DEVON
I couldn't sleep the whole night in that small two-bedroom house. Smith said that it was the best house available in Swindon and belonged to a family who settled somewhere else years ago. They kept their property in the custody of the local trust, and thus, it was used whenever the town required it.
The uncomfortable hard bed didn't provide any comfort to my already aching back.
I never had a problem sleeping in a new place because that was the basic habit a wanderer should possess. Getting accustomed to his surroundings instantly!
After the early dinner at the night, I came to this place and tried to sleep earlier than usual. I got no sleep last night because I spend the whole night preparing for this visit. My motive was not only to deal with the TGF but also to check on the progress of the project and for that reason, I had to restudy the whole plan.
I didn't get any sleep in the morning too as I had to leave early. The accident that happened on my way, killed any wish to sleep.
The whole day was tiring. I checked the pedometer on my phone to see the congratulations badge for crossing fifteen thousand steps in a day.
I wish it could count the work my brain had done today!
And after surviving the tough day, when you get that uncomfortable bed to sleep in, you ought to be outrageous.
I tried to wake up Christine, but when I opened the door of her room, I saw her already passed out on her bed with a face mask sheet on her face.
I sighed. Getting out of the house, I walked into the small garden around the house. But it was not in a very great condition to uplift my mood.
I checked my watch to see it was only seven thirty in the evening.
God!
For some weird reason, I felt restless. I needed to distract my mind, to gain some peace. And that was when my eyes landed on the car parked just outside the gate. I checked my pant pockets and fortunately, the keys were inside them.
I unlocked the car and got in it. The engine raved to life, sounding louder in the silence of the night. I changed the gear and reversed the car before changing the gear again, and then I was already on the road.
Not a minute into the ride, adrenaline rushed in my body as my fingertips buzzed with exhilaration. You don't get to drive on clear roads like this in bustling cities.
I changed the gear again and hit the accelerator. A smile made its way on my lips as I raced with the night wind.
The whole town was tucked inside their homes in comfort, leaving me with the liberty of speeding up the car. The thought of pulling down the window and yelling at the top of my lungs seemed tempting but then, I was not riding on the sea-side highways in France.
I couldn't trouble others for the sake of my enjoyment. I was enjoying the ride, a chance I had gotten after months and was so enthralled by the experience that when I saw a woman walking in the middle of the road, I got annoyed.
I honked the horn, but she didn't fasten her speed, nor she stepped aside.
Was she deaf?
I honked the horn again, and the car was too fast that hitting the brakes may had cause a minor accident where she would be the one to suffer the consequences.
On the third horn, she finally turned. The bright headlights made her shield her eyes. I tried to get a look at her face because the way she was dressed in a blazer and was carrying a sophisticated bag in her hand, she didn't look like one of the locals.
I swirled the steering wheel at the last moment in an attempt to save her because contrary to my expectations, she stood frozen at her place even after noticing the car speeding her way.
She jumped out of the way at the last moment, and I saw her falling to the roadside. A thought of stopping to help her crossed my mind, but then... who cares about her?
She was the one walking in the middle of the road!
I heard knocks on the door of my room, breaking my chain of thoughts. The door was opened without my permission, and Christine's widely smiling head peeked inside.
"You are ready!"
"Why do you sound so dry about it?" I asked while buttoning the wrist button of my navy blue shirt.
She pouted her lips painted brown with a disappointed face. "I expected to see your six-pack abs."
Her humour never impressed me!
"Well I can find you one with eight pack abs."
She crinkled her nose displeasedly. "You are talking about that bigshot casino owner friend of yours? No please! I'd rather date a guy who has phobia of gym. Thank you very much!"
Now that made me laugh because that was not humour but the truth!
"Alright I will find you the one you like."
"Oh that's so kind of you boss! But I don't think the boss of TGF is even close to kind. She will roast us both alive if we are even a minute late."
My mood instantly soured hearing about that woman.
"I don't care what she will do today but one thing the whole TGF and the Swindon will know for sure."
"What is that?" Christine asked with utmost seriousness sensing the sudden change in my mood.
My jaw clenched in anger. "That Elena Bell is a powerless woman and Devon Sanders can crush her under his feet without blinking his eyes!"
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ELENA
I woke up at the blaring alarm ringing right beside my head. I turned it off and checked the time to see it was already six-thirty in the morning. I rubbed my eyes only to hiss in pain.
I settled my half-opened eyes on my palms to see that they looked worse than last night. And when I moved my right leg, I hissed again.
I pushed myself to sit up in bed. Moving the duvet away, I found my knee swollen and red from the last night's fall.
"Screw-eyed power monkey! I will teach you a lesson when I will get my hands on you!" I cursed the driver from the last night with all the colourful slang that I had learned from Jack Sparrow.
God bless that man for improving my vocab of curses!
It took me only thirty-five minutes to get ready. The real task was what to wear. Today was an important day.
Joanna had scheduled a meeting with Victor Sander's son at ten in the morning.
What was his name?
Ah! Mr Devon Sanders!
I had heard so much about him through the news on the tablets. The introvert billionaire, the most eligible bachelor, the arrogant businessman and the intimidating handsome and so on. The titles never came short for the man, and it only spiked my curiosity to know why the world was so obsessed with him.
He came into the business at a quite young age, but there was not much in public about his personal life. He was not a mystical, cold-hearted business tycoon though.
He even didn't hold any prominent position in any of his father's companies, and that always made me wonder if the father and the son didn't get along well.
"Elena? Elena??"
I finally wore a pastel pink outfit that I thought would be appropriate for the meeting. When I joined TGF, I dreamed of leading the marches and protests but the five years of a professional career in the organisation landed me in the chair of CEO, and now my dream remained only a dream and attending these meetings became my reality.
"Elena if you don't come down in the next minute, I will not serve you brekfa-"
"I am here dad! Chill!" I said, hopping down the stairs.
"Slow down, Elena. Those are old stairs. We don't have enough money to operate on your broken back." Dad grumbled from the kitchen.
My mood was already spoiled by his comment. He had to bring in the topic of money one way or another!
I knew he did that intentionally, just to make me feel guilty for not choosing a career as a criminal lawyer and filling his bank account with millions of dollars!
But I was happy with my choice and very much proud of it! I could definitely have been a successful lawyer for any law firm, but I chose what my heart desired. The only purpose of choosing to be a lawyer was to use my knowledge to fight the battles against those giant organisations and companies like the Sanders group.
But he would never understand my aspirations and to be honest, I didn't expect him to.
I remained silent and sat in the chair. He served my breakfast which was basically oats with fruits.
I hated it!
I began eating in silence as I wanted to save my energy for today's meeting. He must have sensed it too because a minute later, he asked, "You have a meeting with Mr Sanders today."
"I know. Thanks for the reminder!"
"No need to be so sarcastic, Elena. I am just trying to talk some sense into you. Behave well and accept whatever his demands are. I have already warned you that Devon Sanders is not someone to mess with.
You have already done enough damage to his company and his boastful ego. So, just do what he says-"
That was enough!
I pushed the bowl away before standing up abruptly. Taking my bag and phone, I walked out of home, ignoring his calls.
I caught two neighbours giggling, enjoying another drama at the Bells. But I had no time to waste on them as my feet carried me to the office.