Chapter 20

Sean looked at the endorsement in his hand; he ran the faces of his A-list models in his mind, thinking of the best model to be given the job. A knock on the door disrupted his thought and he looked up with a sigh, "come on in," he ordered, going back to the papers in his hands.
"Mr. Brand, Mr. Jones is here to see you," a beautiful redhead with a nice smile announced and Sean was forced to look up at her.
A smile graced his lips as he wondered why Frank would be looking for him or is it another Jones? It won t be the first time he had had such encounter. He cleared his truth and nodded at his secretary, "great, let him in."
The lady nodded and with a smile, left the office. Sean placed the papers he was holding on the table and leaned back on his chair, his eyes remained on the door as he waited patiently to see who was looking for him. Soon, there was knock on the door and he ushered the person in. The door opened and he was a little surprised to see Frank, he raised an eyebrow and Frank nodded at him once.
"Mr. Brand, how nice to see you again," he said, walking closer to his desk.
"I should say the same, Frank," Sean replied, he clasped his hand together, all his attention on the man approaching his desk.
"May I?" Frank asked, pointing at the chair opposite him.
"Of course, do make yourself comfortable," Sean offered and Frank pulled the chair and sat down, "tea or coffee?"
"Um coffee, coffee would be good."
Sean smiled and pressed the intercom on his desk, "have coffee brewed for Mr. Jones and I," he sighed and looked at Frank, "I m sorry but I always love my coffee freshly brewed."
"That s okay," Frank replied, staring at the man, all he wants to do was ask him if he knew Athena. It s been four days since the day he saw them together and he hasn t rested well since then. He had kept asking himself what a man like Sean would see in a girl like Athena? Why would he be with her, why would he even have her in his car? But rather than ask the question he so badly wants to, he said, "I didn t know if today was the right time or if I m interrupting anything but I just wanted to show you the designs I have come up with and know if you love any of them. You know, the contract you gave me in your home to create a design for your woman."
Sean smiled and nodded once, "yeah, I remember. Do you have the designs there with you?"
"Yes, yes I do," Frank brought up the briefcase he was carrying; he placed it on his laps and brought out some papers. He passed the papers to Sean on the table and he took it and stared at them, he flipped through the pages but there wasn t a satisfy smile on his face. "Mr. Brand doesn t like the designs?"
"Hmm," Sean sighed, "Frank, let me ask you a question, what do you think makes a woman unique, elegant and graceful?"
"Um, well," Frank sighed, biting his lower lip as he mulled over his answer, "that can be described by the way a woman dresses and the way she carried herself."
Sean chuckled lowly, "so, if I am not mistaken, in your own words, an elegant woman could only be identified by how she dresses, am I correct?"
"Yes, that s my answer."
"Hmm, do you have spare time?"
"It depends on why you are asking."
"I want to tell you a short story, you can consider it a fairytale but a man in my status has seen a lot and has heard a lot. So do you want to hear the story?"
Frank shrugged, he doesn t have anywhere important to go anyway and Mr. Bridgeton knew he came to see Sean so he nodded, "sure, of course."
"Great," Sean placed the drafts on the desk and rest back on his chair, "there was a man, he had a daughter but due to business issues, he wasn t around the day she was given birth to and only returned to spend three months with her and his wife and then he left again to return after fifteen years. On his way back, he saw a girl, she was dressed in rags and was covered in mud, but there was something about her, there was an air of nobility. He told his driver to stop the car and he watched her from the car, the way she acts, the way she walks, the way she talks, he couldn t help but admit that although she might be dressed poorly but she had grace in her and she was elegant. When the girl was out of his sight, he ordered his driver to take him home and when he got home, he saw his daughter he hasn t seen in fifteen years. She was richly endowed, she was wearing the dress sewed with the finest, richest silk, her hair was packed up with many golden pins and she smells of the best perfume. But do you know what happened?"
Frank who was surprised at the strange story shook his head, he was dying for the story to end since he doesn t know the point of it.
Sean nodded, "at sight, he said the daughter was not his. People were surprised when he said that and how he could be so sure when he hasn t seen her in years, but he was adamant and insisted that she wasn t his. When he was asked to give his reasons, he said that no daughter of his would come to great her father who she hasn t seen in years and she would take the time to dress up and even pack her hair with pins. And that from his understanding, she was only trying to show off, she was trying to be what she isn t and wanted to fit in as girl worthy to be his daughter. This went on for weeks until one day, his wife came to him and told him that he was right and that she lost their daughter eleven years ago and even though she mobilized the best detectives all over the country, they couldn t find her and when she heard he was coming back, she didn t know how to face him so she adopted a girl of the same age with their daughter and had her dressed up to meet him so that he could see that his daughter was dressed according to his class.
He asked what really happened to their daughter and she told him that she was kidnapped when she was four years in a park and they waited for a call to be made to demand a ransom but nothing came and nothing still. All was forgiven and three days later, the man said he knows where his daughter is and everyone was surprised. Everything was arranged and he took them to the street where he had seen the girl. There she was again in her rags, begging. He pointed at her and said 'that is my daughter the wife and family were repulsed and refused that such dirty girl could be theirs but the man insisted and they walk over to the girl. After a few talks, she took them to her home and it was an old woman that was taking care of her.
The man wasted no time in stating his claim and the old woman told her story, she had seen her in the streets, in the dark, eleven years ago, crying and begging to be taken home, she asked around but no one knew her. She said that had happened in a slum around, she tried publicizing about her but no one came to claim her so she took her in and raised her like her own. DNA test was carried out later and she really was his, the mother apologized and they lived happily ever after, including the adopted one. Now, what did you learn from this story?"
Frank sighed, what should he say? That a man saw a girl and believed her to be his daughter and blah-blah-blah. He scratched his head, thinking of what to say and also not to annoy Sean.