A Plaything For CEO Blackwood

# 48 Vacation

After reaching an agreement with the locals, Mr. Blackwood had decided that they take the day off. His work in Botswana was already done but he has chosen to stay a few more days for sight-seeing before they depart for New York City.

Right now, they were in an open-top vehicle at one of the many wildlife reserves in Botswana. Their Guide parked the car at the edge of the wildlife from where they intended to entertain their eyes. Originally, the plan was to drive through the savannah for a closer look of the wildlife but Megan was too scared to be anywhere close to a wild animal and so she opted to stay outside and fly a drone to capture the animals in their natural habitats.

Anna, not wanting to be separated from her, had also decided to stand by the edge, forcing Mr. Blackwood to agree with them. They had spoiled his big plans and there was nothing he could do.

As they all alighted from the vehicle, they were handed small binoculars for clearer view of the animals. Anna was very excited about this, she had seen most of these animals in the zoo but she felt it would feel different seeing them in their natural habitat, not locked away behind large cages.

“Hey Look, Elephants!” Anna screamed excitedly as she pointed in the direction of the animal.

Maxwell stared with his binoculars and he saw them as well, an entire family were marching through the Sahara. He slowly turned to Anna, she was fully focused on the beasts of the wild and the happiness on her face could lit up an entire room, he admired her and smiled to himself.

He turned away the moment she looked in his direction. “What!” she yelled with a chuckle. “I have never seen Elephants up close before.”

“They are going to have a drink in the nearby river. Do you perhaps want me to drive you closer to them, Ma’am?” the Guide queried.

“No, I am good.” Anna immediately gave a funny response that made Megan chuckle. Why would anyone want to be around those hefty creatures?

Anna went back to spectating, she could notice the other animals in the dry fields, it was the dry season and so the grasses were mostly yellow. Anna made to point out another animal to Megan but Megan was already putting on Visual goggles with a life feed from the drone.

Anna wondered how one person could be good at so many things. Megan knew how to fly a drone, she attracts both genders, she can do the work of a secretary and an assistant to the CEO, she could dance and sing, what could she not do?

Anna was now left to share her excitement with Mr. Blackwood as Megan was occupied with those electronic goggles.

The huge desert spread out like a painting with earthy colors on it: greens, yellows, and browns all mixed together. The light breeze made the tall grass sway, making the scenery move in a rhythmic way.

In the distance, there were a few acacia trees here and there. Their umbrella-shaped tops provided some shade here and there. As the scene was bathed in golden sunlight, long shadows played hide-and-seek with the hilly landscape. The air was full of natural sounds, like birds singing, leaves rustling, and the calls of animals that couldn't be seen.

A river wound its way through the savannah, its path marked by a ribbon of shimmering water that looked like a snake. It gave the otherwise dry and vast scenery a bit of movement. The sun shining on the water made it sparkle like a necklace of diamonds, drawing the eye to follow its curving path.

“Over there, guess what animal!” Mr. Blackwood immediately pointed towards an animal going after its prey.

Anna took a quick look through the Binoculars. “A cheater! OMG!”

“Of course, you are familiar with it,” Mr. Blackwood scoffed.

“Huh?” Anna muttered with a side smile and stared at him in confusion.

"Oh, nothing… I was just saying that nature truly has its way of revealing things to us, things we might be blind to."

Anna, still lost by his words, ignored him and turned her gaze back to the cheetah gracefully sprinting across the plain. "Oh, wow! It's so fast," she exclaimed.

Mr. Blackwood nodded, a knowing smile playing on his lips. "Indeed, speed and agility are some of the Cheater’s greatest assets. It's fascinating how some beings are naturally inclined to chase after what they desire, regardless of who gets hurt. That is the life of the cheater; he is always going to be a cheater."

“Of course, you don’t expect a Cheetah to become a dog someday, do you?” Anna joked and Mr. Blackwood chuckled.

“I didn’t know you knew that.”

Anna huffed. “Silly,” she whispered and turned her gaze back to the animal that seemed to have caught its prey.

As they continued to observe the cheetah, Mr. Blackwood couldn't resist drawing a subtle parallel. "It's almost like some individuals are born with an instinct, a drive to pursue their desires relentlessly, no matter the consequences."

Anna furrowed her brow, sensing an underlying meaning in his words. "What do you mean?" she asked in complete confusion. Why did it seem like he was speaking in riddles? That was so unlike him, his words were always clear and direct.

"Oh, nothing specific," he replied casually, his eyes still fixed on the cheetah. "Just marveling at the wonders of the animal kingdom and how they sometimes reflect the complexities of our own human experiences." He smiled.

Just then, Anna’s phone began to ring.

** **

** ** Anna’s POV ** **

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the incoming call, it was the long expected call. I couldn’t wait to yell at him, what does he think of himself?

“A minute please,” I immediately said to Mr. Blackwood and took a few steps away from them before answering the call.

“Oh wow, look who finally decided to call.” I scoffed

“Babe, I am so sorry, you can't believe what happened.”

“What exactly can I not believe? That you have not reached out to me in the past three four days since I left New York? You are right, I can’t believe it.”

“Oh babe, I am so sorry, it was not intentional. I had misplaced my phone on Friday evening at the club. I couldn’t find it till today, some random guy returned it to me, claiming he found it on the floor.” Jimmy replied.

“So I am just supposed to forget everything because of that? Jimmy, your girlfriend traveled to an entirely different continent and you couldn’t reach out. Even if you lost your phone like you have put forth, couldn’t you have reached me through another number?” I fired.

“I know!! I just felt like your number might not even be reachable since you were in a different continent and all that, so I didn’t bother to call through a different phone. I was hoping to find my phone on time so in case you decided to call with a local number, you could get through to me.”

“Jimmy! You know how these things work. Just never mind, I don’t want to talk to you.”

“Oh please Princess, it is not the way you are putting it, I promise you. I have missed you so much, I could not even breathe without you, you are the air that I breathe, your voice cured my anxiety and depression.”

A blush spread across my cheeks that moment. Damn! This Dude knew how to get to me, he really had all the buttons.

“I am not falling for any of that,” I said, clearly a lie because he was sweeping me off my feet with his words right now. “I don’t want to talk to you right now, I will call you later at night.”

“You mean night over here or over there?”

“Night over here of course, I don’t want to know if it is 2am over there by that time, you best pick up or it is over between us.” I joked.

He chuckled softly, his voice warming my heart. “Alright Princess, I will be expecting your call tonight. I can't wait!”

“Bye” I said bluntly, feigning nonchalant.

“I love you!”

“Yeah whatever.” I said with a smile and ended the call. I stared at the phone joyfully and then I walked back to where Mr. Blackwood was standing.

“I see you missed the cheetah.” His voice echoed as I approached him, his eyes set on the Savannah.

“Sorry, what?” I queried in genuine confusion. He was almost succeeding in messing with my head today.

“I meant the Cheetah,” he said, pointing to the field. “It is gone, you missed him.”

“Oh, yeah that is sad. Maybe he will come around again.”

“True… That is the thing about Cheetahs Miss Owl, they always come back.” He smiled and slowly walked away.

I stood there in confusion. Why does he keep talking about the Cheetah? Was there more to his words?

!