After the party, Jason and Faith returned to his hotel room, and she didn't waste time regretting her plan and the bet. She bit on her fingers, and blinked rapidly,
“What am I going to do? What kind of deal have I made? No one has contact with these people. I'm in trouble, Grandma is going to alienate me finally! My dignity will be finally ruined” She mused loudly, almost sobbing this time, tears lodged painfully in her throat. Jason's heart wrenched at the sight; he wanted to discard his clothes and don the socially appropriate ones to show Faith that he was indeed capable of helping her and solving all her problems, but he had chosen to help her from the sideline and give her all his support. She needed it if she was going to stand against her grandmother and whatever she could possibly throw her way. He could see that Raphael was right about Faith, and he was going to do all he could to protect and be there for her. He walked to her and lifted her chin, looking straight into her eyes, “You only have to get the contract, and you'll finally gain the respect of your grandmother and all others, right?" He whispered and she nodded crisply, wiping at the corner of her eyes, “I believe in you, you can make that happen, and I'll help you along the way. Just have faith, Faith,” he winked, trying to make a joke and lessen her nerves. “Just relax and have a seat, I'll get you a drink to calm your nerves. Everything will work out, just trust the process." He urged her, and she nodded once again, she needed that drink as her throat had gone dry. Jason left her and headed to the adjoining room, he took out his phone from his pocket and began typing furiously, occasionally looking back to ensure Faith was still in the position he left her, ‘Ethan Moore, I'll be sending someone's number now, I want you to call her and arrange a meeting with her, informing her that you heard she had an interest in our company.’ Having sent that, he sent a follow-up message with all of Faith's details and her position in the company. With a smile, he placed his phone back and poured the drink before heading out to meet Faith. He was certain Ethan would make the call soon and he wanted to see her face when it happened. Jason handed the wine to her and sat across from her, he needed a full view. Less than five minutes later, Faith's phone began ringing and Jason watched as her brows furrowed when she glanced at the caller, “Hello?" She spoke into the phone, and glanced at Jason who signed for her to place it on speaker, her brows furrowed further as she complied, “Ms Faith?" The caller questioned and Faith nodded before she responded affirmatively, “I'm sorry for calling this late Ma’am. My name is Ethan Moore, I'm the COO of The Greenlife Group of Companies” At his introduction, Faith who had taken a sip of her wine, spewed it out, almost choking as she began to cough loudly, her eyes popping wide, Jason hurriedly rushed to her side, and rubbed his hand over her back, "Sorry Ma'am. I've been informed by a close party that you're seeking an appointment with our company regarding an application. I'll be available to see you. Is tomorrow by 9 am fine for you?” the caller questioned and Faith, whose mouth was opened swallowed before she responded, “Y-yes, it is, Sir. Thank you for this opportunity. I'll see you by 9 am sharp!" As soon as the call ended, Faith jumped for joy, her face beaming, a total opposite from a few minutes ago. Her eyes lit up and she glanced at Jason who still had his hand on her back, "Mr Ethan said someone close informed him. Do you think it might be Ryan Cape? It has to be him, no one else; he had told Grandmother he'd be in touch. Grandmother, Grandmother I have to call her and tell her this good news!” Faith exclaimed happily, saying different things all at once. Jason clenched his fist that was on her back, and slid it down, his eyes reddening at her words. He had worked to help her get the appointment, yet she was going to give Ryan the praise. A fool who knew nobody in his company. He swallowed his anger, and closed his eyes in order to calm himself, Faith quickly dialled her grandmother's number and the old wretch took a while before she picked it up, “What is it, you insolent child?!" She snapped, Faith was too overjoyed to hear the contempt in her voice, “Grandmother, guess what?! I just secured a meeting with the CEO of The Greenlife Group tomorrow!!!!" She shrieked into the phone, and Mrs Rita was silent for a moment, “Y-you said what? What did you just say?” “That's right Grandmother! I'm going there by 9 am" she revealed, still giddy on her feet. Jason couldn't help but admit that it made him happy to see her like this; she was sweet, and the moment was sweet. “Unbelievable" Mrs Rita exclaimed in disbelief over the phone, before she cleared her throat, “I'm certain Ryan made that happen, he said he was going to, and he did. Unlike that useless husband of yours! I have to call and thank him” Faith didn't respond to that, although she felt it was Ryan as well, she still wasn't entirely convinced; she glanced subtly at Jason but shook her head in denial; it wasn't possible. She concentrated on her call, eager to cut it and prepare for the meeting, until the next words from her grandmother shattered her, and weakened her knees, “You'll be going along with Michael. I don't trust you to handle such a meeting by yourself" Tears absently dropped from her eyes, and Jason gritted his teeth before taking out his phone to inform Ethan of the new development. He was going to beat Rita at her game.The next day, Faith and Michael arrived at the Greenlife Group with Faith’s heart a little heavy and weary. She had so much to prove to her grandmother, yet her grandmother had ensured Michael tagged along.Michael glanced at her staring at the building and sneered,“Are you going to stand here all day, or are we going to make a move and proceed? After all, you claimed they called you, well let's move it," he sneered at her, and Faith huffed before pushing herself to the entrance.Jason, who had encouraged her to take the lead, was nowhere in sight; even if he was, she doubted he could do anything about it. Heaving a sigh, Faith rubbed her damp hand through her clothes, straightened herself, and strut with confidence through the doors of the company,As they walked in through the doors, a man dressed in a crisp and elegant suit walked towards them with wide steps, smiling as he did. He stretched his hand to Faith and beamed at her, completely ignoring Michael who was right beside her
Faith swallowed hard with her eyes blinking, her mind riddling with different thoughts,‘Had Michael called her?’, ‘Why was she calling?’ ‘Didn't she know she was currently in the meeting’. Faith was extremely pale and she gulped at intervals, Ethan caught sight of her expression and raised his brow at her, Faith subtly shook her head, and whispered,“Please excuse me, I have to take this call"She immediately stood up to pick up the call, moved to a corner of the office, and was immediately greeted by her grandmother’s loud voice when she clicked the green button,“What the hell do you think you're doing, you insolent child?! How dare you double-cross Michael?”Mrs Rita didn't let Faith get any word in as she kept condescendingly berating her, Faith's eyes were brimming with tears. Meanwhile, Ethan could hear the harshness of her voice as it was a little loud, his brows furrowed, and he thought it was a good thing to inform Jason of the situation. He quietly tapped away on his phone
Her smile dipped, she wasn't expecting to meet Michael, she had assumed that he must have run off crying to their grandmother after she had called and scolded her, she squinted her eyes at him and raised her brows. When she realized he wasn't only glaring at her but also at something or someone behind her, she made to turn,She hoped it wasn't Mr. Ethan; she had left him in his office and hadn't realized he was following her; smiling, she turned to acknowledge him, and as she turned, her eyes nearly popped out of the sockets, her mouth agape as she gazed at him. She almost faltered in her steps, but for his timely intervention as he quickly grabbed at her elbow,“Careful now," his sweet voice told her, and Faith blinked at him, her mouth forming an o,‘What was he doing here? How had he been behind her without knowing? How come he had entrance to the company, yet Michael hadn't been let through?’As she blinked at him, her mind was reeling with various questions. She snapped her mouth
In return, Michael jutted his chin towards her, "Ha! You ruined the opportunity right?! You flopped just as my grandmother and I predicted! You really are inept and useless Faith. You had just one golden opportunity, and you let it slide through your fingers” as he spoke while sneering at her, he pulled himself to his full height and puffed his chest out, “If only that man had let me in, or you had spoken in my favor, I would have been able to seal that deal just as grandmother wanted, but you probably thought seduction could help you, yet it didn't help him sway to your side. Ha!” Faith's expression was a mix of disgust and embarrassment and even anger; her eyes were red, and her face was pale. How could Michael accuse her wrongly and blatantly accuse her of possibly using her body, she fumed. Jason stared at his fiancée's cousin and shook his head; his fist was clenched beside him, but he was going to floor the idiot; people like him didn't like when their perceived positions w
Jason's smile widened, and he nodded briskly at Michael, who returned his smile with a contemptuous smile, curling his lips at him. “You've got yourself a deal," Jason announced and turned to wink at Faith, who, though he was smiling a little, had a crease between her eyes; she couldn't understand what Jason was driving at.Michael on the other hand, bent and began laughing once more, pointing his finger at Jason,“Y-you really think much of yourself you fool! Haven't you ever heard the saying pride goes before a fall? I proposed to help you, yet you think you can intimidate or surpass me. You clearly do not know who you're talking to! If I wanted to get that contract, I would have, with a snap of my fingers…”"Is that so Mr Michael?”Ethan suddenly interjected in a loud voice, he had an air of authority surrounding him. Immediately Michael sighted him, he paled and lost a sense of his bearing,“Uhm…” he mumbled slightly, before straightening himself and plastering a saccharine smile
Ethan gazed intensely at Michael and quirked his brows at him, “What do you have to say for yourself, Sir?" he asked Michael with an edge to his voice, and the latter gulped once again. He was currently unable to string words together, luckily for him, Ethan wasn't done speaking, "Well, it's quite obvious you have nothing to say for yourself. If this is how you behave in your company, we do not condone such attitude here at Greenlife and it makes me wonder what the hell you all are doing in that company, and how someone like Ms Faith is surviving there as well” Michael's eyes nearly bulged at Ethan's use of Faith's first name, he couldn't understand what had transpired between the duo. Still, he nodded numbly and responded, “I apologize Sir. It won't happen again, I was only trying to help, but I thought wrong” "You're damn well right! It sure won't happen again!” Ethan interjected loudly through gritted teeth, before he rose himself to his full height, raising his chin he looked
Jason who had a slight idea of what was passing through Faith's mind, bent his head to glance at her,“Penny for your thoughts?" he asked, and Faith glanced at him, before shaking her head,“N-no, it's nothing" As she spoke, she swallowed and glanced at Jason once more before shaking her head. Jason hid a smile,He could guess and understand her dilemma. Ethan had disclosed to him that Faith had questioned him on who had set the meeting up, and she had assumed it was Ryan; he chuckled to himself at that insane thought. Ryan's family's wealth was like a cup of water out of his bottomless well.Sighing, Faith swallowed and shuddered; Michael had ruined her joyous mood, and the thought of having to face her grandmother didn't bode well with her; she couldn't imagine all Michael must have told her and more. Swallowing once again, she echoed,“I- I have to go, I need to give Grandmother the report" Smiling enthusiastically, Jason nodded,“That's good. I'm coming with you" Faith was a li
"You know, sometimes I wonder why you all have such little faith in Faith. Why you would choose to believe the words of a scum over that of a classy human” Jason promptly interjected. He was disgusted and disappointed by their words and reactions, they had all but concluded that Faith was incapable, concluding that she hadn't gotten the contract. At his interruption, everyone glowered at him, while Mrs Ruth glared and snarled at him, "I wasn't talking to you, you pauper! Don't you dare interrupt me ever in your life!” In response, Jason shrugged and smiled at her, before he continued, "My apologies. I just thought it fair that you know you're making the wrong mistake by dismissing Faith, seeing as she kept to the deal, and secured a contract from Greenlife Group." All eyes immediately snapped in Faith's direction, then back at Jason, who was smiling smugly; Faith had managed to lift her head, a little smile gracing her face while her cheeks were still tinged; she had yet to
As Michael's lips neared Jason's feet, the room fell silent with bated breaths, all of their eyes fixed on what was happening before them, Jason's face was inscrutable, but he had a slight smug expression on his face,Faith's face was a mix of expressions, on one hand, she felt vindicated by Jason, knowing that Michael was finally having a taste of his medicine; Michael had been coming for her and today was no exception, but on the other, she felt a deep sense of guilt as well as a pang of pity or was it sympathy? She could hardly believe that her cousin had been reduced to such a humiliating state,At that moment, if a pin had dropped, everyone would have heard it but probably not paid attention as they watched keenly to see if truly Michael was going to kiss Jason's feet,“Is Michael truly going to kiss his feet?" One of Faith's cousins inquired with her mouth agape as she watched with keen interest,“Hmph! You see his lips close to those filthy legs, yet you wonder and ask if he wo
Uhm…ehh”Michael stuttered as she shifted from foot to foot,"Don't waste our time! Make the payments.” Mrs Rita responded, and then faced Faith,"Faith, call out your details so he can make the payments," she said with authority; she wasn't going to direct it to Jason, as she deemed him insignificant.Jason chuckled before he shook his head and responded,“You see, the thing is," he drawled, taking his swell time to continue while they sneered at him. He was enjoying seeing the beads of sweat on Michael's face trail down to his chin, clearing his throat he continued,“Well, the bet isn't a monetary one. I actually do not need his money"Scoffs went around the room at his statement, but he ignored their subtle remarks, gazing intently at Michael. Mrs Rita's face turned sour just as her brows furrowed, she glanced between Michael and Faith, throwing a questioning gaze at the former, as though she was asking him,‘What in the world have you done?!’In response, Michael shook his head an
At that moment, Michael was reminded of the stupid deal he had made with Jason at his insistence and he nearly shuddered. One look at Jason and he knew the same thought was running through the bastard’s mind and it caused a whirlwind of emotions within Michael, he felt anger and humiliation, internally wishing for the ground to open and swallow him or for an apocalypse to take place, he couldn't imagine himself apologizing to any of them, he would rather die.As though the universe was against him, his grandmother turned to him with a tight smile and gave him a curt nod,“Don't keep us waiting Michael, apologize and get on with it" Michael swallowed and nearly toppled over, it was as though something had slammed into him. Blinking furtively, he glanced at his grandmother who had her brows raised, and also spared a smirking Jason a glance,“We're waiting, Michael. Apologize to your cousin, so we can get on with the preparations,” his grandmother called out once again, and Michael visi
Without hesitation, Michael quickly picked up the remote and turned on the television; at the same time, a couple of his cousins and a few colleagues were glued to their phones, with their mouths wide open. Every other person's attention was glued to the television,The man from earlier appeared on the screen, and Michael sneered, seeing his face was a brutal reminder of the embarrassment he had faced there, still he tried to shake it off and concentrate on whatever the man had to say,“Whoa, that's the COO of Greenlife Group, he's also the acting CEO. He's not handsome but intimidating”"Yeah, he must know and be close with the CEO who remains a mystery, nobody knows what he looks like" A few people whispered amongst themselves while their eyes remained on the screen, Mr Ethan was about to speak, he was in a conference room that was filled with the men and women of the press,“Thank you all for joining me at such short notice. I do not take it for granted as time is valuable.” He im
Whack “How dare you?! How dare you lie to me, you ingrate?!" Mrs Ruth snarled at Faith who was rubbing at her stinging cheeks with tears clouding her vision. Claire, Michael, and everyone gaped at them, occasionally glancing at each other and their grandmother; they could see Faith's cheek already forming a bruise, and some of them snickered with smiles on their faces; it served Faith right. Jason was livid; his eyes had turned molten, and his clenched fists were digging into his palms without notice. He wished he could drill a wall through the blasted woman and every other person that antagonized Faith. All eyes remained on Mrs Ruth as she went on snarling at Faith, jabbing her hands at her, “Did you think you would lie to me and get away with it? That I wouldn't find out you twat?! That was Ryan, and he just confirmed to me that he's been unable to reach his source, and Greenlife, therefore, hasn't spoken to him." Gasps filled the room immediately, as some of them covered
"You know, sometimes I wonder why you all have such little faith in Faith. Why you would choose to believe the words of a scum over that of a classy human” Jason promptly interjected. He was disgusted and disappointed by their words and reactions, they had all but concluded that Faith was incapable, concluding that she hadn't gotten the contract. At his interruption, everyone glowered at him, while Mrs Ruth glared and snarled at him, "I wasn't talking to you, you pauper! Don't you dare interrupt me ever in your life!” In response, Jason shrugged and smiled at her, before he continued, "My apologies. I just thought it fair that you know you're making the wrong mistake by dismissing Faith, seeing as she kept to the deal, and secured a contract from Greenlife Group." All eyes immediately snapped in Faith's direction, then back at Jason, who was smiling smugly; Faith had managed to lift her head, a little smile gracing her face while her cheeks were still tinged; she had yet to
Jason who had a slight idea of what was passing through Faith's mind, bent his head to glance at her,“Penny for your thoughts?" he asked, and Faith glanced at him, before shaking her head,“N-no, it's nothing" As she spoke, she swallowed and glanced at Jason once more before shaking her head. Jason hid a smile,He could guess and understand her dilemma. Ethan had disclosed to him that Faith had questioned him on who had set the meeting up, and she had assumed it was Ryan; he chuckled to himself at that insane thought. Ryan's family's wealth was like a cup of water out of his bottomless well.Sighing, Faith swallowed and shuddered; Michael had ruined her joyous mood, and the thought of having to face her grandmother didn't bode well with her; she couldn't imagine all Michael must have told her and more. Swallowing once again, she echoed,“I- I have to go, I need to give Grandmother the report" Smiling enthusiastically, Jason nodded,“That's good. I'm coming with you" Faith was a li
Ethan gazed intensely at Michael and quirked his brows at him, “What do you have to say for yourself, Sir?" he asked Michael with an edge to his voice, and the latter gulped once again. He was currently unable to string words together, luckily for him, Ethan wasn't done speaking, "Well, it's quite obvious you have nothing to say for yourself. If this is how you behave in your company, we do not condone such attitude here at Greenlife and it makes me wonder what the hell you all are doing in that company, and how someone like Ms Faith is surviving there as well” Michael's eyes nearly bulged at Ethan's use of Faith's first name, he couldn't understand what had transpired between the duo. Still, he nodded numbly and responded, “I apologize Sir. It won't happen again, I was only trying to help, but I thought wrong” "You're damn well right! It sure won't happen again!” Ethan interjected loudly through gritted teeth, before he rose himself to his full height, raising his chin he looked
Jason's smile widened, and he nodded briskly at Michael, who returned his smile with a contemptuous smile, curling his lips at him. “You've got yourself a deal," Jason announced and turned to wink at Faith, who, though he was smiling a little, had a crease between her eyes; she couldn't understand what Jason was driving at.Michael on the other hand, bent and began laughing once more, pointing his finger at Jason,“Y-you really think much of yourself you fool! Haven't you ever heard the saying pride goes before a fall? I proposed to help you, yet you think you can intimidate or surpass me. You clearly do not know who you're talking to! If I wanted to get that contract, I would have, with a snap of my fingers…”"Is that so Mr Michael?”Ethan suddenly interjected in a loud voice, he had an air of authority surrounding him. Immediately Michael sighted him, he paled and lost a sense of his bearing,“Uhm…” he mumbled slightly, before straightening himself and plastering a saccharine smile