The next day, Jonathan paced in front of Redmond's business, taking in the large building before him. It couldn't say it was comparable but it was commendable.
He sucked in a deep breath and summoned every last bit of courage he had then marched into the building, his heart pounding in his chest.
Jonathan took in the luxurious inside and would have been swept off by its beauty if it weren't that he was already used to places like this. He made his way to the receptionist.
“Good afternoon,” he cleared his throat to get her attention.
The plump woman looked up with her brow raised, eyeing him suspiciously, "Can I help you?"
Jonathan took a deep breath, “I need to see, Mr. Jackson. It is really important.”
The receptionist stared impassively, “Did you set an appointment?”
“I just need to see him urgently, it won't take long I promise.”
The woman frowned, glancing over his shoulder probably at the security, “You can't go in without an appointment, sir.”
“And when is he free?”
“In a couple of weeks, sir,” she said easily.
Jonathan opened his mouth to say something when the ding of the elevator caught his attention, his eyes moved to the elevator, and luckily for Jonathan the person that came out was the person he was looking for.
“Sir,” the woman started,
“I'll handle him,” Jackson snapped, cutting her short. Jackson began heading for the lobby and Jonathan immediately took it as a signal for him to follow. “What do you want, peasant?”
Jonathan flinched with surprise, but spoke anyway, “Please revoke the contract.”
Jackson laughed, “Excuse me? And why should I do that?”
“Please reconsider, think about Regina_”
Jackson's eyes darkened, “Why should I? She's your responsibility and I certainly don't go for anyone's leftovers.”
Jonathan's gut told him this pleading was useless, but his desperation kept him rooted to the spot. “She is with a child and_,”
“A child that is none of my concern, why would I want to offer such a contract when what I want is tainted? You can keep her, now leave my presence,” Jackson said harshly.
“Please_,”
“Security,” Jackson called, not giving him a chance to land before two large men swept into the scene and off his feet bundling him out of the company.
His phone rang interrupting his basking in shame moment, he panicked when he saw Regina's name flashed on the screen. He picked up immediately but before he could say anything a firm voice said from the other end,
“You better be thinking of something fast, it's just twenty hours left.”
Jonathan's face paled and he was instantly filled with more dread.
…
“Jonathan, what a pleasant surprise, today must be Christmas,” Mr. Hales said with a laugh.
Jonathan would have laughed but he was too sad and depressed to laugh along. Mr. Hales must have noticed because his laugh instantly died down,
“What happened?” Mr. Hales asked, concerned.
Jonathan opened his mouth to explain his ordeal but he hesitated, reconsidering if it was the right thing to do. But then he thought about Regina, the fact that he couldn't contact her or see her. It was radio silence from Regina's end and he was stranded. It was obvious there was no changing Jackson's mind and since Williams couldn't help, he was left with his family as the last option.
“I need your help,” he blurted out, not hesitating a second time. He explained his ordeal, not leaving a single detail out.
“You have a wife? And she is pregnant with your child?” Mr Hales said in shock.
Jonathan frowned then growled, “That was all you picked from my predicament. I'm in peril, Mr. Hales.”
Mr. Hales sighed loudly, “Right, but before anything, that was so irresponsible of you. Your grandfather will be pissed, you could have at least given him an invite.”
“I will apologize later, the important thing is how we can fix this,” Jonathan said, his voice ringing with impatience.
There was a moment of silence before Mr. Hales spoke up again, “It’s a three hundred million deal we are talking about, Jonathan.”
“I know,” he ran his fingers through his hair.
“But I guess I could help but on one condition only,” Mr. Hales said seriously.
Jonathan figured out what his manager was going to say but he decided to play dumb, “That I introduce you to my wife and make you my child's godfather?”
Mr. Hales chuckled, “Such a tempting offer but we both know what I'm referring to,” when Jonathan didn't say anything, he continued, “You come back home and take your rightful place.”
Jonathan thought of Regina, picturing her swollen face, “Deal.”
“Good, you can come to the managerial office anytime from now for the finalization.” Mr. Hales said.
Jonathan heaved a sigh as he put his signature onto the piece of paper. When Mr. Hales had said to come at any time Jonathan came as fast as he could and so immediately he dropped the call, dressed up, and got his driver to pick him up. He studied his signature on the paper and he gulped down nothing, he was unsure of how to feel about it despite it being his only chance. He doesn't mind coming back to this boring job, taking the hectic responsibility once again just as long as his family is safe, he wouldn't risk anything with his growing family. As long as they are safe then he wouldn't mind doing anything.He glanced up and his gaze met with Mr. Hales who sat at the other end of the desk watching with a wide smile and eyes glittering with accomplishment. “I always knew this day would come, I never suspected you getting a wife would make my work faster, if I did I would have gotten you married long ago,” Mr. Hales teased.Jonathan's face remained passive. It was obvious he wasn't ha
“Mr. Hales, you have to do something,” Jonathan said hurriedly immediately Mr. Hales picked up the call. He had called him after Regina's father hung up, he had no time left.“Calm down, boy. What is the problem this time?” Mr. Hales said with a frown, “I was expecting the problem to be solved by now or is it that your in-laws are too big to be involved with our company?”Jonathan shook his head, “It’s the opposite actually, they are amongst the people desperate to join the company and it appears that they've overdid it because they claimed the company threatened to cause them bankruptcy if they try again.”“Ohh the special cases,” Mr. Hales said, with a chuckle. “You should be mindful of your in-laws, they had to be a reason they were put in the black book.”“I will be mindful later, Mr. Hales, but now you need to get their names out of the black book,” Jonathan said hastily, glancing at the wall clock hanging on the wall.“Well yes but that doesn't entirely mean they would still sub
Regina's tears dried up instantly and her chest lightened with hope, maybe it was Keith who was calling to save her, although she had no idea how she trusted her husband enough to know that he would do anything to save her and their marriage from this predicament. If there was anything that made Regina so weary was the child inside her. Her family was being so cruel with their choices because of the contract they lost. As much as Regina wanted to hate her family for what they were putting her through she couldn't bring herself to. She wondered if they would have made the same choices if there was no contract involved, and how they would react then when she revealed everything at her pace, would they still ask her to abort the innocent child that had nothing to do with this mess?Regina's heart quickened as she watched her father press the phone against his ears, the moment his eyes widened she almost fainted, what if Jonathan had given up on her? Or what if he had not found any soluti
Regina kept studying her parents as they rejoiced with a look of revolt and displeasure, it was at the tip of her tongue to remind her parents that they should be grateful to Jonathan because none of this would have been possible without him but she kept her mouth instead. It was better she kept that piece of information to herself, she wouldn't want to make her parents angry again right after Jonathan had just successfully kept them calm. Regina's mother glanced at her daughter and frowned on seeing the expression on her face. “And what is with the stupid look on your face?”Regina took her gaze from her parents to the ground, she couldn't dare talk back, especially with everything at stake, her baby's safety. And she couldn't destroy all the progress not after Jonathan had done everything to make it happen. “I will correct that face with a slap if you don't rearrange your face,” Regina's mother continued.Regina's jaw clenched but she dared not say anything.“You should be lucky t
Regina pulled away to shower his face with kisses, hugging him like it was the last time she would see him. Jonathan grumbled something under his breath and grabbed her face then crashed his lips on hers, kissing her deeply.“I haven't kissed your lips for days, I'm starved. I wonder how I survived that long without my lips.”Regina giggled then rolled her eyes, “Worry not, you have me all to yourself.”Jonathan smirked then gave her another kiss. "You did it!" Regina exclaimed, her eyes shining with pride. "You really got in touch with the representative, I'm sorry I doubted you, I shouldn't have but I was just under so much pressure,” she glanced down from embarrassment.Jonathan smiled and used a finger to tilt her head back up so he was looking deep into her dazzling eyes, “It's alright. I understand perfectly. And if it helps you feel better you should know that If I had been in your situation I would doubt me too.”Regina chuckled with an eye roll, “But how did you do it? What
“Are you certain this is a good idea?” The parish priest, Father Daniel quizzed with a skeptical look.Jonathan and Regina's eyes met where they sat nervously across each other in the small, dimly lit room of the parish priest's office, the scent of incense hung in the air. Jonathan studied Regina, “Yes, we are sure.” he said firmly.Father Daniel doesn't look convinced by Jonathan's answer, “You understand what you're requesting I do right?”It had been Jonathan's idea to marry Regina in secret. Despite his wish to declare to the world his love, and claim her, he couldn't. Not with Regina's disapproving family, breathing down their necks. This was the only hope for their relationship, and Regina suggested Father Daniel to help them. The priest has been with Regina throughout her entire growth until now and has Regina's trust. “Father, please do this for us,” Regina spoke up when she caught sight of doubt filling his eyes. This was their last resort and she needed badly for Father D
Outside of Regina's mansion was Jonathan doing the duty that had been assigned to him, his face scrunched up into a worried frown. No matter how hard he tried to focus on the task at hand, his mind kept racing with thoughts of what might be happening inside and if Regina was doing alright, who was that man sitting beside Regina's mum? What could he possibly want with the family? There was an unsettling feeling bubbling up inside of him. He wondered if Regina's family was serious about marrying their daughter to a random man like she was an object. His thoughts were interrupted by the sudden vibration from his breast pocket, reaching for it he fished it out and flinched when he saw the name flashed on the screen. His brows furrowed into a frown, something was wrong. Mr. Hales wouldn't be calling his private line if it weren't for something of importance. He wiped his hands with his jeans and then picked up his call, “Mr. Hales,” he said into his phone, he looked around subtly to make
Mary regained her stability with her mouth agape from shock. She couldn't believe this just happened, immediately gathering her composure, “I'll go after him,” Mary said and without waiting for a reply, rushed after Jackson.“This is all your fault, how dare you take advantage of my daughter?” Regina's father yelled, storming toward Jonathan looking ready to kill. Regina gasped and tossed her bag to the ground, rushing to stop her father before he could reach Jonathan. She stood between her father and Jonathan, blocking the pathway, “Daddy, no, please,” she said between sobs, contemplating touching her father but quickly deciding against it. She couldn't risk it.Regina's father scoffed, “Get out of my way, you useless child. All you had to do was one thing, just one thing,” her father repeated, raising his voice, causing her to flinch from fear and surprise as his voice echoed through the house. “How could you let that good for nothing get to you, allow him to poison your mind and