Being Annalise Johnson

1

Note: This book is undergoing some edits and re-write. The chapters are being republished. Please read the last page of the book titled "3 years after publishing ALBB" to understand why. Thank you

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Also, I do not claim ownership
of any of the pictures used in this book.

—
5:00am

I wake up to the infuriating sound of my alarm clock, and I grudgingly get out of bed to wake Lily up for school.

"Lily! It's time to get up" I make my way to Lily's room and I find her sleeping deeply as usual without a worry in the world, strands of her curly black hair on her face, her beautiful brown skin glistens even when she barely maintains her skin care routine. Unfortunately, I have to ruin her beauty sleep. I yank the duvet off her playfully.

"Hey sleeping beauty,  you have to wake up or you'll be late for school" I shake her a little and she opens her radiant hazel eyes, just to close them again.

"Lillyyyy." I roll my eyes, nudging her again,
she murmurs.

"Can I call in sick?" I look at her sternly

"Oh hell no young lady, I'm not paying your fees just so you can call in sick when you're not sick. So, get your ass up and get ready for school. I don't want to be late, my boss has an important meeting today so I need to be there early to make sure everything's ready"

"Ugh fine" she says, grudgingly as she walks. I keep watching her until she enters the bathroom before heading downstairs to make breakfast.

My parents died in a car crash when I was 15 and lily was just 8 at the time. It was pretty hard for us since there wasn't really anything for us to inherit. When they died, it took a toll on us but most especially lily, Me? Well I had to grow up, didn't really have much time to grieve, I had to be strong for us. I didn't want lily to suffer so I made sure I worked hard, took my studies seriously and when I finally graduated and found myself a job I decided It was time to move out of Maggie's home. I'm really grateful because most people would've asked me out the moment I clocked 18 but she almost never wanted us to leave, she said we made her feel something she never felt, Maggie was like my mom's best friend even though she was older than my mom. She lost her husband few years after they got married and before that they found out she couldn't have kids so when her husband died she decided not to remarry, she opened a day care and that's where she spends most of her time.

I open the refrigerator to take out some things for breakfast, I stare for a while before deciding to make some French toast and bacon served with orange juice.
30 minutes later I'm done with the kitchen.

"How do I look?" Lily asks and I turn around to see her dressed in dark blue jeans, a cute yellow top and her black pair of Vans, her hair in a bun, her hourglass figure sticks out subtly.

Well that's a trait we both got from mom

" You look beautiful baby girl" I smile at her, fixing her a plate before taking off my apron.

"Well, eat up. I'm going upstairs to get ready" I pat her shoulder

"Sure, Thank You" she smiles at me

I don't have enough time to spend in the bathroom like I normally do, so I just do the basics. I lay out a nude pencil skirt, a white top and my black Tom Ford heels before applying subtle makeup and styling my 20 inches straight burgundy wig.  I finish getting ready at exactly 7:10 so I grab my black handbag and the documents I'll need at work, looking at my self in the mirror one last time.

I look so damn fine

"Lily! I'm ready" I say before walking downstairs

"You're not gonna have breakfast?" Lily asks while grabbing her stuff she gives me a stern look

"Um no, I'm not..there's no time, I'll just have an apple" I grab an apple from the counter before we leave just so she doesn't worry to much.

Minutes later, I arrive at Lily's school.

"Be careful, and have a nice day at school, love you!"

"Sure, love you too!" she says, giving me a  warm hug before walking off. Run the world a popular song by artist Beyoncé starts playing on the radio and I drive off with a smile on my lips.

Oh well, I guess today's gonna be a good day

___

"Hi Laurel, I hope you had a lovely weekend" I greet the receptionist with a smile taking in her model-like figure.

"Oh yes I did, Tom came over" She beams, wiggling her brows with a smirk, her blonde hair sits pretty on her shoulders and her ever so expressive green eyes glistens with mystery. I give her a knowing look before walking to my office.

You must be wondering what I do, well i work as a financial analyst/advisor and personal assistant at Black Hawk Incorporated. My boss, Mr Hawk, a very nice man in his late 40's, hired me almost immediately after my interview, said he was pleased with the way i introduced myself.

Today, we're having a client over, Keith Anders, he'll be investing in one of our projects and he insisted we give him another brief before he signs the deal and Mr Hawk wants me to give the presentation this time.
I'm a nervous wreck, hopefully everything will be great.

I connect my flash drive to the smart tv which I'll be using for my presentation laying out the agenda neatly on the table.

"Miss Johnson, you're right on time" Mr Hawk exclaims, his burly figure, full beard and chalk white skin in direct contrast to the warm and friendly smile on his face as he walks across the conference room.

"Yes sir, I just need to make sure everything's perfect before Mr Anders arrives." I reply

"Well I'm sure you'll do well. Mr Anders will be here in 10 minutes" He says as he walks out

I pray I don't flop

______

"So gentle men, investing in project Pegasus won't only be beneficial to our companies but it'll be beneficial to the country as well because we'll be creating job opportunities." I finish with a smile locking eyes with the blue-eyed man who wouldn't stop staring at me.

Mr Hawk nods his head at me In approval and I smile a bit.

"Well Mr Hawk, that was a nice presentation, I think I'd like to sign now" Mr Anders says and I walk up to him placing the documents in front of him before handing him the pen. His blue eyes never leave mine and that just makes me a bit uncomfortable. He signs the deal, Mr Hawk shakes hands with him and they both walk out of the conference room.

When Mr Anders arrived, honestly, I was expecting a man of Mr Hawk's age but I was surprised to see the opposite. His piercing blue eyes and million dollar smile got my attention first, and then his dark blonde hair which compliments his ivory white skin and strapping physique. He was smooth with words, he knew the right words to say and wasn't annoying like the other business men I've met.

I like him

And No not the way you think

When the clock struck 4pm Mr Hawk asked that I call it a day as he had some things to attend to at home. So I head over to Lily's school to pick her up.

"Hey beautiful, how was school?" I ask as lily opens the door before getting settled

"It wasn't so bad, can we stop at Burger King? I've been craving burgers all day" she replies grinning and I laugh

"Yes ma'am, and yes work was fine too, thanks for asking" I say sarcastically with a smile before driving off, Perfect to me by Anne-Marie comes on and lily and I sing to it happily.

Life isn't perfect but I'm giving you a front row seat to watch how mine unfolds.