Chapter 3.MAYBE IT'S PAYBACK TIME.

Maybe it's payback time.

At F&K financials.

"What do you mean she wants to take over the company or pull down all of her shares?" Leon walked into his company, shock evident on his face as he dropped off his bag and walked over to his PA.

"Sir, that was what the email entails, and our time has been exhausted already!" She hesitated. "We need to do something now."

"This is clearly a breach of agreement! How could she want to take over a company that is not even hers? Who the hell is such a lunatic?"

Leon felt a deep stab of annoyance in his stomach; he couldn't believe someone was trying to take away his company. The knock at the door snapped him out of his thoughts, and one of his staff quickly went to open the door.

"Good morning... Who is the CEO of this company?" A tall, dark man asked.

Leon turned around to lock eyes with them. Why were they looking for the CEO? He had never seen them in his entire life, but they looked like armed forces or military men, even if they weren't carrying guns.

"I am the CEO. How can I help you, sir?" Leon tried to compose himself and be as polite as possible.

The man smiled. "Thank you, sir." He handed him a stack of files. "This is for you, sir!"

Leon blinked rapidly, trying to focus and understand what was happening.

"What is this?" He was confused. "Sirs, what do these files entail? How do you just walk in here and give me a stack of files?"

"Sir, you have 48 hours to vacate the company or stay back as the new owner's PA!"

Leon's eyes widened in shock, and he let out a small, bitter laugh. "Y'all must be joking, right?!"

"You really must be drunk to think this would happen to someone else!" His fists were clenched, and his brows were furrowed as he said, "I'm sorry, but I can't give up my company! I built it up from scratch, and I put in my blood and sweat into it."

The men had a brief glance-off before one of them revealed, "I'm sorry, sir, but the new owner of the company is Miss Ivy Hall. And she just changed the name of her company to I&V Financials. You have 48 hours to vacate this place as CEO!”

Hearing Ivy's name, his face deepened into a frown. "That bitch!" He snarled.

She was really audacious to come for his company. Well, she had secretly put all of her money inside to be a high shareholder, just so the company didn't go bankrupt, but now he doesn't deserve it.

Leon was boiling in rage on hearing it was his ex-girlfriend trying to take his company, since she was the highest shareholder in the company. He felt his actions haunting him immediately. It was really fast karma coming back to bite him, but would he allow it to happen?

With a newfound resolve, Leon smiled and said, "Ivy is playing with fire. Has she forgotten the family I'm coming from? This is really the end for her!" He walked into his office, took his keys, and once he reached the garage, he revved his Audi Q8 to life and hit the road immediately.

.

.

Ivy was standing at the open-roof balcony of Lewis Hotel. She had lodged there after she left Leon's house. She didn't have any other place to go. She had been calling her friend Jenny, who lives in the southside of America, but she hasn't been picking up.

Left with no choice, she had to check into a hotel. She didn't have much money on her since she had also quit her job, but what she had was able to take her through the next few weeks. She stood there, trying to bind together her broken heart, the words about not being good enough kept echoing in her mind.

Soon, she made her way out and wore a hoodie and some jeans as she headed out. She had been in the hotel since yesterday, crying her eyes out. She needs to move on. About thirty minutes later, the cab stopped her in front of a coffee shop, and she made her way inside. She went to have a seat in the back of the stall.

"Good morning, ma'am. What would you like to have?" the waiter walked up to her and asked with a soft smile.

Ivy didn't bother to look through the menu. "I'd like to have some green tea," She said.

For the next few minutes, while she waited for her tea, she stared out through the window, her mind inevitably taking her back to the memories they shared. When they first met, he loved her passionately and would always look out for her, until some months after she moved in with him. He had been very abusive, verbally, physically, and in every way possible.

A few minutes later, her green tea was served, and she quickly savoured it. She wanted to go back to the hotel room to rest,she was tired of life; no man,no job,no money,no family!

She didn't actually know where she was going, but she still had enough money to cover a hotel stay for the next three months, and she was willing to move out just to not be around Leon anymore. She didn't even want to see him.

However, when she was done she dipped her hand into her jeans shorts. "How much is your money?" She asked.

"$75, ma'am!" The lady replied politely, and Ivy gave up her debit card. "Take it from there, I'm short of cash."

The woman quickly swiped her card and handed it over for Ivy to input her PIN.

After a few seconds, the lights beeped red.

Ivy was taken aback. Red clearly meant it was unsuccessful.

The lady slowly pulled out her hand, as if she was scared to hand it back over. "Ma'am, it says insufficient funds!"

Ivy's brows furrowed in confusion. That can't be. She had more than $6,500 in that account for her fashion school. This was the only card Leon didn't know about, and she had hidden it well so she could use it to pay for her tuition.

"Please try it once more," she urged the lady wearily.

Taking her advice, the lady tried it once more, and it was still the same response.

Ivy blinked rapidly, trying to clear her vision and understand what was happening. What has happened to her money?

She quickly slid out her phone. She wanted to check her account balance; it must have been a glitch from the bank. As she slid her phone open, the first email on her screen sent shockwaves down her body as she stood in momentary silence, unable to say a word.

"Miss Ivy Hall, you have exhausted your days of paying back the loan of $1 million dollars from Sky Investments. You have less than 48 hours to pay back." She remained composed and took another look to read. As she looked at the breakdown of the loans, they were all dated from when they were still together.

Is it possible he did this behind her back?

That he has been hiding the loans for months or...years?

She wanted to call him, but she knew he would deny it once she asks about it, which leaves her only one option.

She has to go pay Sky a visit and ask for more time, even if she knows a million dollars is a big deal. And the fact the Owner or the investments Damian,is well known to be ruthless! But who knows, maybe a miracle will pull through.