Chapter 12 - Realisation

Giovanna O’Connell swirled the wheel before turning off the ignition and putting his black Hyundai in parking mode. Then, he gathered all the relevant documents he needed for his meeting with the mayor.
His party had been a major fail. Not for the fact that it was a disaster per se, but in the sense that those he hoped to see will show up.
Wren didn’t show up.
And neither did the mayor.
As a result, he had nothing to pitch to his superiors who once again made his life hell.
Thankfully for him, he has the best sister one could hope for. In less than twenty-four hours, Topaz had managed to secure a three-hour meeting with the Mayor on his behalf, which was more than he could expect.
Looking at his watch one last time, Giovanni O’Connell exited his car. The young man had checked the weather forecast earlier that morning, and it announced heavy rainfall, which by the way, was fast approaching.
Giovanni O’Connell quicken his pace towards the large building as the clouds began to gather up in the sky. Up till now, the clouds had been post-card perfect, but it was fast changing. Its earlier beautiful cock-tail blue shade was beginning to darken into gravel-grey. Large pillows of cloud were forming, blotting out the old-gold colour of the sun.
The beautiful young man got the first splatter of rain when he was halfway across the streets. He took shelter under a large sycamore hoping that he could see out the shower and not get the folder in his hands soaked up.
Droplets of the rain began to drip from the leaves, sprinkling into the soil that would normally make a farmer happy. Then the rain became more intense. A wall of rain moved over the sycamore tree and the drops were drumming against him. So much rain was falling that the sound blurred into one long, whirring noise.
Giovanni O’Connell grumbled. He hoped to make it to the mayor’s office before the angry outburst of the rain, but he had gotten caught up in it. Noah standing just a few feet away from the mayor’s office, yet stuck under a tree and having droplets of water fall on him, the eloquent man wished he left the mansion with an umbrella.
By the time the rain had subsided, Giovanni’s clothes were all soaked up. He looked down at his clothing and contemplated walking into the mayor’s office looking so raffled up. But at the same time, the young man knew he wouldn’t get another opportunity.
He walked into the building. Nothing had changed, the paintings were still the same, the drawings and everything else looked the same. Well, asides from the person standing behind the large desk at the reception, wearing a big smile on her face.
“Gosh! Look at you, the rain got you all messed up” the young lady replied in a disappointed tone.
That was evident, and Giovanni O’Connell didn’t need a receptionist reminding him of his already messed up appearance.
“Thank you..” Giovanni leaned in and read her name tag “Jamie. Thank you for stating the obvious” he said.
“I’m sorry sir. What can I do for you today?” the young lady asked.
“I have an appointment with the mayor” he stated firmly.
“Can I have your name and identification please?” Jamie asked as her eyes skimmed her desktop.
Giovanni O’Connell furrowed. Now, he wasn’t being cocky, but he just assumed everyone in Craigsburg knew who he was, and that didn’t bother him at all. But for some reason, the fact that the young lass standing before him didn’t recognize him worried him.
“Giovanni O’Connell,” he said.
At the mention of his name, the lass froze. She looked up at Giovanni in wonderment before a big smile formed on her face.
“Oh, you’re THE Giovanni O’Connell? Christ, you look even more breathtaking in real life” Jamie said. A flush formed on her cheeks at the realisation of what she had just said.
Giovanni smiled at her cuteness. This was the reaction he was used to getting.
“Too bad she doesn’t react that way,” a voice at the back of Giovanni’s head said, and the young man mentally pushed it away.
“So, can I see the mayor?” he inquired again.
“Oh, yes sir. You can” she rambled on.
Despite his appearance, the mayor was quite welcoming. He seemed to be interested in Giovanni’s proposal.
At least the young man hoped he was. The young didn’t want to get into his.
By the end of their meeting, Giovanni O’Connell was proud of himself. He had managed to convince the mayor about his project, and the old man promised to give it more thought. It wasn't much, but he has gotten to a stage where his counterparts couldn’t.
By the time Giovanni made it back to the waiting area, he realized that the sun was out, casting slanted beams of light. The young man smiled to himself as he sat in the waiting room, waiting on the mayor to round up and meet with him for late lunch. Giovanni was pleased with the outcome of the meeting so much so that he found it difficult to prevent himself from calling his boss and informing him. But that thought was seized from him as he overheard a particularly interesting topic that concerned a certain someone.
“I couldn’t believe it. She actually did it with that little dimwit” the voice said.
Giovanni O’Connell hated how he immediately knew who they were talking about.
“We don’t know if she actually did it with him. You know how Luke is. He has always had feelings for her, so I wouldn’t put this past him” the second voice defended.
"Joshua told my brother about it. He said Reik told him about it, but he didn't believe it until he saw Luke walk into the same room where Wren entered, and Wren didn't leave until hours after. Plus, Luke has been singing out it, if it wasn't true, she would have defended herself " the first voice argued.
Giovanni O’Connell felt blood rush through his body. His fisted arms were quickly turning white and one could literally see flames coming out of his nostrils, almost like an angry bull.
The young man knew both girls were just talking amongst themselves, yet it took real self restrain to stop himself from knocking both of their empty heads together.
"Well damn. I mean the entire town knows she's a slut, but sleepy with Luke? That's a whole new slutty level. Even my dead body wouldn't do it with him" the second girl said in a judging and disgusted tone.
"Nasty bitch" the first voice said and they both burst into a fit of laughter.
To say Giovanni was furious was an understatement. Wren wouldn't talk to him, but she'd rather sleep with the lanky boy who tried to force himself on her. All along, he'd made up excuses for her actions in his head, but he was gradually starting to realise it was a silly mistake.
He forced the thought into his mind.
She was now a slut.
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