Chris Bolton's Unexpected Rise To Wealth And Fame

CHAPTER 9

Another guard walked up to Mabel and stared her down.

"Calm down ma'am!" The guard boomed. "You're making a scene."

"Don't fucking tell me to calm down when you're failing to do your job properly!" Mabel squealed, and turning to face Arthur, she added. "Is this how disrespectful all your workers are?"

Arthur was too shaken to speak. He couldn't bring himself to tell Mabel that he had lost it all. He was in debts, and the company he thought was his, belonged to that unfortunate bastard, Chris Bolton.

"Answer me, babe!" Mabel ranted on. 

"Whatever the issue is, we would solve it," Arthur replied in a desperate bid to calm her down. 

He knew very well what the problem was. She had probably seen Chris in his office and that was why she was shouting. Arthur had no idea how he was going to explain it to her, that he had lost the company to Chris. 

"Let me tell you what the issue is!" Mabel said. "That little animal - Chris, is in your office, pretending to be your representative or something! That's what's happening!"

Arthur looked around uncomfortably and he saw that the guards were staring at him, their mouths wide open. They had just witnessed someone call their new boss a little animal. 

"I'll handle this," Arthur muttered, faking a smile at them, and turning to Mabel, he added. "Wait outside, babe. I'll go in and speak with him."

Arthur's brain was working very fast at that moment. If he could have a one on one conversation with Chris, he could surely persuade the bastard to pretend like he was still in charge of the company. He could even make it one of the conditions in their bet.

Arthur pushed the door to the office open and was met with a smiling Chris. 

"When are you going to tell her the truth?" Chris asked, out of the blues.

"The truth?" Arthur blinked hard. "What truth?"

"That you're now my secretary," Chris smiled.

Arthur's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. He walked over to where Chris sat.

"That is the reason I'm here," He muttered. "I don't want to tell her yet. I want her to believe I'm still the owner of this company."

"Interesting," Chris smiled, rubbing his fingers over his chin. "So you want me to tell a lie for you."

"It's a condition," Arthur blurted out. "Remember our bet. This is my one condition for our bet."

Chris thought about it for a while and then he shrugged. Arthur was proving to be a very smart man, but that was not a problem for him. 

"Fine then," Chris nodded. "You're still the owner of this company, but in front of Mabel alone. I'll treat you like my boss whenever she's around, and I'll make sure the news of my ownership does not leak."

"Then we have a deal," Arthur replied with a smile forming across his lips. 

He brought out a document from his pocket, signed it in front of Chris and dropped it on the table.

Chris got up from the chair and motioned for him to sit.

"I wonder how long you can keep this up though," He said. "Being a figurehead CEO and having no access to the company's funds, database, even as little as the new password to the computer on your desk. What if she comes in one day and wants you to help her with something on that computer?"

Chris paused for a while and a satisfied smirk went up on his face.

"You would look more like a zombie to her," He continued. "And then, she won't need you for anything else."

"That's not true," Arthur cut in.

"And she would finally dump you, just like she dumped me," Chris said.

"She loves me," Arthur maintained.

Chris walked up to the door and pushed it open. Mabel was standing at the door, fuming, when he opened it, and she brushed past him to meet Arthur who was seated in the executive chair.

"What's the animal still doing in here?" Mabel grunted. 

"He's helping me with some files," Arthur replied nonchalantly. "It's no problem, Mabel. Don't worry about him."

"Wait - " She paused. "Don't tell me you were serious about hiring this pauper?"

Arthur remained silent for a long while, and when he finally spoke up, his voice was low.

"Yes, I hired him," He replied. "Chris is skilled and we value his help. He would help my company get to greater heights, and remember that it would be beneficial to your deal as well."

Mabel thought about it for a while, and finally decided that if it was going to be of benefit to her, it was worth it.

"That means you're not totally worthless, Chris," Mabel smiled. "You have some use after all."

"So it seems," Chris smiled back at her.

"But let me warn you before you get too comfortable," Mabel cut in. "Even though Arthur needs your services, remember that I'm the number one lady here. You would remain accountable to me for as long as you work here - which I'm sure would not be more than a month. Is that clear?"

"Understood," Chris nodded.

Mabel was about to say something but Arthur cut in sharply.

"If you would excuse us, Chris, we have some things to discuss about."

"Sure thing," Chris nodded and stared down at his watch. "But before I go, I made a bet with your lady. She lost to me and now, she has to pay."

Arthur's heart skipped a beat at Chris' words. What had Mabel done this time? How did she enter into a bet with Chris?

"A bet you say?" Arthur asked after blinking multiple times.

"You can confirm it from her," Chris replied. "She said she could get me out of the office in ten minutes. It's well over fifteen now and she has lost half of whatever is in her bank account at the moment. That was the bet."

Arthur's face was twisted in horror at Chris' words and he turned to face Mabel.

"This is a joke, right?"

"It's true, but it doesn't matter," Mabel chuckled. "I'm not paying him and he can't do anything about it."

Arthur turned his attention to Chris who shook his head in the negative.

"A deal is a deal, and if she doesn't pay, then I'll have to - "

"You're right!" Arthur cut in. "I would pay you in full. Let me see how much you've got in there, babe."

"I can't believe you're trying to enrich this pauper," Mabel scoffed before handing him the phone.

Arthur ignored her rants as he scrolled through her phone and the next minute, he screamed in shock.

"Forty million!" Arthur cried. "Why do you have so much in here?"

"I think some of my company's funds were transferred in," Mabel replied. "Look, we don't have to give this pauper anything!"

"I like to be fair," Arthur muttered. "I would send him the money."

Arthur requested for the details that Chris wanted the money to be transferred to, and after it was done, Mabel was left fuming.

"I really can't believe you sent him that much money just because of a stupid bet."

Arthur couldn't believe it as well, but he knew that he had no choice. He was deep in debts, but he needed to hide the fact that he was no longer the owner of the company from Mabel. And moreover, he had placed a bet with Chris - a bet that would see him win a billion dollars. That was enough money to pay off all his debts, and even have enough to spend for a very long time.

"It's nothing, babe," Arthur replied. "But next time, don't make any more bets."

Mabel scoffed. "Please get this man out of here. I'm disgusted by his presence."

Arthur pleaded with his eyes for Chris to cooperate and the latter chuckled to himself. If anyone had told Chris that a day would come when he would have this much power, he would not have believed it, but it was happening. 

He was the richest man in the whole city, maybe even the whole country. And now, it was time for him to have a fun revenge. 

On that spot, he decided not to go on with his initial plan to embarrass Mabel in the office. It was not going to be fun embarrassing her once. He was going to break her down, make her jealous and regret everything that she had lost, make her fall in love with him again, before showing her how much of a golddigger that she was.

Yes! That was exactly what he was going to do.

"One last thing before I go," Chris said. "I'm so grateful for the invitation you sent me for the weekend getaway. I'm sure you would be there too."

"Oh yes I would," Arthur smiled. 

"Your personal guard would be with you shortly," Chris replied with a mock bow. "I'll see you at the location tomorrow."

And with that, he excused himself and walked out of the office.