THE FORGOTTEN HEIRESS-Chapter 219: You Don’t Need To Praise Me

Kathleen found herself in a dilemma. How was she going to see Shawn without getting into another argument with him?

The last time they met, he had surprised her with his request to take care of the children just to get her back into his life; that was without knowing that the children were his.

If he finds out that the children are actually his, which she seriously suspects he might have known by now, how was she going to deal with him?

She just has to make a move today, no matter what. Over the weekend, she kept thinking of how to go about it yet she has not been able to come up with a plan and her mother had not failed to call her every day to ask her for an update.

She even contemplated putting a call across to thank him over the phone but her mother warned her against it, insisting she must go in person to show her sincerity.

She had no choice but to call Shawn.

********

Meanwhile in the large conference room at Hudson Corporations, Shawn sat at the head of a long, polished conference table, exuding a calm but imposing aura as he listened to reports from the company executives and departmental heads.

As the meeting progressed, Shawn’s phone suddenly vibrated on the table, flashing Kathleen’s name across the screen. The room, filled with high-ranking executives, fell momentarily silent at the unexpected interruption.

They looked from one to the other ready to sympathize with whoever had committed such a serious offense.

When no one showed any sign of being the offender, their gaze unanimously turned to the President and to their amazement, they noticed a subtle shift in his demeanor.

There was a warm softness rarely witnessed by others that had replaced his typical cold countenance as his eyes took in the name displayed on the phone screen.

Rising from his seat, Shawn signaled for Johnson to hold brief for him as he left the room, paying little or no attention to the astonished looks on the people’s faces.

After he left, the executives exchanged curious glances, surprised by the president’s action during such a crucial meeting. He had never picked anybody’s call before, not to mention walking out in the middle of a meeting.

Outside the meeting room, in the hallway, Shawn answered Kathleen’s call.

"Kathleen, it’s so good to hear from you. What’s up?" Shawn asked, genuine warmth and sincerity lacing his words.

After a few minutes, Shawn ended the call, a slight smile touching his lips but as he returned to the meeting room, his demeanor went back to its professional and composed state.

The executives, still intrigued by the stark contrast in his demeanor, returned their attention to the ongoing discussion.

Thirty minutes into the meeting, Shawn ended the meeting an hour earlier than the usual time scheduled for it and rushed back to the office to wait for Kathleen’s arrival.

After waiting for about an hour with no sign of Kathleen, he put a call through to her but the call was rejected twice.

’What is going on? Why is she suddenly rejecting my call?

’Is she not the same person that called to tell me that she was coming over in an hour’s time? It’s been over an hour and she is not here, neither is she picking my calls."

He sent for Johnson immediately.

"Find out who came to see me today," he ordered.

"Yes Boss." With a heavy heart, Johnson went straight to the president’s secretary to inquire.

He barely responded to the secretary’s greetings as he went directly to what brought him there.

"Ms Harley, was anyone here to see the president earlier today?"

"I can’t remember anyone that had an appointment with the president coming in today," she replied matter of factly.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes I am, but wait, actually, someone came but she didn’t have an appointment." 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"Did she leave a name?"

"One Ms Janice. I didn’t really take note of her name, since it didn’t ring a bell," she said, her lips turned up in disdain. "I presumed she was probably one of those ambitious ladies that are looking for successful presidents to hook up to. But trust me, I did what I should do.

Ms Janice? Isn’t that the Boss’s wife?

A cynical grin turned up the corners of Johnson’s lips as he uttered, "Really?"

"Yes," the secretary answered, completely ignorant of the grave she had dug for herself.

"And you don’t need to praise me for that. I was only doing my job," she stated confidently, giving herself an invisible pat on the shoulder.

"I must say, you have exceeded our expectations and your reward can’t be delayed any longer. You can report to the president’s office immediately," Johnson announced and left the foolish secretary, not sure whether it was anger or pity he felt for her.

At the president’s office, Johnson reported his findings to Shawn.

As soon as he was done, the secretary came in after a brief knock on the door.

"Who did you say came to see me?" Shawn flung at her the moment she got close enough.

"Ms Janice, sir," the secretary answered, but her tone wasn’t as confident as it was before.

She could sense the thickness in the atmosphere but she didn’t know if it had anything to do with her. After all, the boss was rarely in a good mood irrespective of who offended him, so she continued.

"And I asked her to wait for an appointment. She should probably still be at the reception booking an appointment sir," she announced cleverly.

"How long has she been waiting?" Shawn spat out in clipped tones.

"About thirty minutes, I think."

"Why wasn’t I informed?"

"You were busy sir and ..."

He glanced at the phone screen which suddenly lit up and saw a message from Kathleen.

He had sent her a message before with little hope for a reply but was surprised to get a reply now.