Above is Mr. Wright Junior

______________________________________

~~**~~**~~

“Thanks a lot for the groceries. You do know how to always take care of me.” Amanda smiled standing beside Bridget in front of her car. She wondered to herself what have she done to deserve a mother-like friend like Bridget.

“Are you sure you are ok?” Bridget asked with concern, noticing Amanda's smile fading and her eyes dull with worry. Bridget could tell something was bothering her friend but Bridget gave Amanda a curious look. Encouraging her friend to open up.

“Of course I am. Just a little tired from work today.” Amanda told Bridget instead, still not enough to convince her.

“I hope you are not over working yourself?” Her question laced with concern, she asked.

“I’m fine Brid,” She replied assuredly “I just need a warm bathe and I’ll be fine.”

Bridget gave out a silent sigh. She realized that as much as she hated her friend working in that company, she will never succeed in talking her out of it. Amanda had a bucket filled with secret tears and this worried Bridget so much. “Don’t forget, this Saturday we are going to Elena's.” She reminded.

“Em, about that—” Amanda's words hung on the air and was wiped off when she met Bridget death stare.

“You are not cancelling, are you?” Bridget asked almost angrily.

“No, no I’m not. I suggest we go early cause by 4pm, my boss insist I go with him to a book signing.” Amanda stated waving her hands in the air.

“Fine but I hope one day you will wake up from this fantasy world you are living in.” Bridget said and then got into her car.

Fantasy world? Amanda thought her life as an actress was fantasy to people but never knew that craving for normalcy was indeed a greater fantasy.  She shook the thought off her mind a flashed a gentle smile to her friend, “Soon.” Amanda replied and then bid her friend a goodnight.

Inside her apartment, Amanda stood for a while in front of her mirror in her bathroom. She wiped the makeup off her face, rolled her hair up and started undressing.

After stripping off her cloth, she stared at herself at the mirror then, her mind traveled back to the episode at the office, the kiss. She touched her lips with her finger tip, smiling. It was all she wanted after all, but at the same time, she felt very uneasy. Her hands slowly traveled from her lips to the side of her neck and at that moment, all she wanted was his strong arms on her. Exploring every inch of her body accompanied with gentle kisses and flaming desires.

The thought got strong as her heart raced faster. To wake her up from it, Amanda flipped up the faucet and splash the cool running water on her face. Exhaling, she looked at her reflection again and like a speed of light, she saw the face of Junior. Not the handsome, confident Wright Junior but the shy Samuel who she only spoke to ones after rejecting the drama role.

She smiled at the thought and left the mirror. Not long, she stepped into the bath tub filled with foamy water. Gently, she dipped one leg and another into it before sinking her entire body into the bath.

~~**~~**~~

The room was quiet for a while no one talked to another. The silence was getting unbearable for Mr. Wright who robbed his right fingers on the side of his head.

“Are you saying for two years you’ve been on this case, you have no lead?” Wright Junior yelled angrily in his deep voice. Making his voice sound deeper and darker.

“What I’m saying is, we are dealing with a very intelligent culprit. He has been two steps ahead of us, leaving us to chase shadows. Whoever feeds him with information is very current.” The detective said in her defense.

“No matter how careful a person is, he still leaves little bit of his essence behind.” Mr. Wright,  Junior's father, said calmly, as if not affected by all that was going on the way his son was. But,  he really was affected by it.

“That is true sir. That’s why I’ll have to ask. Sir, how many people have access to your office?” Detective Debby asked as she pulled out a paper from the file she held.

“My godson, Nelson and Tony my nephew.” Mr. Wright answered frankly.

“What about your son?” Detective Roy, Debby’s partner inquired, writing something down in the notepad on his lap.

Wright Junior adjusted himself on his sit “To keep the illusion, I’m not allowed into my dad’s office unless I’m summoned.” He voiced, clearing out any suspicious

It was never easy to play the role of an unreasonable father and an obtuse child but you’ll never know who your real enemy was until you acted the script circumstances has written for you.

Mr. Wright knew for a long time that something was wrong in his company but he just couldn’t place his finger on it. His was very determined not to let his hard work go down the drain.

Getting one of his sons to come revive the family business was not an easy task; his children never wanted anything to do with the business or him. Justin hated him and had accused him of choosing his business over his family and his other son, Wright Junior accused him for neglecting his children after their mum had died. Mr. Wright needed to push through all that hate to bring a solution but none of them were ready and willing to budge.

One night, Wright Junior was packing his bags, preparing to travel to Spain the following day to meet his elder brother when he overheard his father and his maternal grandmother speaking. He got the full gist of the happenings in the company and he felt the bitterness in his grandmother’s voice.

Junior listened further and he could hear his grandmother scolding his father and from their argument Wright Junior realized that his dad never neglected his wife or children, there was only an agreement between him and his wife’s family.

Mrs. Anne Wright, Junior's mother, had invested a lot in the company with the help of her family’s money and Mr. Wright had to work so hard in other to not disappoint his wife. But none of the boys knew this. Junior felt the disappointment of judging to early and knew he couldn’t do much but, at the same time, he couldn’t just let his father go through all those difficulties alone.

“The missing money was sent from your office computer to a secure account.” Detective Debby said to Mr. Wright and handed a paper to her partner.

“What!” Mr. Wright yelled. Sacrificing his calmness, he adjusted himself to a comfortable sitting position.

“These are the date and time the transfers were made.” Detective Roy added while transferring the paper to Mr. Wright.

Mr. Wright traveled his eyes through the list of date and time on the paper and squint is eyes  little when he noticed something, “Every staff in my company is paid on the twenty-eighth of every month and so was this transfer made and it has been constant since several years ago.” He told them bitterly as he passed the paper to his son.

“This was around the time dad and grandma had their argument about the company” Junior said to himself before reading aloud “28th July 2009, 7:30am”

“That was the first day the transfer was made but did you notice the change in the year 2014?” Detective Roy asked.

“Of course, 28th October 2014, 9:00am.” Again, Wright Junior read aloud.

“According to our investigations, your brother's illness worsen during that period and that was the time he stepped down and his son took over before finally dying on December.” Detective Debby  accurately explained

“Are you saying this has been going on even before my Uncle’s Illness and death till date?” Junior asked in disbelief, trying  to understand how such atrocity went on for so long under their noses.

“Yes. And the culprit made sure it all point back to you, leaving no trace of him. This person’s intention is not to steal from you but to kick you out of your company.” Detective Debby told Wright Junior “This person has been watching your every move. You just have to be careful.”

Speechless, Wright Junior sat still and observed his father exhale heavily while wearing a worry face.

Getting his voice back, Junior allowed himself off his seat and said “Thanks for your assistance, I hope to help in any way I can.” He shook the hands of the Detectives who, at that moment, were also on their feet.

“We will do all we can to bring this criminal to Justice Mr. Wright. We have to be on our way now.” Detective Debby assured them before exiting the door with her partner.

Mr. Wright sat in silence as his mind ran through so many possibilities. “Who could do this to me?” He wondered aloud.

Angry at his father for even asking such pesky question, Junior spoke, placing a serious stare at his father “Sometimes the obvious answer is the right one. The question should be why did he do this to you?”

Mr. Wright exhaled again. The chief has never been more perplex. He knew is son's suspicion pointed to one very obvious person. But for the sake of his late brother, he was not willing to drag his nephew under the bus just yet. At least, not until the investigation was over. “How was your meeting with Sebastian?” He asked, shifting the discussion to another pressing matter.

“Dad, he knows nothing. He thinks you were manipulated by Tony that’s why you let him go and he also alleged that Tony threatened to make sure he never publish with us again to his face and not long after that, you started acting funny.” Junior reported, trying his best to summarize he and Mr. Sebastian's conversation. Pausing to study his father's expression to the news, he met a small smile plastered on his father's face. “I tried convincing him that Tony may not be behind it and if he did, he might have done it out of anger since he lost Gloria after she had read his book.” Junior continued.

“His books have a way of reshaping the minds of people.” His father admitted “But now, I'm more worried of what I'm going to do” He shook his head slightly then, rested his forehead on his right palm. Supported with his elbow placed on the armrest of the single-seat sofa he sat on.

Junior felt soft for his dad seeing him like this so, he assured him “Dad, you won’t go through this alone. I have a plan but I need to get Nelson first.”

“Do what you have to do son and I’ll do mine.” Mr. Wright smiled and the nodded.

______________________________________

~~**~~**~~

Words (1847)