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ROOM 236

“Yes boss. I will do just that.” the private investigator responded as Mark started his car. And he drove straight to the hotel they had booked for their meeting. He has to be there to welcome them when they do arrive.

“Hello sir, everything you need for the meeting has already been set, and a butler would be waiting to show you to your meeting room the moment you walk in.” A lady from the hotel had called to tell him about his reservation, which had already been arranged. Her call entered the moment he dropped the call with his personal investigator.

“Thank you so much. I'll be there in about thirty minutes.” He answered before ending the call and putting his phone on silent mode, so there would be no disturbances in the meeting with his board members on how to benefit the company.

He was totally focused on everything that he planned today, which included picking his daughter up from school, which was another surprise he had up his sleeve. He had told the board members that the meeting would be ending an hour after it began because he had other matters to attend to.

He parked in the parking lot of the star five hotel and alighted down from the car like the way any CEO would. His well polished black shoes were the first to show, before his body followed. He looked clean and as handsome as ever.

He was so handsome that many women didn't care that he was married and often threw themselves at him, but he was responsible enough.

“Welcome sir.” The butler took his briefcase as he moved ahead to show the CEO known as Mr. Mark where his meeting reservations had been arranged. It was a VIP room.

“Here we are, sir.” The room was already filled with most board members who came earlier than he did.

“Thank you so much.” He thanked and collected his briefcase before facing the men in suit.

“Gentlemen, I apologize for my tardiness.” He apologized, going to take his seat in the space reserved for him.

“Let's get to business, shall we?” He remained standing as he opened his briefcase which was in front of him, bringing out the necessary file.

The room he had booked his reservation for his meeting had glass walls, which meant one was able to see what was happening outside the room. However, the people outside weren't privileged enough to see what was happening inside the room.

He was still going through the file when he raised his head to address his board member but paused.

He took off his glasses and put them on again to see if his glasses had become faulty.

“Mr. Mark, is anything the problem? You seem to be staring into space.” They wanted to follow his gaze but to stop them, he tried to get their attention.

“No, everything is fine. This is my proposal for the upcoming contract we are to sign soon.” He gave it to his secretary who was present, and she shared it with the board members.”

The board members were shareholders of the company. Emmie's father was one of the shareholders, but he sent a representative.

“This is good Mr. Mark, I must say, you're very intelligent.” One of the members remarked after reading ahead.

“Oh yes, he is. This is a good marketing strategy.” The men commented; however, Mark seemed to be absent-minded.

“Mr. mark?” A woman known as Mrs. Brooks called to his attention.

“Are you alright?” She asked confusedly.

“Yes, ma'am, all is well.” He forced a smile.

She was about to turn her head in the direction he was looking when he stopped her.

“Mrs. Brooks, it's really nothing.” He spoke, continuing with his presentation to distract her from looking into that direction.

“Any questions?” He asked, and even when his mind wasn't focused on what he was doing, he managed to give a very nice presentation.

The question he asked was answered and followed by a round of applause from the board members, who were apparently wowed with his presentation.

“I must say, Mr. Mark, your wife must indeed be proud of her husband.” One of the board members spoke with a grin.

“Yes. She is.” He lied, his mind drifting back to his wife, who he had seen earlier.

“So this is where she spends her morning and her night in the club?" He thought, but was interrupted by a man whose hands rested on his shoulder.

“This presentation was spectacular.” The young was a co-worker with Mark, but they were able to mostly relate with themselves because they were younger than the rest of the board members.

“Thanks. I's not easy organizing such programs. And it wouldn't have been this perfect if not thanks to my staff.” Mark replied, and the man nodded in acknowledgement.

The butler, who had earlier showed him to the meeting room, brought a tray, containing glasses already filled with Champagne.

“We're going to make a toast to the greatest business idea of all time.” Mark chuckled and the rest of the board members joined him as they all took their glasses of champagne in their hands.

“Let's make a toast to greater achievements.” Mark said, and they all raised their glass, clicking it together with the person nearest to them before taking a sip of it.

Mark, for one, was glad that everything was going well, despite the situation in his home. He was glad that the situation was hardly affecting his daughter's mental health, his job, or his family's reputation. But things were beginning to get bad.

After the meeting was over, Mark stayed back. Lying that he had some important business to deal with.

“Okay, Mr. Mark, see you at the office.” His secretary said before following one of his staff members.

“Thank you everyone, the next meeting will be communicated beforehand.” He replied to the lingering questions in their mind and one by one, they began to exit the meeting ground.

“Dear lord, please let it not be what I'm thinking. I trusted her so much, I loved her so much.” The fact that Mark saw his wife in the hotel with a man laughing like she was some single lady bothered him a lot.

He had waited and examined the area to make sure none of his business partners were around the hotel before he made his move.

“Today is the day I'll know the truth.” He thought to himself before leaving the meeting hall with his briefcase in his hands.

“It shouldn't be what I'm thinking Emmie, I'm not going to forgive you if you do this.” He tried to hide his broken emotion as a man, but he was good at it, “No. It's probably one of her clients, they're most likely here for a meeting as well.” He adjusted the tie on his neck as he thought about how to find her.

The hotel was big and even though he locked door after door, he might not be able to catch his wife red-handed.

“Hmmm.” The pain in his chest caused him to make that sound. He wasn't sick or anything, but the love he had for his wife was something that could kill him as well.

“What will the people say? What will her daughter think?” He thought, but after a while, he finally came up with a plan.

“Good day, sir, how can I help you.” The receptionist standing before him asked with a smile.

“Nothing much. I'm looking for a lady.” He described her and the cloth she had on. “So you think you can help me?” He gave her a calm gaze and watched how she blushed away.

“Oh sir, are you sure you're even married, you're too handsome for that.” She teased and he smirked. With his handsome look, if not his ring, no lady would believe a word.

“Well, I don't know that until I find my wife. Here is the lady's picture?” He brought out his phone with her picture. Not the one taken together, he didn't want anyone to know.

“Oh yes, I know her.” The receptionist's smile slowly died down, “She came in earlier. Is she your wife?” She asked.

“Can you provide me information on her room number? I think I forgot what she said over the phone, and I want to give her a surprise.” He lied and didn't want to respond to the question asked.

“I'm afraid that's confidential. She clearly made sure to inform us that we shouldn't give anybody her room number. It's a private room sir.” The receptionist rejected.

“Even a husband who would like to surprise his wife, come on.” He groaned out playfully.

“Can't you make an exception?” He asked and she shook her head negatively.

“I'll have to call her to confirm if I should let you in.” She was about to pick up the telephone when he stopped her.

“No, no, there won't be any need for that.” He spoke with a smile as he brought out his business card.

“Can you give me access now?” He questioned.

“Y… yes. I'm so sorry, sir.” She stammered, going through the computer until she found what he was looking for.

“Aha. It's room 236, sir. Take the elevator, stop on the first floor and then take your right.” She replied with a smile as she took the business card and stored it in her pocket.

“Perfect. It's time to know the truth.” A frown formed on his face as he proceeded to the room number he had just been given.

He took the elevator and pressed the button for the first floor. Inside the elevator, many thoughts ran through his mind and even though he would rather not dwell on it, he started to consider the possibilities.

Ting

That was the elevator sound, showing that he had arrived at the right floor. He was thankful that he was the only one on the elevator because it sped it up for him to get to the first floor.

Just as she had told him, he took his right and behold, the room he was looking for was facing him.

It was boldly written '236'. This was the moment of truth for him.

He walked through the hallway, and it was like time paused itself. His legs felt heavier than normal and even though he wanted to hear the truth, he feared what the truth could do to him.

He knocked on the door as he gulped down the nervousness in his veins. He could feel chills on his body, yet sweat dripped down his head, staining his perfectly black suit.

In a few seconds, the door was opened and the person who they thought was room service turned out to be 'Mark Jones.'

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