“Hello, Rita.” Naomi greeted her brother’s receptionist. Rita was almost the same age as Naomi but a little taller than Naomi.

“Naomi, it’s been a while. How are you?” She asked with a smile.

“Fine and you?”

“I’m good too. Luis will be very happy to see you since you hardly come by.”

Naomi chuckled. “I know; I was in the neighbourhood so I decided to come to say hi. Is he in?” Naomi asked, pointing to the direction of her brother’s office.

“Yes, you can go in,” Rita said. Naomi told her a thank you before making her way to Luis’s office.

Like always Luis had his face buried in work. He was seated behind his desk, going through some documents. Naomi could see a slight frown on his forehead. He did not notice she was in his office until she spoke.

“You need to get a life outside this office, Luis.”

Luis recognized the voice to be his sister’s voice and a smile took over his handsome face.

“Naomi, what a pleasant surprise!” He said, then stood up from where he was sitting, approached his younger sister who was standing beside the door and pulled her into a hug.

“I guess someone missed me.” She chuckled as she returned her brother’s hug. Luis smiled and kissed her forehead.

Luis Browne very protective of Naomi, he loved her like no other and always wanted to see her happy. She was his younger and only sibling so he always felt the need to protect her and be there for her as much as possible.

When Luis heard about her breakup, he had wanted to go beat up Connor for breaking his sister’s heart. Unfortunately, Luis couldn’t accomplish that mission as he was stopped by Naomi and his Parents. They made him understand that ending things with Naomi was better than entering into a loveless marriage with her.

“So how was your trip?” She asked him as he guided her to a couch which was opposite his desk.

Luis shrugged before he answered. “It was normal; full of business talk and all of that.”

Naomi rolled her eyes as they both took their seats. “You should create time for yourself Luis. It shouldn’t be about work all the time.”

Luis chuckled. “I will, baby sis. It’s just that there’s been so much to do since we launched the new project. But I plan on taking a vacation in two weeks.”

“Enough about me. How are you? How was the function you attended last week?”

“I’m fine. The function was okay but please don’t ever beg me to represent you or mom in any function again, I got tired of those long, boring business talks.”

Luis laughed out loud. His sister had never shown any interest in the business world. “But you just said it was okay.” He teased.

“Yeah, I kind of had someone to talk to and the most important thing now is that I’m over Connor.”

Luis smiled. “Mom must be so proud of herself for bringing up the idea of you representing the family.”

“So the person you talked to, I assume it was a guy?” He asked which earned a groan from Naomi.

She reluctantly answered, “Yes, he’s the same age as you and he runs his father’s company too, just like you.”

“What is his name?” Luis asked, interested.

“Ryan.” She replied.

“Just Ryan? Doesn’t he have a surname?”

Naomi rolled her eyes. “Of course he does. I just didn’t ask him.”

Luis sighed. “Anyways I’m happy you’re back to your normal self. How’s Linda?”

“You know what Luis?, I refuse to be the middleman between you and Linda.”

“What do you mean?” He asked, a little confused, with his eyebrow raised.

“It’s so damn obvious you care about her, I know you like her but you still haven’t made a move about it.”

“Is it that obvious that I like her?” He asked shyly with a smile on his lips. Truly Luis liked Linda, he has been attracted to her since the day he set his eyes on her. He wasn’t sure if Naomi would be comfortable with the idea of him going out with her best friend so he kept his feelings to himself.

Naomi shrugged, “If it wasn’t obvious I wouldn’t have discovered.”

“So you’re okay with me asking your best friend out?” He asked sincerely and she nodded.

“Are you sure?” He asked again. “I’m a possessive kind of guy and I can be quite demanding. I hope you know that if Linda and I become an item, She will have to spend more time with me than with you, her best friend.” He teased.

Naomi groaned, “Urghhh, I hate you already.” She said playfully which made him chuckle.

“But Seriously, I like Linda for you. You guys should Just figure something out because there are times I’ll need my best friend.”

“Alright Sis, I’ll act on our discussion.” He promised.

“I’m sure Sarah Smith was happy to see you,” Luis said.

Naomi smiled, “Yes she was. I almost didn’t recognize her but she recognized me. I met her husband too. She wanted to introduce me to her son but she never got the chance to.”

“That must be Christopher.”

Naomi asked.“Do you guys know each other?”

“Yes, We’re friends.”

“Wow, So sad I didn’t meet him.”

............

Christopher Ryan Smith heaved a sigh before walking into his parents’ mansion. Heaven knows he had been avoiding them all week. He hardly picked their calls or replied to any of their text messages.

Julius, his father, threatened to dismiss him from his position in the company if he doesn’t show up at the mansion this evening which was why he was here. He knew what his parents wanted to discuss with him. It was about Vivian and the wedding which he would never subscribe to.

Christopher avoided Vivian for a whole week; he told his securities not to allow her to set foot in his company or his home. He failed to answer her calls or reply to any of her text messages.

Chris was told his parents were waiting for him in his father’s study so he made his way there.

“Good evening Mom, Dad.” He greeted them with a smile that did not reach his eyes before taking a seat opposite the couch his parents were seated.

“So if your father did not threaten you, you would not have shown up?” His mom, Sarah hissed.

“I’m sorry Mom, I’ve been busy with work.” He half lied, trying to justify himself.

“So I assume you know why we called you here.” Chris’s Father, Julius said.

“Not really.” He replied nervously as he played with his car keys.

Julius asked, “Now that Vivian is expecting your baby what next?, You know you’re about to be a Father which is a huge responsibility.”

Christopher sighed. Truthfully, he hadn’t thought about the next chapter of his life. All he had been thinking was to give the baby child support and be there for him or her and at the same time try to win Naomi.

“I told Vivian I’ll be there for the baby, I’ll give the necessary child support and be there when he or she needs me.”

“You have to be kidding me, Chris.” His mother scoffed. “A child needs both parents.”

“I know Mom. He or she will always have me and Vivian.”

“Do you think he or she will be happy spending weekdays with Vivian and spending weekends with you?” Sarah asked, frustrated. Christopher ran his fingers through his hair not knowing what to say.

“You will marry Vivian,” Julius said to his son who didn’t look surprised because he saw it coming.

“Of course not Dad. How will I marry someone I don’t love?” He said, trying to control his temper.

“You should have thought about that before you decided to sleep with her and got her pregnant.” His mom rolled her eyes.

Christopher sighed, burying his face in his hands. Because of his playboy habits, He knew no one would believe him if he told them Vivian took advantage of him.

Christopher looked at his parents once more and begged them with tears in his eyes. “Please Mom, Dad, Don’t force me to marry Vivian, There’s no chemistry between us. What happened was a mistake which should never have happened. I promise to support her and the baby, getting married to her will only complicate things. Do you want me to live an unhappy life?”

Julius sighed before he spoke. “Son, I believe if you give yourself a chance to get to know Vivian, you will end up liking her. She’s beautiful, smart, independent and a wife material. You are old enough to settle down and I think Vivian is the right person for you.”

“Vivian said she wants to have the wedding before she starts showing. Her mother accompanied her earlier today to check out some wedding dresses. So we want to finalize the wedding date with you. Are you okay with three Saturdays from now?” His mother asked.

Christopher felt like someone was choking him. Hearing Vivian had started searching for a wedding dress made him feel sick and the fact that his parents weren’t even supporting him made him feel like shit.

“You know what?” Christopher rose to his feet. “I’m out of here.” He left his parents Study without looking back even though his mother shouted his name to come back that they still had things to discuss.