"Abby, I need more juice," Amanda shouted from the dining room. Blake had left the house and now Amanda was eating breakfast leisurely. "You would do well to remember that I'm not your maid," Abby said as she walked in and slammed a juice tetra pack next to Amanda.
"Take it easy friend. I was just keeping up the act. But now that you are here, sit down and let's talk. Tell me about Persia," Amanda said.
"She's just the nanny. She follows the boy everywhere. I've never seen her getting close to the boss. But I must say I'm afraid for you. You ignore that child too much. His father will marry you in a minute if the boy likes you," Abby said.
"Don't worry about that. I have a few tricks left up my sleeve," Amanda said as she sipped on the juice. She had a smug look on her face and Abby frowned.
"You had better take this seriously. That man has enough money to get your kamasutra tricks from any other woman," Abby said.
"I already said I have this under control. Let me eat in peace now that the brat is out of the house," Amanda barked.
"Be sure to clean up after yourself as well. As long as you have not paid me yet, I don't work for you," Abby said. She walked back to the kitchen to finish her chores there before heading to the other rooms to clean up. As she opened the study, she found Amanda sifting through a pile of papers.
"What are you looking for here? You will get me into trouble," Abby shouted.
"I just wanted to see if I could find some spare change," Amanda said. As she was walking out, Abby repeated her earlier demand. "I hope you cleaned your bedroom. I'm not going to change your dirty linen for free."
"Blake is giving you a very generous salary. Stop being greedy," Amanda said as she closed the door. Abby finished cleaning downstairs and then she headed upstairs. She decided to start with the master bedroom. The bed looked like a scene from a dorm room. There were at least five sets of clothing on the unmade bed and a pair of used lingerie was on the floor. The carpet had some stains of what Abby hoped was water and there were some used wine glasses. Abby cursed loudly before she got down to work. She was going to teach Amanda a lesson she would never forget.
*
"Good morning Miss Koome," Blake said with a gentle smile. He looked Ella up and down as though he was undressing her with his eyes. She stood up to meet him and he swallowed the pool of saliva that had gathered in his mouth. Why hadn't he noticed that she was this beautiful yesterday? No wonder Jason called her pretty aunty.
"Good morning sir," Ella said politely. She looked nervous and she was biting her lower lip. Nobody noticed how Jason's face lit up when he saw Ella until he dropped his father's hand. He walked to Ella before Persia noticed this movement and restrained him.
"I want to say hi to pretty aunty," Jason said when Persia took his hand. He walked to Ella and stood next to her.
"Miss Ella, I will be with you in a minute," Blake said as he consulted his receptionist. It wasn't until Ella sat down that she noticed the sweet little boy with a beautiful smile. He struggled to sit down too and refused the assistance of Persia.
"Hi pretty aunty," Jason said.
"Hi sweetheart," Ella said and smiled back at him.
"My name is Jason," Jason said politely. Persia tried to get him to be quiet but he resisted her. "What's your name aunty?"
"I'm Ella," she said, as Jason stretched out his little hand in greeting. Persia pulled him away but he suddenly let out a little scream. Everyone in the office froze and Blake quickly walked to them. Jason took advantage of the confusion to get out of Persia's grasp and into Ella's lap."What is the problem?" Blake asked.
"I was just…" Persia started to explain when she noticed Jason's new sitting position. "Put him down at once," Persia said to Ella in a menacing tone. Ella tried to do as she was told but Jason held onto her neck tightly. He screamed again when Persia tried to remove him forcefully.
"Give him a minute to calm down. Maybe he is over friendly because he doesn't get out too often," Ella said as she rubbed Jason's back gently.
"Jason sweetheart, sit on the chair like a big boy," Ella said softly. Jason let go of Ella's neck slowly but he did not sit on the chair. He turned to face his father and Persia.
"I don't want to sit on the chair. I want to sit here," he said as he lay his head on Ella's chest. Ella felt a rush of warmth fill her. This boy was a real charmer.
"Sweetheart, I have a meeting with your dad. Maybe you can stay with mummy…"Ella started referring to Persia. She was interrupted by another loud scream. "No," Jason screamed as he held on to her even tighter. Blake and Persia looked at each other in confusion. Although Jason had been troubled since his mother's death, this was highly unusual behavior.
"I'll call you in a few minutes," Blake said to Ella as he glanced at Persia. He hoped this would be resolved by then.
"Did you two have a fight this morning?" Ella asked in a whisper so that Jason couldn't hear.
"No. He is just very unpredictable today," Persia whispered. Jason sat up and began playing with Ella's long black hair. He gave her another sweet smile before he tried to stand on her lap. Persia tried to pull him away again but he leaned over and whispered in Ella's ear.
"I want to go pee pee," he said. Persia overheard him and tried to lead him away but he only wanted Ella. They waited for a few minutes before Blake called Ella to his office. They walked in together and Jason only let go when he saw Ella sit down in his father's office. Ella could not explain this strange incident but it didn't bother her as much as the impending fate of her house. Blake had been speaking to a lady in a smart skirt suit. She introduced herself to Ella as Jessica, Blake's lawyer. She went straight to the point as she handed a bunch of papers to Ella.
"Please verify if this is your signature," Jessica said. Ella looked through the transfer papers that had all her details entered correctly. Her signature had also been expertly forged in all the transfer documents.
"I didn't sign any of this," Ella said in alarm.
"I'm afraid your brother said you approved this sale. He swore he was overseeing the process on your behalf because you were out of the country," Jessica said.
"I was out of the country but I never asked him to sell my house. He was just managing the construction and final touches before I got back," Ella said. "Are you sure it's my brother Karl?"
"Here are his supporting documents and a letter from you authorizing the sale," Jessica said. Tears filled Ella's eyes when she saw the documents verifying everything she was hearing.
"So how much did he get for my house?" Ella asked. Her hands were trembling and she looked pale. Jessica handed her other documents showing money transfers into three different bank accounts. Her house had been sold at a value slightly lower than the current market rates. No wonder it had been purchased so fast.
"Miss Koome, I would advise you to check on the status of any other properties that your brother had access to. This may not be his only act of fraud, since we cannot reach him on his contact numbers," Jessica said.
"This can't be happening," Ella said to herself in a faint voice.
"I beg to take my leave now," Jessica the lawyer said to Blake. Ella was still seated on the chair with her hands visibly shaking.
"Give her a minute," Blake said as Jessica gestured towards Ella. Jessica wanted her to leave in case she started a scene here. Such confrontations never ended well.
"Your papers," Ella said as she handed the wad of papers to Jessica.
"I have my copies. Those are yours," Jessica said and left.
Ella dragged herself off the seat as she looked at the papers. She couldn't sit here all day feeling sorry for herself. It was time to take the lawyer's advice seriously. She had barely taken one step when she felt light headed and almost fell down. Blake managed to catch her just in time as he had been walking Jessica out of the office.
"Are you ok?" he asked her as he steadied her on her feet.
"I'm fine," Ella said as she sat up. "Thank you for your time."
"I promise I will look into this and see what I can do," Blake said sincerely. He was worried about this woman who had just been swindled by her flesh and blood. But more than that, he was concerned about the sudden attachment she had formed with his son. He took out his phone and made arrangements to have Ella followed around the clock. He wanted to learn as much about her as he could.
"Maybe what you can do is to get in touch with me if you can reach Karl," Ella said as she stood up. "I will," Blake said as he watched her walk out slowly. He had every intention to help her.
Ella pulled herself together as she walked out of the office complex. She got into the waiting taxi and headed straight to the land registry. Her first order of business was to determine the status of her properties. She filled in the necessary search documents for the house she had just lost to Blake and for her other property that had 8 rental units under one title. The agent at the office informed her that she would get the results the next day. Ella was not sure that she could wait a whole day without doing anything so she decided to drive to her village. Her parents had left her a piece of land there and she had built a small bungalow there before she went away. Her brother was also managing this property and he claimed to be directing the rental income from this property into her residential house in the city. Now that she couldn't reach him, she needed to find out what was the status of this property. She would visit the house and the relevant land registry in that part of the country.
Back at the office, all hell had broken loose for Blake. Jason had come out of the office and began to walk around. He looked around the large spacious office and then walked to the reception with Persia in tow. Jason walked back to his father's office and walked around again before he walked to his father's desk.
"Where is pretty aunty?" he asked his father.
"She had to go. Maybe we can go get some cake and hot chocolate," Blake said as he tried to pick up Jason.
"No! I want pretty aunty," Jason shouted.
"Come let's play," Persia said as she tried to give him one of his puzzles from his bag. He took it and threw it across the room. It crashed loudly as it made contact with one of the chairs in the room. Jason then lay on the floor and curled himself into a ball.
"Jason, you cannot throw things around just because you are angry," Blake said sternly. Maybe he was being too lax with his son. He needed some discipline. He tried to pick him up but he wouldn't sit up. Blake forcefully lifted him up and placed him on the chair but Jason looked away.
"Buddy, I want you to sit with Persia while daddy does some work," Blake said.
Jason did not act as though he had heard anything he said. He continued to look away. Persia came and picked him up and carried him to the other side of the office. She had carried some snacks for him and she placed some on a tray. Jason threw some cake at her but he didn't utter a single word. He then picked up a juice box and hurled it at the window. The commotion caught Blake's attention and he walked over to them.
"I can't work with all these tantrums. Take him home," Blake said as he took out the car keys.
The minute Jason laid eyes on the car was when all hell broke loose. He picked up everything within his reach and began throwing them at Persia and Blake while screaming at the top of his lungs. Blake and Persia were frozen for a minute as they watched this drama unfold. Persia tried to calm him down but he wouldn't let anyone near him. After about five minutes of chaos, Jason seemed to calm down. Blake assumed that he had become exhausted and he had no more fight left in him. He picked up his son with little resistance and tried to cuddle him. He could tell that his temperature was elevated but nothing else seemed wrong.
"Buddy, are you feeling ok? Does it hurt anywhere?" Blake asked him. Jason stared at the wall as if he could not be bothered to acknowledge the presence of his father.
"I think we should take him to the hospital," Persia said. She was afraid that the strange woman had introduced a biological weapon to the boy. There was no telling how this would end but it would be a permanent mark on her professional record if things went wrong.
"Let's go," Blake said and they walked out together. Blake called ahead so that there was a doctor waiting for him. At the hospital, Blake was ushered into the private ward and a doctor quickly checked on Jason. After a quick examination, the doctor asked Persia and Blake an assorted number of questions.
"Who was the last person he talked to?" the doctor finally asked.
"Me when he asked for the whereabouts of someone I was meeting in my office," Blake said.
"Where is this person now?" the doctor asked.
"I have her contacts but I really can't be sure," Blake said.
"You need to find her because she is the only one who can get through to your son. He has developed selective mutism and his psychology is telling him that she is the only one he should speak to," the doctor said.
"How is that even possible? That woman is a perfect stranger," Blake said in alarm.
"It's difficult to understand this condition but if you want your son to speak again, then find this woman!'