The Unexpected Discovery Of Love 97 Birthrigh

"I don't know, pick any one." Carl said pus.h.i.+ng the trolley forward. Shopping with Kim proved to be both fun and tiring. Fun because he was with her, tiring because she was indecisive. He couldn't count the number of times she had asked which brand of foodstuff or toiletry to buy. Why couldn't she just pick the brand she uses?

"Hey! Wait up!" She grumbled.

Before she could catch up to him, she was blocked by a man and Carl had already turned from the aisle. "Excuse me." Stated Kim, politely. In spite of this, the young man in suit ignored her. Trying to get around him, he blocked her path once more. It was clear to her that the man was troublesome. "How may I help you?" She inquired. He ignored her again. Not wanting to seek trouble, she turned around but her path was blocked by another man.

Her mind began racing for a solution. "I'm in public," she muttered trying to calm her panicked thoughts. She appeared calm but her jerky movements relayed her fear. As she thought of the number of things that could go wrong, her face turned pale. 'Where is Carl? Are they after me? Or are they after him? When did they show up? Why didn't I know we were being followed? Where is everyone?' She could swear there were other people a few minutes ago but now the aisle was empty. As she pondered these things, sweat began dripping down her face.

Not letting her thoughts defeat her, she tried once more to move out of the aisle but she was blocked by the men in suits. The most unnerving thing was that they were silent. "Would you please let me through?" As she pleaded, she leapt forward, trying to bypa.s.s the man in front but he spread out his arms. Suddenly, she bent down, running past the man but he quickly caught her, entrapping her again.

She came to the realization that they were just keeping her within the aisle then they must be after Carl or their master wanted to talk to her. She gave up trying to escape, standing in the middle of the men.

At the same time, Carl noticed Kim was no longer asking him about the products so he turned around but she was nowhere to be found, in fact, the aisle was empty. 'Where is she?' He asked himself. He abandoned the trolley as he tried to go back from whence he came. To his surprise, a few men in suit blocked his path. His thoughts ran wild, turning around, a few men had also blocked the back so he was entrapped.

Before he could ask any question, a part cleared up, Chamberlain Stan walked out of the crowd. "Carl Mike.. or should I say Stallone Blackwood. I didn't peg you for someone who liked anyone much more going on dates." Chamberlain laughed, making Carl frown.

"What do you want?" Carl inquired aggressively. He did not want to get involved with the Stans besides all he could think of was getting to Kim.

"Relax, I'm here to talk." Remarked Chamberlain like he was taking a casual walk and all these was a mere coincidence.

"We have nothing to talk about." Carl fumed. In as much as he wanted to know what they were up to, he had left the company so they shouldn't have anything to talk about. And Kim was more important than whatever he wanted to say.

"I knew you'd say that, that's what these guards are for." Chamberlain commented when he saw Carl's calculating eyes. He knew he wanted to go get Kim. "Don't be so impatient, she's safe." He added casually.

To Carl however, this was a threat. "What do you want?" He spat out.

"How can you work for me when you can't even hide your emotions, control yourself!" He scolded. Carl was flabbergasted. "Who said I want to work for you?"

Ignoring his question, Chamberlain moved closer to Carl. It was like a show of dominance, 'you can't do anything to me even if I get really close to you.'

"First lesson, make sure to hide your weakness so your enemies don't use it against you." Chamberlain spoke with his hands in his pocket.

"That makes us enemies then." Said Carl. Chamberlain's presence made him feel uncomfortable especially since he couldn't see Kim.

Chamberlain chuckled lightly, "Are we really enemies, Mr. Blackwood? We could very much be on the same side."

Taking a deep breath, Carl asked, "What do you want?"

"Work for me." Chamberlain stated.

"How do you suppose I work for you? I'm sure you know I've been kicked out, I have nothing." Carl responded.

"It's for me to decide how you work for me, I already deemed you useful." Explained Chamberlain. "I've seen your work in the stock market." He added.

"I'm pretty sure you can hire the best man available in the country if you just want to trade stocks. What do you want?" Carl repeated his earlier question. He was not pleased that Chamberlain interrupted his time with Kim now he was bent on irritating him with unnecessary talk.

"The best doesn't have your background." Chamberlain couldn't explain to Carl in public how he could be of use to him.

"A background I've lost," said Carl, emotionlessly.

"Surely, you can retake what you've lost, unless you're satisfied with this mediocre life you're living." While it was true that Carl was satisfied with how things was, Chamberlain was in the know but confirming it himself was something different. How do you sit back and watch another take your birthright?