Anna smiled at Clayton and Natasha as she asked, “Let’s see who can provide a solution to our need.”“Okay,” Nat muttered, still confused as to what she meant.“We have an investor's bid coming up in two weeks; I need a list of some of the organizations that would be at that bid.” Anna instructed.“Okay, I’ll get right to it,” Nat responded.“No, why would you do that? I’ve got more important things I need you to handle. Instead, have everyone interested in working for me gather here in the next ten minutes,” Anna stated.“Okay,” Nat said as she typed the mail.“Also, let’s not restrict it to just Nancy’s department; anyone who is competent enough within the firm is free to come try,” Anna said, smiling, a mischievous glint in her eyes.Clayton shook his head and muttered under his breath, “Oh god save us.”In ten minutes, they had a total of ten people in the room already, including Evelynn and Felix, who had brought them up earlier.“I see you are all interested in joining my team.
James and Jasmine burst out laughing at the look of horror on Billy’s face.“For the love of Christ, what in God’s name is on your faces?” Billy shouted, placing a hand on her chest.They heard running footsteps as Rosa and Loveth appeared, coming up the stairs.“What happened? We heard someone scream,” Loveth asked.Jayden came out of the room he had been hiding in, laughing, just as Loveth and Rosa saw James's and Jasmine's faces.“Oh god, what is that?” Rosa asked.Loveth laughed, amused by the look on their faces as they stood grinning up at them.“I’m glad it was not something serious, okay, everyone, let’s go, while these two clean that powder off their faces.” Loveth said, heading back down the stairs.Billy shook her head as she followed Rosa, casting a warning look at them.As soon as they were out of sight, the triplet dashed into their rooms, shut the door, and quickly brought out the tab.“Is that Daddy?” Jayden asked.“Yes, I think so,” Jasmine responded.They all stared
Michael looked up from a set of files he was going through as his secretary walked in.“I didn’t call you Maggie. Is there something you are here to report?” Michael asked.“Hmm, I’m afraid I have some heads of department outside who are here to see you.” Maggie responded.Michael looked puzzled as he glanced at the time, unsure if he had missed an important meeting.“I don’t think I have any meeting called for the day,” Michael stated.“No, you don’t, but I think this has something to do with Ms. Anna,” Maggie explained.“You mean Anna Howard?” Michael asked.“Yes,” Maggie replied, adding, “I could not let them in because I know how you don’t like to be disturbed at this time.”“Hmm, okay, let them in,” Michael replied, closing the file he was working on.As soon as Maggie opened the door, three people walked in, visibly looking angry.“Before you all start to vent, please have a seat; let’s have this in a civilized manner,” Michael said.“I think there needs to be some rules if Ms.
At the Howard house, John sat in his room, looking out the window, his mind occupied, and his eyes not really seeing the several cars that were passing down the streets.“John?” Cordelia called from the door.There was no response as he remained seated, not moving an inch. Cordelia walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulders.He jerked as if pulled back to life as he turned to look at her.“What were you thinking about?” Cordelia asked.“Bits and pieces of a lot of things,” John sighed.“Is this about Anna?” she asked.“Yes, it is, and some other things,” John responded, standing up from the bed to pace.“There is nothing for you to worry about; she consented to the marriage then and even benefitted from it. I doubt she is going to raise concerns for us now,” Cordelia stated.John stopped pacing and replied, “You know it’s not just about that.”“I know, if we act like we are bothered, it’s going to give her more power,” Cordelia responded.“I know Anna; she is not going to l
Simon looked at Spenser, his eyes narrowed in suspicion, trying to gauge if he could trust his words.“What do you mean by that?” Simon asked.“It means you need to be more concerned than you currently are,” Spenser replied with a shrug.Simon watched him cut into the steak on his plate, a smug look on his face as he took a bite.“If I am going to make any sense of what you are saying, you’re going to have to say more than that,” Simon replied, taking a sip of wine.Spenser sighed, then replied, “We all know you and the Gary group have been at this fierce war of wanting to be first place in the industry.”“Yes, that’s a wide opinion, but I guess that’s not what you are trying to tell me,” Simon responded.“The Gary group has one of the most amazing and sought-after Vectra in the industry working with them now; that’s a huge competitive gap right there, and you sit there telling me you are not bothered?” Spenser asked on a scoff.“Tell me what the Gary group is doing, Spenser, and save
Michael stared as several employees trooped into the office, each of them holding a file. There was a sense of eagerness on their faces as they held the report with their findings.“Hello Anna, we didn’t think you would still be in the office,” Evelynn said as she placed her report on the table.“Well, I am,” Anna responded with a smile.Michael was surprised that so many people had turned up to move over to her team. Her reputation sure must have contributed to it.“Thank you all for participating; you’ll get a mail from my team if selected,” Anna told them as they left.“You really do have a lot of things to do,” Michael muttered.Despite their reluctance to submit, Anna was glad a number of them had turned up with the report.“Hmm, hmm, if you’ll excuse me now, I need to finish up,” Anna replied, finally returning his smile.“Okay, I’ll be out of your hair now; see you tomorrow,” Michael replied.“Sure, bye,” Anna said, closing the door behind him.She walked over to her table agai
Gideon’s brow went up in suspicion as Simon’s voice dropped a notch. He was unable to make out his words.“Is everything okay?” Sophia asked from behind again.“Looks like trouble to me; what’s going on?” Gideon asked, his eyes narrowed at Simon.Simon kept listening without saying a word, and after several minutes, he ended the call.“Sophia I’m afraid I need to attend to something; can you go on without me?” Simon asked.“Sure, it’s not a problem. I wouldn’t want to keep you from work, especially since it seems urgent,” Sophia replied, patting his arm.“Okay, I’ll see you around; let me get someone to drive you,” Simon insisted.“Last I checked, I was not invincible, and it looks like you are trying to keep something away from me,” Gideon stated, folding his arm on his chest.Simon turned to him and responded, “It’s best you get on your way, because there is nothing to keep from you, Gideon.”Simon turned and walked back into the building without as much as a glance back.“Shhh, I te
“What message?” Simon asked, his voice rigid.“Hmm, I don’t think there is any way to explain this; I’d rather you have a look at it yourself,” Hillary replied, her voice filled with creepiness.A ping sound from the phone signaled that she had sent them a message. William opened it, and it was a picture.“What does that mean?” William muttered under his breath as he passed the phone over to Simon.Simon took the phone, looked down at the picture, and in the first few seconds, he could not make any sense of what it meant.“Is that a skull I’m looking at?” Simon asked, his brows squeezed in confusion.“Apparently so,” Hillary responded on the call.The images were emojis: a skull, a smiley face, and then a laughing one. It all looked as creepy as Hillary had made it out to be earlier.“Is there supposed to be a meaning behind this?” Simon asked.“Well, there is, and we would have to decipher what that could be. The skull emoji is usually a sign of threat, but the following emojis do no
******Twelve hours earlier****It was midday when Clayton pulled up to the entrance of the Hilton hotel, where the bid was to be held.“You’d think we were hosting the president here today,” Nat whispered as they got past the gate.“There are a lot of guests who have been invited here today; it’s only right that security be this tight,” Clayton clarified.“Hmm, hmm,” Anna grumbled, looking through her notes on her tab.The team had worked tirelessly over the weekend, and it was no small feat considering the new joiners.“I’m sure a lot of them are going to request to leave the team,” Nat muttered.Anna chuckled and put off her tab as Clayton pulled into the parking lot.“I need you two to focus on the bid, no talk about our mutual friends.” Anna stated as they got out of the car.The Hilton hotel was buzzing with activity as people walked about, tags strung around their necks with big smiles on their faces. They were directed to an elevator that took them up to the hall. It had a cent
Simon stared at the words, blinking as he looked up to check the name of the sender.“What’s wrong?” Steve asked.“Hmm, I just got a weird text from Hillary.” Simon mumbled.“What text?” Steve asked.Simon passed the phone over to him, showing him the content of the message. As he did, he got a call from her.“Looks like she is calling to explain.” Steve muttered.Simon picked up the call, and the first thing he said was, “What is the meaning of this message?”“That’s the message from the attack today.” Hillary replied.Simon placed the phone on the table and put it on speaker so Steve could hear her speak too.“It happened today again?” Simon asked.“Yes, it did, but this time just a message was dropped. The time spent in our system was relatively the lowest since this started.” Hillary explained.“So, it turns out whoever is behind this is after you.” Steve muttered.“How do you know it is me? There is no specific name typed there.” Simon pointed it out.“Yes, but you’re the owner a
When Anna and Nat walked into the lobby of the Gary Group head office that morning, all eyes were on them.There were murmurs as the staff walked past them. All had a look of curiosity on their faces as they looked at Anna.“I wonder how it’s going to turn out.”“No, she will win it.”“I keep my fingers crossed on this one.”“Don’t listen to them.” Nat muttered loud enough for just Anna’s ears.Anna smiled, her stride filled with confidence as she said, “I care less what anyone says, Nat.”Nat knew Anna didn’t like the headline, but she also knew Anna was not one to show her weakness in public.“Did you see the other one?”“The one about Simon Parker?”“I should go get my kids registered too,”“It seems something more interesting came out already.” Anna mumbled.“Looks like it did,” Nat stated, pulling out her phone.Just as they neared the elevator, Nat muttered, “It’s about Simon Parker.”“Yes, I heard his name,” Anna replied.As they stood in front of the elevator waiting, Anna cro
“Simon,” William called out, stepping into Simon’s office.Simon looked up, raised a finger to his lips signaling him to stay quiet. William stood there for the next two minutes waiting for Simon.“I don’t care,” Simon said, his voice ice cold as he ended the call abruptly.William was about to ask what the call was for, but then the look on his face had him thinking otherwise.“Yes?” Simon said as he dropped his phone.“The team are running the campaign now and it seems to be going viral since your picture is on it.” William responded.Simon nodded and replied, “Thanks,”“Okay, and Hillary responded about tomorrow. She said, things are steady now and the whole team should be able to make it,” William replied.“The whole team?” Simon asked, puzzled.“Yes, key members, that is, does not mean the place would be left empty, don’t worry,” William explained.Simon nodded, looked over at his calendar, and said, “We need to discuss my big plans for distraction, but first could you get the re
As they walked down the stairs the next morning, Nat tapped Anna’s shoulder and muttered, “You don’t want the kids to see that scowl on your face.”Anna sighed and replied, “I know, right, but I just can’t seem to take my mind off that headline.”“I know, but let’s deal with that when we get to the office.” Nat responded.“Who could have done that? There are a lot of organizations coming for that bid, and I can’t think of who would stoop so low among them.” Anna mumbled.“That is why you need to show them who is boss, Anna. They have no idea what you are capable of, which is what you are going to show them on Monday.” Nat replied.Anna thought about her perfect revenge, and then it dawned on her as she said, “I think I know who it might be.”Nat had walked towards the table and didn’t hear that part. Anna walked towards the table and decided to hide her thoughts from the children.“Mom, it was so beautiful; we are starting on Monday,” Jasmine purred.Her eyes were filled with admirati
The next day, as Simon and William walked into the head office, they met Gideon in the lobby. A broad smile was on his face, making the hair on Simon’s back stand in suspicion.“I was about to go see you,” Gideon said, smiling at Simon.Simon looked around trying to be sure the smile was directed at someone else and not him.“Are you looking for someone?” Gideon asked.“No, hmmm,” Simon cleared his throat and added, “You were going to see me about what?”“I will leave for the meeting with Zhang Telecoms; I just wanted you to send an approval for that on time.” Gideon explained.Simon was taken aback for a split second before he said, “I said we were going to discuss the specifics later, since we could not come to an agreement yesterday.”“Oh, but we did; it was your father who was against it. Since you’re the boss, I guess your word is final,” Gideon shrugged.Simon’s left brow went up in surprise at Gideon’s words. There was something about him, but he couldn’t say exactly what it wa
“What did you find?” Paul asked, flipping over the document with him to the page.“How did we never know about that?” Gideon stated, his eyes hardening.Paul sat there, shocked at what he was reading in the document. He didn’t have a word to say in response.The words had been highlighted by Elliot - If Simon Parker has no heir by the end of the first year after my death, then all rights to the organization go over to Gideon Parker - The words did sound like their grandfather.“Is this true? Does this mean Simon is on borrowed time?” Paul asked, looking up at his lawyer.“Yes, it does, and you can make your move anytime you want,” Elliot replied.Paul dropped the document, his eyes narrowed as he pondered. Gideon stood up abruptly, clenched his right hand into a fist, and slammed it into his left palm.“Damn, so all along, it has been mine to take. I’m sure he is f*cking aware and just playing dumb since we don’t know,” Gideon stated, his voice ice cold.“We need to think strategicall
Noah looked at him and said, "Come with me; let's discuss this in my office.""We can do that in my office," Simon responded, since his office was on the same floor."Okay," Noah agreed."Emily, make sure nobody comes in for now," Simon instructed."Alright, sir," Emily responded as they closed the door behind them."So, what exactly did Gideon do that I do not know about?" Simon asked."Five years ago when you were…" As Noah spoke, he glanced over at Simon, noticing the resistance on his face."Sorry," Noah muttered."It's fine. Was that why I knew nothing about it?" Simon asked."Yes, your grandfather suspected that Gideon had deceived some organizations, but because of public opinion, we couldn't delve deep into it." Noah explained.Simon remained silent, pondering what his father said as he started to pace."So nobody checked? And he is just allowed to continue working here?" Simon asked after a few seconds of silence."What I know is that it was closed at that point." Noah respon
Anna looked up, surprised to see the response had come from an unfamiliar face.“Hmm, ahhh,” Michael muttered, looking from Alicia to Anna.“Don’t worry, that was just a joke,” Alicia whispered under her breath to Michael, who had a stunned look on his face.Anna looked apologetic as she hurriedly said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t…”“I perfectly understand; you surely didn’t know you had guests coming in. Hello, you must be Anna Howard, the Vectra of this industry,” Alicia said, walking into the room.Behind her, Brian and … walked in also, looking around the office with open curiosity.Anna stood up, walked around her table, and took the hand Alicia extended.“Yes, nice to meet you, and you are?” Anna asked, looking from her to Michael, who still hasn’t said a word.Alicia smiled and added, “I’m Alicia White, CEO, White Media.”“Oh, hmm, nice to meet you,” Anna mumbled, trying to sound intrigued.“And you are?” Alicia asked, looking over at Nat.“Natasha Roberts, I work with Anna,” Nat repl