Chapter 84

PAULINE'S POV
'Hi, mum. You didn't tell me I had an Uncle, I like him so much" I had been wondering why Jay had called back after the way he hung up the last time we spoke but when I heard Clarence's voice, I knew why.
'I hope you're being a good boy?" I asked with a sigh, I knew the answer to the question I had asked but it's just a thing mothers do, they ask questions they know the answers to just to make sure the answers tallied with the one in their head. I didn't make the rules, I also had to adhere to them regardless.
My son wasn't interested in my question, 'He's a very nice uncle and Ken says he's a very famous person. Why didn't you tell me I had a famous uncle?" I couldn't miss the excitement in his voice as he kept on asking the same question. Why hadn't I told him he had an uncle and a famous one at that?
Hiding Clarence from everyone wasn't my intention when I left Paris but it was the only way I would be able to be with my son without Desmond Flint tracking us down and I had to take the option. I also knew it wasn't the best decision I had ever made in my life but as a mother, it was my duty to put my son first no matter what.
Life with Desmond Flint had been too good to be true, it was obvious it was too perfect to actually be real but I was blinded by love and passion I wasn't able to see what was right in front of me. There were bold red flags, very bold ones but Paris was associated with the color, red. Didn't that mean it was a good color?
'Excuse me, Miss Harley. Are you with us?" The Manager's voice took me out of Paris and back to the conference room.
I hurriedly apologized, 'I'm sorry, I got a little bit distracted. What were you saying, Mr Duke?" I asked as I returned the Manager's smile. He looked like he would rather be anywhere else than where we were and I sighed lightly, I could relate.
Moving his attention back to the room, the manager cleared his throat and started reading from the file that was in front of him. I could only place out one statement before I drifted off again, 'I have being in charge of this company for as long as I can remember, if anyone is suitable or even worthy enough to take over from Jay Harley, it would be me, Kenneth Duke"
'If anyone is worthy enough to take over from Madame Beatrice, it would be you, Pauline Harley" The Manager's voice clashed with Desmond's as I time traveled back to the top of the Eiffel tower where Desmond and I had met for the first time and had returned back to, to celebrate our one year anniversary.
I couldn't hide my joy at his statement, 'You think so?" I asked excitedly and was rewarded with a kiss on the nose. Nose kisses were totally underrated by the way.
Wrapping his arms around me, he whispered into my ear, 'You're an amazing woman, Pauline. Not just amazing," he shook his head slightly for emphasis, 'You're a wonderful woman, a talented fashion designer and an extremely beautiful woman. I am a very lucky man"
My smile was so broad I wondered why my cheeks didn't crack. Paris had proven to be the city of dreams for me, it had been more than what I had heard in stories. Was it possible to get your dreams into play and then find such an amazing love? Red really was the color of love, it looked perfect on a flag.
Desmond's praises weren't as good as his belief in me, 'You'd smash them senseless with your creativity, that I am very sure of. You're a very talented woman, Line. You'd do great" his words had stuck to me from that night and acted as my driving force even after my perfect world came crumbling to the ground a few months after that day.
'Miss Harley, are you with us?" The voice didn't match Desmond's as I lapsed back to the conference room. Giving myself a mental shake I strained to regain my composure.
'I'm so sorry, Mr Duke. I'm just having a rough day" I said my apologies as I reached for the bottle of water on the table. The meeting was important but I couldn't concentrate on it. I kept drifting from the past then back to the present.
'As I was saying, the last two meetings were held at Eve James's company and as planned, they're going to be buying half the shares of Black Worth industry corps" The Manager's smile was contagious as he made notice of the plans he had in mind for my brother and his beloved company.
'Isn't half the shares a huge amount of the company's stocks?" One of the men in the meeting, who I presumed was part of Jay's company, voiced out his worries. The manager wasn't fazed,
'Yes, half the shares gives the receiving party, half of the authority in the company's affairs. That's why we have to be careful about who would be buying them and who we would be giving the authority over all of us" he said in a harsh tone as he scribbled something into the journal that was resting on the stand in front of him.
'And Eve James is the right candidate for this...?" The curious man asked again but this time around the manager interrupted before he got a chance to air out his opinions,
'I know what I am doing, Chris. Do you want to pay Jay Harley back for everything he had done to you or not?" The manager had a glimmer of pure hate in his eyes. I watched firstly, as the inquisitive man nodded and then everyone in the conference room followed in successions. Jay Harley was going to meet his ruin, there was no two ways about it.