Chapter 12.

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 with a puffed-out chest,

“Ms Reynolds, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Ethan Moore, we spoke yesterday” as he made the introductions, Faith's eyes sparkled and she nodded heartily,

"The pleasure is all mine, Sir, thank you for having us. This is my cousin, Michael, he's the director of our company”

Ethan gave a curt nod to Michael and ignored him once more, his gaze focused on Faith,

“Please call me Ethan. I'll lead the way to my office"

Michael, who was always full of himself, was seething at the outright disregard but contained himself; with a tight smile, he walked alongside Faith to the man's office.

They had taken a few steps, when a lady dressed in a wine pantsuit came forward with a smile on her face, walking towards the trio. As soon as Ethan saw her, he nodded and beamed and promptly announced,

“Oh Jenna, good you're here. Please see that this gentleman right here is well taken care of." he pointed in Michael's direction, and Michael, in turn, turned to look behind him, seeing nobody; his eyebrows creased, and he glared at the man.

Her cheeks tinged, Faith immediately made to correct him,

“Oh no Sir, he's with me. We're both here on behalf of Reynoldz"

She quickly offered and the man nodded and smiled,

“I'm aware, but this meeting was organized for only you. Do not worry, he'll be well taken care of while we talk”

With a small smile, Ethan faced Michael,

"Or do you mind or have an objection?”

Gritting his teeth, Ethan shook his head and nodded at Faith to proceed, his fist clenched tightly in his pockets. He couldn't believe that he had been this slight, but he put himself in check. It was for the greater good of Reynoldz, but he wasn't going to let this insult slide, he was going to inform his grandmother. His lips pursed as he nodded,

“It's fine, I'll just make a few calls while you're away"

His response carried a subtle threat, which Faith gulped at; reluctantly, she trudged behind Ethan as they made their way to the office.

Michael watched with fury in his eyes as they headed out, gritting his teeth. He took out his phone and immediately tried to call their grandmother to inform her of the new development, but could only get her voicemail. Huffing, he sent a message to her,

‘Grandma, can you believe that Faith left me here to seduce the man? I don't know what she told him, but he refused to let me come along even after I explained my position in the company! Ryan helped us get this gig, yet Faith wants to hog it to herself’

With a smirk, he sent the message to his grandmother and leaned his back on his seat; he had set the motion; it was time for the ball to get rolling.

Back in Mr Moore’s office, Faith was a little fidgety but tried to stay calm and composed, Mr Ethan Moore sensed and discomfort and smiled at her,

“Ma’am, do you need anything? Tea? Coffee?"

Faith promptly shook her head, her brows creasing a little as she stared at the man. Greenlife Group was known to be a straightforward company without any need for frivolities, and so his hospitality confused her.

Ryan must have really pulled some good strings to get her this kind of connection and hospitality, but she didn't know his reason.

She smiled at Mr Moore,

“No, thank you, Sir"

He nodded again, and Faith carefully took out the document from her bag and presented it to him. Ryan had brought them this far, it was time for her to take it over from here, she handed the document over, and cleared her throat,

“In there, you'll find our contract application, as well as our track record and the companies we've done business with. Though not much, we've been diligent and consistent”

Mr Moore browsed through the portfolio and kept nodding his head. He set it aside, and placed his clasped hands on the table,

“I'll be honest with you Ms Reynolds, Reynoldz Holdingz doesn't quite meet our requirements for a contract”

Faith immediately straightened in her seat and gaped at him, swallowing a little, before she could say anything, he went on,

“But our chairman put in a good word for you and assures us that you'll deliver great work”

Faith's eyes widened, and then her brows furrowed, Chairman? She didn't know anyone in this company, maybe it was Ryan, she wondered. She leaned forward and asked

“Can I know who this is?”

Mr Moore chuckled,

"I don't think it's necessary, you only have to deliver quality goods. All you need to know is he's quite an unusual man, and has a little faith in you, Faith”

Her mouth was hung open, and she stared abashedly at him; those words sounded familiar like she had heard them somewhere, but she couldn't decipher them. She blinked at him, unable to string words together,g

Just as she was about to respond, her phone began ringing, and as she glanced at the caller, she lost all colors on her face.