C9 Chapter 9

“Are we still meeting next week? Our old-time friends won’t let us off the hook this time if we don’t attend the get-together,” Cameron’s same-age friend, Larry, a businessman, came to visit him. He sat on one of Cameron’s office sofas, with Cameron sitting across from him.

“I’ve been busy with work lately, but if we don’t show up this time, they’ll be mad,” Larry stated.

“Same here. I’ll try to adjust my schedule before then. You are right, we should attend this time,” Cameron said.

“How are things going with business, and how’s your brother, Midas? I heard about everything, is he feeling better now?“ Larry wanted to know.

“Yeah, he’s fine now. He has returned to school, and my dad hired a personal guard for him. I haven‘t seen him yet, but I heard he‘s well trained. Besides, it’s just a matter of time before people forget about it and move on,” Cameron said.

“Exactly, it‘s a matter of time. How’s your other brother, Byron, doing?” Larry let out a laugh.

“Don’t even get me started on that one. He’s only tarnishing Dad’s image. He was trending a few days ago for destroying some guy’s car. As usual, Dad paid for the damages,” he explained.

“Still, he’s your brother, and I think you should talk to him at least once in a while,” Larry suggested.

“Wait! You want me and Byron to sit down and have a conversation? So you think such a meeting will end in peace? You should know that we will exchange punches. I can’t sit down and talk to him, that’s not going to happen. I don’t want to talk about Byron, Larry. Can we discuss something else?”

Larry raised his hands in surrender as he said this.

“Alright. I promise not to mention him again,” Before dropping his hands, he said to him. “How is your girlfriend, Lira?” With a laugh, he asked.

“I’m glad you laughed. You know Lira is not my girlfriend, and that we are being forced to meet by my father. It’s so annoying how clingy she is,” Cameron complained.

“I heard she’s not in the country right now,”

“Yeah. She said she was going on a business meeting or something, but I don’t care because it gave me peace of mind,” Cameron admitted.

“Cameron, why aren’t you replying to my texts? Don’t you know how much I miss you? You’re always busy, busy, busy,” Larry said, imitating Lira’s tiny voice and making Cameron laugh.

“You sound exactly like her,” Cameron mused.

“I know, right?” Larry smiled in response.

.

Cameron returned to his desk to continue working after Larry had left. A knock came at the door, and Mr. Jack entered, saying, “She’s here,”

Following behind him was Iris. She was putting on a cream shirt, a steel blue skirt that stopped just below her knees, rosy brown heels, a bisque handbag, and a white jacket. She also wore a gold necklace and earrings, as well as a matching wristwatch and some make-up, and her natural hair was straightened and styled to fall over her shoulder.

While Mr. Jack excused himself and left, she walked towards Cameron’s desk and stood in front of him for nearly five minutes before he raised his head.

She stood in front of him for nearly five minutes before he raised his head to look at her. Iris, who was already irritated, was hit with Cameron’s visual, which made her eyes widen but she shook it off her mind with the thought, “He’s still a jerk who wasted my time,”

Cameron finally said, “You must be the new secretary,”

“Yes, Sir. My name is Iri-“

“I don’t need your name,” He rudely cut her off. “I know you’re Iris, so skip the introduction and get right to work. Your desk is out there, and if you have any questions, please ask Mr. Jack to put you through. Please excuse me,” He said to her before returning to his work.

It took Iris a few seconds before she was able to move and walk out of his office because of the shock. She tried to calm herself down in her thoughts, not wanting to get angry, and when she got outside, she went immediately to the restroom, got in, locked the door, dropped her bag in front of the large mirror, and started pacing.

“Wow! He’s a complete jerk. Did he just say that? Oh, my goodness! Wow, the first few minutes are already interesting. Iris, calm down, calm down… I really want to strangle him, arrrgh!”

A female staff member emerged from one of the toilet stalls. An awkward look passed between them before Iris picked up her bag and swiftly ran out.

"That was embarrassing," She whined to herself before going in search of Mr. Jack.

.

After the lecture was over and the lecturer had left the room, a few students stared at Midas with piercing eyes. He noticed them but chose to ignore them, while Diamond, who had just finished packing up her things, noticed them staring at him.

“Do you have a problem with him? What is with that look? Do you want to eat him up or what?” Diamond hurled at them.

“What are they doing?” Aiden asked as he rose from his seat.

“They keep staring at Midas, like what‘s that all about?”

“Diamond. You don’t need to say anything to them because I’m fine. Please just ignore them,” Midas pleaded.

“No! I’m not going to let anyone look down on you!” As she and Aiden walked to Midas’s seat, she said.

“You mentioned your new guard was with you,” Aiden said.

“Yeah, he’s outside in the car. I don‘t know, I found him…” He took a pause.

“Found him what? Bad?” Diamond asked.

“No, not at all. He just gave me a different vibe, like he’s a mysterious person or something. I’m not sure,” He tried to explain.

“Ok. Can we go see this mysterious person who is giving you these different vibes?” Aiden wanted to know.

“You’re acting weird right now,” Midas pointed out to his friend.

“Yeah, I know,” Aidan replied, giggling.

.

“Yeah, I’ll talk to you later,” Michael, who was inside the car, told someone over the phone as Midas and his friends approached. Then he hung up the phone and got out of the car to open the door.

Aiden and Diamond were taken aback when Michael stepped out of the car. They were both stunned and stood motionless with their mouths wide open. Midas smiled as he noticed their reactions.

“Both of you share the same brain cells,” He joked, continuing his walk to the car, prompting his friends to follow.

Diamond and Aiden approached the car, where Midas and Michael stood staring at each other.

“Hi! My name is Diamond, and I’m Midas’s best friend,” She extended her hand to shake Michaels’, but it was slapped away by Aiden.

“Hello, Miss? Did I just hear you say ‘best friend?’” He looked at Michael. “Ignore her. I’m Aiden, the original best friend,”

“You wish,” Diamond muttered, and Aiden responded by sticking out his tongue at her.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Michael,” He introduced himself.

“I’m sorry, but how often do you go to the gym, because wow!” Diamond exclaimed as she openly admired Michael’s physique, her hands gesticulating how large he was.

He smiled at her, and after some small talk, Diamond and Aiden left to their respective cars.

Michael opened the door to the front passenger seat, rather than the back, and as Midas got in, closed the door shut before getting into the driver’s seat. He cast an odd glance at Midas, who returned the look.

“What‘s going on?”

“Your seatbelt,” Michael reminded him.

“Oh,” Midas muttered as he buckled his seatbelt, then Michael started the car and drove out of the school.

Midas turned on some music in the car to fill the awkward silence.

Unity by Allan X Walker.

Midas gave Michael an awkward smile before turning his face to the window, and Michael chuckled at him.

.

The club was bouncing as the DJ spun the tunes. Byron and his close friend Henry were seated at the VIP table, each with two ladies beside them. While Byron was making out with one of the ladies next to him, another had her hand on his manhood.

“Oh my! Henry, these babes you got me tonight are top-notch,” Byron said loudly, trying to be heard over the music.

“I told you, man. I told you I got your back. You’re not going to eat the same food tonight,” Henry said.

Byron pulled out a pack of cigarettes and was about to light one when his gaze was drawn to a woman in the crowd. A lady with a light complexion and an attractive figure. She looked stunning in a long-sleeved turtleneck mini dress that accentuated her figure. She wore silver heels, long artificial hair that reached her butt, and light make-up that made her look more attractive.

Bryon was drawn to her right away, so he tapped Henry to ask about her.

“You don’t know who she is?” Henry asked.

“Who is she?”

“That‘s Gina. She owns the town’s largest boutique and has a lot of female staff under her. I’m surprised you don’t know who she is,” Henry said.

Byron rested his back on his chair, his gaze fixed on her until he noticed her staggering outside the club, seemingly drunk, with two men close behind. This prompted him to jump to his feet and follow them, and just as he had suspected, they were harassing her as she was about to enter her car.

“And you call yourselves men?” As he approached them, he shouted.

“Who the fuck are you?” One of them asked.

“I‘m her boyfriend. Any problem?”

“Oh! He’s my boyfriend,” She exclaimed drunkenly, and the two guys walked away quickly.

Byron moved closer to her.

“It’s Roman, my ex. I told youuuuuu that you will come back to me. Fine, you cheated on me, and I have every right to be upset about it, but,” Byron was caught off guard when she burst into tears. “But, Roman, what do you want me to do when I’m still in love with you?” She stepped closer to Byron and tripped, but he quickly caught her.

She put her hands on his chest and stared at him intently.

“I told you a million times that you’re the last person I would give a chance to let him into my heart. I told you that I had been through a lot with guys and that you were my last hope, but you cheated on me so many times and I kept forgiving you,” Her tears fell quickly. “I wanted to break up with you, but the fear of being lonely prevented me from doing so. Roman, could you please stop hurting me? I love you, and you know it too,” She pleaded softly.

Bryon remained motionless, still holding her, and before he could react, she pressed her lips against his.