Chapter 5

Marcus POV

" I will take the job" said the voice on the other side of the phone call.

A smirk made its way on my face. I knew he would take the job. I was not entirely convinced that he would but chances were he was going to take it. Who wouldn't? It was a great job with a lot of benefits. Only a fool could reject such an offer and John was no fool, well at least that was the impression I got from him.

I met John around the same time I met Zuri and Zawadi. John was dating Zawadi's best friend Zuri. I have met Zuri a few times and she was always insufferable. How does he do it? Love does make us blind. I was not her most favorite person either because of what happened with her friend but that doesn't affect me at all.

However despite of her contempt for me ,she will have to be polite from now on. After all I was going to be her husband's boss. I couldn't wait to see the contempt on her face and her trying so unsuccessfully to hide it. She has always hated me for no reason but as from today she has to be kind to me.

Could it possible she hated me because she liked me? And instead of showing interest in her, I went for her best friend. That could be a good theory as to why she hates me so much. It made more sense that she wanted me, just like every woman I have ever met. Poor John.

I bet that stings huh! That she can never be the object of my interest.

I am handsome, extremely wealthy and young, every woman wants me but I am extremely choosy with who I give my energy and attention to. Sorry Zuri, you didn't make the cut.

" So when can you come to the office, you need to sign some few forms and give us your personal details"

" How about today?"

" Today would be perfect. If you can come in the afternoon that would be better"

" Sure, no problem. See you then"

" See you then" I said before clicking the end button.

I wanted John to take the job because he came highly recommended and was very good at his job, apparently. From the information I got ,he was definitely an asset to the company. And an extra bonus was, he was still friends with Zawadi so I could keep an eye on her from afar.

I know ,I know, I said I didn't want anything to do with her but I was curious. I was curious to see how her life has been without me. Was she a mess? Does she miss me? Was she okay? I needed to know.

When I saw her in the event I was shocked. I didn't expect to see her there. I didn't think she could come anywhere near my hotel voluntarily. Probably her friends didn't tell her that the event was happening in my hotel. That made more sense to me than her walking in on her own volition.

The look on her face when I threw her out of my house those years ago was that of pain, heartbreak and betrayal. I don't know why she felt betrayed yet she was the one doing all the betraying. She stole from me and all she could afford was a sad look on her face? I don't buy it.

My instincts were telling me that she could not have pulled it of on her own. She must have had someone who holds an important position in my company as an accomplice. Otherwise how did she do it?

That was the question that kept bugging me for years. And it was a question that I intended to answer, as soon as possible. I just have to be back in her good graces. I don't know how to do that though.

Everything I have done so far has been to hurt her. I moved on with my ex Katelyn ,someone I told her she had no reason to worry about her. I assured her again and again I was not in love with her, yet I turned around and got engaged to her.

I realize now that she must feel betrayed by me in a way. But I didn't betray her first. In fact she broke all the trust I had in her. She also broke my heart. I was in love with her damnit and she went behind my back to do that to me. For what? Some change! Some mere coins!

If she had financial issues I could have helped her without a second thought. I loved her more than anything in the world .But stealing from me was a no, no. She should be grateful that I didn't take her to court.

Who was I lying to? I knew why I didn't take her to court, simple, I didn't want to be humiliated. How could I convince an entire jury, the judge and the public that my girlfriend was stealing from me and I never noticed? If you have an answer, I am ready to listen.

Apart from the stealing she was something else. Perfect in every way, every man's dream. She was beautiful ,had a great sense of humor, freaky in bed and very intelligent. The perfect package. She would have made a good wife for me and a great mom to our kids.

I wish she came to me for money instead of stealing. Perhaps now we could be happily married and she could be pregnant with our first bundle of joy. Instead I was stuck with my awful ex because I got her pregnant. How ironic was that?

I got together with Katelyn about an year and a half after our break up. We met in one of the many parties I was hosting. I was a mess, I must admit. I needed something to take my mind of everything that happened. What better way than hosting numerous parties?

I got an endless supply of women I could sleep with while I had fun. A win-win situation. We reconnected in one of the parties and we started going out. Little by little things evolved to a mutual understanding.

Friends with benefits. That was all I wanted. However in the midst of excitement and pleasure ,somebody forgot to take their birth control pills and ended up pregnant. I wouldn't say it was planned but that was my heir and I was not exactly going to let them grow up elsewhere.

Or even worse, call some other dude their father. Over my dead rotting body. I had to work fast, so I proposed to Katelyn in order to assure my child's safety. I did all this for my baby, not for her.

I could care less what happens to her. I was not in love with her and neither did I care for her wellbeing. But since she has my child in her belly, I had to keep her close to me. I didn't trust her nor her motivations.

Katelyn is the definition of a gold digger and a social climber , she could do anything for money. That was one of the reasons why I didn't trust her. When she first told me about the child, I didn't believe her. We had to do a DNA test. The procedure was more painful for the mother than the child.

The DNA test confirmed that the baby was mine. I decided right there and then that my child will want for nothing. I will give him or her everything they need and more. So to make sure my baby was healthy I did what I dreaded most ,I got engaged to a woman I had no feelings for.

I must have been in my thoughts for hours because a knock interrupted me. I checked my wrist watch to find that it was almost 3 pm. Time does fly when you have something on your mind.

" Come in"

The door opened slowly and cautiously to reveal John. He was wearing a suit, which was weird. I have never seen him with a suit. A playful smirk made its way on my face. I was enjoying this way too much. He took a seat on the chair opposite mine.

I sat upright and crossed my fingers together to have a good look at him. He hasn't changed much, he looked the same to me.

" Hey John, how have you been?"

" Hey, am doing great"

" I was surprised that you took this job" I wanted to hear why he took it.

" Don't be so surprised. You offered me the job" he smirked.

Is that how a person talks in an interview? This was basically an interview even though I already decided that I would hire him anyway.

" Is that how you will be talking to your new boss" I said in a playful tone.

" You want to hire me as your attorney and as such I will always be truthful to you"

" That makes sense. I want total honesty between us, after all this is my company"

" Of course boss"

" Now tell me, how did Zawadi take the news?" I was curious to know what happened.

" Surprisingly well. She insisted that I take the job" he shrugged.

What did I expect? That she would throw a tantrum? Maybe she would be petty? She just had to prove me wrong again and pretend to be a saint. Even though I will never believe anything that comes out of her mouth.

" That's great then. You can pass through human resources and they will give you everything you need" I rose from my chair and extended my hand for a handshake and he did the same. " Welcome to the team"

" Thanks boss" he said with a grin on his face.

He left immediately after. I sat on my chair and ran my hand through my hair.

" Mmmmh...stage one complete"