While Julia went about setting the table for dinner, Raymond remained in the middle of the living room with Niko and Adam glaring at him in disbelief. "Who on earth forgets his birthday?" Niko broke the silence with a huff. He was furious. "It's not my fault okay." He said in defense. "Then whose fault? You shouldn't allow work to separate you from little things that will spice up your life. Hey, this should be the last time something like this happens." He snapped then went to join Julia. Adam excused himself to join Julia too, leaving only Raymond in the living room. He had finally remembered his birthday but he wasn't really pleased with the surprise party. There was nothing he could do about it other than to accept what was rendered to him. After a quick bath, he rejoined his wife and friends in the living room. They sang a few songs, played games and when they were exhausted, they sat down to dinner. "Hmmm…. Tasty huh." Raymond smirked, shoving another fried mutto
Xavier was taken aback by his words and he didn't bother to hide his shock. He alternated his gaze from Raymond to James and from him back to Raymond. "I'm sorry but this isn't why we are here." He managed to say. "You invited me to iron things out, right?" James asked. "Yeah." "And I decided to come up with a condition before proceeding. Your job is at stake here, I trust the Brooks to push you off the line if you flop. Not only am I holding the company at the tip of my finger, but your job too." He smirked. Xavier reclined on his seat, reviewing his words in his head. Meanwhile, Raymond just sat there staring at James who was glaring at him. He was controlling himself from laughing at his displeasure. If only he had cautioned his wife earlier, things wouldn't have been messy. "Sir, " Xavier called but was hushed when James raised his hand above his head. "I will give you some minutes to think about it. Immediately I'm done with lunch, if you don't come to my terms, I
Xavier couldn't help but stare weirdly at Raymond. He was expecting him to be fidgeting but that wasn't the case. He looked exceptionally calm and was even eating with a good appetite. "Are you always like this?" He couldn't help but ask. "Like what?" Raymond asked, taking his eyes off his phone for a moment. "Carefree. I'm freaking out already but here you are acting as if it's normal." Satisfied with the food he had taken, he reclined on his seat and he wiped his mouth and hand with the napkin provided. "James had named his price. It's either I consent or decline. Sitting back and acting as if I lost my sanity is something I will never do." He smirked. "You are scaring me…" he was still speaking when Raymond cut in. "Please sit, I have a question for you." "Raymond… This is not the time to be acting carefree. James is under the cover of FreeBie, I don't think Dexx would do the same for you." "Damn! That's exactly where I'm heading." Raymond snapped, hitting his pal
James' lips twitched into a sinister smile as he stared at the screen of his phone. If only he knew Raymond was going to consent, he was sure to add more terms. "That twerp." He chuckled, brushing his hair backward as he rose. Darting his eyes around his office, his eyes fell on his cabinet which held Dexx's flash drive. "He meant what he said." He muttered, pulling himself towards the cabinet. When he got there, he picked it up. Just as he was about to smash it into pieces with his foot, the door flung open and Tyson barged in. "What is it that I'm hearing?" He yelled, glaring menacingly at him. "What are you hearing?" He smirked, alternating the flash drive in both hands. In a rage, Tyson threw his head backward and then stormed out of the office only to return seconds later. "How dare you go behind my back and make deals with Dexx? We are supposed to destroy them." He yelled. James was shocked by his outburst. No one knew about his meeting with Xavier. "I should h
The Brooks refused to delve further into why they wanted to see Raymond and Julia in turn refused to go call him. She didn't want a situation where they would say something that would upset him and leave. "Why are you acting as if we are strangers?" Her mother asked. She was getting pissed with her attitude. "You were the one who started it. Even if I forget every other thing you did to him, I won't forget what you did on your anniversary. You humiliated him in front of two hundred people. You are lucky Raymond is cool-headed, if I was the one, I would have…" she stopped speaking when Raymond wrapped his hand around hers from behind. He had been in his bedroom reviewing his next plan in his head but the noise from the living room was making it hard for him so he decided to check what the problem was. "Why did you come?" She snapped. "I thought you were in trouble when you wouldn't stop yelling." He cooed. Patting her cheeks, he turned his gaze to his in-laws. "Good eve
Knowing fully well that if he allowed Xavier to continue, things wouldn't go as planned, Raymond walked up to Stella who was sitting beside her parents. "Take over." He whispered. "What?" She gasped. She wasn't in support of his idea but now she had to continue from where Xavier stopped. "If you don't take action now…" he nodded at James who was watching them. "He will bring Dexx down and I don't want that to happen. Remember, you would benefit from this firm a lot in the future so you ought to do everything in your power to save it." He cooed then left her side. His words got into her and with wobbling legs, she began to walk towards the podium. Before she could take the file from Xavier, he grabbed it and then shredded it into pieces. "What the hell is going on?" James yelled. He was getting scared that Dexx had come up with a plan to humiliate him instead of Raymond. "He is innocent. Don't you dare?" He scowled at Stella. While all these were going on, Raymond just sto
The more the day went by, the harder Julia worked. She felt if she slacked, they were going to be hungry and she didn't want that to happen. One morning, after preparing breakfast and getting ready for school, she poked her head into Raymond's room. "Hey, I'm out already." She announced then turned around to leave but before she could take a step, Raymond's hand was already around her arm. "This is getting too much." He cringed. "What are you talking about?" She asked, peering at him. "You're overworking yourself. If you don't slow down, you might end up falling ill and that will be disastrous. I already told you, give me a little more time. I sent in my application, it will be long before I will be called up for the job." He rapped. Julia wriggled her hand away from his grip only to dig it into her hair and let out a groan of anguish. She didn't want Raymond to work just anywhere. "Trust me, the place and environment are good." He cooed, trying to impress her. "I'm not
As he made his way towards the counter, a large grin was playing on his lips. This was the first time he was stepping into his father's company but he already knew his way around. When Adam and his friend broke in, they had brought the map of the company to him which he studied thoroughly. "Hello, what can I do for you today?" The receptionist asked tiredly. She had been speaking since the day began and now she was out of strength. The assistant who was supposed to take over was yet to sign in for the day. "I'm Raymond Winston, the son of the CEO." He introduced himself with a smirk. "I'm here to see him." He added. The receptionist was stunned. She knew about his brother but hadn't encountered him before. Thinking he was impersonating, she said with a stern tone, "If you don't leave at this moment, I will call the cops." "Why?" He smirked. "Isn't it evident? You are impersonating and it's a serious offense. People like you don't have to be in society." "What if you are