“Ann?” Maxwell called, just to be sure that he wasn’t imagining it.
“You are still sober, that is good.” She chattered from the other end of the phone like a bird. “I just wanted to call you on time before you get drunk surrounded by a pool of half-naked ladies, or whatever it is you Billionaire playboys do on the eve of your birthdays.” she teased.
“Anna…” Mr. Blackwood didn’t even get the chance to speak as she continued.
“Forgive me if I am bothering you, I know that you must have your numerous girlfriends surrounding you right now, try not to get too drunk or you will have a hangover tomorrow, and why is there no music? Did you fire your DJ? I thought clubs are supposed to be lively by this time of the night?”
“Anna!” he called loudly to shut her up and fortunately it worked. “If there is anyone drunk between us tonight, it is you. Are you alright? You don’t sound alright to me. You are not drinking again, are you?”
“Of course, I am perfectly fine. You are the one we should be worried about. I hope I am not offending your girlfriends by keeping you away, it is past twelve which means the ones who are not yet at the club with you would be trying to contact you through phone. Do you need me to end the call so that they can get through to you?”
“No!! Anna, I need you to let me talk! You are saying so many stupid things at the same time.” He blurted and growled in frustration, with Anna bursting into laughter on the other end. She must be enjoying messing with him like that, it seemed like she was in one of those moods.
“Firstly, I do not have any girlfriend, or girlfriends, nor are there any half-naked women with me right now, Missus. And why do you even think I am at a club? I am in my house, ALONE!! There are no ladies or alcohol, so can you stop jumping to silly conclusions?”
“Oh wow! I am shocked. You are usually at the club on ordinary days, so I didn’t expect less at a time like this. It is your birthday, I know the main party is later in the day but I am shocked you are not already getting drunk. By the way, how old are you now, Mr. Blackwood?”
His face lit up with a smile, this girl is crazy. Her lively voice lifted his spirits and instantly got him out of his previous mood.
“Why do you want to know?” he queried.
“Are you going to tell me or not?” she replied sharply.
“Fine… I am thirty-one now, happy?”
“OMG! Thirty one? Like… A year older than thirty?” Anna yelled over the phone, expressing her shock at his utterance.
“You are going to blow my eardrums. Yes, I am thirty one, what is wrong with that?” he asked, confused by her reaction.
“By God, I thought you were going to be thirty eight or so.” She chuckled.
“Huh? Are you saying I look old?” he asked immediately, crumpling his face in feigned anger. Too bad she couldn’t see his expressions.
Anna burst into laughter. “But it is true, okay let’s be more realistic, you look thirty-five.”
“No, Missus. I disrespectfully disagree. You are just poor at observation, good thing I didn’t hire you for your eyesight because those eyeballs are big for nothing.” He fired back.
“Ouch, that hurt!”
“It also hurt when you called me old, I am a young man, young in heart and in body.” He argued. He wasn’t going to let that one slide, why would she say he looked almost forty?
“Alright fine, I agree. I need to go to bed now, Mr. Woods, I guess I will see you tomorrow.”
“Mr. Woods? Are you serious right now?” he snapped.
“What? You said you don’t like MB, so I got creative.”
“That is even worse!” he grumbled. “You call this creativity?”
“Ugh! You are so grumpy, goodnight Mr. Woods! Deal with it!” she laughed as she ended the call.
Mr. Blackwood sat there with mouth agape. No, she didn’t!! How dare she?
“Ugh! Annoying parasite,” he muttered to himself as he tossed the phone away. When he sets his eyes on her tomorrow, he will teach her.
Mr. Blackwood soon found himself smiling as he thought about her. No one had ever cared to call him in the first hours of his birthday to wish him, not even the ladies in his previous relationships, but then Annabel did. They weren’t even a real thing but yet she stayed up late to wish him early, she was the first to wish him. Annabel keeps giving him new reasons to not stay away from her.
What was it about this girl that got him so captivated? She clearly didn’t want him and even though he was yet to make his intentions clear, his attempts had not been futile. He hated these feelings because they were the opposite of everything he believed in.
She was not the first woman he had slept with and she would not be the last, so why was it different with her? It was usually the women chasing him, majority of the time for monetary benefits of dating him, but this young lady had not only rejected his affection but his money as well.
It was a vulnerable moment of emotions for Mr. Blackwood but that soon came to an end as a text message from his bank came in, wishing him a happy birthday. He immediately remembered who he was, he was Maxwell Blackwood, CEO, multimillionaire, Business Tycoon and one of the City’s most eligible bachelors.
He would not show weakness for a woman nor obsess about her, it was right about time he got rid of these stupid feelings, he needed to keep them away or they would be his downfall. He had to grow thick skin to the desires of his heart, he needed to become HIM, CEO Blackwood!!!
!