MY EX-LOVER IS NOW A BILLIONAIRE CEO

Episode3

Isabel’s POV

The resignation was incredibly smoother than I had braced for, except the whole thing isn't over and I have to collect the rest of my salary today. I'd also spent a few days working in my new workplace and it hasn't been dramatic either.

“I can't believe the CEO would be making an entrance soon,” one of the cleaners giggled, adjusting her skirt.

If you count that as dramatic, then hell yeah, only this part has been dramatic since I resumed. Sometimes I try so hard to ignore them, but hearing them give the exact descriptions of my Nathaniel makes it impossible. I knew it was ridiculous to conclude that this place belonged to Nathaniel, but… everything seen and talked about just pointed towards that direction.

“I heard his ex left him when he was poor and that's the reason he's kept a low profile ever since, but who knows,” she took a break to spin in a three hundred and sixty degree, then adjusted her beautiful curls. “He might be interested in starting over with someone new.”

“Shut up, silly,” the other one rolled her eyes. “The rumors are everywhere. He is seeing someone and that ‘someone’,” she made an invisible quotation mark in the air. “Is definitely not you.”

Others laughed over her delusions, but I felt a brutal twist in my chest. I normally wouldn't be here listening to all of this, but I still hadn't found Rebecca to confirm if this was just a coincidence and a fact. Until then, listening to everything about this man was my surest bet of getting to reconnect with the only family I have left.

I left the scene to my office where I assumed Sally would be soon. Sally, the lady Priscilla connected me to for this job, has been nothing but nice either. She didn't just make sure my office was comfortable, she also came in to see how I was handling everything during breaks.

“I see you're doing great, Isabel,” she greeted as she walked through the door.

“You're doing even better yourself,” I complimented, pulling out a seat for her before returning back to mine.

“Right,” she exhaled. “There has been a meeting about this before you were employed, but it's good you know about it.”

I inclined my back to lean closer to the desk between us while she just smiled.

“The CEO will be showing up with the press for the first time since the beginning of this company. If you've done your research, you'll see he has kept a very low profile, but things are changing now, isn't it?” She chuckled.

“I get what you want me to do.”

“Everything under your control has to stand out to the fullest, okay? He isn't problematic at all, but leans more on the perfectionist side, so please. Do your best to make sure that every staff member under you co-operates and delivers their duties very effectively. Okay?”

I simply nodded while I let my mind slip to the conversation those workers were having a while ago. Could it have something to do with who he was seeing now? I wanted to ask, but she was already leaving, so I just smiled back when she asked me to have a nice day.

I had thirty minutes before my half day here was over, and I didn't have to worry about running out of the enormous building until I stopped a cab. I was going to find Rebecca no matter what. I would put an end to my assumptions and brace myself for the worst if my Nath was really leaving me for someone else. Rifling through the contents of my bag, I pulled out my mini diary.

“Where exactly are you going, ma'am?”

“Here,” I showed him the address on one of the worn pages. He simply nodded and focused back on the straight lane.

“Here it is.”

The car came to a halt the moment the words left his mouth and he was right.

“No‐no-no,” I shook my head at the chaos and construction signs around the area. “This can't be it.”

“Ask around ma'am. This place has been under construction since the year began, but this is exactly where your address is.”

I took one more look around the awful sight around me, then paid him off and tried to find my bearings. A gasp escaped my mouth as I ran towards the only building that didn't seem affected by the recent development. My last resort to finding Rebecca.

The closer I got, the clearer I saw people in it and the more the urge to finally see Rebecca grew. I placed a knock at the front door to have an old woman open almost immediately.

“What can I do for you, child?” She looked at me with a motherly smile on her very wrinkled face.

“My name is Isabel, ma'am. I'm looking for a family with the last name Walton.”

“Walton?”

The way she asked increased my hope again by fifty percent so I nodded furiously. However, when she smiled and shook her head, I felt my heart break.

“I've been here for five years, child. Nobody bears that name around here. Not even the ones that never left when the reconstruction notice came in.”

I felt my whole world slowly crumbling as I took shaky steps backwards. Maybe… I quickly ran through my diary where I had small pictures of everyone who I never wanted to forget attached.

“Look, her name is Rebecca… she—she—” I began to stutter at the bare thought of her being right. Still she shook her head.

“I'm sorry, child. I can't help you with that. You can come in and I'll make you some tea though. You look like you could use it.”

“No, thank you,” I forced a smile at her kind gesture, and quickly turned away from her to wipe the single tear that had escaped my eyes. I quickly ran to other houses even though none of them looked like what it was seven years ago. All my efforts were futile, and I was starting to lose it. I sat in the arranged bricks and tried for the one millionth time to call Rebecca as I've been doing for the past two years.

Nothing. Not a single word. Not a single breath.

I picked pieces of myself up to meet my former boss. I would get my complete salary and get a new device as planned. Hopefully, the Internet would be my last lucky resort.

“Look at you, my dear,” Pricilla opened her arm when she saw me walking out of the coffee shop.

I scooted in her direction, enveloping her with a hug from me too.

“Thank you so much for the opportunity, Pricilla. Everything went as smoothly as you assured it would,” I whispered close to her neck where my head rested.

“Of course, my dear. Congratulations again,” she patted my cheeks and motioned for me to sit with her. “Are you in a hurry?” She asked when she noticed my reluctance.

“Kind of, but it's fine as long as it's brief.”

Her eyes were contemplative before holding out her phone for me to type in my number instead.

“Can I ask you a question?” I blurted while handing her her phone.

“Sure.”

“Do you know the Waltons?”

Her face suddenly twisted in embarrassment or worse, as though I insulted her, so I began to rant all forms of explanation I could give to her.

“It's really an insult for you to ask because how do you think everything with your job there went so smoothly?” She reminded me but didn’t sound offended in the slightest bit.

“I'm so sorry. I just would have loved to know what they look like at least,” I shrugged considering this moment to be the only time she learned the truth about me. “I've been away for seven years and I'm looking for a family with the last name too.”

“Perfect. I will be having lunch with Rebecca soon, if you don't mind being the child in the midst of adults, I can let her know that you'd be coming to say hello. That way, you can thank her in person too,” she grinned like it was the most brilliant idea while I froze on the spot with my breath stuck in my throat.

“Did you just say Rebecca, as in Rebecca Walton?”

“Exactly, my dear, Rebecca Walton.”