Jack Hardy The Legacy Returns

006 Dragonblood

Maybelin stared at Jack as he had just crawled out of the attic. She crossed her arms angrily for being rudely interrupted. "Who the hell are you? This is a billion-dollar lawsuit, not a circus!"

Jack didn't flinch and replied simply. "I'm Juliet's… consultant," the word rolling off his tongue with reluctance. He hadn't signed the marriage contract yet, so he couldn't speak about it before the cameras without hurting Juliet's dignity.

Maybelin barked a harsh laugh. "Consultant? Oh, please. I don't have time for this nonsense. My face is melting like a porridge, and my million-dollar photoshoot is tomorrow. What made you think you could just waltz in here playing doctor?"

Jack shrugged, a lazy grin tugging at his lips. "If I fail, you can do whatever you want. Angel Skincare won't hire defense lawyers and will settle your compensation straightaway. But if I fix your problem, you'll drop all charges and become the brand face of Angel Skincare. Does that sound like a fair deal?"

The room went dead quiet. Maybelin's lawyers exchanged uneasy glances. One of them leaned in and whispered something urgent in her ear. She waved him off, her eyes narrowing at Jack.

"Fine. I'll give you fifteen minutes. If at any point I realize this is a prank or a dilly-dallying tactic, my attorneys will double the lawsuit to two billion and make sure your pretty boy consultant gets jail time."

She snapped her fingers at her assistants. "Let's go to the makeup room. Now."

As the group began to migrate, Juliet lunged forward and grabbed Jack's wrist. Her beautiful hazel-green eyes were wide with panic.

"What madness is this, Jack? Doctors have already declared her skin condition irreversible! What could you possibly do in fifteen minutes that industry experts can't? Are you intentionally trying to sabotage me?"

Jack turned to her and pried her delicate fingers loose gently. He then lifted her hand and pressed a chivalrous kiss to her knuckles. "Don't worry, darling. You trusted your hubby once; you can do it again."

Juliet was frozen in place by his sudden romantic gesture. She withdrew her hand quickly, and before she could protest again, Jack followed Maybelin and her team down the corridor.

Inside the private makeup room, as the assistants adjusted the treatment chair and dimmed the lights, Jack slipped into the attached private washroom and locked the door behind him.

He dropped to one knee, unzipped his knapsack, and pulled out a plain polythene packet. Inside was a piece of dark-red tree bark. It was harvested from a seven-hundred-year-old Dragonblood Tree on a remote Mediterranean island, which held cures for afflictions modern medicine didn't even understand.

Jack broke off a small splinter and formed a thick, ruby-red paste with glycerine. When he stepped out, bowl in hand, Maybelin wrinkled her ruined nose.

"What is that? It smells like tree sap. If this makes my condition any worse, I swear—"

"You'll sue me. We already have a deal."

Maybelin grumbled the whole time the paste went on, after which Jack instructed the assistants to steam her face. Then he walked outside.

Juliet paced the corridor like a caged tiger, her heels clicking rapidly against the marble. As soon as she saw Jack, she exploded at him.

"I can't believe I let you do this to me!" she hissed. "Your antics have ruined my career! The lawyers have already upped the demand to two billion if this little experiment fails! My grandfather will disown me before sunrise!"

Tears threatened her eyes again, but she blinked them back. At that moment, a scream rang out in the conference hall. Maybelin bolted in, her robe flapping behind her. "Oh, my God!"

Reporters crowded around her, their cameras recording every second. Maybelin dodged her lawyers and threw her arms around Jack in a massive hug.

"It's gone! All of it! My skin feels like baby silk, better than before! How did you do that?"

The entire room was shell-shocked. Maybelin's lawyers dropped their pens and files, while her assistants and fans cheered. Outside, camera flashes went off like fireworks.

Maybelin pulled back from Jack, still holding onto his shoulders, her face shining with genuine happiness. "I will honor our deal and am not suing Angel Skincare."

She turned towards Juliet. "Tell your attorneys to draw up the brand ambassador contract right now. This miracle stuff your consultant gave me, whatever it is, I will invest my fortune into mass-producing it."

Maybelin turned towards the cameras. "Angel Skincare just saved my career and made me look twenty-five again! I highly recommend the brand!"

Juliet stood frozen in the doorway, her mouth slightly open, her expensive coat hanging off one shoulder. She stared at Jack like he had grown wings. The man had just single-handedly erased a billion-dollar crisis.