The Nameless Man With A Thousand Legacies

005 Two Conditions

Juliet rushed to Jack, checking him for bullet wounds, and found none.

Despite the adrenaline of the fight, there wasn't even a bead of sweat on his forehead. Only his fingers and knuckles were covered in dirt and soot.

Before Juliet could ask him why he risked so much for a stranger, her phone vibrated in her coat pocket.

She answered with shaking fingers and forced her voice to stay level.

"Grandpa…"

The old man's voice crackled on the other end.

"Juliet, the news is already buzzing about shots fired near the route you usually take. Are you okay?"

"I am safe, Grandpa. Sorry for being careless. I'll be back soon."

Her phone went again in her hand. This time it was her assistant at Angel Skincare, high-pitched and panicked.

"Ma'am, you need to get here right now. Maybelin is in the lobby with a dozen lawyers, and she's demanding to see the CEO. She's screaming before the reporters and customers that she'll bury our company."

Juliet had chased Maybelin for four months. Gift baskets, private samples, and emails she had rewritten six times, all to get one of Hollywood's biggest names onto an Angel Skincare bottle.

Why would she bring lawyers to my company in a fit? What happened?

"I'm on my way," Juliet said.

She spun towards the Bentley, where the old chauffeur, Henry, was already back behind the wheel. Jack slid into the passenger seat up front without a word.

The elevator doors opened on the Angel Skincare floor and the noise hit them.

Reporters crammed the hallway, their cameras flashing, and microphones were thrust at their faces for answers.

"Miss Forbes! Is it true your beauty cream is toxic?"

"Are you recalling the product?"

"Ma'am, is Angel Skincare finished?"

Inside the main conference hall, Maybelin, Hollywood's reigning queen of flawless skin, stood at the head of a long mahogany table.

Her face was covered in red eruptions that looked like tiny volcanoes. A dozen men in suits flanked her, briefcases open, documents laid out down both sides of the table.

"Your Eternal Youth cream ruined my face!" Maybelin shrieked as soon as she saw Juliet.

"I used it last night and woke up to this! I have a five-million-dollar photoshoot for Vogue tomorrow at dawn. How am I supposed to show up looking like a pizza?"

Juliet tried to calm the raging celebrity. "Miss Maybelin, please. Let's talk privately. There has to be an explanation. Our test results showed no side effects."

The actress slammed her hand on the table.

"Your rotten product has failed me! I'm suing Angel Skincare for one billion dollars in damages. I have added to that breach of contract, emotional distress, loss of earnings, and defamation of my brand."

"My lawyers say we have an open-and-shut case."

Juliet's assistant appeared at her shoulder with a phone held low against her hip.

"Ma'am," she said. "Our market stocks are down eleven percent since she started shouting in front of the cameras."

Juliet turned to see the room erupting in murmurs. Outside the glass doors, the cameras kept flashing.

"Did Maybelin say one billion dollars?"

"Can the Forbes family survive the lawsuit?"

The blood drained from Juliet's face. A payout like that would force Angel Skincare into bankruptcy.

She went to her grandfather and asked for a place in the family business. The old man gave her two conditions.

Make the company number one in the industry. And marry an outstanding man within three months.

And I am about to lose one of them.

"Miss Maybelin, I understand your frustration," Juliet said, almost pleading. "We'll cover all your medical costs and fly in the best dermatologists tonight. We'll compensate you for the photoshoot too."

"Compensate me?" Maybelin snapped. "My face is my career, and one night with your poisonous product ruined it! I want your company in the sewers after I get my billion dollars!"

"Get out of my sight before I add harassment to the list."

The room fell into stunned silence.

Forty cameras swung towards Juliet for a reaction. Her cheeks burned in humiliation.

She walked out of the conference room and did not stop until the noise was behind her.

The hallway she found was empty and lined with posters of perfect faces.

The moment she was alone, Juliet buried her face in her hands, and hot tears spilled from her eyes.

A minute passed.

Footsteps sounded down the hallway. She didn't look up, and dabbed her cheeks fast, thinking it was her assistant.

"I'll be back shortly to announce a formal apology," she said aloud. "Just need a minute."

"Hey, are you okay?"

The voice belonged to Jack Hardy, the contract husband candidate who saved her life an hour ago.

Juliet wiped her eyes roughly, refusing to meet his gaze.

"I'm fine. If you're worried about our marriage agreement, let me tell you that the deal is off. But I'll wire you three months' allowance for rescuing me from assassins."

"Since we never signed the contract, you're free to go."

Jack looked at the tissue balled up in her fist, and at the posters behind her. Her dream was crumbling.

That morning, when Juliet called him pathetic in public, he took her for a spoiled heiress. Then she walked out into fourteen guns for an old chauffeur.

"Perhaps I can help with Maybelin," Jack said.

Juliet looked at him with furrowed brows and laughed.

"Are you kidding me? You're a good fighter, I'll give you that."

"But this is a legal issue that'll cost billions in lawsuits, lawyers, and media sharks. You can't punch a courtroom into submission."

"Please, just leave. I'll be going out shortly to announce my resignation."

Jack shrugged and turned back towards the main hall.

"I'm going to fix it for you," he said over his shoulder.

"Jack!" Juliet called out, hurrying after him. "Are you even listening to me? You'll humiliate yourself and make everything worse. Stop!"

Jack's broad shoulders pushed through the double doors into the conference hall.

The room stopped talking at once.

"Maybelin," he spoke loudly and clearly. "I have an offer for you."

"If I make those facial eruptions disappear completely, will you withdraw the lawsuit? And will you become the official ambassador for Angel Skincare?"