CHAPTER 6: HUNT GLOBAL CORPORATION

Time flies quickly. Tonight is the last night of my father's wake. All seats were taken and occupied as relatives and friends of the family gathered together to condole and show their support to those who were left behind. My former in-laws were here as well and so is Michelle.

As expected, just like how I envisioned things would end up, they still made me feel like an outcast up until this point. Not once from my family, not even Michael, cared to have a word with me. I felt like an ordinary attendee at a random wake. Continuously sickened with the thought, my feet swiftly swept me out from the suffocating space and led me outside the open.

It has always been better for me to be alone than to be in the crowd with them. I’d rather choose to be on my own than to mingle and be surrounded with people who see me as lesser than them. It was as if I was a ghost. But I already got accustomed to the way they treated me, none of these were new. I’d be more bewildered if one of them would show regards to me.

I stayed outside for a while, thinking of my course of action and my future plans for both my daughter and I. I was planning to move to the city with Michelle, it had been an overdue plan. The divorce process kept me from pursuing it since I had to stay close for the hearing and other stuff. But now that the decree was out and the shackles that got me imprisoned for a long time were removed, I could now freely accomplish what I had in mind. Although I have no work experience yet and am currently unemployed since I was a fulltime housewife before, I am certain that there are lots of opportunities waiting for me in the concrete jungle with the degree I have. The only thing that worries me now is the fact that I still need Michael’s approval to bring Michelle with me, which I already know what his answer would be.

It will be an endless battle of discussion and probably fights as well before I could make him agree with my plans. Knowing Michael, he would never negotiate with me at the very least. I’ve proven it before, so I am certain that he would do everything in his power to grab a hold of Michelle.

He loves our daughter very much. He would die for her if he had to. This was the only thing I boasted of him about and the one thing I was grateful to him for. Even though our relationship was a disaster and fell into a muddy slide, his love and care for Michelle was exceptional and immensely great. So asking for sole custody of her needless to say will be a laborious task to administer, because I know for a fact that Michael would certainly beg to differ with me.

But I couldn’t leave Michelle behind, I couldn’t imagine my life would be without her. This exercise of physical custody with her alone saddens me, especially every time she is with her fathers, then how much more if I wouldn’t be able to see and be with her for a long period. Although I know that she would greatly be taken care of by her father, the thought was still unacceptable and way out of the picture.

I was about to walk back inside the funeral home when my phone suddenly rang. I declined the call, paying no attention to it and placed it back inside my handbag. I was almost at the entrance when it rang again, I looked at the phone screen and the same number was displayed. Thinking that it must be an important call, I rooted myself from where I stand and answered it.

“Hello?”

“Pleasant evening! Is this Miss Penelope Watsons?” A firm and confident voice of a woman spoke at the other line. My forehead creased at the mention of my name, because this woman addressed me in my maiden.

Nonetheless, I answered back. “Yes, this is her. May I know who’s on the line please?”

“This is Attorney Natasha Sparks, Corporate lawyer of Hunt Global Corporation. I believe you’ve received the mail the company has sent to you, Miss. I courteously would like to ask if you have thought about the company’s requests, Miss Watsons? I do apologize and certainly aware that it was a bit sudden and uncalled for, but I sincerely hope that you took the letter into consideration.”

Her words stunned me for a while as I tried to analyze what she just said. Drawing me back to the mail I had at home that I didn’t mind opening for days now.

“What requests? I’m sorry, my family is currently in a state of mourning, my father died, so I haven’t looked at the mails recently.”

“I see. Kindly give me a call or even message me as soon as you’ve read the letter, Miss Watsons. It is of great importance and the company would sincerely appreciate it if you could agree with us and grace us with your presence as soon as possible.”

Feeling dumbfounded and clueless of what this person was talking about, my curiosity got pique. “May I ask what this is all about? I don’t recall applying for any position in your company. With all honesty and sorry for being rude, but I haven’t heard of the company itself. Could you please elaborate more to enlighten me?”

There was a pause for a short while before she spoke again. “There’s no need for you to apologize, Miss Watsons, I completely understand. The answers to your question could be found inside the letter we sent you, but I would happily give you a little insight about it.”

“Thank you so much.”

“Hunt Global Corporation is a humongous and multinational conglomerate that is at the peak spot when it comes to the fashion and glittery world. But it doesn’t solely venture in fashion industries, the corporation has others at hand and is still merging with diverse businesses. Since Chairman and CEO Alexander Hunt is in a very delicate and adverse condition as of the moment, he personally and strictly asked me to contact you as soon as possible.”

Her statement only broadens the confusion inside my head. I am completely baffled at what she was saying, with not a single hint or hunches of what these are all about. The lines on my forehead creases more as I figure out what I had just heard.

“Pardon me? I am completely at a loss here, your words don't ring a bell. I don’t understand any of what you just mentioned and I am totally baffled with everything.”

“That’s understandable, Miss. It’s quite hard to explain and comprehend all the details over the line, so I highly suggest that you go through the letter and read it carefully, then kindly get back to me right away. You could take all the time you needed, Miss Watsons, but may I remind you that time is of the essence here. It’s highly crucial and every minute counts. So please, kindly get back to me as soon as possible and once you read through the whole content.”

“Oh! Alright” That was the only thing I managed to reply as my mind slowly chewed the details.

“Thank you so much, Miss Watsons. Again, I apologize for the disturbance. On behalf of Mr. Hunt and Hunt Global Corporation, our sincerest condolences to you and your family. A pleasant evening, Miss.”

She ended the call. My mind went in circles as I reviewed the conversation I just had with a stranger, who calls herself a corporate lawyer of a certain corporation.

If not for the mail that was now lying comfortably back home, I would like to think that all of these were just a joke. That this was some sort of a prank. But even without going through the letter itself, I believe in my heart that it was of utmost importance judging merely on the weight of how that woman had spoken.

A lot of thoughts were running through my head right now, but it can only be resolved once I got a hold and read the letter. I made a mental note to go through with it the minute I got back home as my mind confusedly thought of random questions.

‘What do I have to do with Hunt Global Corporation as well as their Chairman and CEO? Why do they need my presence with urgency to grace their company? And who was Alexander Hunt? What is my connection with him, for him to personally ask for me? How did they even know me, not to mention my number and mailing address?’