Chapter 45

Kiel POV

"Good morning boss", I smiled and walked up to greet Frederick.


"Who's the boss here", he asked, soothing his beards.


"Who's the one that went to Ghana with a baby?", I asked him.


He gave me a quizzical facial expression that got me confused immediately.


"What's up, man? Didn't you go to Ghana with a chick"?, I asked, adjusting in my seat.


"How did you know that? We never spoke about it while we were away. I remember telling you that I went to Ghana but I didn't say I went with a woman", he said.


"Okay. That's weird", I answered, scratching my hair.


"So how do you know man", Frederick asked, blushing seriously.


If only he knew there were photos of him all over the internet, with some blogs calling the girl he was with his maid, side chick, gold digger, and other terrible names, I thought.


"Talk to me man. Don't just sit there looking at me. Besides that, I do not see drinks on the table", he said and began signaling the barman.


Frederick seemed excited about something but I didn't know what it was. Was it the woman? Was it a business deal? Was it Ivy?


"What's been going on with Ivy"?, I asked.


"Yeah. She's doing great. I haven't seen her since the gala night", he answered.


"So, what did you go to do in Canada"?, He asked, pouring the champagne into our glass.


"I'll be partnering with a real estate agent in Canada. His name is Pablo", I said happily, almost forgetting Frederick's woman on social media.


"How is Canada? Hope you had a little bit of fun", he asked, a smile forming on his lips.


"Yes. I met a goddess though", I said.


"You don't seem excited about it. Why is that", he questioned.


"She's based in Canada. I don't know much about her. All I know about her is that she works with a top travel and tour agency in Canada. Plus, her name is Maybelle", I answered.


"Hmmm, so why didn't you get to know her better. Isn't she your type of woman"?, Frederick asked, sipping his champagne.


"She's exactly my type of woman Fred".


"So, what's wrong"?, He asked.


"I had to come back to New York".


He looked at me with his eyes widely open.


"Dude!! What's really so important in New York that stopped you from spending at least a day with a woman. You shocked me, man",


"I had to quickly handle Pablo's business", I said, rolling my eyes.


He burst into laughter and maintained eye contact with me.


"What's so funny?", I asked him.


"Did you just give up pussy for work?''He asked, crossing his legs.


"Dude, I screamed. I don't know how you see me"


"Do you want to know how I see you? Man, you are a flirt, a pervert. But you do know how to keep sexual boundaries when you are not high".


"Well, Maybelle is not like that. She seems different. I want to take my time with her if she gives me a chance", I answered.


"So, tell me how it happened", he asked, getting really interested.


"How what happened man"?, I asked, raising my brows and keeping my eyes wide open.


"Why are you acting like some girl waiting to hear the full gist from her fellow girl", I asked him.


"C'mon dude", Frederick remarked, laughing so hard.


"Well, she came and sat close to me. I'm sure she noticed I was the only fine guy beside the pool. I signaled a waitress and asked to bring a glass of champagne for the beautiful woman beside me. And soon, we got talking and she even gave me her business card".


"Damn man. If she made the move to give you her contact without you having to ask for it, then, you have gotten her", he said, raising his glass in the air.


"You think so?'' I asked him.


"I know so", he said, with a smirk on his face.


"You do know that there are pictures of you on the internet with a strange woman. I've never seen you with her, ever", I said to him.


"That's very weird..."., He said.


"Ohhhhh", he said again, this time, hitting his forehead with his hand.


"I remember now", he continued.


"What's going on? Did something happen in Ghana"?, I asked him.


"I went out with my girlfriend and I caught a man taking photos of us", he said, getting up from his seat.


"Are you tense"?

"What girlfriend"?

"If it's Ivy, why this attitude"?

I asked him all these questions as I watched him pace up and down.


"Can I see the photos"?, He asked.


"Sure man", I said. I began scrolling through pictures on a blog site for the photos Frederick asked for.


"Here it is", I said and handed over my phone to him.


"Maid?. Did they just call my woman a maid?


"Oh bro, that's not all. Some blogs called her a slut and side chick".


"But why? It is not like they know her", he said, acting confused.


"Apparently, from what I see here, the lady you took to Ghana is your maid. They say here, that, you are getting married to a famous model but yet you settled for a maid", I said, summarizing the caption on the blog post.


"Did you take your maid to Ghana", I asked, staring at his face.


"I love her. I always have, even before she became my maid. She is a decent woman, not a slut" he said, defending this maid.


"What's her name?"I inquired.


"Her name is Kharis. Kharis Carter.


"Dude, I'm not bothered about what they are saying I did. I'm actually bothered about Kharis. See all the names they called her", he said.


It's been a while since I saw Frederick sad or hurt. He must really love this Kharis. But how did it all happen? Is Frederick having to fall in love with a woman, not in his league? I can't believe all the news going on about him right now. As I looked at him, I prayed he wouldn't lose any important clients because of the stories flying around…



Frederick POV


I was devastated and angry at the photos online. Who was this photographer? I wanted to get to the bottom of it all.


I quickly called Jane to see if the security team could track the photographer. He was definitely going to lose his license for what he just did.


The bloggers too, damn… They addressed the woman of my dreams as a slut!!! Kharis was the most decent woman I had ever met.

What if she sees this? What if she goes through the blog post. How would she see me? Would she still love me? Would she still want us?


As much as I was angry, I was also scared. I drove really fast, back home. I wanted to fall back into the arms of Kharis. It seemed like what I feared the most these past few days was right before my eyes.


I knew that when I got home, I would have to pretend as if I was okay. Kharis was quick to observe and read my emotions. I didn't want her to know I wasn't okay.


As I got home, I parked the car and handed the keys over to Lois.

Just as I was about to enter the house, I saw a call from ma Cleopatra. I quickly turned to look at the time. It was 8:09 pm. Damn, I and Kiel must have stayed out for long.


I frowned and picked up the call.


"Good evening Cleo".


"Evening Frederick".


"I hope everything is okay with you ma".


"I should be asking you that. I've seen the pictures online and I don't know if I should say I am disappointed in you".


"Ma…"


"Listen to me Frederick!! Because of you, Kharis is being called all sorts of names on the internet".


"I didn't plan for any of this to happen. Even me myself, I'm surprised at everything going on now", I said, hitting the wall with my fist in anger.


"Does Kharis know about this yet"?


"I don't know ma Cleopatra", I answered,


"How long till she finds out, Frede", she asked me.


"I really don't know. Everything is making me weak right now. I don't want to lose Kharis, not now, not ever".


"How about Ivy. Does she know yet"?


"I don't really care about Ivy or what she thinks about all of this. It should be obvious by now that I love another woman".


"Just be careful. If Ivy joins forces with Lauren, against Kharis, you wouldn't like it one bit".


"I just pity Kharis. She doesn't deserve any of this", ma Cleopatra said and dropped the call.


Out of anger, I screamed "ahhhh". After a few minutes, Lois came running to me.


"Is everything okay sir", he asked.


"Yeah, I just hit my foot against the wall".

I pushed the door open and turned on all the lights. Kharis wasn't in the living room. I moved to the kitchen as well, but she wasn't there.


Then it hit me… I had not spoken to her since I stepped out early in the morning and now, I came back late.

Today wasn't the best Monday of my life. I climbed the stairs sluggishly till I got to her room.

I turned her doorknob gently and peeped through the slightly opened door.


She was sleeping so hard. She didn't even move or open her eyes when I walked in. I sighed, closed the door, and walked to my room.


Immediately I got in, I took off my plates and headed to the bathroom for a shower…


Would I sleep peacefully? I thought.

My mind was occupied with all of these. I knew that if Kharis came across the blog post, she'd definitely know I was supposed to get married to Ivy...