“He's about to call his gang members”
“Give up already, you fool!” “He’s such a loser” Other customers made ugly comments, but Ethan still pleaded with the manager for his phone. The manager obliged. Ethan brought out the card Leo gave him and dialled the number. He gave the phone back to the manager after the call. Few minutes later, a convoy of exotic cars parked in front of the store and an elderly man came in with men in black suits. “ What's happening here, young master?” Leo asked. When they heard the words “young master”,everyone present was shocked. Young master? Who is this shabbily dressed young master? Ethan explained everything to Leo, who took the card and swiped it again, this time it signalled a green light, indicating the transaction was successful. Everyone watching was totally shocked. People took out their phones to video as things were becoming interesting, but the men in suits stepped in, videos and pictures of Ethan's back were taken. The manager immediately became humble and apologised on behalf of the employee and the VIP customer, “ we're very sorry for all the inconveniences we have caused you, sir. I assure you this employee will face disciplinary action”. The young man was furious,why was the manager apologising to this loser? He raised his hand to hit Ethan, his hand was caught by one of the men in suit. The manager looked at him, “ Your suit has been paid for,sir. What else do you want?” Ethan was not satisfied with just an apology. He wanted the employee sacked for her unruly behaviour and the young man arrested, but he needs to know who he was. The young man was still trying to worsen the situation, “Do you know who my father is? He is a director at Emerald Group”. He said, hoping to see Ethan bow and tremble before him. Ethan just nodded his head and two men grabbed the young man's hands and pulled him outside the store. He was still shouting, “ I'll deal with all of you. You'll regret this”. Leo moved closer to Ethan, “ This is under Emerald Group, young master”. Ethan was surprised, “ can you handle things from here?”. “ Yes, young master”. When the female employee saw what just happened, she knelt down and begged for forgiveness. She suddenly felt bad for what she did. “ Your services are no longer required here, please return the company's access card before you leave”. Leo said. The young lady held Ethan's legs and begged him the more. She crept to the young lady “ please forgive me, I shouldn't have treated you the way I did, please beg him for me”. Ethan simply ignored her and turned to face the young lady. He asked for her name. She said it was Lisa and that her boss had sent her to get a cup of coffee for him, on her way back he called her to get a phone and that's how she ended up in that mess. He gave her money to replace the coffee and bought the phone her boss had sent her to buy with his money. He handed the phone to Lisa, “Be careful next time”. Lisa was in tears as she collected the phone, no one has ever shown her such kindness, “thank you sir, I don't know how to repay you for your kindness” she said before heading out. Ethan walked out of the store with Leo beside him, he was glad he could help but he was confused as to what would have happened if he hadn't called Leo. He headed straight to the house. *** As Ethan got home, he could hear Ava's voice from a distance “ why don't you marry off your precious daughter to get the deal with Emerald Group? I love Ethan and I'm never leaving him”. Ethan heaved a sigh of relief, he has enough money to take care of his wife now. She has always openly declared her love for him. The moment he entered the room, it became quiet as all eyes fell on him. His sister-in-law snorted in disgust, “ speak of the devil”. “ I thought you'd never come back, loser. And you're attending the meeting thirty minutes late” his mother-in-law added with disdain in her eyes. Meeting? He wasn't aware of the meeting. Oh,Ava must have called and texted him but he lost his phone last night. Ethan sighed quietly in his heart, Ava's mother and siblings had always looked down on him, but what would they do if they found out he was the only one who could help them get a deal with Emerald Group. What if they found out he was the chairman of Emerald Group, the surviving son of the Smith family? This was not the time to reveal his real identity to them. What if his enemy knew Ava's family? What if Ava's family were behind everything that happened in the past? He decided staying in the dark was the best option for now. Ethan lowered his head and apologised, “ mother, I'm sorry for all the troubles I've caused this family”. Agitated by everything, Susie shouted “ Troubles? What you've caused us, especially yesterday, damn! What you did yesterday is more than trouble, you almost ruined my engagement. You're simply useless to this family”. “Ethan Smith, you're very shameless. You even attended the meeting late, we know you're jobless so you have no excuses”. James mocked disdainfully, “Wait, what are you even doing here?” Ava interjected “ stop your nonsense, see who's talking. You're jobless and we're currently in this mess because of your gambling and other troubles you keep causing”. She wore an indifferent expression on her face. “Mother called every member of the family to this meeting, Ethan is part of this family”. James laughed sarcastically, “He's part of which family? Ours? Really? You must be a comedian. That man is just a glorified house help. He is nothing but a live-in son-in-law”. “I didn't call this meeting for you to exchange words with each other, let's just sit down and focus on the purpose of this meeting”. Kate said as she was slightly agitated. Ethan nudged Ava, “ let's just sit down”. Ava nodded and went back to sit down. When everyone was seated, Kate started “ we're almost going bankrupt and the only way out is to get a mega project with Emerald group”. She knew it was very impossible for them to even get access to Emerald group in previous years but now Lucas and Duke have promised to help them out. She is very hopeful, Duke can help them, he's working at Emerald Group as a manager. Duke has secretly come to meet her, asking for Ava's hand in marriage and he also promised to help them whenever they want to get any contract with Emerald Group. “If we can collaborate with Emerald Group leaving a good impression on the president, we will rise to become the most powerful and influential in Nova City. Our little fashion brand will go global after the collaboration”, Kate said with enthusiasm. Everyone wore a smile except Ava, Susie was happy her fiancé has promised to help her family. This would help her to inherit the company in future.Ava knew whatever profits they'd make would never get to her. That's if they're lucky enough to get through the first stage. “Who is confident enough to get us a mega project with Emerald Group?” Kate asked.James laughed, “Hahaha, mum this is a very funny question” “Are you dumb? This is very important to us and you're laughing about it”. Susie replied with anger evident in her voice.“Enough!” Kate shouted furiously, her face flushed with anger, “none of you is confident about getting a mega deal with Emerald Group. I want it as my 50th birthday gift”.They exchanged nervous glances, waiting for her next announcement.“Listen to me, whoever is able to get a deal with Emerald Group will get 20% of the profit as investment for his/her little business”.Everyone's jaw dropped to the floor, they never expected such an offer. The offer was juicy but no one was confident about getting a deal with Emerald Group.Kate had always told them to source for investments from other places. Accor
James smiled, “ is that all? I feel sorry for you Ethan, are you sure you really want to do this? Alright, I'll take the bet”.“That's not all”, Ethan said as he got a sheet of paper and wrote down everything He gave it to James,” sign here”.James collected the paper, read it out to the hearing of everyone, and he signed. Ethan also signed.“Now, we have binded the bet”. Ethan knew James would want to break their promise after he might have lost with the help of his sister and mother.James smiled coyly as he scratched his head, staring at his mother who was silent throughout their bet.Kate was more concerned about the deal with Emerald Group, her reputation was at stake. If they decide to bet with their lives she doesn't care.Ava was more startled by the entire event, did Ethan plan all this before asking her to take the task? She had even signalled him to stop but he simply ignored her.When everything was settled, Kate turned to Ava and smiled, “Ava, you have just two days to a
He quickly rushed to Ethan, he slapped him on his left cheek, “you had the guts to walk in here, I'll treat you like the criminal that you are”.“You're making a huge mistake” Ethan said coldly, as he dialled Leo's number.“Hello, young master.” Leo said cheerfully, he was hoping to hear everything went well.“I'm at the bank but some dimwits are accusing me of theft, denying me access to the manager, call the manager and tell him to come out in two minutes if he still wants to keep his job” Ethan said with an air of authority as he hung up the call.“Who do you think you're calling, huh? Jasper sneered at Ethan making a call.“We'll see when he comes,” Ethan shrugged as he looked at his wristwatch.“ You're so foolish, you've been caught red-handed and you're still acting innocent” the security guard said as he raised his baton to hit Ethan.“How dare you?” A scolding voice came immediately, the security guard's hand hung in the air.“ You must be the manager, you came out on time.
Ava had sketched a few designs but none looked worthy of a contract. She drew the last one and laid down on the couch with her laptop beside her. She fell asleep, she didn't hear when Ethan walked in. From the dining table to the living room, papers were everywhere. Ethan smiled at the sight without waking her, he picked up the papers and sat close to her. He picked a few good ones. He was amazed at how she could still make beautiful designs. He studied business management and has an idea of fashion designs. This was why Ava's grandfather had ensured they got married. He believed if they worked together Sterling Fashion would go global. Looking at the designs he knew, Glam Fashion, a subsidiary of Emerald Group, would go global with a change in designs and he would make sure she gets to work with them. He looked at the designs thoroughly, he took the laptop beside her. He was about to check out her contract proposal when Ava opened her eyes. “Hi, when did you get back?” She
Gasps arose from people around them, their gazes now focused on Ava and Ethan. Ava was aware of the attention, and knew right away that Susie wanted to humiliate her publicly.“ You're aware we're trying to get a deal with Emerald Group, yet you still came here to get a deal for your company. The same company you stole money from us to set up? You're the reason dad died” Susie lamented, shedding crocodile tears.“How shameless” someone commented. The comment was followed by several exclamation of agreement.“What an unfilial daughter?”“She should be ashamed of herself”Ethan was not left out of the ugly comments.“ He's a bad man”“He's so greedy”“He's very useless”“They don't deserve to be here”.“They should be sent out of here” another person suggested. Everyone nodded in agreement.Ava looked at Ethan, his face had deepened with visible anger. This wasn't the first time a member of her family has tried to humiliate him in public.Susie wiped some more fake tears beneath her eye
The sound of the heels on the tiles,showed the gender of the intruder. It was a lady's voice! As she approached them, the air was set aflame by the frail of her perfume. It was a scent that spoke of wealth and sophistication, it was modern, elegant and alluring, like the lady who wore it with such confidence and grace. “What's the meaning of this?” She asked when she got close to them. The whole hall was silent, the voice was one with authority. Miss Josh comes to work early and leaves late, it was difficult for junior staff to see her. Whatever brought her out must be important. The security guard knelt down immediately trembling as he explained everything. She turned to the lady beside her, "Please, lead Miss Steve to my office”. The young lady nodded and led Ava to the office. With Ava gone, she turned to Susie “ young lady, I have no appointment with you. Drag her outside”. The security guard dragged her out of the premises. She freed herself and ran back to meet Miss Jos
Ava nodded, she couldn't believe things could be this easy for her. She quickly followed the assistant who had come to accompany her to Miss Josh's office. The moment Miss Josh saw Ava, she stood up from her chair and greeted her, “ Hi Miss Steve, you're welcome”. Ava was a bit nervous as she shook hands with Miss Josh, she took a deep breath and replied calmly, “Hi Miss Josh, thank you for inviting me again”. She tried to hide how nervous she was about the whole meeting. Miss Josh motioned her to sit down, “Please, have a seat”. After a brief silence, Miss Josh spoke immediately, “would you like a cup of coffee?” “No, thank you” Ava declined the offer. “Okay, Miss Steve, I've gone through your proposal with the team from our fashion industry. The reviews were positive. Your designs are top-notch and I think you're the perfect partner for us to work with as we plan to hit the global market”. Miss Josh said calmly. The news rendered Ava speechless,she blinked several times, an
“Why was Ethan there with you? You two plotted and brought fake documents here”. Susie shouted, her veins pulsating. James sneered, “you even lied about the contract quotation, have you ever made 100 million dollars in your life before?” Susie shifted in her seat, “ your designs are way below standard, you can't deceive us. Everyone knows I'm the best fashion designer in Nova City”. Turning to her mother, Susie said, “I wish I had taken this mission. I would have saved us from this humiliation”. Ava had heard enough, she walked towards Kate with the file in her hands. “Mum, this is the signed contract,my initial quotation was 50 million dollars, but Miss Josh said it was too low for the designs. Since they intend to go into the global market soon”. James curled his lips in disdain, “Ava, your tactics are too cheap, stop fooling around and face reality”. “This is outrageous!” Susie exclaimed, “Ava, you're trying to save your face and you came here to lie to us, is this the best