Homecoming of the Guardian Father

Chapter seven:- GAMBLE THE CLAYTONS WITH THE ASHCROFT TRUMP-CARD (3)

“I just signed the contract,” Winter shrieked upon reaching Robert where he sat in the waiting room.

Robert smiled. “My daughter is super smart, she signed the contract,” he cooed.

Winter, overjoyed, didn’t feel offended that Robert had called her his daughter. In fact, it brought more joy to her heart and she was so grateful to him. “Well, it’s….”

She got cut off by the sound of a notification popping up in her phone.

It was a message from her great grandfather telling her to come to the Clayton Family household immediately!

Winter’s smile vanished for a second.

“What’s wrong?” Robert asked.

“My great grandfather. He wants me to come home now. It seems like I’m in trouble again,” she frowned.

Even when she wasn’t doing anything wrong, someone in the Clayton family would be busy setting a trap for her to get her in trouble. Who was it this time? She wondered.

Robert wished he could pat her head right now. But he didn’t want to cross the line.

He calmly took out a chocolate bar from his pocket—her favorite—and gave it to her. “Someone said buy one get one free, so I bought it. Try it, I hear it’s nice.”

Winter smiled widely upon seeing the chocolate. It was bonbon, her favorite! She quickly grabbed it but then realized herself. She hid her smile, clearing her throat.

“Listen, you shouldn’t tell anyone that the proposal was done with my help. Or that the slot was initially my slot given to me by my friend. Just in case anyone asks,” Robert said.

Winter raised a brow. “Why?”

Robert replied calmly, “Just don’t. It’s all your effort, that’s all they should know.”

Winter squinted. Why wouldn’t anyone want to take glory for having connections with the city’s most trendy company?

“You should get going before your great grandfather texts again,” Robert quickly reminded. He wasn’t going to join her this time around. He had more strings to pull behind the scenes.

When Winter walked into the house, all discussions ended. Winter fisted nervously when she saw that all the family members of Clayton were gathered. All!

Even her grand uncle, Howard’s birth father, was there. He was a vicious man who would never bow his head.

Howard hastily stepped forward before she could even enter fully. He pointed at her, “Niece, do you really hate this family? Have we been treating you so poorly that you have to go and humiliate us like this?”

Winter was confused. “What are you talking about, Uncle?”

“Really? You’re going to lie to grandfather’s face?” Howard threw three paper pictures at her.

The papers went flying around her then landing on the ground. Winter saw it was a picture of her in Ashcroft Invests. Her palm began to sweat. She was scared no doubt.

But if there was one thing she has learned from Robert Orwell, her father, in these few weeks, it is that in the face of danger or harassment or embarrassment or shame and humiliation he always had a calm face and an unfazed bravado.

Winter tried maintaining a calm demeanor as she looked at Howard and replied, “Uncle, I did go there but I have not humiliated anyone.”

Howard snorted. “Oh, spear me! So are you saying you didn’t go there to propose for the 32 men slots program? Then what is that in your hand?”

He grudgingly dragged the file in Winter’s hand from her and raised it up to the air without opening it. “You see this? Father, grandfather, aunt, uncle, cousins… she indeed went to Ashcroft Invests with a proposal.”

“I did go there with a proposal, but—“

Howard cut her off. “But you ended up getting rejected and at last embarrassed our family’s name.”

Winter just kept quiet at this point and let him finish.

“Grandfather, she went there without your consent. She wrote a proposal without seeking your first and then went there on behalf of our family’s business. What will the Ashcroft family think of us? We were so frustrated with the multiple rejections that we had to send an amateur to them.”

“Grandfather, that is not just an embarrassment to us but also an insult to them. Who gave her the right to go and propose for us? And she had gone there with that disgraceful ex-convict to make matters worse!”

Howard rambled on and the old man got angrier.

Amongst everyone connected relatively to the family, Robert Orwell was the one he disliked the most and hearing his name made his blood boil.

He also didn’t favor Winter because she was the seed of Robert Orwell and so he had decided that he would punish Winter by cutting all funds that links to her! She would not have access to the family or the family business anymore.

“Great grandfather, I did go there with a proposal but it wasn’t rejected. I even signed a contract with Ashcroft Invests. The contract is the one in uncle Howard’s hand," Winter said, pointing to the file Howard held.

Soon, there was utter silence and shock was plastered in the face of all the family members, including Howard.

The old man squinted, asking, “You signed a contract with Ashcroft ?”

Everyone wanted to see the contract. Sophia dragged the contract from Howard’s hand and passed it on to the old man. She stood by his side, peeping into it.

Everyone waited patiently for the old man to say something. Was it true or was it not?

But his silence for almost a minute gave Howard the boost to think that Winter was definitely bluffing. “You don’t have to lie a bunch. You think the 23 proposals we have submitted are unmatched to yours?”

“Quiet!” The old man raised his voice at once.

Howard quickly shut his mouth.

The old man stared at Winter who was standing in front of him. He stared at her for another long minute before finally asking, “I see a signature under the name Ashcroft, and then yours. Did you really sign a contract to get a slot?”

Winter nodded. “I got a slot, great grandfather. But the contract I signed is to get the sum of $15 million from Ashcroft as a start-up investment.”

The family members gasped. $15 million was not that much a deal for business but for the Clayton family, their business needed that money. And if it was a start up amount that means more money will follow after.

For the first time, the old man smiled at Winter. “Weldone, child.”

Winter’s eyes widened. She tried to hold in her joy. For the first time, he acknowledged her. For the first time in 20 years.

“It’s just luck,” Howard snickered. But jokes on him, he didn’t have such luck.

Not long after Winter left there, the old man went to his chamber with Howard’s father following right behind him.

“Father, did you really approve of that signed contract?”

The old man looked at the man before him like he was looking at his own son. “Desmond, even though you are not my real son, I take you as my real son because you are better than all of my biological sons, dead or alive.”

Desmond Aaron, Howard’s biological father bowed his head. “Thank you for taking me in as yours. But about the contract your great granddaughter signed with Ashcroft.”

“That contract is valuable to us, especially that amount of money. But never in my lifetime will I go against my word,” the old man tightened his hold around his cane. “I will not raise a lawyer or a legal professional in my household!”

”But the contract stated that the money was for her to train herself to become a successful lawyer. And it is a signed deal,” Desmond interjected.

The old man frowned. True, the contract was already signed.

Desmond chuckled. “Father, do not tell me you’ve gone soft after so many years. Do you think we need a lawyer in this house? What about all the skeletons in the cupboard? Are you not scared they will come alive to hunt you after a lawyer stands amongst one of us?”

“Father, I suggest you do something about that contract. And we definitely cannot let those outsiders hold that amount in their control. If his daughter wants to follow in her father’s footsteps, we would make her just as miserable as we made him.”

At this, the old man’s expression turned serious but he was yet to say a word.

“Father, what if she gives that money to that man, Robert Orwell. They are father and daughter after all. He would definitely use it to establish himself,” Desmond added, like a sly snake that he was.

The old man scoffed. “That man is too easy to fool. Robert Orwell to establish himself? Pfft! He’s too pathetic and miserable to become something useful to anyone.”

Hearing a word at last, Desmond broke into a smirk. “So what will you do about the contract then, Father?”

“I will keep smiling at that little girl if I have to. When it’s time to get the money from the Ashcroft, send your son Howard instead to get the money from them. The money should not get to that outsider’s hands,” the old man devised.

“And that son of yours, Desmond. He is a blunt knife. He is not as sharp as you,” the old man added. “The next time he brings a fake gift like that fake ghost rose, I will disgrace him publicly myself.”

Desmond nodded. “I will teach Howard properly, father.”

Desmond wasn’t doing this just to suffer the poor girl, Winter. He was aiming at her father—Robert Orwell!

He will not give Robert Orwell any chance to become better for the good. Miserable looked good on him. Desmond swore in his heart that he would put a stop to any rising momentum.

Winter’s contract, he thought, was that rising l momentum.