Blured Secrets

Chapter 2

Earlier...

Trisha stood hands akimbo leaning against the glass walls in her office with a cup of hot coffee, listening as her assistant read her the news from Scandal Daily, a renowned gossip magazine.

"That's enough Alice, you may go" She waved her away. Alice bowed and left the office. She walked over to her desk, picked up the tablet and skimmed through it confirming all that Alice had read. It was the third time already but it seems like the words haven't changed

"Keep Fit's CEO in a relationship with married man". She threw the tablet on the table and sighed. "They sure have been getting bold lately especially with the pictures" She thought. She picked up her phone, spoke to her head of security and walked out.

Trisha strode into Tracy's office without a word, causing her to look up from the pile of document she was sorting through,

"You are here? I got what you asked for". She handed over a folder. Trisha collected it and sat on the chair opposite her desk. She flipped through it and nodded.

"Thanks, I thought you wouldn't be able to get it" She said. Tracy shook her head and smiled,

"All this time and you still can't believe that I'm more than just a pretty face. I'm offended" she said.

"Don't be. You know I don't think of you like that." She walked over to her couch and sat on it. Taking off her heels, she took her left foot in her hands and began to massage it while cursing the people responsible for her current headache. The article wasn't the issue rather the pictures were. She couldn't recall meeting the man and yet the photos of them together looked so real. Ignoring Patricia's evident inner turmoil, Tracy decided to bring up the elephant in the room.

"I saw an article today from scandal daily; you do know how much I love celebrity gossip? Back in secondary school I wouldn't concentrate in class but rather try to find out who was dating who. You know right?" she giggled nervously, not sure where to go with her line of questioning. Tired of her stalling, Trisha calmly, all too calmly, asked her to get straight to the point.

"Are you seeing anyone lately?" She began

"No". "Ooh" Tracy thought, "Maybe he is just a fling then."

"OK. Then what's his name?"

"Don't know."

"How can you kiss and not know his name. Are you doing this to protest your marriage?"

"Why would I? It's a done deal. Edward would land in Nigeria next week then we would have our first public outing on father's birthday. We are also announcing our engagement on the same day."

"Wow" She excitedly rushed to the couch to hear more but her excitement died upon seeing the look on her friend's face. The face you make when your best friend is being foolish or in her case way too excited about something that required no excitement.

"What?"
"First, I don't know this guy which means I didn't kiss him. You should know, there is something called Photoshop"
"And the second"
"There is nothing to be excited about. There is nothing romantic about our marriage except the fact that it would earn me my father's company assuming those stupid dogs haven't ruined my chance with these baseless rumors they are busy spreading." She stood up suddenly and picked her heels, startling Tracy. She made her way to the door. Then as if suddenly remembering something, she turned around. 

"Girlfriend"

"Huh?" She answered nervously. " I hope she is not about to ask what am thinking. Under her heated stare , I'M DEFINITELY GOING TO CRUMBLE" she gulped.

"Where..is..Michael?" 

"don't know. isn't he your employee?" she said with a fake air of nonchalance which only tried to mask the nervousness within. Michael the guy in question, is Tracy's boyfriend. The pair met during their youth service and immediately fell in love and a year after, decided to get married. As in other romance stories where there is a distinct class gap between the couple, Tracy's father had objected to the marriage stating that the marriage would only hold if Michael could find and keep a steady job. A request Trisha was all too ready to grant, after all she was in need of an office slave in the name of a private secretary.

Easily seeing through Tracy's lies, she rolled her eyes and headed for the door, " i'm headed for lily springs right now, I have a speech in thirty minutes. I don't care where he is at,he should be there before me.  Bye babe"

"huh bye" Tracy murmured absentmindedly, scrambling for her phone. 

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"What is exercise though? the word 'exercise' holds various significance, it has different meanings depending on the type of  people you ask. To me, it signifies freedom. Running on the treadmill gives me a certain sense of freedom, it makes me feel that I can go everywhere and anywhere . To some people, it can be a form of escape, a way to go somewhere farther from reality, a place in their mind where anything is possible. When you exercise, you don't think of anything else. you can only think of your present goal.  why can't you think of anything else when you exercise? well that's because your body is in pa.....ins" muted laughter filled the hall eliciting a small smile from Trisha......

She was presently giving a speech at lily springs conference hall. An audience of about three hundred and five persons filled the hall. a group of reporters and journalists sat at the front row ready to ask questions. From where she stood, Trisha could see Michael try to fit in with the audience. "what does he think he is doing?" she thought angrily while maintaining a calm facade

"While we have been known to host and sponsor many sporting events over the past half decade of our existence, Keep Fit is deciding today to sponsor your own event. So for the next three months , you should decide the business of your choice, make an amazing and a creative presentation out of it and watch Keep Fit invest in your program. Of course that is only for the first three winners,be rest assured though, all the participants can be sure to end this competition with smiles on their faces and i'm pretty sure that smile won't be because you were  greatly encouraged" Excited clapping filled the arena as the chanted and screamed her name. Trisha smiled. Even though it might put a dent in the company's account, it sure was rewarding to see the smile on the people's faces. Small moments like this was when her humanity seeped through. Questions were asked related to exercise and the mental health.  

"As I have always said exercise should not just be an activity involving your physical; the best way to keep fit is by having a fit mind. Thank you" she concluded. loud clapping and happy scream saw her off the stage. Like all other public speeches, she took a few pictures for publicity and made her way to her car parked just outside the venue. a reporter's daring question halted her swift steps and made everyone stand still.

"Are you trying to cover up your recent scandal by diverting attention?"  He started.

"what the hell is he talking about?" Trisha thought pensively with her legs stuck to the marble floor. shaking off the nervousness, she made her way calmly to her car.  But still, he won't give up

"wouldn't there be any statement clarifying the scandal? What do you have to say about your relationship with a married man?" he yelled at the top of his lungs.

  Taking her hand off her car, she calmly turned around coming in eye contact with the reporter. He averted his gaze the moment he noticed her cold stare. Taking her time to size him up, she turned towards the cameraman who also shrunk away. She looked into the camera and declared,

"My PR team will release a statement this afternoon. Don't annoy me by prodding for answers". She got into her car and drove off leaving her overworked secretary, Michael, behind.