Chapter 72: Chapter 72

The atmosphere was buzzy and disorienting as Noah stepped out of his white Lamborghini, the paparazzi and the crowd blocked his way from going into the company.

Although his guards were active, they quickly made way for him to pass among the crowds who tried to touch him.

The crowd and the paparazzi weren't backing down either, they stood firmly, refusing to let him walk pass them.

Noah saw this and he knew he needed to do something, so he waved his hands signaling for his guards to step back, which they did.

He removed his dark shadse and he attached it to his blazer pocket.

"Please sir, can we ask you a few questions, please?" One of the paparazzi said.

"Sure, you can." Noah replied with a sidewalk smile.

"Thank you Mr Noah for agreeing to our invitation."

"I heard you travelled for five good years. Was it for the company or something else?" the paparazzi asked.

"It was for the company. Now that I'm back, I'm here to take full responsibility for my company," Noah replied.

"What about your younger brother who's been working for the company? Does he stand a chance against you as the company's CEO?" The paparazzi asked.

"Well, we are brothers after all, and we cannot compete about who is to be CEO and who isn’t," Noah stated and made to leave.

"One more question please!' Another paparazzi said, but this time, Noah shook his head and his bodyguard immediately understood what he meant.

They walked into the crowd and made way for him to walk through.

*****"

The building was a huge one with amazing interior and exterior decor.

The office buzzed with employees going about their daily activities.

Some others were seated with their eyes fixed on their laptops.

Suddenly, the boss felt a cold chill and they knew instantly that their boss was in the building.

"Good morning Mr Noah," They greeted them and he only waved at them.

He walked briskly to his office with his hands in his trousers pocket as his secretary trailed behind him.

When he got into his office, he sat down, expecting his secretary to give him recent details of what was going on in the company. But she just stood with her head down.

"Don't you have something to say?" Noah asked.

"Sir, I'm sorry if I didn't tell you this earlier, I'm resigning."

"What!" Noah half yelled. He wasn't expecting her to resign so suddenly, without giving him prior notice.

"I need to take care of my parents in the province. They're very ill." She said, and Noah sighed.

"Here's my resignation letter," She quickly placed the letter on his desk.

She made to leave but Noah stopped her.

"You can't just leave. Stay at least two more days..." He trailed off, knowing he shouldn't be asking her to stay due to what she explained to him.

"At least help me look for a good secretary before you leave," he uttered.

"I'll be sure to find a good secretary for your boss. Thanks for being a great boss over the years, even though you were not here to guide us," she complimented. Noah smiled at her, and she reciprocated, before taking her leave.

Noah massaged his temples and he glanced through the files, not knowing where to start from.

****

Valeria sat in her living room crying her eyes out, Shantel was beside her, consoling her.

"Come on Val, enough tears already, we'll find a solution."

"What do I do now, Shantel? My son is about to get kicked out of school and there's absolutely nothing I can do as his mother. I'm just a failure and a terrible mother," Valeria cried.

"Hey, don't you ever say that," Shantel scolded.

"You're not a failure and neither are you a terrible mother."

"I love my son so much Shantel, I can't afford to see him get kicked out of school. I just can't. What do I do, Shantel? What do I do? Why is life so unfair to me? Why is life so difficult for me? Look at me, I can't even afford my son's school fees? I'm a useless mother Shantel, I'm a useless mother." Valeria cried.

Shantel sharply turned Valeria to face her, and she landed a hot slap on her cheek.

"I don't want to hear you say you're a useless mother, don't ever say that, say that one more time and I swear I'll slap you back to your senses. You've told me your story, Valeria. I know how much you've suffered, every single fucking day you work so hard to give Fred a better future. Who should be called useless is that bastard that left you when you needed him the most."

"You're doing your best for Fred, you're a great mom Valeria, don't look down on yourself, you're the best mom."

"We'll find a solution dear, we'll get through this, don't worry." Shantel said, and Valeria hugged her tightly, crying on her shoulders.

Shantel hugged Valeria back, patting her back in a comforting way.

****

Noah was in his office going through some files when the door suddenly opened and Ergon walked in.

"Hey bro." Ergon said as he went to take a seat, and he crossed his legs when he was seated.

"Heard you came back last week," he said with a smirk.

"You look good in that chair."

Noah left the files he was sorting, and took a glance at Ergon. His heart broke seeing how Ergon had totally changed.

He doesn't look good at all. He's lost a lot of weight, and their mom has already told him about Ergon's wayward behavior.

"How are you doing?" He found himself asking.

"Good, what about you? Sorry, I didn't mean to ask that, obviously, you're doing well." Ergon laughed sarcastically, which madeNoah sigh deeply.

He guessed Ergon still hated him, but he was still going to ask him about Valeria anyway. When he asked his mother, all she said was Valeria disappeared, and he didn't understand it one bit. He didn't understand how a girl like Valeria would disappear just like that. His mother's answer wasn't in the least satisfying.

"What about Valeria?" He asked.

Ergon's face went red with anger at the mention of Valeria, and the next thing he said made Noah gasp in horror.

"That cunning whore?"