Chapter 9 A CHOICE AT REDEMPTION-OR NOT

~Rose

The sound of my alarm blaring off jolted me out of my sleep and pulled me back to harsh reality. The rays of the sun filtered into the room and bathed my eyes blocking my sight.

For a few moments, all I could see was pitch black before I blinked severally, adjusting my sight to the light which the sun gave off as it hit against the glass door for my room's corridor and bounced off to my face.

I groggily dragged myself up to a sitting position. I picked up my phone which I had thrown somewhere on the huge queen sized bed and looked at what the time stated on the screen with sleep still pulling at my lids and the soft mattress still calling for me to have, even if it was just for one second, another blissful sleep.

It was eight thirty in the morning. I had to set the alarm at that time so I won't get another earful from Amanda for waking up late when she had told me to be up in time so that I would go and actually get something for myself.

With that thought in mind, I managed to get my legs to move and it did so, mostly begrudgingly. Finally, I was out of bed and now headed for my bathroom.

I stripped my clothes and stood at the entrance of the large walk-in marble bathroom which was refined and screamed of luxury.

It unfolded like a serene oasis. The expansive space invited relaxation. The floor was clad in polished marble and seemed to stretch on forever, meeting the walls at a gentle curve. A freestanding tub, sculpted from a single block of gleaming stone, sat majestically beneath a ceiling-mounted rainfall showerhead, its delicate droplets suspended like diamonds in mid-air.

The walls were adorned with LED-lit mirrors and minimalist cabinetry, and seemed to fade into the background, allowing the eye to wander to the most striking and luxurious feature of the space: a walk-in shower with its frameless glass enclosure disappearing seamlessly into the surrounding space.

The shower stood tall like a sanctuary of sleek modernity, beckoning me to step inside. A rainfall showerhead, its delicate nozzles infused with a soft, ethereal glow hung suspended from the ceiling. The wall-mounted controls of the shower invited me to tailor the water and warmth to my liking.

As I stepped beneath the shower and let its gentle warm waters wash over me, the stresses and thoughts of the day before began to dissolve, rinsed away by the gentle luxury.

I moaned as each tensed muscle in my body relaxed under the water's cooling effects. Having a warm shower has never felt so good.

After a few minutes I was done bathing. I strolled over to my walk-in closet and pulled out a simple attire of denim jeans and a round neck white tee.

I had my hair pulled back and styled in a perfect bun and then carried a matching black bag to go with the simple outfit, a shade of glasses and a pair of flips to do with it.

I walked down the stairs and stopped in front of Amanda who was coming from somewhere in the kitchen.

Her eyes roamed over my body in her usual condescending manner.

"I can see that you're quite prepared." She remarked with a rather disgusted look on her face.

I would have felt hurt by it if I wasn't already slowly starting to get used to the I'll treatments I revived from her and my husband, Davis.

I stayed mute, not replying to what she had said. That was the best way to not get into trouble with either her or David.

She sighed with exaggerated exhaustion and pulled out a credit card-the same one she had given me that was practically empty when she sent me shopping with David for clothes which I was meant to wear for the party the day before-and stretched it out for me to take it.

I eyed the card with skepticism and reluctantly took it from her.

I know that one may ask if I have any money saved or to my name. The answer to that at this point is that he did have a lot of money to my name but I could only use whatever money I was given. Heck! I could only say what I was asked to say and do what I was asked to do. Such was my life at the moment living with Amanda and David.

"Good, now I expect you to be back in one hour." She said firmly.

As soon as I slipped past the door to the elevator, a sortA of relief washed over me that even if it was only for an hour, I was out of that house.

I walked up to the receptionist in the lobby.

"How may I help you?" She asked with a smile on her face.

That smile made me remember my initial embarrassment getting to the hotel. The receptionist standing in front of me, however, was not the one who treated me badly the first day I walked into the hotel.

The receptionist who was smiling professionally at me now, was different. I wonder what happened to the first one I met the day I arrived.

"Do you think you can help me check how much I have in my credit card?" I asked her and handed her the card.

I needed to know if Amanda was pulling my legs like she did the last time. I didn't want to be fooled a second time.

She took the card from my outstretched hand and placed it into a card reader.

"You have a few thousand dollars." She said and handed the card back to me.

At least, Amanda wasn't lying about it this time.

For the next few minutes, I felt happy as I entered shop after shop, trying to get what I wanted. The money Amanda gave me was quite a lot and it's the only money she's ever given me since I got married to David.

But by the time I was done, I returned home with more than eight shopping bags. I passed through the door of the penthouse and bless God, Amanda wasn't home and David and his pesky mistress were nowhere to be found.

It wasn't until the sun had gone down that I heard the door to the penthouse open, signifying that they just returned back.

I thought between just staying back in my room and having to go to Amanda to tell her I had done as she asked but before I could come to a conclusion, I heard her yell my name from downstairs.

I got down from my bed, headed out my room and walked down the stairs to meet her.

"Yes." I said to her as soon as I saw her.

She spun around at the sound of my voice, "so, did you get everything you need, all your essentials?" She asked me.

"Yes." I replied like a freaking five year old.

"Good, you will be leaving with David in the next few minutes so get dressed." She said to me and turned back to give her attention to David.

They had been having very important discussions since the party.

A few minutes later, I was seated at the back of David's black Ford with David. I was dressed in a red jumpsuit that screamed of sophisticated elegance. I left my hair in a wave beach style hair do and let it fall over my shoulders with black heels to match the outfit of the intricately cut formal jumpsuit.

The drive was quiet and I didn't bother to ask where we were headed because he wasn't going to answer me anyway.

We finally halted in front of a very tall skyscraper after several minutes of being on the road. The skyscraper stood tall and proud, its sleek glass and steel façade glinting in the sunlight like a shard of crystal. The building's angular lines and geometric shapes seemed to defy gravity, as if it were a giant's fist thrusting towards the heavens.

My neck ached and my eyes stung as I looked at it from the ground. At the top edge of the building, overlooking the city was an encrusted golden symbol depicting the letter "C" but designed in a more artistic manner.

"We don't have all day." I heard David say as he began to walk towards the grand double glass doors of the building.

He walked ahead of me and I had to sprint to keep up with his long strides.

As I walked into the building, I was greeted first by the lobby, a grand spacious foyer of polished marble and gleaming gold accents, buzzed with the hum of high-stakes deal-making and the soft murmur of hushed conversations as well as the sound as heels clanked against the marble floor.

We took a turn to the right where two silver elevators stood looking very sleek and polished. It made a sound and with it, its doors opened and suited men and women made their way out, others making their way in.

We stepped into one of the elevators and David pressed a button to take us up to the 15th floor.

It didn't take very long and soon we were making our way out of the elevator and onto a corridor, sleek and polished as well with the same refinement of the lobby.

The air was thick with the scent of freshly brewed coffee and the distant chatter as employees went about in their daily activities.

David stopped short in front of a glass door and tapped on the opaque glass. I heard a low rumble come from the inside and David wrapped his hands around the knob and walked in.

I took that as my cue to follow.

There were two men inside the very huge office with a polished table sitting at a strategic corner in the huge airy space that exudes sophistication.

"I see that you've arrived. I had thought I'd have to wait more than a few hours before you would actually come." One of the men in suit exclaimed as soon as he saw David.

David walked over to him and took a seat in the large plush beige colored settee that was placed close to the wall with a large glass tea table placed at the middle of the two settee arrangement.

I sat beside David at a considerable distance while he conversed with the suited man.

"Is he here?" David asked him and I could feel he was purposely hiding some information.

"He isn't but that's his representative." He said and pointed to the other man who was also cladded in a suit but had a cigarette stick sitting between his fingers.

He was just sitting behind the large desk with a rather stern expression on his face.

David sighed, "and the documents?"

"Right here." He replied and handed him a brown envelope.

"Can you please, excuse us?" David asked the men.

They both shared some sort of knowing look before they stood up, smoothened the rumpled parts of their suits and walked to the door.

"If there's anything, make sure to alert me." The man threw over his shoulder and left, closing the door behind him.

My mind raced with questions as to what was going on and why David was being so secretive about it.

My eyes watched him with keen attention.

He sighed, scooted over to me and then grabbed my hands in his. I flinched and recoiled from his touch as though his skin burned mine.

It was an action done on instinct.

Why was he suddenly trying to be nice?

"Look Rose, there is something you have to do." He said.

"And what's that?" I asked him with a confused expression sitting on my face.

He was acting weird and it was beginning to feel very awkward for me.

"You see, the thing is this, the company is in ruins-this company." He started, looking at me with solemn eyes.

Did he really mean this company,

"And the only way to save it is to merge with another very important company."

"So, why am I here?" I asked him, feeling mentally exhausted with having to hear him speak in such a caring manner when he was anything but that.

"Because, it's your decision to make."

"What decision?"

"To save the company or to leave it to crumble." He replied.

I sighed and straightened my back as I listened to him with rapt attention.

"To save the company you have to sign me in as the CEO."

My body tensed with shock. I had that kind of power.

I looked at him with uncertainty. There was no way I would ever be doing that because of how badly he's been treating me.

"And why should I do that?" I asked him with a tinge of defiance in my tone.

He sighed and used his hand to tuck my loose strand behind my ear, "because darling it's either you save your father's legacy or you let it die alongside him. You've already succeeded in killing him with your actions, I'm sure this won't be such a big deal as you're about to make yet another mistake if you let this slip past you." He paused.

I could feel my nails digging into my skin as anger and hurt bubbled up inside me-a dangerous mix.

His hand moved to the back of my neck and he pulled it with an abrupt force so that there is only little space between our faces.

"I am giving you a choice and an opportunity at redemption. You either take it and be happy or let it slip past you while you spend the rest of your days in regret. It's up to you."