Leon
I rolled out of bed a minute before my alarm rang by 5. I'd been awake long before that thinking about so many things but most especially the fact that today was my birthday and I was supposed to be in Mercia celebrating with my parents.
They'd sent their gifts but I'd left them unopened in my home office just like I'd left their messages on read. Maybe I was just giving myself unnecessary heartache over nothing but I knew I wasn't ready to deal with anything concerning them just yet.
I changed into my sweatpants, grabbed my towel and walked out of my room. I went downstairs, grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and headed straight to my gym. I'd never once missed my early morning exercises ever since I recovered from that accident eons ago and though it wasn't really mandatory anymore but I couldn't stop.
I ran on the treadmill for about forty minutes, lifted weights for twenty minutes and then I used the jump rope Liese had sent me last year which belonged to her daughter Kahlan.
I stopped counting when I got to hundred and dropped the rope panting heavily but my head which had been bombarded by thoughts was now very clear. I picked up the bottle, uncapped it then guzzled down the water, covered it after I was done and picked up the towel.
"Good morning sir." My housekeeper Joyce hesitated in the doorway of the gym.
"Morning Joyce." I greeted back and sauntered towards her. "What's wrong?".
"Oh... Um... I just got a call from my son in law that my daughter has gone into labor. They're at the hospital right now and she's requesting to see me." Joyce said.
"It's fine." I told her. "Congratulations."
"Thank you sir." She smiled. "As per tradition.. I have to spend at least three months taking care of her baby so I was wondering..."
"If you should get someone else to stand in for you?". I asked her.
"Yes sir."
"I can take care of myself Joyce. Thanks for worrying about me." I smiled at her. "You go and take care of your daughter and grandchild."
"Are you sure sir?". She looked skeptical.
"Very sure."
"Um... If you insist then sir." She muttered. "I went grocery shopping just yesterday so there's enough to last you until I get back." Her eyes narrowed. "You do know how to cook right?".
I laughed. "Of course Joyce. I won't burn down your favorite place in the world."
"Hmm." She hummed. "I'll go and pack then."
"I have something for you." I said. "It's for the baby."
"You've done more than enough for us sir." She protested. "I couldn't possibly take more from you."
"I'm not complaining Joyce. Besides you're like family to me." I told her. "I'll be upset if you don't accept my gift."
Joyce pursed her lips then smiled gratefully. "Very well sir." She stepped back.
"Come." I walked out, shut the door behind me and led her to my home office. I walked over to my desk, opened the top drawer, withdrew an envelope and passed it to her.
"What's this sir?". She picked it up.
"It's a check." I replied. "Ten million."
Joyce's eyes widened and the envelope fell from her hands to the floor as she stared at me in shock. I knew her daughter's husband wasn't well off which was why I'd given her that for the baby's needs including - if they were careful people - money for the baby's education.
"Jesus." She gasped.
"Take it Joyce." I skirted the desk after shutting the drawer and picked up the envelope. "There's no ulterior motive here."
"I know that... but ten million is way too much sir." Tears streamed down her cheeks. "What did I do to deserve your kindness sir?".
"Let's just say I'm thanking you for sticking with me all these years." I grinned. "It's been what... Ten years?".
She nodded tearfully. "Thank you so much sir. God bless you." She sobbed.
"It's nothing. I'm happy to help." I hugged her. "I'll order for an Uber to take you to the hospital. It's still quite early."
"Thank you sir." She smiled through her tears. "I hope that one day you'll find someone to take care of you as well."
I'd lost all hope but I just smiled at her and she left my office. I made more money than I knew what to do with which was why I helped out anyone who came to me for help but it was limited because people were pathological liars and they'd say or do anything to get their hands on money. I'd thankfully not fallen victim of such people.
I paid for Joyce's fare when the Uber arrived even though I didn't know how much the ride would be but he'd probably give her change if it was over. I prepared breakfast for myself, took a shower then dressed for work, made sure all appliances except the refrigerator was off before I locked the door then went to the garage.
Hussein had brought back my car from the shop yesterday and it looked like it was before the "lady" rammed her car into it but I bypassed it and walked over to my Range Rover sport, pressed the button on the key fob and opened the door, got in behind the wheel and shut the door.
I placed my phone in the Bluetooth dock, connected it to my car stereo system then searched for a song in my playlist that fit my mood this Monday morning, settled for a Spanish song then started the car as the tune of the song filled the car.
I pressed the button for the garage door and once it opened, I backed out of the garage and sped out of the compound through the open gates.
Traffic as usual was terrible but I managed to get to work before 9 and parked my car in my alloted space, shut off the engine and grabbed my computer bag from the passenger seat and got out of the car. The car beeped as I walked away from it and I made my way to the building.
I walked through the quiet hallway, turned the corner and got to my office. I opened the door and walked in, noticed someone sitting on the sofa but didn't bother taking a good look at the person as my secretary rose to her feet.
"Good morning sir." Barbara greeted with a broad smile. "Your nine o'clock is here sir."
"I need a minute." I said and walked into my office.
When I said work, I didn't mean a company or being the CEO of one. Nope, I had too much money than I knew what to do with and I didn't want to deal with the hassle of heading a company like my father so I took a more casual route; I bought a school that was on the verge of closing down for a small fortune and renovated the shit out of it.
I changed the name of course, let go of the people who'd probably been the ones pulling down the school and hired new ones, changed the school uniform and just every stupid thing about it. Now, Empire High school was the go to school in the state.
Two minutes later, I told Barbara she could call the person in as I bent down to check the router under my desk. I heard the door open and then close but I didn't look up, not even when the person cleared their throat.
"Please sit. I'll be right with you." My voice was muffled but I hoped the person heard me correctly.
I heard the chair scrape the floor as the person pushed it back and then a small creak as they sat and then I finally got it to work and raised my head to check my laptop and let out a sigh of relief.
"Sorry about that." I turned my chair around to face the person and froze.
"You?!". Cruella de vil the third exclaimed.
"And... You." I drawled. "What are the odds?".
ElisabethI stared - more like glared at the man in front of me and grabbed my bag but I didn't make a move to get up. He couldn't be the owner of Empire High school. I'd done my research even though said research had not provided me with pictures.I just knew that a young billionaire had bought the former Fairfield international school and changed its name to Empire High. I never expected that said billionaire was this... drop dead gorgeous stronzo.His eyes were gray like the sky before it rained and his hair was jet black - silky even from the looks of it and I let my traitorous mind wonder if one or both of his parents were foreigners. His jaw was sharp with a sensual mouth and a pointed nose."Have you come to destroy my school the way you did my car Duchess?". His sarcastic voice grated on my nerves. "My name is Elisabeth. I'd appreciate it if you stopped calling me that." I said through gritted teeth."It's a compliment." He shrugged."Is it?". I spat.He let out a beleaguered
Leon"It's your birthday dude. Let up." I mentally chastised myself for the way I'd spoken to Elisabeth. I wasn't always that rude but she just knew how to push all of my buttons. Not even Ina had tried this hard or worse Philomena but she'd hit close to home when she'd mentioned that word 'girlfriend'. That word had made me think of her and I'd lost it.I took a deep deep breath and slowly exhaled removing all the bad vibes and anger from my system as I heard the clacking of heels outside the door. A part of me hoped that Barbara didn't bring her back while another part which I'd nicknamed "mom" scolded me for thinking like that. I could never win whenever that voice spoke."Come in." I called as Barbara knocked on the door.The door opened and Barbara poked her head in and smiled at me. "She almost got away sir but I found her." She announced."Thank you Barb." I said. "Send her in."Barbara nodded and disappeared then Elisabeth walked in and shut the door behind her. I glanced at
Elisabeth"Infuriating bastard." I mumbled to myself in the restroom later that day. We'd discussed my salary and several other things and I had to admit that he was a generous person but that was probably the only good thing he had going for him."Oh hello." A teacher I'd not met yet greeted me as she walked into the restroom. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Yasmin.""Nice to meet you Yasmin. I'm Elisabeth." We didn't bother shaking hands knowing where we were so we both settled for smiles. "How are you liking Empire High so far?". Yasmin asked.I chuckled. "The teachers are nice for starters and the students are well behaved." I said. "I think I'm going to like it here.""The students have to be well behaved. They have no choice when they have someone like Mr Sebastiani as their principal." Yasmin grinned."They're scared of him?"."I wouldn't call it fear. They just have a lot of respect for him. I heard from Mr Daniel that he has a temper which he doesn't like to show but when he
LeonI didn't want to be here. I'd finally replied my baby brother's text message ten hours after I received it and I'd texted him back telling him I'd like to meet up and now here I was sitting in my car in the parking lot of the hotel wondering if I should hightail it out of there.My brother was lodged in our hotel - one of the branches and I knew his room number and everything. I knew he was here with his girlfriend Noelle and he probably wanted to introduce her to me since he'd done so with the others and I was the only one left.I raked my fingers through my hair in frustration and shook my head. I thought I'd let go of the past when I left home but I'd not let go of shit.I was still mad at my brothers, sister and my father. I was still mad at myself for going after her in the first place. If I'd left her alone, she'd still be alive but no... my stupid heart had to fall in love with her and that love ended up killing her.I pressed the heel of my hands to my eyes as tears threa
Elisabeth Friday... the best day of the week and my favorite. It was also signalling the end of my first week teaching at Empire High school. I'd thankfully not had any run in with the boss and I was also thankful that my father had decided to let me be. He'd probably weighed the pros and cons of going against a man like Leonidas Sebastiani and decided that I wasn't worth the battle. "Hey Liss." One of the male teachers, Mr Daniel had also taken to calling me Liss no matter how many times I told him otherwise. My friends called me Beth, Lisa, Ellie or just plain old Elisabeth which was my fucking name. It was just my first week here so I didn't want to be rude and tell him off. "Hello." I was standing by the vending machine in the hallway trying to decide which soft drink I wanted and snacks as well. "So... I was wondering if you would be busy this weekend?". He asked me. I looked up at him. "Why?". "I would like it very much if you'd say yes to me taking you out on a date." H
Leon From my position in the VVIP lounge upstairs, I could see Elisabeth talking to a man or more like she was laying into him and giving him the third degree. She didn't look happy so I guessed he was someone that had hurt her but it was none of my business. My only business was Delirium. I'd come to see for myself just how well it was going and so far I was really impressed with the result. I couldn't wait to tell Liese the good news. She and Collins were the only ones who knew I was going to open a nightclub but I'd put the business in Collins's name just in case dad found out about it. Not that he'd do anything about it, I just didn't want him to think I was planting my feet here in the city even though I was. I looked around the lounge and sighed. My life was like a bus with no actual destination and it was messing with my head. I used to be levelheaded, happy despite the shitty things my brother did to me but now... I couldn't say who Leonidas Alexandros Sebastiani was anymor
Elisabeth I hated doing my laundry or going grocery shopping which was why Jules and I had hired a maid to take care of those chores for us. She worked at Blue Bird Airlines as the assistant to the general manager of the branch here in Lagos and just like my boss was prince of hades, hers was the king of hades. But the pay was so good, she couldn't think of leaving hoping that one day... She'd become her boss's boss. I'd had a bad night, last night, all thanks to that idiot Ben which in turn had caused me to toss and turn all night before I finally slipped into a fitful sleep then I'd woken up cranky, found out we were out of coffee and my day just got worse. Our maid had graciously helped herself to our valuable items like Jules' Manolo Blahnik shoes, her most treasured Chanel bag and some expensive clothes as well. Mine had been minimal but it'd hurt to have found my designer jeans from clothes over bros, my fur coat from the same brand and expensive earrings gone just before we
LeonMy father once told me many years ago that I was evil and I'd believed him. I thought I could change for the better because of her but then I realized it was no fun being good all the time so I'd retained just a tiny bit of myself which had that evil streak in him.I knew I shouldn't have goaded Elisabeth like that but she'd looked so... cute and small in her oversized shirt and black jeans that I couldn't not tease her. I'd had fun teasing her and watching her react to it without being able to do anything about it and once I latched onto something I liked doing, nothing in this world could stop me from doing that thing so I hoped for her sake that I'd get bored real soon and stop or else I would have her running for the hills before the month would end.I looked in my rearview mirror and noticed that the smile I'd been wearing after I left her standing there in that aisle was still quite plastered on my face and I frowned. There was nothing to smile about. I'd teased her, laughe