh air now that I wasn't under surveillance.

My whole day was ruined by running into my baby's dad.

How do I even tell him we have a kid? How could Joseph Ericson claim he doesn't know me?

Was four years really long enough to forget someone?

I tried not to sob as I walked ahead to the elevator to head down to the second floor.

When I got to the elevator, I stepped in and looked back, seeing Joseph step out of his office.

My heart skipped a beat, and I looked away from him, wanting to shut the door and leave, but the security guy told me to wait.

"Hmm," my eyes narrowed at the security man as Joseph came into the elevator and joined me on the way down to the second floor. We didn't say a word to each other. Luckily, there was a female staffer in there with us, and she seemed nervous too, being in the elevator with the boss.

Joseph had grown taller since the last time I saw him. No matter how hard I tried to look away, my eyes kept traveling to linger on him. But he didn't spare me a single glance. How ruthless was he?

Joseph walked out with perfectly measured strides, keeping his cool as he hit the second-floor hallway. The security guys greeted him as he stopped to chat with them, but I marched off, feeling upset that he was ignoring me.

That year of being pregnant. Going through the whole journey alone. The fact that my parents kicked me out.

I wanted to confront Joseph about all this—he couldn't just pretend he didn't know me.

I headed over to the counter and ordered my meal. They had free lunch, so I got a plate of jollof rice and fried chicken lap. It was one of my favorites.

As I turned to grab a seat in the cafeteria, I caught Joseph looking at me. But he quickly looked away when our eyes met.

I swear I saw that look of longing in his eyes. Joseph seemed lost for a second, like he was admiring me. But then he turned away from the security guy he'd been talking to and went to his seat.

I sat two chairs away from Joseph's seat, but his eyes were on me. Every time I looked over, though, he gazed away.

A waitress went over to serve Joseph's lunch—I didn't even know they had waitresses. Most staff just went up and ordered their own meals.

As I sat there alone, lost in my thoughts, I decided to talk to Maureen about this first before confronting Joseph again. He might've moved on, I guess—he was so obsessed with s*x back then. He kept pushing until I gave in, but everything changed after that night.

"Hi, may I join you for lunch?" Simon asked, snapping me out of it. I could feel Joseph's gaze on us, and some other guys in the cafeteria too.

Staff were coming and going. The place was huge.

"Sure," I told him, and he sat across from me.

"How's the meal?" he asked, and I smiled back.

"It's nice," I said, still feeling Joseph's eyes on us.

"Okay, glad you like it. So, can I get your personal number? Just to call after closing," Simon asked, and I looked at his face.

"Why? I don't need any calls," I replied, and he grinned.

"It's just a harmless check-in on my colleague. Nothing else," he said with a smile, and I nodded.

"Alright. I'll think about it. Maybe when we get back to the office, I'll give you my phone to add your number," I told him, and he smiled.

"Alright." Simon waved over a waiter to bring his lunch and ordered the same as mine. We sat there eating, and I finished my meal before getting up to head back to the office.

I could still feel Joseph's gaze on me, and I tried not to look at him.

I left the cafeteria and went back to Simon's office to sit in my chair. My mind was swirling with all sorts of thoughts.

I got back to work, helping advertise the company's new products online. I finished up all the new ones available and signed out. Then I grabbed my phone and signed into my son's account.

I scrolled through his photos and videos, remembering how Joseph denied even knowing me.

I didn't put on too much makeup, so why couldn't he remember?

Simon came back into the office, and I quickly signed out of Jason's profile, put my phone away in my bag, and waited until 5 p.m. when the company closed.

It wasn't a brand-new company after all. I'd thought they were just starting up, but this was a branch of their main head office on the island.

I thought about Maureen putting my son in school and her heading back to her husband's place.

They had traditionally gotten married yet, since he'd paid her dowry—all that was left was the church wedding.

Maureen wasn't obsessed with a big wedding, so she wanted to move in with her husband since he invited her.

She'd be packing the next day, and I wasn't sure if I should tell her about my mess or not.

Closing time hit, and Simon rose from his desk to come over. "I haven't forgotten about your number," he said. I agreed and took his phone.

I gave him my number, and he said he'd call tonight. I shook my head, grabbed my black handbag, and bolted from the office.

As I got out, thankfully Joseph wasn't around, so I headed to the elevator and left the building.

I looked around the parking lot—only three cars there. I sighed, looked ahead, and exited the premises. I grabbed a cab and headed home.