Chapter 5 A quick visit

Lerisa had finished having dinner with her parents in the dining room. Since none of her siblings were at home, she stood up, locked the entrance door, and returned to her bedroom to sleep.

Lerisa went into her room, picked up her phone, and saw that the time was past 10 PM. Furthermore, she was surprised to see many missed calls from Anthony and wasted no time in calling him back to find out why he had called her.

The phone call connected, and Lerisa spoke first: "Hello, Anthony."

Anthony was still standing in his bedroom, preparing to sleep when he saw his phone ringing. He picked it up, and noticed that Lerisa was the one calling him.

Anthony answered her call and asked, "Hey, Lerisa. I was calling to check if you got home safely and to see if you're alright now."

"Yeah, I'm fine now. Thanks for calling to check," Lerisa replied, knowing that Anthony cared for her like an older brother. But he wasn't her brother; she had a big brother named James Jonah.

Lerisa wished Anthony could see her beyond their sibling bond or their family closeness and recognize her feelings for him.

Anthony said, "Okay then. Goodnight. I'll visit you tomorrow morning to check up on you again."

"Okay," Lerisa replied, not wanting to refuse Anthony's visit to her family home. She agreed, knowing it wasn't Anthony's first time visiting, as her mother liked him a lot.

"Goodnight too," she added.

The phone call with Anthony disconnected, and Lerisa stared at her phone screen in silence for a while.

She had saved pictures of Anthony on her phone and even used one as her wallpaper.

She smiled and kissed his photo on her phone screen, feeling her innocent heart shudder and thud in her chest for Anthony. If only he could hear her heart beating.

Lerisa then plugged her phone in to charge, she went into her bathroom to freshen up before returning to her pink bed to sleep.

****

The following Saturday morning, Anthony went for his early morning exercise and fitness training. He jogged and ran for a while.

He was a billionaire, but that didn't stop him from exercising, as the wealthy often populated the town they lived in.

Anthony wore a white sports jersey while jogging that morning. He had on a white singlet top, white shorts, and white socks, paired with white canvas shoes.

Anthony looked breathtakingly handsome, and plenty of young women along the way stole glances at him as he jogged that early hour.

Anthony's family home was not far from Lerisa's; it was only two streets away.

He decided to visit Lerisa in her family mansion to see how she was doing, as he considered her his little sister and his best friend.

Anthony approached Lerisa's family gate and knocked on the black gate, waiting for the occupants to come out and open it.

Meanwhile, the huge black gate was locked from inside, and Anthony didn't have his phone to call Lerisa and inform her he was at her house.

He glanced at his wristwatch and saw it was already after 8 AM. The sun was gradually rising above the clouds, and Anthony knocked once again just as Lerisa, who was sweeping the front of her father's compound, came to pull the gate open.

Lerisa gasped in surprise as she saw Anthony standing there, looking breathtakingly handsome and glistening with sweat.

Her breath hitched upon seeing him in a white singlet top that revealed his toned abs.

Lerisa couldn't help but imagine what those muscles would feel like if she touched him naked.

She gulped hard, blushing as she met Anthony's intense gaze.

"Good morning, sir," she greeted him shyly.

"Morning," Anthony smiled, happy to see Lerisa blushing at him, as she often did. She was very light-skinned, and he enjoyed seeing her pretty face.

"How was your night?" he asked. He lifted the water bottle he was holding in his right hand to his lips. After opening the bottle, he drank from it, with water dripping down the side of his lips.

Lerisa swallowed again, watching Anthony as he drank. She looked down shyly, while he set the bottle aside and asked, "I came to see you. How are you feeling now?"

"Lerisa! Who's at the gate?" Lerisa heard her mother call from inside the house. She glanced back at her mother before replying, "Anthony is here, Mom."

"Alright," her mother, Mrs. Antonia responded.

Anthony stepped closer to the gate, leaning toward Lerisa. "Move away from the gate; let me say hello to your parents first."

Lerisa felt warmth radiating from Anthony's close proximity. She wasn't wearing a bra underneath her ash-colored nightgown and felt a flush of heat.

She quickly stepped aside from the gate, allowing Anthony to enter the compound.

Anthony smiled at Lerisa's flustered behaviour, as he stepped into the yard, his eyes lingering for a moment on her breasts, before he quickly looked away.

Anthony approached her mother, who was smiling warmly at him. Mrs. Antonia Jonah stepped out of the door when she saw Anthony approaching.

"Good morning, sir," she greeted him.

"Good morning, ma. How are you this morning?" Anthony replied with a smile.

"I'm fine, Anthony. How about you? What a pleasant surprise to see you here! You hardly visit us since you took over as the new CEO. Did we offend you in any way?" Mrs. Antonia inquired.

"No, ma. Not at all," Anthony reassured her with a friendly smile.

Mrs. Antonia felt relieved and replied, "You're welcome to our house anytime. Come inside; I'm about to prepare breakfast. You can join us."

"No, ma. Thank you. I only came to check on Lerisa, as she looked so sad yesterday," Anthony said, glancing at Lerisa, who stood a few steps away, smiling shyly and hiding her blushing face.

"Lerisa? Oh! She came home yesterday looking sad too, and I wondered what was wrong. I hope there's no problem between you two at the office," Mrs. Antonia said.

"No, ma. I don't have any problem with Lerisa. I can see that she's fine now. I should be on my way home, which is why I came to check up on her," Anthony politely said, signaling that he wanted to leave.

"Okay then. Thank you for visiting and checking up on my daughter. Your mother invited us over for your birthday celebration tonight. I hope you invited my daughter too," Mrs. Antonia said, smiling brightly as she hoped Anthony would consider her as family.

"Yes, ma. I did," Anthony replied with a handsome smile.

"Alright then. We will see you later in the evening. I need to go inside now and finish preparing breakfast. Goodbye, Anthony," Mrs. Antonia said, and Anthony replied, "Okay, ma."

Lerisa stood aside, listening to her mother's conversation with Anthony until Mrs. Antonia left them and returned to the house, leaving Lerisa and Anthony alone.