Baby Makes Five (A Multiple Birth Book 1) Page 16

  “Go on time is wasting,” her mother said looking pointedly at her daughter’s change of clothes.

  Zola nodded then looked at her son then at her mother reluctant to leave them.

  “Maybe you’ll like to come along for the ride.”

  “We’ll be fine. I might be crippled, but I am not useless or helpless.”

  “Mum, I never…”

  Before she could finish her sentence, her mother was shaking her head.

  “I know what you meant just go.”

  She nodded and left. She knew her mother was proud and independent the last thing she wanted to do was offend her. Sometimes Zola could be a bit over protective of the people she loves.

  ***

  Zola arrived at the Bradford’s estate to the sound of raised voices. She was lucky to get into the gate. If it weren’t for the car that was leaving she doubted, she would have gotten through. Before she had a chance to knock on the door, it was viciously flung open by a middle-aged man. He moved aside to allow her entry as if he had been expecting her.

  “Good day madam, you must be here for the interview. This way please Mrs. Bradford, will be with you shortly.”

  He showed her to a small office at the front of the house and told her to help herself to the coffee and muffins that were on a small trolley.

  Zola looked around the room and saw a framed photo of a very striking white man in his late thirties maybe early forties. Next to him was standing an equally striking, beaming woman who looks to be in her late twenties, his wife perhaps? In another photo was one of the same man, but this time, he was standing with a man who was an older version of himself and a petite elderly woman. His parents’ perhaps she thought. They were such a nice looking family surely all that ruckus couldn’t be from one of them? Well, as they say, you never know what goes on behind closed doors, and the rich weren’t any different from the poor when it came down to family drama.

  She hoped it wasn’t the man with the angry voice looking for an assistant. Maybe his mother was the one who needed an assistant. She had a kind smile, and Zola wouldn’t mind working for her. She wondered if the senior Mrs. Bradford worked at home or had an office in downtown Toronto. Her reverie was interrupted by the same angry masculine voice that greeted her as she had gotten out of her car in the driveway.

  It wasn’t a very happy voice at the moment. Zola hoped that she would never meet him ever. She shivered at the thought of having to work for him. The cold fingers walking over her spine had her shrinking into the chair. He might not be here in the room, but that voice didn’t make her feel safe or comfortable.

  She might not have a choice if she got the job, but she would make it her priority not to be anywhere in sight when he was around. She couldn’t help but move closer to the door. The drama down the hallway was like a magnet for her inquisitiveness. She knew it was bad manners to listen in on a conversation when it had nothing to do with her, but her curiosity was piqued. Ears pressed to the half-closed door; Zola listened as the loud voices became clearer.

  ***

  “I’ve told you a million times Mother, I don’t need a goddamn assistant, and I already have an assistant.” Liam Bradford gritted his teeth trying not to get too upset with his mother and thinking about his next dental bill. With the rate, he was going his perfect teeth would be grind to dust.

  He knew she meant well, and he loved her, but this was his life, and when he said something, he expects it to be carried out. He was the one in command not his mother and he would not stand for being lead around on a leash like a good little puppy. He sat with his back rigidly to the open door and his mother. He was facing the window, and if he could have seen, he would have saw the flowers blooming strongly under the early May sun.

  He was blind the result of being in a car accident a couple of months ago. Although he had come out alive with minor cuts and scrapes Madeline the driver of the car and his fiancée was dead. It was all because of him. Had he not argued with her about wanting a lavish wedding, she wouldn’t have gotten behind the wheels angry which lead to her driving too fast.

  She didn’t die on the spot, but on her way to the hospital. Maybe if he hadn’t moved her from the drivers’ seat to the passenger’s side, she would have been alive. He had lied to the police telling them he was the driver, and they were none the wiser. He just couldn’t let her die leaving behind that legacy or have her parents’ memory of her tainted.

  He had put her through enough. If ending up blind permanently was the price to pay for his crime, then so it shall be. He didn’t care what the doctors had to say. They had said his blindness was most likely temporary. Conversion disorder, also known as hysterical blindness was the diagnosis. He wasn’t laughing. After four months of wishing and hoping, he had given up on ever seeing again. Maybe it was psychological like what the doctors said, but that was bullshit, why would he want to stay blind if he could see again and get everyone off his back?

  He didn’t need a psychotherapist telling him he had a problem; he already knows he does. He wasn’t going to take anxiety medications either; he wasn’t anxious or depressed. What he wanted was to be left alone to move on with his life. Time was too short on this planet. He had seen that for himself with the death of his beautiful Madeline, who never got the chance to see her twenty-eighth birthday.

  Without facing his mother, he repeated his earlier words but calmly this time. “I have no need for an executive assistant of any sort Mother.”

  “You’re as stubborn as your father was. You can’t do everything for yourself, Liam; you need help, and I am not going to be here all the time. I am going on that cruise with Florence and the girls for a month, you know that.”

  “Yes, and I am not stopping you, just stay out of my personal life Mother, please.”

  “I can’t help it, you’re my son, and I love you. You need an assistant who will be here to help you with whatever you need someone living nearby this time.” Cynthia Bradford was saying.

  “What you just described isn’t an assistant position, but one of a nursemaid,” he snapped. “What is she supposed to do, give me my baths as well?”

  “Stop being a smartass Liam, if it’s a nursemaid you need, then you can have one of that too. I am very willing to oblige. You can certainly afford it.”

  “I already have an assistant there is no need for another. Kate is working out just fine.”

  “You don’t have an assistant; Kate quit last week. Do you forget that little part where she said, and I quote ‘I have had enough of your bullshit you arrogant bastard? I quit?’ In the past month, since you have decided to go back to work, you’ve fired four assistants, and two have walked out. I am getting at the end of my patience with you and your temper Liam.

  “One day you are going to get your eyesight back, you just have to be a bit more patient, and if you don’t get your sight back, then you still have your life to be thankful for. Maybe you should stop being stubborn and make an appointment to see the therapist the doctor referred you to.”

  “Easy for you to say, you are not the one immersed in darkness day and night not knowing which the other is. I refuse to see some psychotherapist.”

  “Liam—”

  “No Mother, I don’t need a nursemaid. Go on your cruise and leave me in peace. I’ll survive. I always have and anyway I have Percy to keep me company.”

  “It's either hiring an assistant, or I stay. You can’t have it both ways, Liam. What is it going to be? And believe me, it won’t be a picnic if I have to stay here with you sulking the whole bloody month. You think you are stubborn, well son you haven’t seen anything yet, so what is it going to be my company or a live-in assistant?”

  “Fine go ahead and hire your nursemaid,” he said sighing.

  “I will,” she said walking out of the door and headed for the small room she had made into an office for the past couple of months.

  Zola heard the small footsteps of Mrs. Bradford and hurried to sit in the straight back chair t
hat was in front of the black mahogany desk. So his mother wasn’t the one looking for an assistant she was looking for her son. Maybe she should just escape while she can and not wait around to see what will be the outcome of this impromptu interview or of the man who was set dead against having an assistant. Six assistants in a month! That was almost two a week. He had to be the master of ogres.

  She was about to make her escape when she came face to face with the very attractive petite lady she had seen in the photo. She smiled awkwardly. “Hello.”

  “Hello going somewhere?” Cynthia Bradford asked smiling at the young woman in front of her. She was about to make her escape no doubt. She wondered how much of the conversation with her son she had overheard. Maybe she should let the poor girl go she looked like she would break at one of Liam’s barks. He would eat the poor child alive. She was deciding whether to let her go when she saw the square set of her shoulders. Well, well it seems like the little deer has a backbone. She may seem fragile, but she had guts.

  She could be good for her son, thought Cynthia. He needed someone to keep him on his feet, and if for some reason something else develops, it would be a bonus.

  “No, I was just about to take a seat,” Zola lied.

  “Good lets’ begin. I am betting I don’t have a resume of yours, did you walk with one?”

  “Yes, sorry about the short notice I just saw your ad today. Here you go,” Zola handed over her resume.

  “Thank you it’s no problem at all. Today hasn’t been a busy day for interviews,” Cynthia said pretending to look over the resume. The girl was qualified and in her mind Cynthia had already hired her, but she wanted to see how well this frightened deer coped under pressure when the headlights were shining down on her. An idea struck, she could easily kill two birds with one stone she smiled sweetly. She was also desperate since everyone seemed to think her son wasn’t worth the hassle.

  “This job is more than being an assistant to my son; it's also a companion to him as well. Of course, I am prepared to pay a sufficient amount of money to the qualified person. So tell me Azolah, that’s such a pretty name. Why do you think you are qualified for this job? As I am sure you heard, my son can be a bit difficult.”

  Cynthia watched as Zola thought about her question carefully before she answered. She had a feeling she was afraid to hurt her feelings by telling her what she thought of her son.

  “Please call me Zola, as to the answer to your question. I am a mother of a two-year-old Mrs. Bradford, so I know what it’s like to deal with boys like your son. Don’t get me wrong, I need this job for many personal reasons, but from what I’ve heard, it seems like your son isn’t acting his age. Now, he seems to be acting more like my son Wyn when he doesn’t want to take his bath. What he needs is a time out.”

  Cynthia laughed the first real laugh she had in weeks. She was right; this was the woman to keep her son in line. She could see that Zola was an honest woman. She didn’t know how many women would have the guts to say what she just said. She wasn’t trying to lie her way into the job and her son’s bed.

  Being the head of a multi-billion dollar conglomerate wasn’t an easy job when looking for a life mate. There were always lies and deceit involved. She wondered if Zola knew who her son was. Cynthia looked at the girl in front of her. She was cute, almost pretty about five feet two inches. She had curly black hair that looked hard to tame and beautiful skin that looked like it was made of the best cocoa. Her eyes were her best feature large, expressive and light brown almost the colour of honey.

  Her nose was straight, Cynthia wondered if she’s biracial. She could tell the young woman was self-conscious about her looks. She might not be skinny or as beautiful as Maddy had been, but she wasn’t fat or ugly either, far from it. She guessed Zola Kurtis didn’t make the effort or maybe didn’t have time or money to spend on frivolous things like makeup or spa treatments. She had potential with a few application of make-up and maybe a straightening iron for those unruly curls, and she would be pretty, a knockout even.

  “The job is yours.”

  “Just like that, I get the job?” Zola asked suspiciously.

  “Yes just like that. One more thing if you don’t mind my asking what sort of reasons is it do you have that you are willing to put up with my son’s behaviour?”

  “My son and my mother, my mother was in an accident that left her in a wheelchair and needed to be cared for. A week from now, my son will be having an operation to close the hole in his heart. I need all the money I could get to take care of them.” She answered honestly.

  “I’m sorry, are your parents divorced?”

  “No, they were never married. My father left for Pakistan when my mother was six months pregnant with me. He was Pakistani and had an arranged bride waiting for him back home. Being black didn’t help my mother much either, but I guess you can’t help who you fall in love with. It’s just mum, Wynter and me. We make do.” she was obviously not ashamed of her background.

  “I see.” Cynthia looked at the young woman sitting in front of her and thought that she was much matured for her age. She has also seen and been through a lot. Some people just shouldn’t have to make do. Some people indeed didn’t have a say with who they fell in love with unless someone threw them together.

  “The job is a temporary one and will turn into a permanent one if all goes well. We need someone who lives here on the estate. I must warn you though my son is blind. He was in an accident a couple of months back, and the trauma caused his blindness. The doctors said it is temporary. So the position may call for you to do some things other than the usual office duties.”

  “I see. I am sorry about your son; it must be difficult for him not being able to see anything that was happening around him. I don’t mind the extra work, Mrs. Bradford. You won’t find a harder and honest worker than me.”

  Cynthia wasn’t surprised Zola understood how her son was feeling; they were both on the same wavelength. She also knew what it was like to have someone she loved lose everything that they once held precious.

  “There is a guest cottage on the estate; it has two bedrooms you will be staying there. I hope it’d be enough room for you and your family.” Cynthia said.

  “Ah, yes thank you. You mean I can bring them with me as well?” Zola asked foolishly.

  “Of course, you can my dear, what did you expect?”

  “Honestly, I don’t know, thank you.”

  “Well let’s meet my son. You might as well get this over with. Don’t let him get to you. He is a nice man, but this blindness has him frustrated. He is a bit temperamental so if he tries to fire you, don’t take him seriously he isn’t at liberty to do so. Please be a little patient with him his bark is worst than his bite.”

  “Sure it is,” Zola said doubtfully. From what she have heard of their interaction if this man was ever in a good mood, it was a miracle. Moreover, she doubted that his temper could ever be described as a bit or mild.

  As they neared the room she assumed was the family room, Zola began to get nervous. Her palms were sweating, and she had to wipe them on the skirt she was wearing several times. Was this job worth it? She asked herself silently. “Yes,” a voice in her head answered.

  When Cynthia opened the door, the first word that came to Zola’s mind was dejection. Everything about him screamed it. The way he sat shoulders hunched face blank. A sense of sadness washed over her. A man like him in his prime shouldn’t feel or look as if he had aged ten years. The handsome man she saw in the photo held no image to the one sitting now before her. He was still handsome, but all the light and life was absent. He seemed like an empty shell.

  He sat in a corner overlooking the beautiful garden. It was a pity he couldn’t see it; maybe it would have done something to brighten his attitude. She doubted anything or anyone could help him. To her it seems as if he didn’t need help, he had already given up. He reminded her of herself those few months into her mother’s accident. She was still bitter at the thoug
ht of it a year later, so she understood why he felt the way he did with just a few months to grieve.

  “Liam dear, I’ll like you to meet Zola Kurtis. She is going to be your new assistant.”

  As he turned to his mother’s voice, the glass that was sitting on the small coffee table fell and shattered violently on the floor. Zola jumped and made an embarrassing squeaking sound. She couldn’t help it; it just escaped her lips.

  “A little jack rabbit are we?” he barked smiling not too pleasantly. ”This should be an interesting working relationship.”

  Zola didn’t bother answering him. He already knew she was afraid of him or think she was. She needed to prove him wrong if she was going to survive it here with him. When she leaves, she wanted to be in one piece.

  “Now Liam, that’s no way to talk to Zola,” his mother chastens.

  “It’s okay Mrs. Bradford; I’m not afraid of your son. I feel sorry for you. You have to put up with his a….” she stopped and exhaled.

  “Put up with what Miss. Kurtis? Don’t stop now that you are all fired up, go on,” he taunted.

  “I was about to say I don’t know how a wonderful woman like your mother ended up with a jackass for a son. Frankly, Mr. Bradford, I think you are acting like a complete spoiled brat. You should be ashamed of yourself. How old are you anyway forty forty-five?”

  “Thirty-four,” he gritted “now look here missy—,”

  “No, you look here. You have been through a traumatic ordeal I understand that. But you should count yourself lucky. You’re still alive and healthy. There are people out there who weren’t that lucky. You are not the only blind person on this planet nor are you the only one hurting. You should count your lucky stars you have your mother’s complete support.

  “Get over yourself and move on, at least, you have a chance to recover your sight. Tell that to those who don’t have that luxury or who were born blind. Tell that to someone who had never once seen the sun come up or his or her reflection in the mirror. When you can do that, then you can start feeling sorry for yourself. Otherwise, stop treating the people who want to help you like they were your personal punching bag.”