“I have two sons whom I expect to continue managing our company. They two are my heirs, but they're bad in organizing business to keep it going fine. They often spend much money to have fun, but spend little time at work. I should’ve had my pension today and put my company in their trust. But I’m not lucky cos they almost let me go bankrupt.”
Quiet.“That’s why I ask you to be the CEO. It will surely attract their attention to change the bad habits and be more serious in work cos they’re gonna think their position would soon be replaced by someone else. A business only needs a capable person to sit down on the chair,” Jessie knocked on the desk three times. “Remember, Child, life is hard but business is crueler. You’ll get a lot of things from this plan. You can say I take some benefits from you.”Still silence“You don’t have much time to think about it, Son. If you think it’s temporary, just take this chance to repay them to their deen. Cos after that, you won’t hold that position anymore.” Jessie pressed him even more as she no longer awaited because Drake might change his mind. “They are your goal to focus on and my sons are my goal.”Her gaze remained fixed on him, searching for sureness on his face that she could see hesitation appeared. Not long ago, Drake gave his signature on it after taking time to think of.***Before introducing a new CEO to the staff, Sammy–Jessie’s personal assistant informed him everything the next day. Starting from his job desk, schedules, facilities, the way to speak with business partners and decision-making, they became the first goal of Jessie to prepare Drake as she wished.As long as her son was getting busy with his business abroad, Jessie prepared Drake perfectly in one month, as she believed that Drake was able to go through it and Sammy directed him live in the CEO's room.People assumed him as Jessie's new personal assistant because they saw him with her every single day. In fact, neither Sammy nor Jessie told them who Drake was.Everything went smoothly as planned despite many rumors, including Jessie's children who suddenly returned home. However, Jessie, with her lobbying skills, made the situation quite conducive.Drake began to take the first step in retaliating against the Johnsons by buying a large number of shares on the third day he became CEO. His introduction as CEO of Brannet, Ltd, was deliberately delayed as a gift to the Johnsons at Johnson's twenty-sixth wedding anniversary.He was now standing in the crowd of the guests, looked around searching for a familiar face but there was no one he knew."Hey, look!" Abigail said, pointing at an unfamiliar man. "Is he new in this community? I've never seen him before."They shifted their glance to him who stood with an old woman."He looks familiar, but I'm not sure I knew him," Connie commented. The next second she said, "Oh, wait! Isn't he Diana's husband whom she married for a challenge? Don't you remember?"They exchanged glares with each other, confusing and attempting to remember that thing. Then, two of them chuckled as her statement was false."Impossible the man is him, Abi. How come he becomes a rich man and personable in just two months?" a brown-haired girl laughed out loud. "No way! He wasn't born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He needs to work for decades with a good salary and the facilities are free from the company.""Or marry a rich girl or super rich widow for the instant!" added a blonde girl. "Or maybe he's twin and separated. Who knows, right?"They couldn't take their eyes from Drake who was very dashing with his solid body, stubble on the jawline, his sharp eyes, and calm. The party hadn't started yet as the Johnsons–weren't there to greet their guests."Oh, he looks more charming than the fake twin," the blonde girl added."He's hot. I want him to be with me for a night," the brown-haired girl stared at him naughtily. "It must be fantastic!"Jessie introduced Drake to people she met over there until the host emerged to welcome and started the party. Jessie and Drake took a seat close to each other.While looking for Diana, Drake sipped the beverage elegantly and didn't utter his words but replied to their remark. He listened to the spouse giving their short speech before asking the guests to enjoy the event and the meal they presented.They enthusiastically came one on one to the guests, smiling and laughing before announcing their daughter's engagement to a business partner's son."I'm thankful for your attendance at our twenty-sixth wedding anniversary and I'm delightful to announce you all that my lovely daughter Diana Emily Johnson will engage to Jacob Morgan from Grenech, Ltd."It was a surprise for people at the party, but it shocked Drake and Jessie. For Drake, it was normal for everyone to step into the next level of a relationship, but for Jessie, it enabled her to achieve her purposes in one shot.What if the contract marriage bombs the public?In their different brains, Drake and Jessie were thinking of the same thing. The Johnsons were truly full of surprises, even at the party. The Morgans and the Johnsons would be powerful for Jessie to deal with when they became a family.In another space, Drake also found Rooney and the peeps who hurt him amongst the crowd. He wondered why they were at the party.After announcing Diana's engagement to great fanfare and applause, the spouse came to Drake."Hello, nice to meet you," Abraham's voice sounded friendly and warm.Abraham and his wife gasped at the sight of Drake standing up and showing his face. The spouse's smiles instantly disappeared and looked at each other because of their confusion.Drake smiled a bit. "Nice to meet you, too, sir. How are you? I'm Drake. Drake Mathmoren."Drake could see their shocking expressions like a moron who was publicly humiliated or like a thief caught in the act."You? What are you doing here?" Nicole–Mrs. Abraham asked elegantly."I'm attending your wedding anniversary invitation, ma'am." Drake smiled warmly at them.She and his husband lost their question about how Drake could be at their party and wore expensive clothes. How did he get money to buy that clothes?"Our invitation? Nicole asked. “Who invited you? We didn't send you any invitation card as we don't—“"Congratulations, Aunty. I'm glad to see you happier tonight. You'll become part of the Morgan clan. That's wonderful!"'Aunty? Did they have a family relationship?'Amidst the sound of the music, Rooney came to join them in congratulating the spouse, passionately hugged Nicole and Abraham. He turned around, was stunned to see Drake looking completely different. He could not believe his eyes when he saw Drake looking like a rich man. “Drake? Is that you?” Rooney's voice sounded very surprised. "How are you, Rooney?" Drake smiled happily at Rooney like a dog in heat looking at an unretrievable bone, but he also felt his breath catch at the mention of auntie to Nicole. Rooney neglected his question. “What are you doing here? How can you wear that costly dress and come here? You know, you can’t come in if you don’t have the invitation card and show it to the security. This party is only for rich people, not for moneyless people like you.” Drake hated to hear the repeated question and asperse because they should have known who he was now. “I know.” However, Rooney grabbed Drake's suit quickly. "You must have stolen those clothes and sneaked in her
"Everything is in fix, sir. Rooney has also been nursed. As per Lord's orders, we did not take him to the hospital. I've also gagged him from talking about your power." Drake nodded happily. He himself did not suffer any injuries from the incident other than his body having to adapt to the fire funeral slowly. All the guards who were witnesses were not allowed to tell anyone about Drake's power. The warehouse burned down because Drake could not control the output of his fire power. The burning flames kept growing after they all exited the old building. "The engagement party was rather disrupted, the guests were whispering about Miss Diana the whole time. The Johnsons were very upset," another bodyguard said. Drake's smile widened even more, satisfied to make the guests curious with the hints he said. "So?" "They're having trouble explaining it to the guests," the bodyguard continued. "And they denied it, sir," added the other guard. Drake's smug smile faded away just as the newl
"I got a call from Amanda that you asked her to transfer to your bank account for gambling debt. How dare you spend money on the casino!" Jessie spoke loudly, and her cane was pointed at him that shocked Drake and Aaron. "You can't use Brannet's property for your prive!""That's not the company's own, but my royalty from the auction I won. Our client has transferred the money to the company's bank account, so Amanda just needs to forward it to mine," Aaron replied in an angry face. Drake restrained tightly his lips to smile watching a mother and her son arguing that he had never seen before. Afterwards, Aaron took his phone to dial Amanda. "Have you transferred my money?" "I-I'm sorry, sir, I didn't get approval from Mrs. Jessie." "Transfer it now or you get fired!" Aaron rang off the call after snapping on the phone, staring at Jessie sharply before getting out of the room with his anger. Jessie sighed deeply, then talked to Drake. "Don't let him get the money. He doesn't deserv
A knock came on the door, while Drake and Aaron were going on about the unfinished money case. Sammy rushed to come in and stopped before Drake. "We found out the cause of your accident, sir. It wasn't a common case but someone has designed it to harm you."Again, a shocking news hit Drake that an unknown man targeted him to be shot. It caused his chest to tighten since his breath hitched. Aaron was also stunned and hard to swallow in that he couldn't believe that someone had the same will with him, too. He smiled slightly since someone made his plan easier. Unfortunately, Sammy incidentally caught his expression. "Do you know who the perpetrator was?" Aaron asked, looking wondering as if he was concerned. "Yes, sir. That person was Miss Diana.'' Aaron and Drake were startled that Diana–for Drake–was beyond imagination to get her own back on him, except her parents wanted him to pay just because of the intrusion he made on their anniversary party. Then, Aaron bursted out laughing
Hello, hello… hellooo!" Before Celine replied, the call was hung up. "Ergghhh." "What's going on?" Drake was confused to find her mood changed to be angry. "What can I do for you at this moment?" "I won't do anything for this guy!" Celine grumbled as placed her phone down. "Damn you!" "Your boy? Does he do something to hurt you?" Drake cleaned his mouth using a napkin as he got done with his meal. "Drake, can I put my trust in you?" Celine eventually made her mind to speak up. "I… actually… I'm pregnant and need many things for me and my baby. So…" "You need money." Celine nodded. "Yes, I do but above all… his responsibility. He said that he would marry me if I'm pregnant with his baby. But he disclaimed it's his baby. He even gives me hush money and gets me to keep it under wraps."Celine had no choice but to tell him as she should address her needs during pregnancy. When she knew that the new CEO was Drake, she had been thinking to ask Drake for help after Aaron disclaimed her
"Drake! Drake!" Diana shouted. He turned to the door slowly when the door opened. The young woman seemed furious and rushed to him.Slap! Drake gasped. It shocked him that Diana slapped him for the first time. "What did you say about us?" Diana snapped him. "People say I'm married to you. We become the talk of the town now! You know what happened to me? I'm ashamed! You embarrassed me!" Slap! His red eyes wider trying to believe what just had happened. Drake realized that this was real life he had to deal with. However, as far as he remembered, he didn't tell or answer any questions people had asked. "What are you talking about?" He didn't truly understand what was going on. To this date, the secret wedding was saved with him. He wouldn't have any courage to reveal their wedding. "Why did you expose this fake wedding?" "I didn't. I never tell anybody about it," Drake denied. "If you say that you don't, then how can they talk about us? Don't make a lie, Drake. I can do bad thi
"Hey, no way! If it's true that he used magic, they would surely tell the world about the big day. They won't hide the marriage, you know? In fact, they never looked to be with each other to date. He still works here as a cleaning worker. If he's the son-in-law of this company owner, he won't work from nine to five at the pantry. He would have been sitting in the boss' room enjoying his new position as a manager or direct—""How could he possibly occupy that position? What can he do with the job? Meeting, analyzing and decision making… ah, just to be a normal employee like us, he won't be able to. How could he understand how to make a report?" the operational staff interrupted. Drake was an orphan and needy, had been working for the company for three years. Before the marriage happened, he was only an unconsidered lowly worker and didn't have a close relationship with any of them. He didn't know who and how the news was disclosed at the office. However, he had to keep it on mom's word
Drake felt pain on his knee joint but it was nothing compared to the wound of humiliating her mother. He'd cried a tear for his mother after leaving her room that night. He was able to handle any insult directed at him but not his mother. She was his everything whom he loved the most. A whisper came to his mind to avenge Diana's demeanor, but how?Inevitably, Drake had to continue his work. The Johnson family at the dinner table began to leave. Last night, Diana insulted him by calling him an 'idiot' for such a trivial matter. As an international business graduate, Drake should be able to get a decent and good job. However, fate has forced him to choose a cleaning service job. Drake had no choice due to financial difficulties and the difficulty of getting a job."You're so stupid to still work at my father's place as a cleaning service. It's a pity that your mother sent you to school, but you ended up in Johnson's pantry."He might be poor, but he shouldn't be treated inhumanely, es