One Night With Mr Braxton

” It’s him! It’s actually him!”

Emma’s subconscious screamed. The same man she’d met on that day! How didn’t she figure it out the whole time?

” Mr. Braxton.” Mrs. Adams said, drawing attention to herself.

Asher maintained eye contact with an alarmed Emma. ” Take care of her. You’ve been given guidelines. Adhere strictly to it. I don’t want any mishaps.”

” Yes sir.”

Mrs. Adams’ words brought a feeling of comfort to a panicked Emma. One thing she knew, the old lady was a sweetheart.

From her first encounter with Mrs. Adams, she had grown to trust and feel comfortable with her. She got an absurd motherly feeling from her and oddly felt covered in her company.

Being placed in her care only made her less fearful of what it meant for her to be in company of him.

Asher leaves the room after an intense, wordless eye contact with Emma. Taking a bow to the elderly woman, he conveyed his requests before finally leaving.

Emma felt dumbfounded. Above that, she felt in need of an explanation. For instance, how she got back to his home and why she was being treated in such a manner despite having rejected him.

Was this a stunt to get her married to him? What role did her family have to play in this situation?

” Miss. I’ll need you to get up and eat. We have a lot to do. Let’s get those limbs in action.” Mrs. Adams spoke, causing a mental break in transmission.

Emma had a confused face. ” I can barely sit properly. I don’t think I can walk.” She explained with a concerned expression. She felt helpless and unable to protect or defend herself if it came to that. She wasn’t a rag doll but had somehow ended up like this.

” Never say never. Come-on! We have a whole day ahead.”

*****

Steele Shoes headquarters. Office of the CEO.

” It’s the final week. Here are some of the appearances you have to make. No excuses. I’ve assigned a personal assistant to guide you through the media rounds. Do not answer anything that isn’t directly affiliated to the new collections. They’ve been warned but just in case anyone tries to play smart, be alert.”

Mrs. Steele spoke from her well of knowledge about the media world. It was her turf, seeing the influence and impact it wielded, she tended to take everything about it meticulously and articulate.

She hoped her daughter would understand that phenomenon in order to assess and wield the double edged sword that is the internet and Media.

” Again. I’m not a child, mum. I can handle myself. It’s my collection and I’ve watched you do it a million times. Trust me some more, I have no need for an assistant.”

” You have every need. Your words only make me more nervous. It’s a lot of media houses. You can’t botch this. Millions of dollars are on the line. This collection needs to be the biggest in the history of Steele Shoes.”

Talia felt the weight of her new responsibility immediately. She believed herself to be a fundamentally carefree person and for that reason, wasn’t fond of her mother’s manner of speech.

” I will make sure of that. With the hype around its release, it’s certain to do well. The signature piece has drawn a large amount of anticipation and following. The wait-list is filled to the brim.” Talia said.

She felt the need to validate herself. Help her mother in having the littlest faith in her.

” Of course I know all that. I’ve covered everything. You just need to show up and give them an unforgettable experience. Remember, every stunt or activity must promote the brand. Treat this media tour as an opportunity. Because that’s what it is.”

Talia felt her mother was draining the fun out of the experience. How could she do justice with so much to worry about? She might as well become a stuttering mess because she had to meet up with certain expectations.

Her supposed fun time had been removed and reduced to a taxing job. She might as well be a robot, taking orders and carrying them the exact way they were instructed. No freestyling, no nothing.

Hmph!

” Mom. If you could let me breathe for a second and let me work my magic, you’d be surprised what I’m capable of. In clearer terms, get off my case already. My tour would be clean and structured. I need to be deemed good enough to lead this company.”

” That you need. But first things first. I’ve been meaning to ask you, what’s up with Colton and yourself?” Mrs. Steele asked, she’s noticed a lot of things but decided it best to approach the matter with caution.

Her daughter always got furious whenever it came to them.

” I don’t want to talk about that, ma. Forget it.”

Mrs. Steele felt pleasantly surprised to have gotten an answer and pushed further.

” Colton called. He said you weren’t picking up his calls. What went wrong?”

” I don’t want to talk about that. Just please, stay out of it.” Talia said with a calm voice and quietly continued with her job.

Tomorrow, the media tour begins!

*****

Asher sat in an exquisite restaurant. Waiting for his friend to finally show up. Jason had previously contacted him, mentioning the need to see him and share his latest fantasies.

Jason finally turned up, taking purposeful strides towards Asher.

” You came quite on time.” Asher said, sarcastic in tone.

” I will try.” Jason said and took a seat. ” There’s been a lot of confusing situations regarding the Steele lady’s disappearance. So much is on the line.” Jason said.

” Speak clearly. Don’t confuse yourself. What exactly are your findings?” Asher asked, already tired of speaking.

” I mean to say, contrary to popular belief, her stepmother was the pioneer of the situation. She ordered the kidnap and somewhere along the line, got betrayed by the ones she employed. It all went south from there on.” He explained.

Asher’s face turned grim. ” And how did she salvage the situation? ”

” Salvage the situation? Haha! She tried to cover it up. Burned people inside their den. It remains unclear her reason for that with regards to Emma. Did she raze the place with or without the knowledge of Emma’s presence or was she trying to cover something up?” Jason thought aloud.

” That should be your next assignment. Keep this news between us and find out how she got into the hands of the others.”

” On it! I thought to tell you, just in case you feel the need to take her back to her home. She’s definitely safer believed dead than announced alive. There’s just something about her.” Jason said.

” Thanks for your input.”

Asher wasn’t stupid. Something told him that the little one wasn’t a stranger to this news. Until he was sure of everything, she wasn’t leaving his sight. He couldn’t trust anyone but himself. Not with her.

*****

Emma was in her room. The atmosphere was cool and windy and the sky slowly darkened. She’s had an adventurous day. That is if you counted trying to use her limbs adventurously.

There was some good news though. She could manage to make movements. The bad news being it was more taxing. Her wounds were healed but she could tell her soul was yet to benefit from that healing.

Laying on her bed, she thought through everything. Allowing herself to be submerged in the agonizing memories of the recent events of her life.

The painful part of it was the knowledge that her supposed family had a hand in it. She wondered what they were up to and how they’d felt knowing she was in the wrong hands.

Emma laughed at the irony of it all. Of course they were having the time of their lives! She couldn’t delude herself into thinking they were humane.

As time progressed, bits and bits of memories from her ugly experience showed up. Her throat tightened but she resisted the urge to cry.

They weren’t worth her tears. She remembered the words of her abductors. How she was the cause of her problems and decided to shut everything off.

Her coping mechanism.

By the far end of the room, laid a desktop. The whole day, she’s been itching to make use of it, find out what’s happening in the outside world.

It’d definitely be a good distraction. One that she welcomed with both hands. Emma got up with difficulty, headed towards the set up.

Luckily for her, it was all set up and ready to use. She immediately logged on the internet and the first news she saw, sent shockwaves through her system.

She couldn’t believe her eyes. Emma went ahead reading the many blog posts centered about her family. Or rather, centered around her.

She was dead. She’d been announced dead and as though it wasn’t enough, her designs were being promoted everywhere. Her signature piece splashed alongside a smiling Talia, posing as the designer.

Emma had witnessed scenes of such and times without number but this one struck her. She went ahead with her research and got a glimpse of what used to be where she lived hostage.

A place that was now burned to the ground.