Chapter 8

Layla drove to the front of a wooden local restaurant at the city end. She parked the car at the roadside and covered her head with a black scarf. She wore a face cap and used the scarf to cover half of her face before she got down.

She walked into the restaurant and scanned the whole room without taking a step, but she didn’t see President Mason.

"He told me he's here," she whispered. Her face frowned in disappointment.

She took out her phone to call his number, but before she could open the contact app, a young, golden-haired waitress who was of the same age as her approached her, smiling.

The waitress bowed her head, standing in front of Layla. "The president, right?"

Layla nodded. "Yes."

The waitress pointed her thumb at the back. "He is waiting for you inside. Come this way, ma."

"Okay." Layla curtsied her head. The waitress led, and she followed her.

They walked to the restaurant's backyard, and the waitress opened the door for Layla to go inside.

Layla took off her heels and entered the room. She met President Mason sitting on the floor, eating corn on the cob with his bare hand. She bowed her head and sat down on the foam on the other side of the table.

The waitress came inside and bent her head, standing beside Layla. "What should I-" 

"I am fine." Layla cut her off.

The waitress bowed her head and walked out.

"Good afternoon, sir." Layla greeted him.

President Mason stopped eating. He washed his hands with a bow and cleaned his mouth with a handkerchief. He rinsed his mouth with water and drank it.

"Good afternoon, angel," he responded. "How are you doing?"

She breathed tiredly. "It’s supposed to be great, but visiting Asher's company spoiled it. Now I understand Aria."

"Aria?!" President Mason let out a shock-questioning tone. "Did you chat with her privately? What did she tell you?"

She looked at him, surprised, and nodded in slow motion. "No."

He wiped out the worry on his face with a smile. "What did Asher say? Did he allow you in?"

"He chased me out, but Avery later helped me in and he gave me a chance. Though, I'm now regretting what he did." She answered.

"Why? What happened?" He asked.

She slammed the file in her hand on the table and pushed it a little forward to his front.

President Mason opened the first page and looked up at Layla, confused. "What’s this?"

"The new project Asher won." She answered with simplicity.

"Why do you have it?" He queried.

"He wants me to prove my ability by executing it."

"That’s nothing; we can do it." He smiled.

"He wants me to execute it with my capital, so I can’t succeed." She explained, hopelessly.

"Why?" He asked.

"I know nothing about this, and the capital for it is huge. So, how can I?" She asked.

He scanned the file to the last page and chuckled. "Is that all?"

He closed the file and looked up at her face, smiling. "Don’t worry, give me an hour, and I will call you back."

"What will you do, sir?" She asked.

"This project is pulling teeth, and I have a feeling there’s no better way to do it without his help. He knows the logic." He let out.

"So? Will you seek help from him?" She raised her eyebrows, amazed. "You can't do that, sir?"

He chortled. "Why would I do that? I will just indirectly get the plan from the horse’s mouth."

He closed the file, announcing, "you told me to find a better place, so we will meet at this place from now on."

She looked around with her mouth spoiled, belittling. "Is this place safe?"

He grinned and voiced out "This has been my hideout for the past thirty years, so it’s safer than any other place you may suggest."

"Okay, I will leave now." She said and stood up.

"Okay, I will get back to you soon." He let out.

She bowed her head and walked out.

Immediately after she closed the door, President Mason picked up his phone from the table and called Asher’s number.

"Good day. Are you in the office?"

"Yes." Asher answered.

"I am coming now," President Mason announced.

"Okay."

PERFICIENT INVESTMENT

President Mason entered Perficient Investment, and all the staff members quickly greeted him with excitement. They loved seeing him around, especially when they committed an offense and the CEO was angry at them. President Mason was the only person who Asher respected, and he always pardoned them whenever President Mason apologized on their behalf.

He entered the top floor, and all the staff members stood up on their feet and greeted him in unison, bowing their heads slightly.

"Good morning, sir."

"Good morning." He responded, wearing an encouraging smile.

The staff members sat down, and President Mason walked forward. He walked past Aria’s desk but took three steps backward and stopped in front of her desk.

Aria fixed her eyes on her keyboard, and she didn't know President Mason was standing in front of her.

President Mason tapped the desk, and she looked up at him, saying nothing.

"It’s been a long time here," he said, beaming. "Don’t you miss me?"

Aria looked down and smiled slightly with part of her mouth. She looked up at his face. "I do, sir."

"Are you avoiding me?" He asked.

Aria scoffed. "Why will I? I’m not a scapegoat, so avoiding you is useless."

He nodded, impressed. "I am confused about you. You are a fly on the wall, but you’re mute until now." He poured it out.

She took her hands off the keyboard and stretched them beside her, frowning her, confused. "Mute about what, sir?"

"Didn’t you know anything, or are you just pretending not to know?" He investigated.

"What are you talking about?" She questioned him, pretending not to know what he was talking about.

"Aria, you can’t hide forever. Come to my side." He let out.

“If I can’t hide forever, I will continue to hide till I can’t anymore." She said.

"Okay, it’s your choice, but it’s not the best for you," He took out his business card and put it on her desk. "This is the hundred and eleven card I am giving you. I know you always throw them away, but I will continue to give you till you change your mind."

"I advise you to stop wasting cards because there’s nothing to change in my mind." She declared.

"You are still free to come to me whenever you need my help. Your place is not occupied, and it will never be." He said and walked to Asher’s office, leaving the card on the desk.

Aria grind her teeth, looking at President Mason from behind, and a drop of tears falls from her face. Immediately, President Mason turned to a corner. She wiped the tears and vexed her anger on the keyboard, pressing it with outrage.

Immediately after President Mason entered Asher’s office, Asher stood up and bowed his head to greet him.

"Good afternoon."

"Good afternoon, son." President Mason responded with a welcoming smile. He walked closer to the chair and sat down. "How’s business?"

"Great as always." Asher answered, sitting down.

"I trust you. You are the great Lucas Asher," President Mason said, and Asher beamed at him.

"How’s your brother? Any news about him?" President Mason inquired.

"He called me last week, threatening to come back and claim his rights." Asher answered.

President Mason chuckled. "Can’t he just give up? Doesn’t he know he can never win against you, no matter how much he tries?"

"Put your mind at rest. I am right behind you, and I will always support you. He can do nothing." He assured.

"Okay."

"Hun!" President Mason cleared his throat.

"Asher, what do you think about Theodore Layla, who just returned suddenly?" He raised concerns. "Don’t you see her as a big deal? Won’t she cause any trouble or affect your business?"

Asher chuckled with a devilish look. "Layla is nothing but a banana stem that doesn’t worth sharpening the cutlass to cut."

"Trust me, she can do nothing. She has been here twice, proposing to be a business partner with me, but I chased her out."

"Why?"

"I don’t feel too good about her." Asher answered.

"What will you do about her?" President Mason asked.

"Avery told me she was her childhood best friend. So, I painted a torture as a chance and gave her an assignment to battle with," he explained. "I gave her a foreign project to deal with, and if she doesn’t back out, she will go bankrupt."

"Oh! That’s good," President Mason nodded, impressed.

"But Asher, what if she wins?" President Mason thought twice. "Won’t that be a problem?"

"She can only succeed if she uses a secret plan." Asher revealed.

"What's the plan?" President Mason inquired.

Asher changed his sitting posture and fully explained the plan to President Mason for five minutes.

"Wow! Yes, she can’t succeed," President Mason confirmed, nodding. "But Asher, don’t let Avery trick you into partnering with that girl for any reason."

"She will fail, and once she does, she won’t be allowed to set foot into this company again." He announced.

"Okay, that's good. I am here because I need your help. I just won a project, and I don’t have enough capital to execute it. The recent project exhausted me a lot." President Mason spoke out.

"How much?" Asher asked.

"Five hundred million dollars."

"Okay, I will wire it to you tomorrow morning." Asher said.

"Thank you so much." President Mason appreciated him.

"About our wedding. Can you be a little faster with the date, sir?" Asher pleaded.

President Mason smiled. "Calm down, Asher. Avery is yours already. I just think she needs a little time for her career. Just be a little more patient."

"Okay, sir."

"I will leave now. Since you promised to sponsor the project, I should work on the plans. I will talk to you later." President Mason said.

Asher stood up and bowed his head. "Okay, bye, sir."

President Mason walked out of Asher’s office, and he stumbled into Nancy at the corner.

Nancy curtsied her head. "Good day, sir."

"Good day," he responded. He pointed his thumb at Asher’s office without looking back and asked, "are you his new secretary?"

"Yes, sir."

He dug his hand into his coat's breast pocket and took out the last card in it. "Take this. Call me if you need my help."

Nancy shook her head, rejecting. "I don't need this. I won’t need your help, sir."

"Are you sure?" He asked, and she nodded.

"Have you heard that none of his secretaries have ever lasted two months?" He asked, trying to convince her. "Your fate with him might be different with my help."

She beamed with a high level of confidence and calmly explained. "I heard the rumor even before I applied to be his secretary, but Asher differs from what I imagined. So, I am very sure I can last forever if I want to, not with anyone's help, sir."

"Okay. It’s not even up to a week, so you can keep hoping till you can’t take it anymore," he said as he returned the card to his pocket.

"So, I'm expecting you." He said.

"Okay, sir." Nancy smiled. She bowed her head and walked out of his sight before he could say another word.

President Mason chuckled and walked out of Perficient Investment. Immediately after he entered his car, he called Layla’s number.

"Didn’t I tell you, girl, you have passed the test already? Let’s meet tomorrow for the plan and the capital," he said excitedly.

"Let’s get the ball rolling."