My Wife's New Groom Knelt When I Returned

Chapter 9

“You need to hurry to this place before things get out of hand!” The secretary’s voice rang out from the speakers of the phone, laced with both anxiousness and fear.

“Something terrible is about to happen…!” She continued, her low tone trembling.

“If you don’t get here on time, I fear that something terrible will happen!”

Gerald could hear her heavy breathing, but since her words were half-baked, he was unable to place his hands on what the problem exactly was.

“I don’t have time for this, Clara!” He grunted, his patience slipping out of his fingers just like the sweat from the previous encounter he was yet to get over.

“Tell me exactly what happened or you are fired!” His aggression was transferred to the innocent lady at the other end, his fists clenched tightly to the phone as though he was able to crush it between his palms.

“It’s the bank, Sir!” Clara’s voice reverberated from the speakers again, but this time it was more slippery than it was earlier, her heavy breathing still very much audible to her boss’s ears.

Gerald cleared his throat, and after he had gone through his mind, he couldn’t make up his mind on what could have happened.

So he took a deep breath, his eyes still wide with curiosity.

“The Bank? What do they want?!” He snapped, his chest burning intensely, but it was hard to tell if it was just anger or a combination of that and rising tension.

“They are here, Sir!” Clara continued, her voice more nervous than it was earlier.

“They are about to seal the building! They say we owe them money!”

“Arrant nonsense!” Gerald growled, his eyes turning red with anger.

“That’s impossible! I owe them no money!” He searched his mind again, but amidst the uncertainty that gripped him, he decided to hold onto his valor.

“I am on my way, Clara. Don’t let them lock my building!” He instructed, reaching for the handle of his car.

Without delay, Gerald turned on the ignition and sped away without thinking twice, his grip on the steering wheel tightening as he flew past the cars that gave way ahead of him.

“Out of the way, you idiot!” He roared at the driver of the black Mercedes, and when he eventually found his way through and turned to see who the driver was, it didn’t stop his resentment.

“You should be in a Care Home, Granny! Get out of the way before you get yourself killed!” He snorted at the old lady, and then he stepped on the accelerator, increasing his pace.

Gerald yelled at almost all the drivers that got in his way, his chest puffing as though it was about to explode.

Finally, he arrived at his Company premises, but unlike the usual serenity he experienced any time he decided to come to work, he met catastrophe, his eyes popping as he slowed down, almost forgetting his way to the parking lot. 

“What’s going on here?” He muttered, his eyes moving from one of the persons gathered in front of the tall glasshouse building to the other.

He could recognize some of his employees who were panicking, moving helter-skelter in search of salvation, but he couldn’t recognize the men in black suits, holding files that needed two hands to hold still.

He eventually alighted from the car, but just when he was about to take a step forward, his heart skipped a beat, his muscles contorting as though they were about to wrack his essence away.

He tried to push faster, but his entire body seemed to have been frozen.

Reality finally struck him just when he thought that it was finally time for him to show his enemies the kind of stuff he was made up.

He took a deep breath, but he ended up gulping saliva, especially when he saw one familiar face among the six suited men.

“But it’s not time yet…” His voice was barely above a whisper, his eyes wide with apprehension.

A few seconds into his indecisiveness, Clara sighted him from afar, and leaving behind some of the employees who were urging her to find a solution to the predicament and on time, she sped toward Gerald, her lips refusing to close.

“Boss! Thank Goodness you are here!” Clara crouched in front of Gerald, holding onto her knees with both hands.

Her breath was shaky, and tears welled up in her eyes.

“What’s going on, Clara?” Gerald looked at the shaken lady in front of him, and then he looked at the familiar face amidst the rest of the suited men.

“They are about to shut us down, Boss! They said we owe them a huge amount of money! There must be a mix-up somewhere!” Clara paused to catch her breath, and then she looked into Gerald’s eyes, waiting for him to debunk the claims by the men.

But apart from the guilt that was smeared all over Gerald’s face, he also had a frightened look that caused Clara to gasp.

“Boss?” She muttered, still looking into her boss’s eyes.

“Please tell me that they are lying…” She pleaded, her heart skipping as many beats as it could.

Gerald took a deep breath and turning to look at the young lady again, he cleared his throat, eager to get rid of the cringe that gripped him.

“Let me handle this, Clara. One moment…” He left the lady all by herself, surrounded by the invisible dark cloud that surrounded her.

“I don’t want to lose my job!” Clara cried out, several thoughts of the challenges that awaited her hit her harshly as she watched Gerald saunter toward the men.

That was not the usual footsteps Clara was used to following, but nonetheless, nothing deterred her from going after Gerald, her steps slower and unable to catch up with him.

Gerald like he was being pushed from the back, and sometimes dragged from the front, and the moment the suited men set their eyes on her, they neglected their class with some of the haughty employees and faced him.

One of them was in front, and that was the only one who was familiar to Gerald, but the rest shared the same anger that seemed to have been boiling inside them.

“Our boss is here! You will swallow your words!” One of the female employees said to the six men, and some of her colleagues supported her with nods.

She turned to Gerald, her stare laced with overfamiliarity and an overpouring confidence.

Yet the men didn’t say a word to her, they just stared at her and huffed, returning their gazes to Gerald, smirks all over their faces.

Gerald finally stood in front of the men, lacking the usual firm demeanor everyone was used to.

“Mr. Falcon?” He paused for a while, looking at the familiar man in the face.

“What are you doing here?” He asked, his voice low and trembling.