Jasmine's POV. My mouth fell open and snapped shut immediately after he dropped the bomb. His mouth opened to probably tell me that he did not mean it but I raised a finger shutting him up effectively. There was no way I was going to bounce back from this when he obviously meant every word that he said "Why don't you run your company then when you knew that I was not capable of doing that? Do you think I am so engrossed with revenge that I would want to sabotage something that I preside over? This is the most degrading thing that I have been privileged to hear in the last month. This does not make sense no matter how much I think about it. Jake is inconsequential in the grand scheme of things and I would not even tarnish my image just to prove what point?" I inquired from him. This family was driving me crazy but I was not even expecting it from Mr blackwood. "This is a very simple situation where you could have just stated your fear in the first place and not left it to chance ins
Jasmine's POV. I pulled the boardroom door open and looked at everyone present. They had one thing of the other in mind against me. I could see Jake smiling like a Cheshire cat that caught the canary. There was absolutely nothing wrong with me defending myself because these people looked like they were out to annihilate me. I was ready for them. "Good day, ladies and gentlemen. Reports have gotten to me that some people have gone around tarnishing my image and saying all sorts of things about me, but I still want to know what you have decided." I began and they glanced at each other. Oh, they couldn't backtrack now because they had gone to the press without considering how I would feel just to sabotage everything I had worked for. One of the men raised his hands, "Yes, Mr Philip. Can I know the reason the board decided to connive against me by publishing rumors that certainly aren't true?" I inquired from him without him even sparing my intentions. He knocked at his fellow peopl
Blackwood's POV. In hindsight, I may have overreacted and felt very sober for doing that. The excuse could be my frustration, but that wouldn't make any sense. My son was dallying with Donovan for him to be able to pull certain tricks in the media and working against him had to be strategic if not, it would result in a bigger mess I watched Jasmine vibrating on the spot, but thankfully enough, she was patient and charismatic, so this man could not intimidate her. Such admirable qualities I must admit. "Do you think that our concerns are not valid? We have every right to be worried when things just begin to spiral downward. I built my company from scratch and would not allow anybody to sabotage what I had worked so hard for. If everybody is saying that no one leaked the piece of information, then who did? If we can carry out a proper investigation that tells us what exactly happened, then maybe I would not be too annoyed while I think about it." Mr Philip piped up again. Bringing t
Jasmine's POV. Mr. Blackwood and I were not on good terms for most of the week, but from the way we were acting, no one could know this. We practically returned to our usual status as being strangers. Being with somebody who did not believe that there was something good coming from me was a problem. He might have realized his mistake, but even thinking about it in the first place was a problem. After my research, I understood that he was probably reacting because of what he had experienced a while ago, but that still didn't make any sense to me, no matter how he tried to prove it. He should have known that I wasn't that kind of a person but... I guess, we were all scarred yet pretending not to be as we walked through life. It wasn't the best thing I wanted here but I had no choice but to accept it. It didn't mean that I was going to forgive him instantly or return to being chummy with him. I did not even want an apology, so to speak, because it would seem forced. Jake's preparatio
Jasmine's POV. "Talk about what?" I asked while halting my process. "About the revolutionizing of the board. After everything that happened that day, a lot of people had come to me to discuss the next plans, and we concluded that they were a bit overwhelmed because I stopped overseeing the business." He started. I rubbed a finger across my lips because this was one of the most stupid reasons I could hear a board give. I saw it as a way of deflection so that they didn't get penalized which I considered cowardly but didn't want to get involved in that scenario. One of the things that I would have done had I been the one in charge was to completely detach myself from them and get other people to run it."So are they seeking an apology or what?" I had to inquire so that I knew what I was doing and who was going to court. "That's the problem. No one is rendering any apology. It's more of an excuse. Sorry, that is not going to fly, but I still think that we should hold on with suing any
Jasmine's POV. Three weeks later, The driver pulled right in front of the large building. It was probably a consortium; that was how big Jake was willing to take this. He wanted to wow the world, and I think it was doing quite a fine, mighty job with it. "May I see your pass ma'am?" The bouncer inquired from me the minute I got to the top of the porch. I smiled at him and dipped my hand into my pocket to withdraw my invitation card. Because I wanted to make a fashion statement, I refused to come in the same vehicle that brought Mr Blackwood. Coming together was going to dim my light, and I was taking his advice personally. He advised me not to do my light and that was exactly what I was doing. "Here it is." I handed it over to him. "You are welcome, ma'am." He bowed slightly and I took that as a cue from him. "Right, thank you," I replied before walking inside. I found myself in front of a foyer; I had not yet accessed the party. There were another three sets of bouncers right
Jasmine's POV. A small smile appeared on my face immediately I saw her mouth drop open in shock. This was the most fulfilling experience of my life. Gwen was gobsmacked because she never expected that I was the CEO of arcade lives. A company where Jake had been trying to get into for a long time but I had sabotaged his efforts. "W-what? She possibly cannot be the CEO of arcade lives!" She exclaimed, her eyes growing wide. I smiled at her condescendingly. "Now you know that I am the CEO, what are you going to do about it? Allow me in or make me leave?" I inquired from her which made her mouth drop further. "You possibly cannot be the CEO. You are my father's daughter. How did you suddenly have such access to such a company? Or are you just parading yourself like the CEO? You better tell me the truth before I find out the main reason. Trust me when I say I will drag your name through the mud." She replied angrily.If she were a cartoon character, smoke would have begun to come out o
Jasmine's POV. Mr Blackwood drew nearer to me the minute he saw me walking into the hall. "You look beautiful. I was not expecting you to show up today. Do we need to employ some level of protection?" He muttered under his breath, making me laugh softly. He grabbed my arm gently like he was afraid that it was going to fall out. An exaggeration, probably but I wanted to make things easier for myself too."Oh, is there something wrong?" I asked him quietly. Jake's eyes were on me and I basked in his disbelief, his eyes were fixated on me and I could see the regret all over him. One of the major reasons that will not make me really complain is the fact that I got my desired act from him. He was not expecting me to be the CEO and the shock on his face was enough. "I heard what happened outside. My son is going to be pissed. He's coming your way." He informed me. I refused to turn so that I did not give him the impression that I was also waiting for his admiration or approach. We were
Jasmine's POV.Life had been good, especially after my step-sister, who had gone to change her face through plastic surgery and pretended to be another person so that she could just get closer to Mr blackwood and get rid of him, was thrown behind bars. Cross and Donovan, who were also working together, had infinite jail sentences. My stepmom was also caught while she was trying to cross the country and flung behind bars too. It made me happy that everything was finally falling into place. I wouldn't have been able to achieve all of this if Mr blackwood and I hadn't devised a means of catching this person in their traps. He walked in with my son on his shoulders. "You must be so happy to see your mother." He said and my son mewled despite not understanding a word his father said. "Hey baby, what are you doing up here alone? Your baby has pooped."I raised a brow, "so he is suddenly my baby and not yours?" I inquired, waiting for his response so that I knew how to answer him appropr
Jasmine's POV. "Exactly what you predicted is already coming to pass." Mr blackwood spoke into my ear causing me to be startled. Wasn't expecting him to show up anytime soon. "What is that?" I inquired from him after he kissed me. "How was work today?"He grinned like a Cheshire cat. "What?" I inquired again when he kept on grinning. "You are amazing. How would I have coped without you in my life?" He said sweetly. Now, whenever he started to praise me, I knew that there was a caveat attached. "Are you serious?" "Of course I am. You are the best thing that has happened to me in a long while. I don't think anyone has come close though." He replied and I smiled at him softly. He had a mission and I also wanted to find out. "I'm happy to announce to you that our suspicions were right." He said and I smiled at him. "I know what you are about to ask. You are about to ask what we are waiting for." "That's right! I thought we were supposed to prosecute immediately if we had substanti
Jasmine's POV. "We should go over to that aisle." Mr blackwood suggested which I decided to take. The usual brand of chocolate I loved to eat wasn't here. I didn't want to start searching for it in various stores. "Jasmine? Is that you, Jasmine?" A voice called and I turned. Squinting to see the face of the person who called my name. I recognized Cross. "Cross?" I asked the first time and he smiled. I could never forget that smile. "In flesh and blood." He said while stretching his arm and turning 360. "I thought you would never remember my face again. It's been what? Almost a decade. Wow, you look so beautiful. I can't almost imagine that you are standing before me. It's not supposed to be a bad thing but you understand what I mean. I am very... I guess what I'm saying is that you are beautiful. It's nice to run into you after a long while too." He said with a polite smile.I glanced at his ears. They were always long; I guess some things never changed, no matter if we filled th
Jasmine POV. Three months later, "Will you be done anytime soon I need to get out of this house before it's too late," I called from the doorway when Mr Blackwood was still washing up. He woke up late today. I had a meeting with GText Holdings and I needed to honor that invitation. I had chased this deal for a long time now, allowing it to slip off my fingers due to carelessness was the last thing I wanted in my life."You can go ahead I might not be joining you in the car today. I also want to speak to a few investors who have signified interests. When we are done we can converge at the store later today.” He also called from inside the bathroom. With everything that was being done, I was no longer feeling like something was missing. I knew that whatever I was looking for Mr blackwood was going to provide. It didn't necessarily mean money because both of us were well off. My heart kept flickering to Gwen and my stepmom. It seemed like they disappeared from the face of the Earth
Jasmine's POV. "With all the pieces of evidence before me, this is my judgment..." The judge said, and I held my breath. This was coming to be the determining factor of whether or not my father was going to get Justice. "I would have to permit Mrs Bailey on the grounds of bail. Although the evidence points to her as having some grudges against her husband, we cannot just convict somebody simply because of what another said." He replied, making me angry. There was no way he had not been bribed because the way he was something the case. "if you are not satisfied with my judgment you can seek redress." He said while looking directly into my eyes. I was going to seek one, "you permit a murderer to walk about simply because you have been paid?" I confronted him. He wasn't also above the law, so whenever things were not going the way they should, I had every right to confront him about it. "Do not think that I don't see everything that is going on here. You are only trying to wave atte
Jasmine's POV. Two weeks later, We were before the judge in the city Court and everyone kept on looking from her to me. "We begin this trial between Miss Jasmine and Miss Bailey because she, Miss Jasmine, feels that her stepmother might have a hand in her father's death." The court clerk said. I waited patiently for my turn. They all knew that I wasn't hasty when it came to situations like this as long as I knew what I was doing. My legal representative, barrister Lawson, stood beside me with a smile on his face, and that fueled my confidence in this case. "Barrister Lawson will be representing Miss Jasmine, while Barrister Damien will be representing Mrs. Bailey." The court clerk announced again. I wasn't worried about their announcements because I knew what I wanted to achieve. They could deceive everyone but not me. As long as I got my answers right, they would regret ever crossing me in their entire lives. That was exactly how I was going to play this game. "Do you swear th
Jasmine's POV. Drum rolls, now this was getting pretty interesting. "This is the joke of the century." Jake took the words out of my mouth but I knew that there was every tendency for this information to be true. Mr Blackwood stood with his hands akimbo, brooking no arguments. He wasn't going to repeat himself. "Exactly what you heard me say. I have tolerated your excesses and that's one of the reasons you have refused to learn your lessons. You would keep on going back and forth simply because you cannot take a rejection. Nothing is going to make me take you back into my company. I will send for DNA testing, and we will confirm the paternity if that's what you want." He said. Whoa, this was greater than I could ever imagine. Who would have thought that there was something fishy in this house and even Jake never knew this? Jake laughed warily. "you must be kidding. How can you tell me after all these years that you are not my father? Is this a way of you getting out of your respo
Jasmine's POV."You must be kidding me. Tell Jake to get off my property if he doesn't want me to descend on him. I built it with my sweat and blood, he doesn't have a part in it. The earlier he understands this the better for him." Mr Blackwood fired at the person on the other end of the phone. I was interested in knowing what was going on again. Was Jake still planning his shenanigans? I thought he had stopped all of this nonsense. Why, then, was he still making everyone edgy?""Is everything okay?" Mr. Blackwood looked up like he just remembered I was present. "Seriously, can you be on your own for a while, while I take care of something? I need to teach that bastard a lesson that he would never forget things his entire life. I do not want to stress you because I understand what is going on. I will drive you home if you want then go to the meeting." He explained yet I still didn't understand where he was coming from. I needed him to tell me more about Jake. "I'm coming with you
Jasmine's POV. Even the blind could tell that this was nothing but a lie, but I didn't want to talk about it. I was also careful with my words, but I didn't manage to land myself in trouble that I wouldn't be able to explain. If she said it was because she was looking for a way for my father's health, then I just needed to act like I believed which we both knew was a huge lie. I wasn't going to allow anyone to get to me when I could just stay away and pretend like I never heard from her.Mr Blackwood glanced in my direction to be sure that I wasn't going to go off. I smiled at him instead. These people were going to pay heavily for trying me. They wanted it to look like I was the problematic person when, in fact, they refused to do the right thing. It wasn't every time that one would engage such people. "My bad. I didn't know that you were so invested in my father's business; trust me, I would not have spoken to you in that manner." I pretended. My stepmother knew that I was only