Marrying a Stranger

Chapter One

Jessica's pov.

I got back home exhausted and landed on my sofa. Today, was very tiring at work not like every other day, but more with lots of files to deal with, plus complains from my secretary, Joy Joseph on how my sister kept calling and wanting to talk to me about something very important. Her important discussion meant talking fashion of all kinds.

I decided the best way to ease my stress was with a warm bath and soak my body before I talked with my mother, Diana Wilson, about today’s sales. My mother handed me the company as willed by my father when I clocked 21, but that did not stop her from having a say on the business. She traveled to our other embroidery making companies in Mexico for personal satisfaction to ensure everything matched her standard.

She has always been very strict with how the company ran. If not for my father’s constant nagging on how she hardly agreed to go on holidays with him and the will been written to give her an early break in life, then she’d still be sitting on her leather black chair. She’d stare down at all the employees with deadly eyes. Not that I was any less, but compared to her, I was much more approachable.

After all, no one really knew me as the Wilson’s daughter. I was in fact her businesses temporary owner as she worded it in the news all round.

When the word got a whiff on how she was leaving the company, reporters and paprazzi had an annoying infatuation with her. They followed her everywhere! Having enough of their nagging one morning, she told them that she hadn’t sold the business but rather asked me Jessica W. to take care of it and that was about 3 years ago.

When I finished from the shower and had my dinner, I got up and picked my vibrating phone at exactly 10 p.m. this was the exact time my mother always called me everyday from Monday to Saturday and had never had she in my 3 whole years of operating in the business missed even a minute of that call, and without wasting any time I went straight to the point.

Today, Peter once again came to offer about investing in his material exporting and offered 40% of his shares” and I continued as I told her the other offers’ we got.

“40% is still too less! Jessica, I see no hard work from your side. Make it 65%, no less and tell him if he does, we will deposit the money the very same day. She loudly spoke through the phone just showing how angry she was with me.

If she would be in Atlanta, she’d come to the office the next day, shout at me in front of all other employees and would say how much of a mistake it was to hand me the business at such a young age. I still did not understand why she was not happy with the 40. I had increased it from 10 to 40, but she still wanted to more.

Ending the call with my mother, I viewed the Atlanta city from my balcony. Having a thought of the disappointed look of my mother flashed through in front of my eyes, making me sigh because no matter how I try, she always finds a reason to make me feel like I am not capable.

My 2-room apartment is a 5 minutes’ walk from the office, making it easy for me to walk to and fro to work and using it as an exercise also. I was denied my request to have a car by my mother saying it was a wasted of money which was the reason I was gotten the apartment close to work.

I tried to forget my mother’s words so I could rest and called it a night with a deep slumber because I definitely am not prepared for what is to come the next day. But all I know is that it will not be an easy day for me either.

Dressed in a tight pencil gown, I walked with my coffee in my hand and my laptop on the other. I nodded to everyone’s greetings. Aside from waking up on the wrong side of the bed is a killed headache that had accompanied me the whole way, making me sense the shitty I was about to have.

Reaching Joy’s desk, I watched as she stuttered good morning. Ignoring her nervousness, I entered my office door to notice the boiling body of my mother sitting on my chair with her piercing eyes directly at me, but I was not at all surprised to see her because I knew she’d be here one way or the other.

“Good morning” I said quickly composing my expression to alert. How was your flight? “I asked, trying to have a normal conversation with my mother but to no avail, we did not do normal ever. She must have come with first flight due to our conversation last night. This is no time for useless questions, “tell me whether you have contacted Peter yet” and that is my mother for you, she breathed and lived work, no common courtesy whatsoever.

Telling her a curt no back, I watched as she grunted. She hissed and I sighed. What was she expecting from me, to call Peter at 7:00 am in the morning, I had just entered the building about 5 minutes ago, how was I supposed to have already called him?

“I want to talk to you about something else” my mother said without blinking an eye. Paying no heed to my lack of response, she continues, “I have been given a proposal which includes you”. She began and I listened as I waited for her to finish talking, “there seems to be a condition with the Anderson’s project” my mother said.

I caught my breadth as I thought of all the many scenarios of what the leeches had come up with. The Andersons were insatiable with no matter how much they got. They were the masterminds of the business world. Regardless of what field they invested in, they always ended up with profits multiplied and stakeholders satisfied, and that was what led my money driven mother to seek them out.

The Andersons were involved in everything, from making heavy machinery to even the designs made on pencils. Export was akin to breathing for them and seeing how our company had its roots extended to every continent except Africa, my mother approached them.