Episode 11
THEME: TAKING A LOAN!
TWO DAYS LATER
LINT CORP
IAN POV
âCassidy do you think the idea is gonna work?â
I asked Cassidy who sat on the small couch with her eyes glued to her phone
âWe just have to give it a tryâ
âWell..what if she refuses to come?â
âThen let hope she shows upâŠand work according to planâ
That not the answer to my question
âO..okayâ
I looked away from Cassidy and glanced down at Riaâs card on my desk
âGo on and call herâ
Cassidy urged me
âWhich of these numbers belongs to Mrs Elise?â
âThe first belong to Miss Ria herself. The second is the home line and then the third one is for Mrs Eliseâ
âWhy didnât you just go straight and tell me that the this one is for her?â
âWellâŠ.I was just thinking you might need to call Miss Ria somedayâŠ.â She shrugged
âThat enough..â I sighedâŠthis going to be hard but I hope it works
âOkay..I just hope she agrees to meet upâ
âYeah..let hope she doesâ
I dialed Mrs Elise Number and she picked on the second ring
âHelloâ
âGood Afternoonâ
âUhmmm Mrs Elise?â
âYes..yes..Mrs Elise on the line..âshe paused and continued â who am I unto?â
âIanâ
âIan?â She repeated in a low tone. What was she trying to do? Remember where she heard that name from?
âWe met at Ainsley -â
âOh! Ainsley Hospital!â She completed
âYes Maâamâ
âAnd youâre the man that retrieved Miss Riaâs purse from that thief!â
âExactlyâ
âWhy didnât you come and get a dress done for your wife?âŠ. After all I gave you that card for that..and I was expecting you to give us a callâ
âOh really sorry for not calling ever since you gave me the card⊠And Mrs Elise -â
âYesâ
âI..I donât have a wifeâ
âOh you donât?â
âYesâ
âButâŠyou have sisters..aunts and female friends?â
âI do actuallyâ
âSo why havenât you patronized us.. Get a dress at our place⊠Mr Ian..a trial will convince youâ
Now the conversation is heading to another direction entirelyâŠI didnât call to have someone persuade me to get a dress.
âMrs Elise I gave the card to a friend who wanted to make a dress for his daughterâŠâ
I took the cellphone away from my ear to whisper to Cassidy
âWhat was that Name Mr Griffin told Them?â
âMr brownâ
âOh yes Mrs Elise his name is Mr Brownâ
âOh!! Oh My God! You directed Mr Brown to our workplace!â
âYesâ
âThank You Mr Ian. We already gave Cassidy her dress the day before yesterday..and she like it!â
âYeah I saw the dress..it was stunningâ
Wait am I supposed to say thatâŠNo! It might blow the secret!
âThank you once again Mr Ianâ
âYouâre welcome.. So Mrs Elise I was thinking..of setting up a meeting for just me and you. So we can discuss some things about -â
âDo you want to get dress?â
I looked up at Cassidy who was now close to my desk. âThis is not gonna workâ I wrote down in a pad and she replied
âYes Mrs Elise I want to get a dress forâŠâ
âNieceâ Cassidy Whispered
âMy nieceâŠyes niece she is 9years oldâ
âWe make dresses for kids tooâ
âGo straight to the point nowâ Cassidy jolt down on the pad
âAnd not only about making a dress for my niece.. We talk about some other things too..hmm businessâ
âBusiness?..okay! I love that Mr Ianâ
âYeah..so when should we meet upâ
âIâm less busy nowâŠwe donât have much work at handâ
âWhat about now?â
âFine by meâ
âI work at Lint Corpâ
âLint Corp Industry?â
âYesâ
âWhich of them?â
âThe main office.. Someone will be waiting outside to bring you to my officeâ
âOkay I will be there soonâ
âI will be expectingâ she hang up
âPlans working?â
I sighed out loud when I dropped the phone on my desk
âYes..i just have to call Lauren and inform her I want to get a dress for Miaâ
âplease do so while I talk to Mr Griffinâ
âOkay and please call me Ramseyâ
âSureâ Cassidy exited the room
RIA APARTMENT
RIA POV
âMiss Riaâ
Mrs Elise called on her way out of the kitchen.
âMiss Riaâ
She called again and sometimes just hearing her talk makes me happy
âYes..Mrs Eliseâ
I answered from the couch I sat on trying to do my eye exercises. Eye exercises is mainly meant for me to recognize things normal human could see. I learnt to recognize things when my parents enrolled me into a school for the Blind. The teachers spent their time teaching us how to do things on our own,how to read and write without anyoneâs help. And I remember my dad had gotten a private teacher to help me identify things..visual images and some other things i needed to know easily but I was a bit slow in learning how to do things on my own. Then my mom had thought me how to identify materials..clothes materials actually,by it textures, quality and designs. The exercise and lessons had help me learned to do things myself..like I know every part of my apartment, I can cook and find things as long as no one moved it from it initial place. When Andrea died,I had to start going to stores myself..it wasnât easy..the year Andrea died was very tough cause..I had to learn to do the things she used to do for me..like going to the grocery store and others..but one thing I couldnât do was use the phone to check out orders from customers. It was her jobâŠbut after she died no one was there to helpâŠbut all the same thanks to Andrea who helped me counts steps along the way..from our home to everywhere we visitedâŠI have them noted in my diary..the steps⊠all of them.
And then after her demise I had to leave alone and survive.. âSurvivingâ it actually what Iâve been doing right since when I was born. It was a good thing i met Elise..she became my Andrea,my eyes and my Angel. Things got back to normal the moment she stepped into my life. She is a blessing. She helped me,her good communication skill brings more people to us. Mrs Elise works as a babysitters aside my sewing business. To be honest I truly donât know what would have become of me if she wasnât in my life now..maybe I wouldnât have survived or maybe I would have in more hard way..who knows probably I would have given up. But all I see in my Life is that God has been so good to me. He always has this way of bringing good people into my life the moment I needed oneâŠbut it just so sad that they always end up leaving me behind â Death.. So cruel! Taking away good people and leaving the bad ones to live on the earth. And at some point, I started thinking if I was a bad luck.. A jinx perhaps. Or maybe Iâm not! Cause this little voice keeps whispering into my mind that âYouâre not a bad luckâ.. And guess what? I claimed it in my head and mind. â Iâm not a Bad luckâ. Not only that.. I even did a rhyme for myself which I taught Phoebe and Phoenix
âI am a blessed child
I am destined to be great
I am not giving up on my dreamsâ
And lastly which I didnât add to the rhyme I taught the kids. âI will never give in to the thought of suicideâ
Suicide i say?âŠyes! Iâve tried to commit suicide once when Andrea was alive after we came to Chicago. I started feeling like I was a burden to Andrea cause she worked two jobs at a time to fend for us. Hmm Thank God she came in from work before I stabbed myself. She talked some sense into my head and I never thought my death would cause Andrea trouble. And I keep praying nothing happens to Mrs Elise and my kids.
âMiss Ria Iâm heading outâ
âHuh?â
âI want to go out nowâ
âYes i heard that..but you said no outing this morningâ
âYesâ
âAre you seeing someone Mrs Elise?â
She bursted into laughter
âMiss Ria..well I wish I am seeing someone..but anyways Iâm notâ
âOkay so where are you off to?â
âMr Ian just called..he wants to see meâ
âWho is Mr Ian?â
âIan..you donât remember?â
âI donâtâŠâ
âThe man that got your purse back from a thief..i mean the guy we saw at the hospitalâ
âOkay..but why does he want to see you?â
âHe wants to make a dress for 9years old niece. And I think he doesnât want to come here with her because of -â she stopped
âMe right?â
âI didnât say that..â She said in a low tone
âOkayâ
âCan I?â
âSureâ
âIâll go ahead thenâ
âByeâ
âTake careâ she kissed my cheeks
LINT CORP
MRS ELISE POV
I alighted from the taxi and looked up at massive outer part of Lint Corp. Two armed men dressed in uniforms stood at the huge glass door leading into Lint Corp. And where is the person sent to bring to bring me to Mr Ian?. A handsome looking man emerged from the entrance,he looked around. Is he looking for me? Guess so! I met him halfway
âAre..are you the one Mt Ian sent to bring me to his office?â
âYesâŠare you Mrs Elise?â
âOh yes..I am Mrs Elise and you are -â I waited for him to fill in his name
âRamseyâ
âNice to meet youâ
âSame hereâ he smiled brightly âplease this wayâ
The armed men opened the door and we walked in. Wow! I gasped! Iâve never been here seen a building as big as Lint Corp! So d–n Massive! Some greeted Ramsey on the way. We got to an office where a young woman sat at a huge desk and Ramsey stopped to open another door.
âGo in maâamâ he gestured to me
âThank Youâ I nodded and stepped into the large office. There Ian sat at the desk and then Cassidy was on a big couch. Why is she here?
âTake a seat Mrs Eliseâ he motioned to me to sit on the couch. I couldnât stop glancing around, taking in the beauty of his office until my gaze fell on the glassy object on the desk. âIAN BRYANT CEO OF LINT CORPâ. I gasped in shock as I look back up at Mr Ian. He is the CEO! Unbelievable! Why didnât I realize that when he had said he works in Lint Corp?!. Mr Ian stood up from his desk and sat on the couch And i repositioned myself.
âMr Ian..I didnât know you are the CEO of Lint Corpâ
He itched the back of his neck
âYes I am the CEO.. And Iâm sorry for not telling you that..â
âNo..no you donât have to be sorry..I mean it okayâ I let oy a handful of breathe to fill my lungs
âHow are you doing Mrs Elise?â
âIâm fineâ
âAnd..what about Ria?â I met his gaze when he asked in a concerned tone
âMiss Ria is fineâ
âIs she home alone or the kids are with her?â
âThe kids are in school..and Yes Miss Ria is alone at home..but I was home with her before you called meâ
âWill she be fine alone?â
âYes..she is always home alone anytime Iâm at work or the store buying materials. And the kids are always with her during weekendsâ
We lapsed in silence. Mr Ian lost in thought. He said that he wants to make a dress for his niece but I donât see any 9years old kid around. Mr Ian cleared his throat. A phone beeped and well exchanged glances. That was my phone!
âSorry..it mineâ
I searched my bag. Miss Ria was calling with the home line
âHello Miss Riaâ
âMrs Elise are you on your way home now?â
âNo..no Miss Ria..I just got to Lint Corp nowâ
âHave you met him?..I mean Mr Ian?â She asked and I looked up at him
âOh yes..he is hereâ
âOkayâ
âDo you need anything?â
âYes..I canât find the linens you brought in yesterdayâ
âLinen?â I said trying yo remember where I placed the nylon last night
âYes Linens..I want to sew Calista dress but I canât find itâ
âAre you done with your eyes exercises?â
âYesâ
âOkay..oh Miss Ria Iâm just trying to recall where I dropped it last nightâŠah! Yes! Yes! It on the pressing table!â
âThe pressing table right?â
âYes..and Iâm sorry for not placing it in the right placeâ
âIt okay Mrs Elise. Thank Youâ
âTake careâ
âMrs Elsie -â
âYesâ
âI donât know if you have enough money with youâ
âIs there anything you need?â
âI just need you to help me drop by at the restaurant to buy cupcakes for the childrenâ
âYes I will..do you want the big size?â
âNo..no the six in one is betterâ
âOkayâ
âAnd a bowl of ice creamâ
âI will get everythingâ
âThank You Mrs Elise!â
The line dropped
âIâm sorryâŠâ
âNo no it okayâ Mr Ian replied
âSo where is the little girl you wanna make a dress for?. i brought some of our collections and Iâm sure you will like itâ
âActually..Miss Elise I wonât be the one picking out the dress but I called her mom who is my sister..lemme just say they will come over to your placeâ
âO..okayâ I nodded slowly. Seriously I wasnât expecting such response. Why did he called me when the girl in question isnât present?
âMrs Elise remember I said we have to discuss businessâŠâ
âOh yeahâ
âSo firstly I just want to ask some few questions about Riaâ
âPardon?â I raised an eyebrow
âMrs Elise..Mr Ian wants to help Miss Riaâ Cassidy spoke up for the first time. And what does she mean by that?
âHow?â
âLook Mrs Elise I donât know how to tell to this but -â he stopped. Well I hope Mr Ianâs expression is not what it means to me. He continued
âEver since I set my eyes on Ria at the park⊠I havenât been at rest. And Thank God met her again and also thanks to you for giving me her cardâ
Well to be sincere, I didnât give Miss Riaâs card for him to make a dress but it was for him to get closer to her. I saw how concerned he was and also happy when Miss Ria was talking to Phoenix. He had looked at her differently,like he felt something for her. If only Miss Ria could see him then his look would have swept her off her feet.
âMrs Elise I will really appreciate if you tell me few things about Riaâ
âHuh?!â I stunned out of my thought. Now he wants to know about herâŠwhat do I say? There is a lot to know about Miss Ria
âI donât want you to think Iâm trying to dig into her personal life..but I just want to know..not all but fewâ
âI will leave you two to talkâ Cassidy stood up
âThank you Cassidy.. And please try calling the Baker againâ
âSureâ
She left
âAre you in love with Miss Ria?â I asked unexpectedly. His eyes widened at the question. What was that Spark?
âNo..noâ he stuttered
âI donât want you to think like that Mrs Elise⊠Iâm just concerned about Riaâ
Concerned? But not in love. Sure he is in love and also concerned but he is denying it while his countenance says the opposite. I stared intensely at him and nodded slowly. I got what I wanted from those sparkling eyes. He loves her! I tried blink back tears. Someone loves Miss Ria but it so sad such doesnât exist for her. She doesnât care about his existence or even his kind. Iâm sure if Miss Ria was asked to take away one thing from the world.. It would be Men!. Yeah i know it because of what happened..but would things have been different in her life now if she didnât go through those horrible experiences. And sometimes i used to wonder if she will every fall in love? I sighed out loud. It not bad to let this young man in anyways
âWhat exactly do you want to know about Miss Ria?â
âUhmmm can you tell why she behaves unusual anytime a man is around?â
âMr IanâŠI really want to tell about Miss Ria..but what you just asked is too personal. I canât tell you about itâ
âIs it about her past?â
âYes..and she doesnât want to share it with anyoneâŠbut maybe if you get close to her she might tell about itâ
âNo..I doubt if Ria will ever allow me close to herâ
âI must tell you it wonât be easy but you can give it a try -â I paused âMr Ian please donât get close to her for that reasonâ
âYes I know Mrs Elise.. I donât want to be friends with her because of that. It doesnât matter if I donât know about itâ I nodded..quiet sensible
âHow old is she?â
â22â
âAbout the kids..are they are her biological children?â
âNoâ
âNo?â
âMiss Ria adopted them few months ago..and she is ready to raise them as her ownâ I shrugged
âYeah I noticed her likeness for them at the park and hospital. What about the blindness?â
âShe was born blindâ he rubbed his palms together
âAs she looked into getting eyes surgery?â
Yes! Severally!. Even when she was little her parents had accepted an offer that led to their death. So sad! Even Miss Ria had tried saving up but something ends up happening to her savings.
âYes Mr Ian but you know eye surgery is expensive. She doesnât have that huge amount of money. We planned to take on a loan from the bank to foot medical billsâ
âA loan?â
âYes..and we are starting the process next weekâ he stared at me
âI want to help Riaâ he blurted without looking away from me
âI can pay the bills Mrs Eliseâ
âReally?â Oh yes! I know he can..he is the CEO of a great industry. But the problem is Miss Ria will turn him down
âIâm willing and ready to do it for Riaâ
âYou see Mr Ian I donât have any problem with you paying the bills..but Miss Ria wonât accept your helpâ
âBut why?â
âHmm lets just say she doesnât trust your kindâ
âYou can help me Mrs Elise. Try to persuade her..it for her good. It will be a good thing if she can see againâ
âI suggest you just loan the money to her?â
âNo I donât want that. If I do that it like Iâm adding more to her problemsâ
âOkay I will try to talk to herâ
âWell Mrs Elise if she doesnât want to see me then you tell her Lauren Bryant heard of her case and so she wants ti help herâ
âNo..no we donât have to tell her a different storyâ
âI just thought that will make her accept my offerâ
âNo I will explain in a right way. And thanks for offering to help usâ
âYouâre welcomeâ
We stood up and walked out of the office
âRamseyâ he called the young man at the desk
âYes CEOâ
âSet up a meeting with Doctor Hawnâ
âOkay sirâ
âI will discuss with the doctor to knoe how we go about the surgeryâ
He said to me on our way to the elevator
âOkayâ
âSay me hi to the kidsâ
Soon we stepped out to the opening where staffs bowed as they pass by. He hail down a taxi when we came out of the company. I entered and waved at him and he did the same before the cab moved
âBing restaurantâ I said to the driver
âOkay Maâamâ I thought of everything I discussed with Mr Ian. He was willing to help but I still doubt if Miss Ria will ever accept such help. How do I convince her?. Images flashed through my mindâŠthey were the most horrible moments of my life but it all in the past now. why now? Sounds like a good way to talk to Miss Ria.
âȘâȘâȘâȘâȘ
âWhat do you do when you canât let go?
What do you say when you just donât know how feel?
And you know nobody knows how you feel
Cause everybody gat their own D–n problem!
So Everybody tryna find their way
And day by day is the struggle
In this world you know you have to hustle
Just know you are not alone
You donât always have to be strong all by yourself
I said it okay to ask for helpâŠâ
Choose Episodes Below;
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Episode 1 Episode 2 Episode 3 Episode 4 Episode 5 Episode 6 Episode 7 Episode 8 Episode 9 Episode 10 Episode 11 Episode 12 Episode 13 Episode 14 Episode 15 Episode 16 Episode 17 Episode 18 Episode 19 Episode 20 Episode 21 Episode 22 Episode 23 Episode 24 Episode 25 Episode 26 Episode 27 Episode 28 Episode 29 Episode 30 Episode 31 Episode 32 Episode 33 Episode 34 Episode 35 Episode 36
Ria story is not complete and is the remaining part of the story going to posted soon? I want to know.