Vino stood perplexed at the foot of the plane, surprised, he couldn't believe he was hallucinating right now. What was he expecting, that she comes with open arms saying that she wants him back? No, never, Skylar was too proud to do that. It was his fault for listening to Paula in the first place. No one could ever persuade Skylar to make up with him unless she wants to. It only shows that he loves her more than she did to him.
"Boss, the plane is about to leave"
Vino turned to his bodyguards who had surprisingly shown up as requested by his brother Michael due to the media who were heavy on their quest.
Vino nodded but paused as he let his eyes run through his body before stopping at the blinking noise on his stomach "How many times I've warned you not to come to me with a fake bomb on your stomach," Vino told him before entering the plane.
Owen smiled as he followed behind him "But this is the only way I could scare unwanted visitors away from you especially the hungry paparazzi" Owen replied as he took his seat beside the boss who seemed to be in a foul mood.
"Whatever," Vino hissed as he took out his laptop and got to work as soon as the plane took off from the airport.
****
Vino stepped out of the plane as soon as it landed in New York, he cursed himself for not taking his private jet now, he would have landed on his rooftop not having to go through the unnecessary stress that comes with the traffic.
"The car is this way, if you come with me, boss"
Vino followed Owen behind with a frown on his face as he avoided the eyes of any media that had gathered in the airport, he was gladder of Owen's thoughtful tactic, now no one could dare approach them for fear of the bomb.
He got into the car after nodding to his driver as he heard his phone ringing. He took it out and cursed softly as soon as he noticed the caller's ID.
"Hello, dad. I'm almost there. There was some delay with the flight" Vino told his father, there was no need for him to know that he was delayed because he had hoped that maybe Skylar may want to reconcile with him but alas no, she was content with Gian. She had picked Gian over him.
Shaking himself out of his self-pity thoughts, Vino tried to concentrate on his father's words, who was surprisingly soft with him, "I just hope you've resolved any issue that you have with Skylar. She's a good woman you know, son" Mr. Daniel Thompson told his son as he paced around his study, a bottle of an unfinished wine sat among the table strewn with files and documents concerning the company which showed that he had been busy with the company affairs.
Vino swallowed the lumps in his throat, he couldn't cry in front of his father. He was a man. What will his father think of him, that he was incapable of handling his relationship affairs, how much more can he shoulder the responsibility of the company?
He wasn't used to his father comforting him. He was rather used to the man who had disciplined them all throughout the years, welding him to become a strong man.
Vino forced himself from his thoughts as he turned to provide answers to his father's question which had been long overdue "I don't want to think about that now, father. How's the board coming along with the plan?"
"Michael is there with Victor to try to get them to reason with you. You can go home, rest, and freshen up until tomorrow. Don't think about anything, especially not about Adora"
Vino groaned as he was once again reminded of his shame. How can he face everyone tomorrow? They may have heard about him being fooled by Elise by now? Adora, and to think he once thought of her as a daughter. He should have been suspicious of her especially since he wasn't there when she was born.
"Where to, sir?"
Vino raised his eyes to stare at his driver who was watching him from the mirror "To the office, Jack" he told him before relaxing in the backseat, he thought back to the time he first met his daughter...
Vino woke to the sound of the loud bang on his door. He was surprised that his security hadn't taken care of the intruder even now.
Strolling through the darkroom, his hands found the switch on the floor, and light flooded into his penthouse building, he went to the door and checked the security camera to see Elise standing with tears in her eyes.
Hissing, he opened the door and glared at her "How many times I've I warned you never to show up in front of me again? Haven't you done enough?" He had shouted in front of her face, about to shut the door but she had thrown herself up at him blocking the door.
"Please help, Vino. I need your help, Adora is dying" She screamed and broke down in front of him. Vino had been partly confused because Elise wasn't capable of crying for anyone. That only means that someone was special to her.
"How is that any of my business? if you don't have anything else to say, I'll like to go back to bed as I have a busy day at work tomorrow" Vino told her as he made to shut the door but Elise's next words had sent him flying to his room to get his car keys.
"She's your daughter, Vino" Elise had told him and he had believed her because of the tears in her eyes and because he felt since she was a mother, she could have changed but alas, it was a lie. Instead of Elise changing, she was getting worse day by day.
"We are here, sir?"
Vino pulled away from his thoughts as he nodded at his driver before stepping out of the door with his laptop bag in his hands.
"I will be in the office for a while. You can go home and freshen up," Vino told Owen, who nodded and got back into the car with Jack about to pull out of the driveway but Vino stopped them as soon as he remembered something.
"And while you are resting. I need you to find me every information you could find on both Elise and Adora, okay?"
"Yes, sir," Owen replied with a smile on his face. He had been waiting forever for Vino to ask him to get information on Mrs. Fabio. He can't wait to get them to the boss.
"Good" Vino nodded at him, he turned to walk back into the office glad to be back after some days.
He took a quick step up the floor to his office since he dreaded taking the elevator. He was surprised to see the light in his office on, with a torn mind, Vino opened the door to his office and stopped shocked as he saw her staring at him with an excited smile on her face.
"Welcome back, boss. How was your trip?"
"Miss Brooke?" Vino called at her half shocked that he met her here "What are you doing here instead of being on vacation?" Vino asked her as soon as he had settled back on his seat, he turned to wave Madison back into the chair across from him where she had stood up when he entered.
"Mr. Thompson sent for me" Madison replied gently, she had seen the news and wasn't a bit surprised. She had always known something was going on with the boss and Skylar, now she was sadder that they were no longer together.
"My father?" Vino asked shocked, he never believed his father cared about him to that extent as to request Madison back to the office to help him with the board meeting or does he think he isn't capable of handling such a meeting?
Shrugging out of his thoughts Vino turned to request something from Madison "I need you to gather information about_____"
"Here they are," Madison replied as she provided some documents from her handbag which was lying on the floor beside the chair.
She rushed to explain herself as soon as she saw the shocked expression on Vino's face "Mr. Thompson said I should gather them that you might need them"
"My father?" Vino asked again, shocked as to how his father was helping him get his work done fast without lifting his fingers.
"No, it was your brother, Michael. He said I should get some dirty secrets about each of the board members that might help speed up the process" Madison explained as Vino nodded, glad for his brother's help.
"So, did you find anything?" Vino asked her as he began browsing through the documents in front of him, shocked at how little he knew about his board members.
"Yes, sir," Madison replied as they spent the rest of the night thinking about ways to get the board to agree with their plans. It was some minutes after two a.m. before Vino could send Madison home with the help of his driver before retiring to his makeshift home, his penthouse building which was on the third floor of his company which he rarely used ever since he met Skylar.
He rode the elevator and got out while waiting for the door to open. His cell phone rang as he took out his phone, surprised to see that it was Owen calling him.
"Yes. Anything else?" Vino asked him, skipping greetings as he stepped into the room. He looked around the room to see that everything was just as he had left it and sparkling neat. He made a mental note to increase his cleaner's salary as she had done well in keeping the apartment clean and tidy.
"Yes, boss. I have sent the files to your email" Owen replied as he tried to stifle a yawn that had threatened to escape his lips. He smiled apologizing to the brunette who was gazing up at him naked.
He couldn't wait to get done with his boss so he could have his reward for the day. Owen always made sure to reward himself each day for every job done well. And by rewards, that means taking the next available woman to bed. Now, it was this lucky brunette turn whose name he had forgotten the minute he picked her up, down the bar across from his apartment.
"Really? okay. I'll investigate it now. Thank you for today, Owen" Vino said into the phone before he hung up. He walked barefoot to his room and shrugged off his dress, leaving on his brief. He took a hurried footstep to the dining room where he had discarded his laptop bag a while ago. He picked it up, letting his hands hover on the zip, afraid of what he could meet there.
Some minutes passed, before Vino could finally unzip the bag and take out his laptop. He logged into his email and paused as soon as the first document caught his eyes.
Vino quickly skimmed through the rest of the documents, fears sipping through his veins as he saw how much Elise had deceived him. He thought she had always loved him but turned out she was only after his money. He didn't want to think about what she would do now that her late husband's family had got her out of her inheritance.
Finally, through with the document, Vino stood up with a heavy heart and strode into the room to shower and get ready for bed.
Thirty minutes later, he came out of the shower refreshed and ready to start afresh but the thought of Skylar invaded his mind as he wondered what she was doing.
Taking out his phone, he stares at her picture, the one he thought on their first date. He remembers how he was obsessed with her and wanted to have her to himself. Now, he could finally understand that he was only in love with her. He just wished she would come back to him. Should he employ the help of his brother, his mom, or even Mrs. Evans?
"No," Vino shook his head to rid himself of such ridiculous thoughts. He can't have everyone thinking that he didn't have a grip on his relationship life.
Finally true to himself, Vino got into bed and pulled the duvet on his body before falling into a deep sleep.