To Walk in Her Shoes

Chapter 1

The clicking sound of the computer buttons was the only noise that could be heard in the small office as Brittney typed away a press statement to be sent to media houses in 15 minutes. She had to explain why the son of one of the biggest business empires in Nairobi was seen in a video at a club, drunk and engaging in a fist fight and was arrested. Though her step brother was released from jail, it was the talk of town and the video was making rounds in the social media.

She had engaged the help of IT department but it had not bared any fruits because the video had been shared by so many people. She just hoped that someone else who is influential will trend on social media and the press statement will make it easier for the company. Mark Times Entertainment (MTE) was making losses and that was not good for the company, especially if the stakeholders and her father got wind of it.

Speaking of her father, Brittney thought of how her father was going to react to the news. He would be so furious. He cared so much for the company because he had started it from scratch. She finished typing and sent the email to news rooms, hoping it will make a difference. Suddenly, the phone rang and she checked to see her father's office number. Sighing she picked the call.

"Hi dad?" She answered the call. "To my office now." Her father demanded. She rose from her seat and stretched walking as fast as she could to the lift that would take her to the 16th floor. She knocked once on the door and walked in.

Her dad was concentrating on something on his laptop and she knew what it was. He gestured for her to take a seat. "Explain" he said looking straight in her eyes. You see as the PR head, she was responsible for the image of the company, despite who tarnished the image. She swallowed hard and looked at his big brown eyes. "Well, Ayden was involved in some altercations yesterday night but am taking care of it." She answered confidently. Her father, Mr. Brown kept looking at her before he nodded his head and dismissed her.

She left his office very fast and took a long breath which she didn't know she was holding. Turning around, she saw the only person who had put her in this situation. Ayden smirked at her as he approached her. "Well, well, well, I can see my small sister is here to the rescue, and trying to please dear old dad" He said with a sickening smile that Brittney wanted to wipe away. "You know what? He will always choose me over you no matter what" he said brushing her shoulder as he entered their dad's office. She could hear her father asking him why he had done what he did and he was giving excuses which her father would always listen to before the office door closed behind him. She walked to the lift and went back to her office wanting to be alone. She closed her eyes to prevent the tears from falling. Her father always favored her step siblings especially Ayden over her, no matter what she did, it wasn't good enough, and she knew that Ayden was right. He would always choose his other family.

While growing up, she was always left in the house with the nanny while her family members visited places. She would get second hand toys or the ones her step sister Jane didn't like. While she became older, she learnt the reason was because she was an illegitimate child. She was a mistake, one from a one night stand, with a woman that his father did not love. Her mother had left her on the door step of his house with a letter and a picture of herself, which thankfully her stepmother had kept and given her to remind her that she was an unwanted child. But to her, it was the reason for her living.

She looked at the picture which she had framed in her office. She looked like her mother, with high cheek bones, small eyes and long lashes, round lips, long black hair and dark brown complexion. Four months ago, she had saved her salary and looked for a private investigator to search for her mother's whereabouts. She found out that her mum had died the same night she had left her at her father's door step. She had been knocked down by a track and died instantly. She had no other family and no one had claimed her body from the government mortuary, therefore she was buried in a mass grave. She always visited the mass grave and left flowers on her birthday.

"Mum, I wish you were here with me." She said looking at the photo while tears fell on her cheeks. She knew that when her father looked at her, he remembered the mistake he had made 26 years ago, and her stepmother was always there to remind her whenever she visited the house she grew up in. She sighed loudly, wiping her tears and pretending that everything was alright.