Chase knew that the words that would follow wouldn't be easy to do in the least but he was ready to take the shot."I'll give you two weeks. If you're able to meet our monthly revenue of the head branch in two weeks, then I'll not only make you my vice-president, I'll make you untouchable," she said in a sickly sweet voice. She knew how near impossible it was to meet that target. The head branch made about 30 billion dollars monthly in revenue and she expected him to meet it in two weeks. It was laughable even. "But, if you're not able to meet up with this, you'll remain in the position of a director for the rest of your life," she said, her voice dropping dangerously low. Even if she loved him dearly, Theo knew she wasn't one to mince words or back down from them.Again, Chase weighed his options and after a second of thinking, a small smile played across his lips."Double," he said and the empress creased her eyebrows in confusion. "I'll make double the head branch's revenue in two
"Why did you take so much time to get here?" Damien asked with narrowed eyes."You're not supposed to be talking animatedly with me," Chase rolled his eyes and walked past him, entering the office that the guard held open for him.Damien, not accepting the snub, followed Chase into the office."Can you stop being annoying and answer my question?" He asked.Chase stopped in his tracks and turned around dramatically."Well, if you really want to know, I was having a chat with grandma," he informed him."For that long?" Damien spat out. The empress wasn't one to engage in long conversations with anyone if it wasn't about money and as far as he could see, there was nothing Theo had to offer the empress and this spiked his curiosity.In response, Chase shrugged his shoulders in a bored manner."Does this 'chat' of yours have anything to do with the text message we all received from grandma?" Damien pressed.Chase clicked his tongue and chuckled. "You know, for someone who clearly doesn't l
The rest of the day passed in a blur, mostly consisting of Chase studying graphs and numbers and some of the top officials in the company coming to welcome him.They all knew that there was a new director on board and they all went to welcome him. But the main reason for this was because the news had spread like wildfire that the empress had gone herself to the new directors office, which was when she took secretary Kim to Theo. This came as a shock to everyone because even though the empress worked there everyday, nobody ever saw her. She had her own route in and out of office and to hear she went personally to a new director's office, they all had to thread carefully.Chase was a bit disappointed that his plan at being incognito had failed but he couldn't dwell on it for long and besides, all they knew was that he was an important person. He had a more important task at hand.After giving secretary Kim strict orders not to let any other person that wasn't the empress in, he spent th
"What's this about, mother?" Jacob asked after they were all seated for a few minutes and the empress didn't make a move to say anything.The empress finally looked up at all the waiting pairs of eyes before clearing her throat to speak."Theo, I'll like you to repeat our agreement to the hearing of the whole family," the empress said amidst the silence in the room.Everyone looked in anticipation for what Theo was about to say.Normally, if someone was to make an important announcement to the hearing of the whole family, they were supposed to stand up, except it was the empress.But it was that moment that Chase crossed his ankle to his other knee and relaxed into his seat. All their faces showed disapproval for his behavior but he wasn't bothered in the slightest. He hadn't expected the empress to announce it to the family but as it came to it, he had no other choice but to tell them.He looked between all of them and cleared his throat."I made an agreement with grandmother that if
His words left everyone in shock. How could he say something as grave as that so easily?Imelda searched the empress' face for any form of disagreement but all it held was conviction."Oh, no," she whispered.Jacob and Damien visibly relaxed into their seats. This was it. They had him just where they wanted him. He had dug his own grave and he wouldn't even need anyone to push him into it. It was certain. He was going to fail and they would personally kick him out of the family and he would go back to wherever he came from."If that's all, I'd like to be excused, grandma," Theo said and stood up when the empress nodded her approval.After him, the rest of the crowd followed suit, leaving only the empress in the large living room as she thought of ways to help her grandson come out victorious.She soon decided that she was going to have to sit back and watch. She had put him under Kim's care so she was sure he was in good hands.She said a silent prayer for her grandson before retiring
Five days passed since Theo and the empress dropped the bombshell which was their little bet on the family. Theo spent all his days in the office and all his nights studying.He put on one of the best Armani tux that morning because he had a meeting with executives and potential investors. His two weeks time framed was running out fast and this was his first meeting that would determine if he was making any progress or not."Good morning everyone," the empress greeted as she entered the dining room where they all stood in greeting the next morning. "Sit," she motioned for them to sit after she had sat down.Breakfast that morning was uneventful and Chase ate as much as he could because he knew he wouldn't have any time for lunch breaks later in the day.He was too engrossed in his food and thoughts that he missed the knowing smirk on Jacob's face."I'm off to work, grandma," Chase said as he downed his glass of water. He didn't want to be late for his presentation. Even though most of
"What took you so long?" Chase asked with a raised eyebrow when Kim returned to the office."Oh, um…I had something bad for dinner," Kim replied and chuckled awkwardly, subtly wiping his clammy palm down his pants. "Are you ready for your big presentation? They will be here anytime," Kim asked him."Yes," Chase said firmly. "Let's go over the details one more time," Chase told him with a hidden agenda."Sure," Kim clapped his hands together and sat down as Chase went over the details of the contract he had prepared for the foreign investors.He had asked Kim to sit and listen to him present, in a bid to let him redeem himself. Kim had been very helpful to him when the empress sent him to Theo back in Piliste and it would be sad if Theo had to do something drastic to him because of his betrayal. But as Kim nodded his affirmation to every nonsense Theo said, Theo confirmed that Kim had already chosen his side of the game."Perfect," Kim beamed and wiped sweat away from his forehead. He
"Did he just…." Chase, who was bewildered began to whisper to the empress but she promptly pinched his side to silence him.She cleared her throat before speaking in the deathly silence of the room."Hilda, prepare the contract," she said to one of her assistants with a very wide smile."Mr Vladimir, are you sure about this? You haven't even gone through the proposal," Jacob, who was shell-shocked, finally snapped out of his daze. He couldn't believe his ears. The biggest contract he had ever sealed on the spot all his life of working, which was a very long time, was a deal of 20 billion dollars. How was it possible that the men were ready to invest a whopping 100 billion dollars into a project that wasn't supervised by a professional."There's nothing to go through. The young man has said everything I need to hear," the man said, pointing to Theo who was still reeling from the shock.Theo knew that the presentation was good and was going to get him a contract but what he hadn't expec
"Quickly, place that there," the empress instructed a group of people with a bunch of flowers."Yes, Dame," they said and did as they were told."Mother, you'll only get yourself sick from all that walking around," Imelda said."My grandson is coming back today," the empress replied and continued walking around to make sure everything was in place. "Everything has to be perfect," she added."One would think we're preparing for a president's arrival," Imelda teased.The empress waved her off and continued checking the decorations."Why don't you rest?" She placed her hands on her mother's shoulders. "I'll take care of everything down here. Your grandson wouldn't be happy if he comes back and you're all stressed out," she told her."There's till a lot to be done and little time and…." The empress started."Mother….." Imelda drew out. "I'll take care of everything. Just take a nap," she told her."Are you sure?" The empress asked skeptically."Yes," Imelda assured her."Fine. Make sure t
"Mother, why aren't you saying anything?" Jacob requested angrily, his hands balled in fists on both sides.The empress, not even sparing him a glass continued sipping leisurely on her coffee.Jacob fumed angrily but his wife, Regina, placed a pacifying palm on his arm, subtly telling him to calm down."Mother, you can't just buy the whole Union consortium," he continued.The empress considered ignoring him again this time, but decided not to.She dropped her cup majestically and squared her shoulders before turning to him."I can and I have," she said in a bored tone.The union consortium belonged to Regina's family. Jacob had seen it as a plan B because he wasn't so sure about his place in Gab and Gabe's consortium with Theo in the picture, hence, he planned to get Regina to inherit the company after her father but much to his surprise, the empress had bought the company."Why?" He snapped."Jacob," the empress said sharply, narrowing her eyes in slits. "I think you forget whom you
"Why my daughter?" Evelyn's mother asked.Chase stared at her as he tried to make sense of the question.Silver caught on his confusion and proceeded to clarify her question."Out of every other person, why did you choose to help my daughter?" She asked.Chase sighed softly before answering."Your daughter helped me first," he said loud and clear. "So the question should rightly be directed to your daughter," he said.Malcolm, who had been leaning against the pillar scoffed and walked away."There's something I've been wanting to ask but I guess now that we've met, I should just ask you," silver said."Ask away," he said with a welcoming smile."How did you and my daughter meet?" She asked.The question about how her daughter had met someone so high and mighty had been on her mind ever since but she hadn't had the right opportunity to ask.Chase smiled and rubbed his hands together."Well, we..""Mom," Evelyn's voice from the staircase cut him off.Chase stood up and rushed towards he
Chase was already half asleep when the text message from Evelyn had come in.He rubbed his sleepy eyes, picked up the phone and read through the message.A soft sigh escaped his lips when he read the words."Evelyn…." He muttered under his breath and shook his head before tossing the phone to the side and going back to sleep.He was woken up by the blaring of his alarm clock the next morning and he sat up groggily on the bed.His long-term "mini vacation" had finally come to an end and it was time to return home.He picked up his phone again and skimmed through the many unread messages but frowned when none of them was from Evelyn.He dialed her number but got the automated feedback before it went straight to voicemail."I guess this is it," he muttered to himself.He got up and walked straight to the bathroom to get ready and when he was done with his quick shower, walked into the closet.All of his things were already packed and ready and he got dressed quickly.There was a soft kno
"I know…it's far and…." She started to say."Heck it is," Malcom interrupted her immediately and she sighed softly.Their mother quickly put her hand over Malcolm's hand to calm him down."Let's hear her first," their mother's soft voice echoed.The glare on Malcolm's face didn't lessen but he was quiet now.Evelyn took a deep breath. Even before she started talking, she already knew how difficult the conversation was going to be, given that her mother was still recovering and Malcolm was yet to get a good job. At some point, she even considered going selfish, but she just had to put it out there. "As I was saying, I got a scholarship in NYU," she repeated but her voice was no longer as firm as the first time."Scholarships at NYU aren't easy to come by, sweetie," her mother said softly, goading her to tell them more.Evelyn looked down at her intertwined fingers because that part was going to be a little difficult but it couldn't be avoided. She wasn't going to lie to her family."I
Quietly, she followed him into the car which was already held open for them.She smiled inwardly at all the respect he was getting because she believed he deserved nothing less, given all that he had gone through."Do you want to get ice cream?" Chase broke the silence between them after contemplating for a while.Getting ice cream after lunch or dinner had always been their thing.Evelyn was still overwhelmed from everything that had happened and had barely been able to get food past her throat."Maybe next time," she said with a polite smile.Her words made Chase happier than she knew. It meant that she was actually considering a next time with him, which only meant that that day wasn't going to be the last time they met."How did you do it?" She asked out of the blue, turning in her seat so she could face him.The partition of the car was up, so they were separated from the driver and could have any conversation without fear of being eavesdropped on."Do what?" Chase asked and arch
Evelyn's eyes skimmed through the words on her screen again and again as she tried to understand what she was seeing.She looked up at Theo who had a small smile on his face as he watched her because he had a good idea what had her like that."Wha….what's this?" She asked with shaky hands. "Do you know about this?" She showed him the screen of her phone.He read through the email and leaned back in his seat."You know about this," she said softly. "I can't accept this," she shook her head and started to type on her phone but he gently took it away from her."Eve…" he started but she interrupted him."No, this is too much, I can't accept it," she said hurriedly."You've always wanted this," he pointed out.She reached for her phone but he kept it out of her reach."It was a dream. A dream I had no hope of fulfilling," she argued."And an opportunity has come for you to fulfill it," he countered."I can't accept this," she shook her head. Chase studied her for a few seconds without say
"I know it was you who paid my mom's bills and helped my brother out of jail," she said softly. "I…" Chase didn't know what to say. He had tried as much as possible to hide it from her because he knew how difficult it was for her to accept help. She had done life on her own for a long time and she felt that any help rendered to her was a set up."I just want to let you know how grateful I am and I'll work as hard as I can to pay back every cent," she said and swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat.She hadn't expected her little speech to get that emotional and she wished with everything in her that he knew how grateful she was."I don't need anything back from you," he shook his head. "I didn't do any of that to get anything in return. I did it because I know how much your family means to you and you're my friend. Friends help each other in need," he told her."But I've never helped you," she said and choked on a sob."You have," he replied without missing a beat and leaned
With a small smile and a shake of his head, Chase tucked the phone back into his pocket but not before sending a quick email to someone."Take me to Hovers," he told the driver, who nodded once and turned on the engine.The ride to Hovers was smooth in contrast to Chase's bumpy thoughts on what to say when he gets there.He hadn't expected her to reply but she did and he was going to see her.He tapped his long fingers on his knees impatiently as each second of the ride felt like a lifetime but soon, the driver was pulling outside of hovers.Hovers was a small café downtown. It was far from the whole bustle of the busy city and Chase could really pin that kind of place to Evelyn.The fresh greenery on the outside and the minimal but cozy decor on the inside was definitely her scene.He pushed the door to the welcoming space that smelled of coffee beans open and he looked around for a couple of seconds before his eyes caught her honey brown hair in a corner.He cleared his throat and r