Gerald was furious as he barged out of the private office, banging the door heavily behind as it made a reverberating noise afterward -well, he cared less if the company should fall into a flat crumble at the moment because of it.
He weaved his way through the same hallway he has gotten familiar with over the years, his face crumpled down in a tight frown and anger boiling with in him; he couldn't just sit and watch or act like nothing happened with what he heard!
As he stormed through the hallway, the sound of his footsteps echoing off the walls, Gerald was overwhelmed with emotion. Anger, frustration, and disbelief coursed through his veins as he thought about the conversation he'd just had.
How could this be happening? How could someone so close to Ciara betray her like this? He couldn't let it go, he had to do something. But what?
As he reached the end of the hallway, he turned the corner and came to a stop, his mind racing. He looked up at the sight before, the glass doors reflecting the fluorescent lights and the magnificent view of the office before him.
As he looked through the glass door into the office, the sea of anger within him rippled into a strong wave. There she is, sitting comfortably and resting her back and head lazily on the seat she was on, twirling and turning the seat.
At the moment, Gerald knew what's going on in her mind, judging through her facial expression -he could bet he knows how she was feeling too. As lazily as she rests her head and back, she must be feeling on top of the world, as if, the whole planet were under her feet.
The smugness on her face was sickening to him as he felt a tight knot in his stomach. He could tell that she was enjoying every minute of what she had done, taking pleasure in the chaos she had managed to create.
But what could he do? He knew he had to take some sort of action, but what would be the most effective way to handle this situation? He needed a plan, and he needed it fast before things got out of hand.
As he stood there, frozen in thought, he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see one ofthe other executives, who must have seen him standing there, looking as if he were about to combust.
"Mr. Ezekiel..."Gerald called out unconsciously, still haven't recovered fully from the emotion he's battling with at the moment. "When did you get here? How come I did not notice your presence beside me."
"How would you notice, eh?" The executive, whose name turned out to be Mr. Ezekiel, replied with a crackled smile on his face. "You were busy, clouded and overwhelmed with your emotions -anyone else would have felt the same way too."
Nothing was funny, and Gerald was not in the mood to reciprocate his smile at the moment. "How did she get there?" Gerald asked, referring to Aunt Elsie, who was busy wearing a smug grin on herface and doing nothing. "That seat was meant for Ciara, who let her in?"
"It's a long story." Mr. Ezekiel said, his voice quiet. "I was in the meeting with one of my business partners when the news came in, I wasn't really paying attention, to be honest." He paused, looking over at Aunt Elsie before continuing.
"But it seems like she has some sort of legal document that claims her relationship with Ms. Fellers and a notarized copy as owner of the company now. I don't know the details, I'm still trying to figure it out."
Gerald's head spun as he tried to process what Mr. Ezekiel had just told him. This couldn't be right, it couldn't be true. There is no way Ciara's aunt would have any will that proved her claims.
"Did any one of you see the will?" Gerald asked, still attempting to process everything Mr. Ezekiel had told him. "Is that why you all believed her and let her have her way?"
Mr. Ezekiel breathed in slowly, unsure of what to say."I...I don't know if anyone else sees the will, but I did not." He muttered under his breath, with a pang of guilt in his tone. "It all happened fast before we could snap out of our daze."
Gerald felt his stomach drop in disappointment. He couldn't believe that this was happening, and he couldn't believe that no one had thought to question Aunt Elsie's claims before just handing overthe company to her. It was all too surreal.
He felt his blood pressure rising, and he tried to take a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. But it wasn't working. He was furious, he was livid. How could this be happening? How could this be real?
"What are we going to do now?" Gerald asked, his voice shaking slightly. "There is no way we can allow her to have her way just like that because of some silly claims."
"I know, right?" Mr. Ezekiel replied. "But there was another information she passed which made us totally confused, she said you can attest to it too -since you are close to Ms. Fellers."
Gerald's brows were drawn tightly as he stares questioningly at Mr. Ezekiel. "What information?" He blurted out, offended. "How am I supposed to know anything about this? Ah! -don't tell me you all believed her, that was why none of you could stop her!"
"Mrs. Kent told everyone at the board meeting that Mr. Dwayne passed away since a week ago, and you know about this." Mr. Ezekiel said, his gaze fixated on Gerald.
Gerald bit his lips, rubbing his temples. "Did she have to say this to everyone?" He mumbled under his breath, avoiding Mr. Ezekiel's eyes.
"You did not look surprised, Gerald!" Mr. Ezekiel pointed out. "So that means it's true? Mr. Dwayne passed away, and you believe it's only right if you keep such news to yourself alone?"
"Why should I share it with anyone when I know it would only stir more problems for Ciara?" Gerald uttered in a blunt tone. "It's painful enough to see her in such heart-wrenching state, I can't add more fuel to it. It's not my fault that I'm keeping it all to myself alone -I'm only being considerate here!"
"What do you mean by stir more problems for Ms. Fellers?"
"Ciara has been battling with her mental health since she heard the news of her brother's death." Gerald enounced. "If such news should keep spreading around -did you think she'll ever recover from the state she is in?"
It was Mr. Ezekiel's turn to be speechless, clouded in shock. "Don't...tell me Ms. Fellers is mentally ill right now!" He couldn't believe his own voice.
"Why would you think her aunt is suddenly interested in taking over her company?" Gerald replied to him with a question instead. "Ciara's aunt is only trying to take advantage of Ciara's predicament because she believed no one would be able to stop her..."