Mr. CEO, I Can't Be Hidden Anymore

~~AMAKA~~

It was my eighteenth birthday. I had just graduated from high school, and Joseph Ericson was my boyfriend. He wouldn't let me be, begging me and pressuring me for us to have sex.

I had told him that I wanted to wait until after our marriage, but Joseph refused. He claimed that I did not love him enough and that was why I didn't want to sleep with him. I agreed, and here I was in a hotel room with him.

I am a shy blonde girl, fair in complexion, but Joseph was the reverse of my complexion. He was dark in complexion, taller than me, and handsome. He had short black hair, and I loved him.

Joseph Ericson came from a rich family here in Palazo town where we lived. My parents were average workers, and so we were considered not as well off as Joseph's family.

Joseph promised to marry me. He was 21 years old and a business student at the university, while I was still preparing to gain admission and join him there.

I had lied to my mother that I was going to see my friend, using the excuse that I was preparing to write my admission exam into the university. I sneaked into this hotel's room to see Joseph, and here we were.

"Mmm... Ah!" I moaned as Joseph drove into me faster and moaned in my ear, "Yes, babe. You are so sweet." He reached his climax and finished inside me.

"Joseph, it hurts," I cried as he kissed me and sat beside me on the hotel bed.

"I am sorry, my love. I will forever cherish this," Joseph said, cupping my face as he kissed my forehead.

"I cannot seem to get enough of you. I wish we could get married and I would never leave you," he added. I wiped my teary eyes and looked at his handsome face as we lay on the hotel bed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked him, and he sighed.

"Look, Amaka, I want you to know that I love you. But my family and I are moving to the city next week. You know that my father owns a big company there. He informed my siblings and me that he acquired a new mansion, so that means I would be leaving with them and we might not get to see each other again."

My eyes welled up with tears as I heard Joseph say that to me.

"But you will still be calling me on the phone, right?" I asked him, as I tried to believe that Joseph wouldn't get to the city and fall in love with another woman.

I loved him very much. He was like the air that I breathed. My heart and soul wanted him.

"I promise you, I won't forget about you. Anytime I am on vacation, I will come around to see you. I will lodge in a hotel, okay? You are my wife. Stop crying." Joseph wiped my tears away and drew closer to me on the bed as he kissed my lips again.

I was crying and not in the mood to kiss him.

"Why not take me home with you? Tell your parents that I am your girlfriend and you wish to marry me. You have been hiding me all this time and refusing to introduce me to your mother," I told him, knowing that whenever I told him I wanted to come and see him at his family house, he would refuse.

None of his siblings knew that we were dating, and I felt awkward chatting with his brother online and introducing myself to him as Joseph's girlfriend.

"My elder brother is not in any relationship," Aaron told me through our online chat.

Joseph kept me hidden, and I didn't know how long he planned to continue doing that.

"No, Amy. I promise you, when the time is right, I will take you home and introduce you to my family. If I do that now, my parents will get annoyed and give my inheritance to my younger brother. I have to first get established, and after that, I promise you we will get married," Joseph said, wiping my tears away.

I wished that I could believe him, but I had this lingering feeling that he was lying to me.

*Was he lying to me? Did he have another woman in his life?*

My heart became so heavy, yet I had just lost my virginity to him, before I thought about all of this.

Joseph kissed my lips again and thrust his huge dîck into me, before my mind could register to ask him.

I groaned in pain with each deep thrust, and there he took me to cloud nine with him.

*****

Four years later:

"Mom, when are you taking me to school?" my three-year-old son asked me. He was smart and intelligent compared to other children his age.

"Jason, you are still a baby and not old enough to go to school," I told him as I was preparing for my new job interview.

"That's a lie, Mom!" Jason shouted. I sighed and rolled my eyes as I stood by the mirror in my room, combing my long blonde hair and spraying on my orange perfume.

"Jason, why would Mommy lie to you? Have you seen a baby going to school? You have to stay at home with my best friend," I told him, and he frowned.

"Mommy..." Jason burst out crying, and my best friend, Maureen Austin, came into the room.

"What's going on here, Amaka? What did you do to my small husband?" Maureen asked me as she scooped Jason up into her arms.

After I got pregnant, my parents chased me away and refused to sponsor my education. I tried calling Joseph to tell him that I was pregnant. But guess what? He blocked my number and told me to get rid of it. He said he wasn't ready to father a child.

I couldn't do that. I had to beg Maureen for help. She was a tailor and into blogs, so she pleaded with her mother, who was a single mother, and her mother allowed me to live with them.

Later, I started creating blogs too, as Maureen told me I could do it as a part-time job from home.

With that, my page gained one million followers as I created a baby page for my son and uploaded cute photos of him.

Many fans loved Jason. He was fair just like me, but while I had long blonde hair, he had curly brown hair.

~~AMAKA~~

"Maureen, you know that I cannot put Jason in school now. He is a baby, and I don't want to force books into his head," I said, looking back at my best friend and her "small husband" in her arms.

"Don't mind your mother. I will put you in school, okay? There's a preschool here for small children, so I will go there with you now," Maureen said to Jason, and he smiled at her.

"Thanks, Aunt," he said.

"You're welcome, sweetie," she replied and told him to wait, while she prepared his bath for his new school.

"Maureen, you cannot be serious. Jason is my son, and I get to decide for him," I told her.

As her mother had another room, Maureen and I shared her room. Although I could move out and get an apartment of my own, I didn't want to be selfish.

I was able to go for a part-time training in business class with Maureen's mother's help. She looked after Jason for me until he was able to walk.

My family didn't want to have anything to do with me. Well, maybe now that they saw I was well off on my own. My mother phoned me last week and claimed she wanted to know how I was, and if I still had the baby.

Unbelievable. I gritted my teeth and ended the call on her. My mother didn't need to know about her grandchild. I am 22 years old now, and I don't need such parents as grandparents for Jason.

They would never welcome him or love him like Maureen's mother does. Although, she encouraged Maureen not to fall pregnant like I did, as Maureen and I were the same age and fair in complexion.

Likewise, Maureen is in a relationship with a good man from around here. He owns a small business that has become global, and now he is set to marry Maureen and take her off to the city.

As her wedding was still pending, her groom had arrived with his family, and I watched with teary eyes how my best friend got engaged to the love of her life.

But I kept remembering Joseph Ericson and the silly promises he made to me. After that night he slept with me, he never contacted me again. I searched for his home address after my parents threw me out, but the harsh reality hit me hard.

Joseph and his parents had packed out, and none of their neighbours knew where the affluent family was living.

"You shouldn't worry, Amaka. Jason is my son, as I was there on the day he was born and also watching him grow up. So I am his big aunt and mommy too, while my mom is his godmother," Maureen smiled.

"Fine. I have to hurry up for this business interview I told you about. You know I want to have another job to support us now that you will be getting married. I plan to move out too, and get a new apartment so that you can go to your new house with your mom," I told Maureen. She was done folding out Jason's beautiful clothes, as she intended to take him to a new school.

I knew my son wanted to go to school. He saw other kids around going to school, but I wanted him to grow up a bit more before taking him.

"My mom wouldn't send you away, even if I am going with my husband tomorrow, Amaka. Why do you worry about irrelevant things? "Anyway, you're running late, and Jason will be late for school, so I have to hurry up and take him. You know, as a new student, he will need to do a lot of registration. What surname should I file for him?" Maureen asked me as I was done applying a little pink gloss on my pink lips.

I donned a red top and black skirt, understanding that the company doesn't approve of trousers. Although I didn't want to discuss my son's dad with her, I knew that Joseph would get to meet Jason one day, so long as he was still alive and in the city. It wasn't far from where Maureen's mother lived.

After I was sent away from my parents' home, I had called Maureen on the phone, knowing that she was the only good friend I had, before her mother relocated to the city.

But then, they had those billionaires living on one side of the city, while the working-class people like us lived in another busy area. That was why I wanted my son to grow up before putting him in school. It was so busy around here.

"Just his name, Jason," I said, not wanting to mention my father's surname. My father said that my child wasn't his, so I should take my baby to his father. But Joseph had blocked me online. Even though I had his younger brother's profile page, we hadn't chatted since the last time I introduced myself to him as Joseph's girlfriend.

I didn't want to ask Aaron about Joseph. I was heartbroken that Joseph blocked me online and told me to get rid of his sperm. It was so traumatic.

"You must be joking, Amaka. You're Amaka Richard, and I think your son has a full birth name. That reminds me-Jason Ericson. So deal with the fact that you got pregnant by someone, and your child has to bear his father's surname in case of tomorrow," Maureen said as she stripped off Jason's pyjamas to help him have his bath.

"Fine. Just name Jason whatever you want as his surname, but know that I don't have anything to do with his dad again," I said.

Maureen replied, "I know. You should get going, as I heard that new company, J. E. Global, is strict. You shouldn't get late and miss your chances of securing a job with them. It will help with your studies and online job too."

"Fine." I wore my black shoes beside the bed and waved goodbye to my son, as I clutched my black bag.

Once I got out of the room, I came across Mrs. Ann Austin. She was a good woman and Maureen's mother, too.

"Good morning, Ma." I greeted her, and she smiled at me. "Morning, my dear. Are you going out?"

"Yes, Ma," I replied, and she asked, "Wouldn't you have breakfast first? There is still time. Or is it school that you're going to?"

"No, Ma. I am going for a new job interview, but it's far from here, so I have to get a bus to take me to the area," I said.

"Will you be going to the Island?" she asked.

"No, Ma, I'm not going there. Still on the mainland. It's a new branch office," I said.

"Okay. But still have your breakfast so that you appear sharp at work," she advised.

"Okay, Ma," I agreed and went to the kitchen to prepare my tea.

"What of Maureen? Has she left the house too?" Mrs. Ann asked me, walking into the kitchen to meet me.

"No, Ma. Maureen is in her room, preparing Jason for school."

"Oh!" Mrs. Ann smiled with understanding and nodded her head. "Maureen loves Jason so much, and now she will soon be going to her husband's house. I wonder how she will cope-maybe she'll take Jason along with her."

I smiled and drank my tea. "Maybe." I didn't know. Maureen may want to take my son with her.

~~AMAKA~~

After I finished having my breakfast in the kitchen, I stepped out of the house and made my way outside of the compound.

The house was a rented apartment, and Mrs. Ann did not own it.

As I got outside and onto the busy road, I saw a yellow bus and got in. I sat beside a tall man who wore a black suit, and he smiled at me.

I was too preoccupied to smile back, and after what Joseph had done to me, I limited smiling with any man.

It was painful that Joseph would break up with me. He should have told me that he wanted only sex and not that he wanted to marry me.

I was a decent girl in my area, the reason why I became a laughing stock among my peers who hadn't expected a good girl like me to become pregnant.

I wiped my tears away and kept my gaze focused on the road. The man who sat beside me spoke. "Hi, dear. I have paid your fare."

"Huh!" I looked taken aback that a total stranger would help me clear my bill. As I looked at this man's face, I gulped. He was fair like me, and he had short brown hair like my son. Although he wasn't Joseph Ericson, he was handsome and masculine.

"Thank you, but you shouldn't have done that. I don't need any favours from you," I said as the bus continued to drive towards our destination.

"I understand, but I cannot help but appreciate your beauty. Do you live around here, or where are you heading now?" he asked, and I grimaced.

Gross! I hated it whenever a guy poked his nose in my affairs.

"I am sorry, sir, but I cannot tell you anything about myself. These days people get kidnapped, and trusting a stranger is risky," I said, my voice lowered so as not to embarrass him, as we had other passengers seated behind us.

"Fine. I will keep that in mind," he said, while I looked away.

"Industrial estate. Anyone getting down?" the driver of the yellow bus asked, and I responded, "Yes, sir."

I stepped down from the bus, and the man in the suit came down too. My brows furrowed, wondering if he didn't have a job at this early hour of the day.

I wanted to pay the bus conductor, but he told me, "Your husband has paid."

"What? He's not my husband," I warned the conductor, who gasped, "Oh! Sorry, madam. But you two resemble each other."

"Whatever!" I turned and made my way to the company I was heading to-J. E. Global.

I didn't speak to the man who walked along with me. I believed that by the time I got into the company, he would find his way.

However, as I got to the company's gate, the man checked in with his identity badge, and the security man let him in. I was surprised that the man was already working there, but I wasn't allowed inside.

"What do you want, madam?" the security man asked me, and I replied, "I'm here for my interview." I showed him the email on my phone, and he allowed me into the company.

I had to wait for my interview with the boss, as the company was strict, like Maureen had told me. I didn't research this company, believing I would secure the job.

A woman in a white top and black skirt, paired with polished black shoes told me to sit and wait for the boss to arrive. It was already 9 a.m. before the boss showed up.

I didn't raise my head to look at the boss who walked into the company. I heard whispering from other new members who came for their interviews. We were up to ten candidates who came for this job interview.

Soon, the lady in charge of ushering us came with her folder to introduce herself to us, as she had told us to sit and wait.

"Hello, everyone. Welcome to J. E. Global Enterprises. We do not entertain cheating or breach of contract. We expect our staff to keep our company name high to motivate other brands out there to partner with us and our goods and services. So we will proceed with the introduction. I am Anita Edward, your new coach. I will give out this consent form to each and every one of you. Once you sign it, it shows that you have agreed with our company's terms. Then I will assign you to your partner, who will mentor you on how our system operates. But before that, you will have to go in one by one for your interview with our boss. Once he approves of you and why you're here to work with us, then you can sign this form. Agreed?" she asked, and I swallowed hard.

I sat in the lobby on the long guest chairs waiting. I could see their clients coming in and going out of their building. I was nervous, wondering who that man I had seen earlier was.

There was no way the boss of J. E. Global would be riding a bus like I did. Although I had the money to afford a small car, I didn't want to show off.

I was earning more money than Maureen, who taught me how to blog. So if I purchased a car now, it would seem like I was trying to compete with her. I didn't know if that was how Maureen felt, but that was how I thought she might feel, so I avoided doing anything to upset her. She doesn't get upset, but I didn't want to show off.

"Amaka Richard. It's your time now to go in for your interview," Anita said.

"Okay." I snapped out of my trance, rose from the guest chair, and adjusted my red top and black skirt.

"Ma, can I go in there with my handbag?" I asked, not knowing if I could carry it in.

"No. Come with me," Anita ushered me to follow her and showed me a safe where I could keep my bag and hold the key until I returned to take it.

"Thank you, Ma," I told her, and she smiled.

"Hurry up and don't keep our boss waiting," she said.

"Okay," I gulped and walked to the boss's office.

I took a deep breath and entered the expansive office on the fifth floor. My eyes landed on the dark-skinned man in the black suit seated behind the desk.

"What?!" I gasped, shocked to see Joseph Ericson as the boss of this new company.

*Why didn't I research him? How did I forget to check about the new company I was coming to work for?*

I tried to look away from him and to leave his office. He appeared indifferent, like he didn't know me.

"Are you Amaka Richard?" he asked, pretending not to know me.

Unbelievable! Did I change that much? How could he not recognise me after four years of our relationship?

My lips trembled as I tried to respond to him. "Jo... Joseph. You own this company?" I asked him, tears welling up in my brown eyes.

"Excuse me, have we met before?" he asked me. I shook my head. Since he was pretending not to know me, then I would pretend that I didn't know him too. We dated for one year, before he ran away with his parents. How couldn't he recognise me?