Claire looked back at the car again. If her brief knowledge of cars wasn't failing her, she recognized the car as a Jaguar model. If she didn't know how deep Brad's pocket was, she might have been swayed but now, she just rolled her eyes. She could bet her pinky toe that the amount of only the necklace Brad got her would solidly be half the price of that car."See?" Gary was looking at the car with pride. "Very different from these junks that wretched man gave you." He fingered the teddy and shoebox in Claire's arms and she defensively pulled them away from his reach. Gary chuckled, "For real, how much is a bouquet? How much are all these things out together? It wouldn't even feed a street dog for a week. This is what you deserve, Claire. It is what befits a royalty like you."Cakure let out a frustrated breath. If only this had happened some weeks back, when she hadn't made the deal with Brad then she would have been stuck with the arrogant Brute and she wouldn't even have an idea."
Not long after Doris and Gary had settled in a seat, Claire's father joined them. As they chatted amongst themselves, some of the women in the room, young and old, kept throwing lustful gazes at Gary which further increased the size of his bloated ego.Even Doris didn't miss the glance that everyone threw at Mark. That gaze of longing, subtle jealousy as they wished that they were in her place. It made her even happier that her daughter would marry a man who is wanted and loved by all. Claire will be the talk of the time."So tell me, Gary, where are you from?" Claire's father asked. "I mean, you don't look like you're from here, and at the same time, you look like you are." Since he joined them, he had joined his wife in questioning Gary about his life and intention towards their daughter as though he was a suitor who had come for their daughter's hand in marriage.Gary chuckled and some of the girls sighed dreamily. "I'm in-between," he answered. "My mother is Russian while my fath
"Goddamn!" The caller hissed, "His father has been in the company for so long and there were no issues. His father's stay in the company added to the immense progress of Trust financial in the past years so what did you do that his son is insisting on not wanting our services anymore? We will meet and you had better have a sensible explanation because your job is at stake.""Yes sir," Gary stammered, finally able to get a word out then the line went dead.He stood there, where he had slowly walked to when he picked up the call, frozen. Of all the words that the CEO of Trust Financial yelled at him only one resounded in his ears - your job is at stake.He raked a hand through his hair. "Dammit," he muttered. He thought that whoever the client was, he must be a big deal. Why? He wondered miserably. Why will the richest customer of Trust Financial withdraw his assets from them? He hadn't received any call of complaint so what might have pushed the customer? And it wasn't only the branch
Claire nervously chewed on her lips as the call went through. "Please, pick up," Claire chanted.It was the third time she was dialing the number. Since she had left Rose, she had been restless. She needed to know where they stood."Oh God," she let out a frustrated breath as the ringing stopped without any response.She started to pace her room as she dialed the number again. She let out a small gasp and a breath of relief when he picked up on the first ring."Brad," she let out breathlessly and uselessly, unable to utter any other word."I missed your call. Why are you calling?" Brad said into the phone as he placed the call on speaker then lightly threw it on the passenger seat and focused more on his driving."I'm sorry," Claire stopped pacing and breathed. "I know you're upset, you have the right to. Tonight was fucked up but trust me what happened tonight was not my doing. It didn't go as planned, it was a disaster," she rambled out.Claire heard Brad sigh then there was the hon
Brad tried not to think about the way the night had turned out as he slowed down and drove into his garage. He just looked forward to seeing how mellow Gary would become after he lost his job.Brad's phone rang again and he grabbed it from where he had thrown it. He shook his head when he saw that Claire was still calling relentlessly. He placed his phone on silent and then headed inside. As soon as he stepped inside the house, the aroma of a freshly prepared meal wafted into his nose and he felt relaxed instantly. "Welcome back, sir," Maria stepped out of the kitchen the moment she heard the door. She was glad that he came in time for dinner that day. There would be no need to reheat the food."Thank you, Maria," Brad closed his eyes and sniffed the air. "What have you made for me tonight?"Maria smiled, "Grilled chicken breasts with roasted vegetables and a side quinoa.""Hm," Brad hummed, his mouth already watering just at the thought of the meal.Maria smiled and attempted to ta
Gary took in a deep breath as he parked his car in front of the cafe where the CEO had asked them to meet. Gary had not wanted to take the CEO seriously when he said he would meet with him because everyone knew he wasn't currently in New York. So he was shocked when he got a call from the same number that had called him the previous night. Immediately he picked up, he blurted the name of the cafe where they were going to meet, and hung up.The previous night, the CEO was in another country but he took an overnight flight to New York so that he could address the situation on the ground in person. Losing Mr Harrier is a huge risk to the growth of his institution.Gary brought out a mirror and arranged his hair then he smoothed his blazers before stepping out of his car. He checked the time as he made his way inside the cafe. It was 7:47 AM. He smiled when he saw the time, impressed at his punctuality.He had checked online and confirmed that the cafe had a VIP section. His intention was
Brad was ready for the day. After a thorough relaxing shower, a well-prepared meal, and a good night's sleep, Brad couldn't have been better prepared for the activities of the day ahead. Thoughts of Claire, the incident at her party, and her rude boss slash boyfriend were now forgotten. All that was on Brad's mind was Integrity Finance Company. His newly acquired company. He smirked at that thought as he got in the car."Good morning, boss," Nick nodded at Brad as he peered at him through the rearview mirror.Brad grinned, "It's a very good morning. How're you?""I'm okay," Nick answered as he veered the car out of Brad's garage. Earlier, Brad had informed Nick where they were going on Sunday morning and Nick knew when he saw the name of the company. Ke knew that Ned's lucky time had run out and Brad was ready to get into action.Brad took his phone and dialed Maxwell's number. He was sure Ned would definitely want to act funny. Especially since he hadn't reached out to him yet, he m
Instead of sending heavy hits on Brad, Ned found himself wrestling with the man who always relayed Brad's message.Nick was quick to hold back Ned when he drew back his arm, ready to fling it in Brad's face. At the same time, Ned's men, even though the men guarding Brad looked stronger, backed their boss and aimlessly lunged at Brad but the men that Brad had Maxwell send took over. They took Ned from Nick's strong grip, two of them held each of Ned's arms while the rest held down Ned's men.Nick took a step back, smoothed his slightly creased outfit, and replaced his position beside Brad.Some of Ned's men refused to be easily tamed and so they received a blow here and there from Brad's men. Ned got even more infuriated by the sight of his men getting beaten up. Furiously, he watched as each of them were dealt with blows and kicks, their faces contorted in pain as they got pinned down.His anger made him feel stronger as he tried to get out of the men's grasp and reach the bastard t