THE FORGOTTEN HEIRESS-Chapter 241: Isn’t He The Father of Your Children?
As she left the school, the driver took her straight to see Candace at her office.
The office was located in a bustling area of the city, where traffic was a bit tight. By the time Kathleen arrived it was a few minutes beyond the scheduled one hour.
As she stepped into the building, she was instantly impressed by the spacious, brightly lit reception which was adorned with motivational posters and artwork portraying empowered women and cheerful children.
There was also a large flex displaying a unique write up of the organization’s vision and goals.
It appeared the receptionist had been given a standing order to watch out for her coming because as soon as she came in, she was immediately taken to see Candace after confirming her identity.
As Kathleen entered the cozy office, which was surrounded by photos depicting success stories of people the foundation had helped, she was greeted warmly by Candace Rosse, the founder of Living Hope Foundation and her husband, Stanley Rosse.
"I’m so sorry I’m late," she apologized as soon as she came in.
"It’s fine. We understand the traffic around this area and I’m sorry I forgot to warn you about it, being your first time in this area."
"What would you like to take? Tea or coffee?" Stanley asked.
"Water will do, if you don’t mind," Kathleen said as she grabbed a copy of the leaflet on the table. "Thanks," she added.
"You sounded urgent on the phone, did something come up?" Candace asked
"Yeah, I noticed that the construction work at the site had been going on as expected but somehow the fund allocated for the project had not been touched. So I checked with my people but none of them released the funds."
"So you believed it should be from my own end," Candace completed.
"Yeah. At least I promised to be fully responsible for building and equipping the place."
Candace looked confused. "I have no idea either. No one has approached me concerning that after you took up that aspect. But I will ask around."
Stanley cleared his throat. "I- em.. I wasn’t meant to say this, but since it has gotten to this, I think I should come clean."
Candace stared at her husband. "What do you know dear?"
"Do you remember the first time we met Dr Janice that I promised to speak with a friend to get a space for the building?"
"Mm-hmm?" Candace looked thoughtful. "Is it your friend that is responsible for this?"
"Yes," Stanley nodded.
From his expression, Kathleen felt that there was more to this friend.
"Who is this friend?" Candace asked. She also had the same thoughts as Kathleen.
At least if they know who he was, they can express their gratitude.
Stanley still had that conflicted look on his face as if he was torn between revealing the person’s identity and offending his wife who hated being kept in the dark.
"Well, it was actually President Hudson that I met that day." He glanced in Kathleen’s direction before continuing.
Initially, he had no idea the two knew each other, but after that day at the park where they took the children to play with other children from the foundation, he was able to guess the relationship between them from the uncanny resemblance between Kathleen’s son and President Shawn Hudson.
It was then, he realized the reason Shawn had insisted that his involvement be concealed from Dr Janice’s knowledge.
"I had to tell him about the project and some of the investors involved in the project."
"Mm-hmm?" Candace urged.
"He told me that he would cover the cost of the building but warned me not to disclose it to other investors, especially Dr Janice."
A frown appeared on Candace’s face. "Why would President Hudson make such a request?"
Kathleen was stunned to find that Shawn has been clandestinely funding the project without their knowledge.
As far as she was concerned, Shawn never invested in anything that wouldn’t yield profit for him, so why was he suddenly interested in this non profit venture?
She refused to listen to the voice inside her head that was telling her that he did it because of her.
’Maybe he wants to do a few good deeds to relieve himself of the guilt he felt. It has nothing to do with me,’ she concluded within herself.
"I am also clueless as to why he would secretly support the project," Kathleen replied to Candace who was gazing at her with a questioning expression.
"That’s interesting. Now that we know he is involved, I have to personally thank him. Afterall all, anyone who supports the project is indirectly supporting me."
"That’s true, but I’m afraid I might not be part of the team that will be meeting President Hudson."
"President Hudson?"
"Mm-hmm, is that not who we are talking about?" Kathleen asked innocently.
"You sound so alienated when you mentioned his name. Isn’t he the father of your children?" Candace asked and earned a bitter look from her husband.
"It’s kind of...em.. complicated," Kathleen stammered. For once, since she met Candace, she hated her nosiness. Maybe it was because of her previous job as a journalist, her nose is always snooping around for gossip.
"You don’t need to explain anything," Stanley smiled awkwardly in an attempt to douse the situation.
"Thanks," Kathleen sighed in relief. She wondered for how long she was going to explain the relationship between her and Shawn whenever people saw Elvis and recognize him as her son.
Wouldn’t it have been better for Elvis to look like her, that way she would not be saddled with such an arduous task.
"At the rate the work is going, the building should be completed in two months and we can start planning for the equipment." Stanley successfully steered the conversation back to the facility.
"That’s good to hear. I just spoke with the company to supply the equipment and they promised to deliver on time. They only need a week’s notice when we are ready," Kathleen responded.
Not long after she took her leave.
