Chapter 9

He quickly rushed to Ethan, he slapped him on his left cheek, “you had the guts to walk in here, I'll treat you like the criminal that you are”.

“You're making a huge mistake” Ethan said coldly, as he dialled Leo's number.

“Hello, young master.”  Leo said cheerfully, he was hoping to hear everything went well.

“I'm at the bank but some dimwits are accusing me of theft, denying me access to the manager, call the manager and tell him to come out in two minutes if he still wants to keep his job” Ethan said with an air of authority as he hung up the call.

“Who do you think you're calling, huh? Jasper sneered at Ethan making a call.

“We'll see when he comes,” Ethan shrugged as he looked at his wristwatch.

“ You're so foolish, you've been caught red-handed and you're still acting innocent” the security guard said as he raised his baton to hit Ethan.

“How dare you?” A scolding voice came immediately, the security guard's hand hung in the air.

“ You must be the manager, you came out on time. I guess you love your job.” Ethan smiled as he turned to face the owner of the voice.

“Young master” the manager smiled bitterly as he walked hurriedly towards Ethan.

Jasper was scared, he couldn't believe his eyes. Ethan just commanded his manager and he came running immediately, something their elite clients have never done.

This was his third time seeing the manager in the banking hall. He has worked with the bank for three years. The manager hardly met with any staff.

Who the hell is Ethan? He knew Ethan as a poor brilliant guy back in college, and now he is known as the useless live-in son-in-law of Steve's family.

It turned out Ethan wasn't bluffing about his appointment with the manager. He looked at the card in his hands. It was difficult to believe.

Ethan turned to leave, “ I think I'll just head back, your bank doesn't deserve a client like me. I'll have Leo do the needful”.

“Young master, please forgive them” the manager forced a smile on his face as he pleaded with Ethan.

If truly Ethan was from Leo, then he wouldn't want to lose a client who was worth more than billions of dollars in cash and assets.

He had been waiting for Ethan, he was about to call Leo to ask if he was sure about the appointment he never knew someone was trying to annoy his important guest.

Ethan sighed as he stopped when he got to the door, he turned back to face the manager, “please sack those fools, it'll serve as a lesson to others” 

“One more thing, call the police and arrest them for defamation of character”. Ethan said with a frown on his face.

“As you wish, young master” the manager replied, turning to face Jasper and the security guard,” clear your desks, your services are no longer required”.

He looked at one of the tellers who was watching keenly, “Call the police”.

The security guard had been quiet throughout, he glared at Jasper with resentment. If only he knew he wouldn't have been the scapegoat. 

“Please sir, I'm sorry I didn't mean to, I mean i.. “ the security guard stuttered as he knelt down to beg Ethan.

Jasper quickly knelt down and begged for forgiveness, explaining that he had a sick child and family to cater for. If he lost his job, life would be very difficult for them.

Ethan looked at them,” moments ago, you were on high horses, look at you now, you're on your knees begging me. Please, get out of my sight”.

Ethan walked behind the manager as he led him to his office, he turned back and collected the black card from Jasper, “ you don't deserve to touch this”. 

Ethan walked into the manager's office, a lady with a captivating appearance stood up the moment Ethan entered the office.

She quickly behaved herself and greeted him respectfully,” welcome Mr Ethan”.

Ethan knew she must be the one with the company's document. He had to admit she was a very beautiful young lady. 

The manager motioned Ethan to sit, “ I'm sorry about what happened out there.”

Ethan nodded, “Let's get into the business of the day”. He brought out his black card, “ I want the card activated, all accounts activated with my fingerprint.”

He handed the card over to the manager and turned to face the young lady before him, “and who are you?”

“I'm sorry Mr Ethan, let me introduce myself to you. My name is Mabel Josh. I'm the Vice Chairman of Emerald Group”. She replied politely.

“And here is the document of Emerald Group ownership and it's subsidiary”. She handed over the documents to him.

He scanned through everything, satisfied with what he saw, he signed it and handed it over to her.

He adjusted his seat and started, “ I will not come to the office often, so I would like you to continue looking over the company on my behalf. In addition, my identity should not be disclosed to the public. That's why I asked you to meet me here”.

She was aware of the whole Smith family incident, she knew it would be risky to make his identity known to the public, she quickly replied, “ Okay Mr Ethan, just tell me if you need anything. I'll be at your service”.

Ethan turned to the manager, “I want footage of what happened today deleted”.

The manager stared at him before nodding, “ consider it settled, young master”.

The manager handed over the black card to Ethan, “please sir, I'll need your biometrics now”.

Ethan stood up and walked over to the machine, he placed his palms and it got activated.

When he had finished with his biometrics he asked, “is that all?” .

The manager nodded, “ yes, young master”.

“Alright then, thank you for your services”, Ethan said walking to the door.

He stopped in his tracks and turned back, “ Miss Josh, tomorrow morning someone from the Steve family will bring new designs for the fashion industry. Give her all the assistance she needs but do not agree to the proposal yet. Wait for further instructions from me”.

Mabel startled in shock for a while, Steve family? He must be crazy, why would he want to help the same people who made him a laughing-stock in the whole City. This was something she couldn't understand.

She nodded and said, “ Okay Mr Ethan. Don't worry. Just let me know when the person is on the premises. So I'll instruct my secretary to ensure the person is allowed to see me”.

Ethan nodded in satisfaction as he walked out of the office.

Outside the office, the moment he came out everywhere was quiet, none of the bank staff dared to look at his face.

***

Meanwhile, Ava was working tirelessly at home. She was determined to ace the deal. A deal with Emerald Group would be a dream come true for her. She is very good with designing outfits but this deal would help her advance her skills and build more experience to help grow her brand to the global market.

Steve's family owns a fashion design company, Sterling Fashion. She worked as  lead designer and director before her stepmother took over, she replaced Ava with her daughter Susie.