Twisted Fate

Ella was curious, who could possibly have come looking for her. Her boyfriend was not in town and her bestie was married as soon as she finished her degree.

“Pascal came looking for you,” Sarah disclosed. She narrated how Pascal felt unhappy that she left and came to find her if perhaps they could talk things over and go find Mr Foster.

Sarah told Ella how Pascal said they missed her so much. They all want her back as an employee and he had come to see her for that same purpose.

Ella was quiet and simply held her mother by her hand “I have a new job now, that’s what matters” She smiled, not wanting to talk about the man she offended.

Why would she want to go back to the past, when the same man has become her boss and has already welcomed her to hell like he called it.

**************

Alex drove in his white Lexus towards Foster’s Castle. It’s a large building heavily secured with bodyguards.

It is home to the Fosters. Julius Foster, Alex’s great grandfather bought it and rebuilt it into the beautiful castle it is.

He stepped out of the car and the bodyguards stood, in a file creating a path for the young master of the Foster’s family.

They bowed slightly before him as he passed each of them towards the castle. His right hand in his pants pocket and the left, he raised it once to acknowledge the greetings and next, placed the hand in his pocket again.

As he walked in, his grandparents were going to have dinner. He walked towards them, planted a featherlight kiss on his grandmother’s temple and on his grandfather’s back head.

“Alex” Edmundo Foster called, picking his cutleries and ready to get started with his dinner. Edmundo Foster loved his grandson with Every fibre of his being.

After he lost his son Frederick Foster, he only had Alex and his sister Alice, his grandchildren. His world revolves around these two kids who he hoped to carry on the Foster’s dynasty.

“Hello grandpa” Alex chimed, and looked at his grandma, “Hello grandma..”. The three adults soon get down to dinner.

Anna was the first to finish her dinner. She soon excused herself and we waited for others to be through. Anna used to be an elegant, classy woman who holds so much power and force in New York.

Until her son Fredrick was involved in a ghastly motor accident. He didn’t die immediately but was hospitalised for many months.

Fredrick was in a vegetable state and was being kept alive by life support. He was in that state for long before he eventually couldn’t make it, he didn’t come out of the vegetative state, he eventually died.

Anna became a shadow of her former self. Nothing seems to appeal or intrigue her anymore. She lost the taste of a socialist and spent most of her time alone with friends and her husband Edmundo.

But three years after her son died, her daughter in-law who seemed more to her than a mere daughter in-law also died.

When Charlotte Foster died, Anna went into depression. She only survived through the love she received from her family and dear husband.

Everything seems fine now, but Anna will never be able to recover from the heartache that the death of Frederick and Charlotte caused her.

Well, that was in the past now. Anna was still sitting and listening to a news channel when Edmundo and Alex walked back to the sitting room.

Alex appeared sullen. His facial expression was cold and frosty. He was not pleased with what his grandfather requested of him.

“I will check on you some other time grandma. Good night” he declared and walked out. He didn’t even wait for his grandma to reply to his greetings before dashing out.

Edmundo shook his head. Alex will not understand. He is a kid, and he must ensure he guides him in the right path and decision as long as he is still alive.

If Fredrick was alive, he wouldn’t have bothered. But he already lost Fredrick. His only hope of carrying on the family lifeline is Alex Foster.

But his grandson has become uninterested in settling down with any out of his numerous girlfriends. He had to ensure he does that before it gets too late.

“What happened to Alex?” Anna asked and Edmundo shrugged and waved his hand indicating that it didn’t matter.

***************

Ella laid on her bed. It’s great she got a new job with a better payment. Despite this, she now understood perfectly how she came about the invitation, the interview and the appointment.

It was all orchestrated by that arrogant brat, notwithstanding, she is happy all the same. When her boyfriend returns and gets a good job, she will be able to return to school.

He definitely would help her as much as she had helped him. But these days, Bill has stopped calling her.

When she calls him, he either would not answer or talk casually. Often he would say he was busy and would call her back. But he had never called her.

Perhaps there’s a lot of academic work he needs to perfect before returning back to her. She would go and check on his mother the next day.

Ella soon dozed off.

Alex arrived home half an hour later. He looked sullen and unhappy. His bodyguards bowed to welcome him but he walked past them briskly, ignoring them.

At such times, everyone knows best to keep off and maintain distance. The boss is in a bad mood which implies that everyone has to move out of the way.

Alex already had dinner at his grandparents’ place. He went into his bedroom and went to soak himself for a warm bath.

How can his grandfather instruct him and give him a time frame? He doesn’t like anyone dictating his life for me. What sort of condition had his grandfather placed before him?

He wasn’t happy at all. He would think about it. He knew it was going to be difficult for him but he knew he had to do something about it.

What happens if he defies his grandfather’s instructions?

**********

The next morning, Ella woke up with a start. Her heart was beating very fast. Her chest was going up and down in her night wear.

Her night wear was drenched in sweat. She looked at the clock by her bedside. It reads 5:43am. She held her dress tightly and stood up in a hurry, going to find her mother.

Sarah Smith was sleeping peacefully. She was gasping for air and she sighed softly and laid Beside her mother. Thank goodness, her mother was sleeping peacefully.

“What happened Ella, you’ve been fidgeting and I think you should share your worries with me” Sarah said, raising herself to sit up.

Ella walked over and helped her. She smiled and said ” I am fine mum, it’s a nightmare. I will be fine” she lied.

How can she possibly be fine if anything happens to her mother? She saw something terrible happened to her mother and running to seek for help, she saw her boyfriend standing aloof, with his hands in his pants pocket and stared at her strangely.

These two people are the most important people in her life now. She can’t afford to lose any of them. But the thoughts of it frightens her greatly.

Ella had her breakfast and soon left for the Foster cooperation. She was going to find Bill’s mother. She needed to know if she had been in contact with Bill.

He was supposed to be back the previous week from London. But he wasn’t back yet and she is certain about it. If he was, she was the one of the first people to see him.

When Ella arrived at the office, she was asked by Alex’s secretary to see the boss immediately. She sighed softly and felt her heart skip at the thoughts of seeing Alex Foster.

She took a deep breath and proceeded to the CEO’ s office. She already knocked and then walked in.

“Good morn…” Ella stood with her fingers intertwined before Alex. She was greeting him but he interrupted her…

“Prepare a proposal and bring it to me in the next ten minutes” Alex ordered, not even raising his head to glance at her.

Ella wanted to ask what kind of proposal she’s to prepare when Alex added “all the information is on your desk” and focused his attention on his computer.

Ella nodded and turned to leave when Alex’s next words made her paused in her track “Next time you barge into my office without my permission, 20% of your salary will be gone”

Ella felt a lump in her throat. She wanted to give him a response but tried and held her tongue down but gnashed her teeth.

She was leaving and Alex snapped at her “Apologise” this time, he looked up with an icy cold expression.

This girl is stubborn. He would see if she would apologise to him or not. Now, he has her where it’s difficult to slip off. She must learn to be submissive before him.

“What do you want me to apologise for? Haven’t you already told me not to barge into your office? Fine, I won’t repeat that I promise” Ella stubbornly retorted.

Alex Foster smirked. This woman is stubborn. He usually thought his arrogance would always prevail against stubbornness, but he was finding it difficult with this woman.

Apologies seemed to be something difficult for her to do. And he, on the other hand, likes it when people apologise and bow before him.

Staring hostile at Ella he demanded “Are you ready to lose your job so soon? You are stubborn and I like dealing with such women..” he gnawed.

It was visibly expressed how much he despised Ella. He stared at her as if he was going to devour her. Of course he would have, if he were a vampire.

“I’m sorry” Ella reluctantly muttered. It was better described as being murmuring than utterance. Anyways, she said after all.

Without waiting for Alex Foster to say anything else, she dashed out of his office and sighed softly, placing her hand on her chest.

If she could lose her job at the restaurant because she refused to apologise to this bastard, she definitely was going to lose her new job here.

After all, he is the boss and the CEO of the company. She doesn’t want to lose her job again if not for anything, at least for her mother who depended on her income for sustenance.

She suddenly remembered she was to prepare a proposal, she dashed into her office and saw a piece of paper on her desk, containing the information she needed to prepare the proposal.

Going through it, she was alarmed!