17 Derek opened his eyes the next morning, he tried to sit up but the exploding pain he felt had him falling back to the bed, he groaned aloud holding his head. "That's what you get for drinking too much, the aftereffect is always bad" Kathleen came in carrying a tray, the smell of freshly made coffee filled the room, she helped him up with a hand underneath his head, "here drink this" she gave him the coffee which he drank with relish, " thanks" he handed the cup back to her when he was through, " you could have sent the maid to bring it" he avoided making eye contact with her, he knew he must look a mess right now, he touched his swollen cheek, served him right, he thought as he winced at the pain, she said nothing, she simply removed his hand and placed some ice pack on it, "ouch" he winced again trying to move his face away. "Be still, you didn't think of the pain when you involved yourself in a fight, what were you thinking?" Her sharp tone had him sitting still like a penitent child, "I didn't think" he replied "What were you fighting about?" she stared at him angrily and his upper lips lifted in a smug smile "Over a lady" his smile suddenly turned to a shout of pain as Kathleen suddenly pressed hard on his injury with the ice, he glowered at her, " take it easy, will you" "Shame on you, fighting over a woman, I thought you were supposed to at least act married in public". He shrugged his shoulders, " what can I do when my wife chased me out, I had to go grab some other lady, I am a reputable playboy you know" Kathleen stood up carrying the tray, "yea I know, you're every woman's man, you don't have to remind me" she left the room with her tray. Derek quickly took a cold shower, he was feeling a lot better, he had a board meeting to attend later in the day, he needed to be at the company to sign some important documents before the meeting, he quickly got dressed, the bruise on his face had turned purple, hopefully, it will subside before the meeting, other than the bruise, he felt okay thanks to his firecracker wife, he smiled a little when he thought of how she had cared for him, just like a wife should, it had been a really long time he got such treatment from a lady, the last woman he got it from was his late mother, Mrs. Lucinda Deloux, he missed her a great deal although he still harbors some resentment on her for leaving him so early, since her death, no woman had actually cared for him, all they see are his wealth, game and looks, he felt warm inside as he went downstairs, prepared for the days work. Derek walked into the Deloux company, it felt wierd, he had not stepped into this company since his mother's death, though his dad and mom had run the company together, his mom was the real owner of the company as the company was originally founded by her parents, she had inherited everything including properties when they died as an only child, when she had gotten married to Michael Deloux, a prince from the royal bloodline, she had changed the company's name to his but all legal documents still remains in her name, she had brought in his dad into the company and they had worked together for the progress of the company, it had grown bigger, before his mother's death, she had put everything in his name including all her properties but Derek had wanted nothing to do with it, hence he left everything in the care of his dad, now he was back, it looked a bit different from when his mother was here, otherwise, nothing had changed, he could still feel her presence, heads turned his way when he entered, the hushed tones echoed in his ear, Jake appeared from nowhere, "welcome Sir" he bowed and he walked behind him straight to the president's office, it was neat and polished as if his dad had been there just a few minutes ago, he walked into the office and sat down in his dad's chair, it took all his willpower for him not to turn and leave the office, he glanced at Jake, "now, what's our schedule for today" Jake immediately jerked into motion, "before the board meeting, these are the documents that need your signature and these are the deal you sealed with some companies and developers, it also needs your signature" "Hmmm" he motioned for Jake to put then on his desk, his father's desk, he corrected himself, Jake placed it and was still staring at him, he suddenly glanced up and frowned at Jake, "what is it?" Jake shook his head, "permit me to say, Sir, you were really awesome, those deal you concluded in a matter of weeks, the boss had been trying to get them for months and you got it in a matter of weeks, it was really amazing" Derek said nothing at his compliment, "but Sir, what happened to your face, not all the board members had accepted you fully, the bruise might leave a negative impression on them" Derek frowned, "can't I have a personal life apart from the business? I'll handle the board and you can leave" Jake bowed and left him alone. Derek entered into the Hall, all the board members were already seated, waiting for him, some gave him a skeptical look when he entered, others looked at him curiously and some with disapproval over the bruise on his face, he sat down on the president seat as the meeting commenced, after the meeting, they stood to leave but Derek waved them back to their seat, " I need to clear the air on the obvious issue on ground which is about to be ignored by all of you" They all say back down, staring at each other, " I believe there has been some controversy over my being here as the president, well I want to hear your honest opinion, those that disapproved of my stay, I want to hear your reasons, please speak up now, the floor is open". He was silent as he observed them, they were all staring at each other in uncertainty, a member sitting by his left slowly rose his hand, he stood up at Derek's permission, "I am only concerned about your reputation, you being a rascal and ladies man, I fear it might affect the company's reputation, people might make a mockery of it and it will affect the company in the labor market" there were whispers amidst the board members, most nodding approval at the observation as if the member who just spoke had spoken their fears. "I fear I can't do anything about my reputation but what I'll say is that I'm not much of a playboy anymore because now I have a wife, a Lovely wife at that, it shows some iota of responsibility on my part, I cannot control my past, but I can definitely control my future, and my personal life remains that, it shouldn't affect the business" " Your personal life remains public as far as you remain a public figure, not quite long you came back, the papers already carried a photo of you and another lady who wasn't your wife" another member shot up "And here you are having bruises on your face like you were involved in a fistfight" another chipped in and once again, there was murmuring among them. "I'll try to curb that as much as possible" he explained, trying to maintain his calm, "but as I said, it won't affect running our business, I suggest we plan on how to move the business forward rather than talk about what I should do and what I shouldn't, I run a business, the business doesn't run me" his tone left no room for argument and one by one, they all nodded. "We are impressed by the deals you've sealed in these past weeks, it was a tough deal" Derek smiled at the compliment "Why don't you throw a party for both you and your wife, introducing her, it will divert the press attention and soon forget about the previous content" a member suggested. "I'll think about it, thank you all for your time" he rose up and left the meeting feeling relieved, he would definitely think about the last suggestion.