I Am Ethan Blackwood
1468 Words
I leaned on the railing upstairs, overlooking the liveliness that was going on in the ballroom below.
It was a gala that been organized by my company in celebration of our upcoming partnership with a chinese firm.
Although I was renowned all over the country as a billionaire and a business tycoon, it wasn't enough.
My lifelong dream had been to expand my company overseas and a partnership with the chinese would guarantee that.
As I looked around the ballroom, I noticed people were glancing in one direction and a few had even walked towards that direction and I wondered why cameras were flashing repeatedly.
What was happening over there?
I walked down the stairs to see what the commotion was all about.
People were whispering in hushed tones and I walked towards a small crowd that was gathered at the entrance.
Then, I saw her standing in the middle of the crowd.
It was the woman from the other night.
She looked like she was going to cry any minute but she didn't.
Determined, she held her head high despite the terrible comments that were being made about her.
From the discussions going on around me, I realized that I was one of the reasons for what she was going through.
It was all due to the connection she had with me and our unmistakeable past together.
Although my face in our leaked pictures was unrecognisable, hers wasn't.
I hadn't given it much thought what she must be going through but now, I saw it for myself and I admired her for being so strong.
She walked up to her father, Mr Richardson, someone I recognized due the recent news.
She said something but he only shook his head in disappointment and walked away leaving her to face the verbal attacks alone.
I couldn't help but pity her, her clenched fists held tightly to her side showed how much she was trying to pull through and despite the weakness and pain flashing in her eyes, she still stood strong.
My empathy for her grew and I walked forward to hopefully comfort her but the moment I was face to face with her, she shouted angrily at me.
She must have thought I was one of her attackers because of the mask I had on.
"Get away from me, haven't you had enough fun yet." She snarled, her voice laced with a tinge of anger and frustration.
"No, you don't understand..." I tried to say but she cut me off.
"Get lost." She said again, looking like she was ready to attack me if I said anything else.
Sighing and left with no other choice, I pulled my mask off and a look of shock and recognition flashed across her face.
"It's you" She gasped.
When she finally confirmed that I was the one, the shocked expression she had was wiped off her face, replacing it with anger.
"How much were you paid?" She asked, gritting her teeth in anger and leaving me bewildered and confused.
"What do you mean." I asked.
"How much were you paid to take and release those pictures?" She repeated again but this time with more clarity.
Did she really think I was behind all of this?
Before I could answer, she grabbed a drink from a passing waiter and downed its content on me.
"Bastard" She spat and stalked off.
Grabbing my handkerchief, I gently wiped the liquid off my face before signaling to my assistant Ben.
Once he was beside me, I said to him "Get all the pictures and reports about her taken down. I don't want to see or hear anything about it from this moment forward, use my name if you have to." I ordered.
"Yes sir." Ben replied, nodding in understanding.
I had sat by and watched for far too long.
***********
Days after the incident, it was finally time for me and my Chinese partners to discuss about the possible collaboration between our company.
Extremely excited and nervous was the right term to describe how I was feeling, a combination I never expected was possible.
I couldn't help but think of Isabella Richardson again.
Had she felt this nervous while facing those crowd of people and trying to clear her name?
I shook my head to clear those thoughts, I had done what I could and getting my name entangled in her scandal was the last thing I needed even though I was also a participant in the actions that led to it.
The Chinese men and I went into the boardroom and some minutes later, they asked me to excuse them so they could make a decision based on the offers I had made.
A small smile hung on my lips, I was confident they wouldn't refuse my offer.
Just as I walked out of the boardroom, Ben came running up to me, breathing heavily.
"Mr Blackwood, you need to see this." He said, handing me a tablet with a new headline glaringly shown on it.
It read: "Business tycoon Ethan Blackwood involved in the Richardson scandal."
"How did this get out? Get our public relations on this. Have them lock down this news immediately." I said, anxiety filling my heart.
"Boss, that might not be possible, the publishing house isn't under any firm and they have refused to settle." He replied, with a grave look on his face.
My head spinned and I tried to get my emotions under control.
Just then I was informed to come back into the boardroom.
I prayed the chinese don't find out about this until the contract signing process was over.
I entered the boardroom and the hushed silence that took over confirmed my fears.
They knew already.
"Mr Blackwood, I regret to inform you that we have decided to call off the contract signing." One of the men said apologetically, subjecting me to despondency.
"Why? Do you not like our offers or is there a problem with the contract?" I asked.
"Mr Blackwood, it's not that we do not want to work with you, infact we would love to work with you but we can't risk the reputation of our company that has been built up over the years. The scandals surrounding you presently will be detrimental to our company if we agree to work with you." He continued.
All the hardwork I and the employees of my company had put in over the past few weeks trying to secure this contract had gone down the drain just like that.
I found it hard to accept it.
"Please reconsider your decision, I can guarantee you that all these allegations are false and I will silence it and ensure it does nothing to affect your company." I asserted again.
"Our company has a long standing reputation of being trustworthy and we can't give people a reason to doubt that. Perhaps in the future, when all of this has died down, we can reconsider working with you." He concluded firmly.
I had nothing else to say after that, I couldn't think of anything that could change their mind about working with me.
"This is why we prefer to work with married people, it prevents scandalous rumors like this from ruining our partnerships."Another added while they prepared to leave and a bulb lit up in my head.
"What if she's my wife?" I blurted out and they all turned to look at me.
"What if the woman in the scandal isn't a random woman but my wife." I asserted but this time more confidently.
"If she's your wife, then that changes the situation entirely. You just have to clarify and make it known to the press and once it has all been settled, then, we have no problems partnering with you." He said, giving me a glimmer of hope.
This could work.
"I'll resolve the situation and get back to you soon." I said and they all nodded in agreement and left.
"Sir, has the situation been resolved?" Ben asked immediately I walked out.
"Yes I told them she's my wife." I replied
"Your wife? But you don't have one." He said, confusion evident on his face.
"I'll get one." I answered.
"Boss, I know there are women lined up, hoping to marry you but this isn't feasible." He said worriedly again.
"Who said I want any of them? Get me every information about Isabella Richardson. She's the one I intend to marry so we can clear this scandal once and for all." I replied.
"How do you plan on..."
"Ben not now please." I silenced him with a wave of my hand. "Just do as you are told."
He didn't seem convinced but left to carry out my orders.
He would understand once I put my plans in motion.
- Writer
