“You‘re welcome. Now you go and see Edward and talk some sense into him. I‘m sure if he knows half of what you‘ve just done, he‘ll be forced to have a rethink.”
**********
Edward opened the door and registered the absolute silence. It was almost dark when he arrived home for the first time since the quarrel. A part of him wished Gladys had not made good her threats to leave. He still wasn‘t sure why her phone had been engaged for the past hour. It was his fault for not calling earlier, but he was up to his eyeballs with work. He flung his jacket on the chaise and walked upstairs. In the bedroom, it was more obvious she was gone.
Her boxes were not there, not even the usual things she had taken to leaving at his place in the last few months. He couldn‘t define his feelings; a curious emptiness seemed to envelope him. The past two days had been hard; he‘d either been working or agonizing over what to do about their relationship. A feeling of uncertainty warred with the love which he still felt for her. His heart told him now that it wasn‘t possible that she‘d betrayed him. Not Gladys, she wouldn‘t sell his gift for money.
No, she didn‘t sell those shares; Chief Okrika must have got his hands on them in another way. His eyes caught sight of a sheet of paper arranged on the night table. He walked over to the bed, sat down and picked it up. It said simply, I didn’t do it, please call me. He tried her number again but it was still busy.
He walked over to the closet and opened it. One item stood out, and that was the wedding gown Gladys had bought while they were in New York. It was still in its white polythene wrapper. Taking the hanger down from the rail, he returned to the bed and sat down heavily. He unzipped the carrier and buried his face in the gown, feeling as though the whole world rested on his shoulders.
The war for his company weighed heavy on him. He wished he hadn‘t lashed out at Gladys like he‘d done. It would‘ve been much easier if she‘d been here to share this process with. He knew that with the plans his management team had come up with, resolving the takeover issue would lead to a bigger, stronger Bestman. However, it would be nothing without Gladys to celebrate it with.