The Wilson’s Empire Heir

Chapter 3

Richardson woke up with a broad smile on his face and a wide expanse of expectation in his heart as he rolled out of bed.

A gust of cold wind blasted him as he stretched a little, reminding him of his inability to afford any sort of heating system to warm the house during cold seasons.

He didn’t let that thought linger for ong, as he began to prepare for work.

He buttoned up a black blazer over a washed out white shirt which he had owned since he was in the university and couldn’t wait to get rid of, when he finally hit the bag.

A small sigh left his lips. Today was a big day for him.

He was supposed to dress to impress in his very best clothes, but sadly, this was the best he could come up with.

As he shrugged on his jacket, thoughts of the presentation which was scheduled for early noon, slowly occupied his mind. He couldn’t deny the fact that he was extremely nervous.

A part of him was very sure that he was going to ace the presentation, seeing as he had been working on the project for over six months and had practiced his well written speech countless times.

But, another part of him was a bit scared of something going wrong. Which was very much expected, because Richardson has never had the best of luck so far.

He shook that thought out of his head as he combed his hair. He was determined to be completely positive today and it wasn’t long before excitement started coursing through his veins.

He imagined how everyone in the conference room were going to be gaping at him in admiration and wonder brimming in their eyes by the time he’d be done with his presentation, which made a warm smile appear on his face.

That imagination was enough to give him a huge surge of confidence and he squared his shoulders as he picked up his worn out briefcase which had seen better days.

Richardson wasn’t sure of when Alice arrived home last night after he had fallen asleep, but catching a glimpse of her stunning face this morning had got him going immediately.

And now, staring down into her oval shaped face, made his heart tighten in his chest. She was also already dressed for work and he reached out and took her hand in his.

“Hey, Alice.” He murmured as he lifted her hand and brushed a kiss against her soft knuckles. A small smile tugged at the sides of her lips, but he noticed it didn’t reach her emerald eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Richardson inquired softly as he tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. She shook her head a little as she responded.

“Nothing serious.”

Richardson instantly knew that was a lie because she was currently chewing on her bottom lip, a habit of hers which she only does whenever she is deep in thoughts or worrying over something.

Richardson immediately felt endeared, thinking she was worrying about him because of his presentation happening today, which made him more determined to make her really proud of him.

“Aw, Alice… stop worrying about it, okay? Everything’s going to turn out great, hm?” He hummed in a tone which was meant to comfort his girlfriend.

“I’m not.” She argued, but Richardson wasn’t buying that.

“Stop worrying about it.” He insisted with a soft smile.

“I’m not, I promise.” She reassured, and after a little while, they left for work together.

Some groups of paparazzis were gathered outside the company, and some of them were going to be granted permission into the company once today’s conference meeting starts.

Richardson wasn’t surprised that the paparazzis barely paid him any attention as he walked past them with Alice beside him. After all, he was worthless in their eyes and wasn’t media material.

Although, Richardson was very positive that after his presentation today, he was going to make it to the media walls.

He was quite certain that after his presentation today, the press were going to be so impressed, they’d all be dying to interview him at the end of the meeting.

Today was a day that was supposed to go down in history.

The founders of some other big companies were also going to be present today, seeing as the company Richardson was currently working in was very successful and popular.

It is the biggest company in the country and one of the most sought after ones in the world.

It was a miracle that Richardson was even employed by the company in the first place, and it still feels unreal to him that he was part of those who were given a chance to pitch their big ideas to the company today.

Richardson was in his cubicle which was located on the seventh floor of the company. He was going over his speech in his mind and ensuring that all the documents which he was supposed to turn in, were in the right order.

He was going through the documents compilation of all the research he had done, when a familiar voices made him glance up.

His eyes landed on his best friend, Michael, who he had shared a room with while they were in the university, and whom he had formed a tight bond with since they were freshers.

Michael had a warm smile on his face as he stopped beside Richardson’s table.

“Hey, Richie,” Michael murmured as he fondly clapped Richardson on the back, and as expected, Richardson felt his mood lighten up instantly.

“Yo Mike, what’s up?”

“Just checking in on you, and how the last minute preparations are coming up.” Michael responded while regarding Richardson’s table.

“It’s going really great, I guess I just can’t help but double check a thousand times.” Richardson huffed.

“I know you’re going to kill this presentation and get that bag.” Michael mused and Richardson cracked a grin.

“Well, I really hope so too.”

After some time, it was finally the time for the presentation and Richardson confidently made his way to the conference room with his head held high.

Soon, the conference room got filled up with a few of his colleagues and so many popular, important people that it almost felt illegal for him to be in their midst.

And the presentation began.

Richardson made his way to the front of the room and placed his briefcase on the lectern, and then he picked up the wireless microphone.

“Good day, everyone. My names are Wilson Richardson, and I was given an opportunity by the company to host this meeting today, in order to present my project to everyone of you.” Richardson’s heart was flowing with nervous excitement as he spoke.

He held the mic confidently as he introduced his idea to an actual audience for the first time in his life. He was completely floored that the people gathered were actually listening to him with rapt attention, which gave him a huge confidence boost.

“… We’ll now proceed with the visual presentation.” He announced while gesturing backwards, after clicking on a button on his opened laptop.

‘My life is definitely going to change after this,’ He confidently thought.

Richardson expected to see looks of wonder and admiration painted across people’s faces in the next moment, and began to feel perplexed when nothing of that sort happened.

He kept his confidence intact and continued to speak while referring to the images he assumed was being displayed behind him, when a low murmur began to spread around the room.