“Are you serious?” Jacob raised his eyebrow. “If you are interested in our business, the underworld ones, I would talk with others first.”
“Right. You can’t make a crucial decision on your own.”
“Indeed.” Jacob tapped his fingers on the table, trying to think. After a while, he said, “I can’t make an exact calculation for now because at first, I must get others’ approval first. But if we want to sell the businesses to you, our financial chiefs must work to prepare the business transaction offers. Of course, it’s after getting all leaders’ approvals. So, it may require a few months to complete everything.” Then he added, “It’s if they agree with the decision to sell and transfer the underworld businesses.”
&ldq
Harold was sitting before a window across the surgery room in the ER area. It had been an hour. The more he waited, the more he was restless.After ten minutes had passed, the surgery sign was off, signaling the surgery had been finished. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.Later, he rose and glanced at the door, awaiting the doctor to exit the room. After five minutes, the doctor stepped out of the surgery room.“Mr. Montgomery?”“Yes, Doctor.”“Your wife is still unconscious as she is under full anesthesia. So, please wait for a few hours or tomorrow for her to wake up. The operation went well. Fortunately, the bullet didn’t hit the spine so there was no fatal wound because o
Six months later, Emily had already recovered from the wound. She still experienced pain from time to time, and it got worse during the cold weather. Harold was with her, and she knew she wouldn’t leave him for good.One day, Harold told her, “I want to go to the Lovely World with Jason and Mia. Is that okay?”“Of course.”“Jason was injured back then. I want to erase the memory and replace it with a better one.”“Thank you.” She held his hand and squeezed it.“No need to thank me, love, but you must stay at home.”“What?! No way!”“Baby, you still need
The next day was Sunday. Harold sent a text message to Emily. ‘Meet me at the Premium Steak restaurant. There is something I want to talk about with you two. Let’s discuss it over lunch. Leave Jason and Mia at home. It’s a date! Wear a white dress and high heels, my love. See you soon. Ask the greeter to show you to table three. I already reserved it. Don’t be late. I already asked Jimmy to pick you up at home at ten a.m..’So, Emily prepared herself to go to the restaurant. After wearing a silk white dress and matching color high heels, she put on makeup. It was rare that Harold sent her a text message to set a date, but she was excited. He was overprotective of her after she was out of the hospital.She told the nurses, “I’ll go for lunch with Mr. Montgomery. Please look after Jason and Mia, okay?”
“Something’s wrong,” Emily said. “Harold has never been so late like this.”Jacob stared at Emily. Despite not knowing Harold well, he knew Harold was a businessman. Harold wouldn’t be a successful businessman if he couldn’t come to a meeting on time, especially a business meeting.“Call him,” he said. “Maybe he gets stuck in traffic.”“If he does, he should let us know instead of letting us wait here.” She glanced at her wrist. “It’s been forty-five minutes.”Someone knocked before Jacob answered. It was the server. Then he smiled at Jacob and Emily. “I’m sorry for coming here, sir and madam, but Mr. Montgomery specifically instructed me to serve both of you
Three days later, all the Gold Cleaner’s members attended Arturo’s private burial. They wanted to give last respects to their former leader. So one by one put a white flower on the grave and shook hands with Al and Jacob.Emily attended the funeral too because she knew how close Jacob and Arturo were. She didn’t bring Jason and Mia because she didn’t know how long the burial would last.Once everyone had already given their last respect, Al finally said his speech. “Thank you for coming. I appreciate it. My father would hate it if we were sad because of him. However, knowing everyone comes here and remembers him well, I’m sure he’s smiling right now.”The sea of people in black clothes filled in the cemetery. No one talked as they wanted to hear what Al sai
Jacob arrived at the headquarters an hour earlier than the meeting schedule. He wanted to talk with Al first. As he had already told Al about it, he found the younger man sip a brandy.“Hey, Bro. You already came. Do you want it?” Al offered the brandy.“A glass, please?”After having a snifter each filled with brandy, they walked to a small room and sat there while sipping the drink. Al waited for Jacob to talk first because his mind was still full of grief after the funeral.“I asked you to talk because it’s about the Gold Cleaner and me.”Al raised his eyebrow and nodded a little, but said nothing, supporting Jacob to talk more.
Finally, it was the meeting time. Jacob glanced around to predict how much support they had already had so far.“Thank you for coming.” He nodded. “Some of you already heard from Al and Lewis, but I will reveal about this now, so we all are on the same page. So, since I’ll move in a different direction in the future because my business requires more of my time, I have three options for you all to choose. First, we’ll continue as usual, but I’ll retire and we’ll choose someone else as a new leader.”Some leaders who hadn’t heard about it frowned because they liked Jacob and didn’t want him to retire.Hector raised his hand. “Who do you have in mind as your replacement?”“I thought of Al, b
Two sweaty bodies lay next to each other. Emily Brooke sighed contently and hugged her fiance, Jacob Jefferson. There was a month left before their wedding day, and they spent time that night in his apartment as he started asking her three months ago. At first, Emily hesitated to make love with Jacob, since she had never done it. However, Jacob convinced her they would get married soon, and nothing he wanted more than to prepare her to be his wife. She was in love with him, and finally, after considering it for a while, Emily said yes and gave her virginity to him. Since then, there were countless times Emily and Jacob made love to each other in his apartment at the ELS (East Luxury Side). She agreed because they would marry. Besides, Jacob was always sweet and attentive to her.Jacob kissed Emily’s forehead and smiled at her. “You always make me happy, Amy.”Emily smiled, but then she frowned and froze. Did she misheard what Jacob said? Jacob called her Amy. Could it be it just sli
Finally, it was the meeting time. Jacob glanced around to predict how much support they had already had so far.“Thank you for coming.” He nodded. “Some of you already heard from Al and Lewis, but I will reveal about this now, so we all are on the same page. So, since I’ll move in a different direction in the future because my business requires more of my time, I have three options for you all to choose. First, we’ll continue as usual, but I’ll retire and we’ll choose someone else as a new leader.”Some leaders who hadn’t heard about it frowned because they liked Jacob and didn’t want him to retire.Hector raised his hand. “Who do you have in mind as your replacement?”“I thought of Al, b
Jacob arrived at the headquarters an hour earlier than the meeting schedule. He wanted to talk with Al first. As he had already told Al about it, he found the younger man sip a brandy.“Hey, Bro. You already came. Do you want it?” Al offered the brandy.“A glass, please?”After having a snifter each filled with brandy, they walked to a small room and sat there while sipping the drink. Al waited for Jacob to talk first because his mind was still full of grief after the funeral.“I asked you to talk because it’s about the Gold Cleaner and me.”Al raised his eyebrow and nodded a little, but said nothing, supporting Jacob to talk more.
Three days later, all the Gold Cleaner’s members attended Arturo’s private burial. They wanted to give last respects to their former leader. So one by one put a white flower on the grave and shook hands with Al and Jacob.Emily attended the funeral too because she knew how close Jacob and Arturo were. She didn’t bring Jason and Mia because she didn’t know how long the burial would last.Once everyone had already given their last respect, Al finally said his speech. “Thank you for coming. I appreciate it. My father would hate it if we were sad because of him. However, knowing everyone comes here and remembers him well, I’m sure he’s smiling right now.”The sea of people in black clothes filled in the cemetery. No one talked as they wanted to hear what Al sai
“Something’s wrong,” Emily said. “Harold has never been so late like this.”Jacob stared at Emily. Despite not knowing Harold well, he knew Harold was a businessman. Harold wouldn’t be a successful businessman if he couldn’t come to a meeting on time, especially a business meeting.“Call him,” he said. “Maybe he gets stuck in traffic.”“If he does, he should let us know instead of letting us wait here.” She glanced at her wrist. “It’s been forty-five minutes.”Someone knocked before Jacob answered. It was the server. Then he smiled at Jacob and Emily. “I’m sorry for coming here, sir and madam, but Mr. Montgomery specifically instructed me to serve both of you
The next day was Sunday. Harold sent a text message to Emily. ‘Meet me at the Premium Steak restaurant. There is something I want to talk about with you two. Let’s discuss it over lunch. Leave Jason and Mia at home. It’s a date! Wear a white dress and high heels, my love. See you soon. Ask the greeter to show you to table three. I already reserved it. Don’t be late. I already asked Jimmy to pick you up at home at ten a.m..’So, Emily prepared herself to go to the restaurant. After wearing a silk white dress and matching color high heels, she put on makeup. It was rare that Harold sent her a text message to set a date, but she was excited. He was overprotective of her after she was out of the hospital.She told the nurses, “I’ll go for lunch with Mr. Montgomery. Please look after Jason and Mia, okay?”
Six months later, Emily had already recovered from the wound. She still experienced pain from time to time, and it got worse during the cold weather. Harold was with her, and she knew she wouldn’t leave him for good.One day, Harold told her, “I want to go to the Lovely World with Jason and Mia. Is that okay?”“Of course.”“Jason was injured back then. I want to erase the memory and replace it with a better one.”“Thank you.” She held his hand and squeezed it.“No need to thank me, love, but you must stay at home.”“What?! No way!”“Baby, you still need
Harold was sitting before a window across the surgery room in the ER area. It had been an hour. The more he waited, the more he was restless.After ten minutes had passed, the surgery sign was off, signaling the surgery had been finished. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.Later, he rose and glanced at the door, awaiting the doctor to exit the room. After five minutes, the doctor stepped out of the surgery room.“Mr. Montgomery?”“Yes, Doctor.”“Your wife is still unconscious as she is under full anesthesia. So, please wait for a few hours or tomorrow for her to wake up. The operation went well. Fortunately, the bullet didn’t hit the spine so there was no fatal wound because o
“Are you serious?” Jacob raised his eyebrow. “If you are interested in our business, the underworld ones, I would talk with others first.”“Right. You can’t make a crucial decision on your own.”“Indeed.” Jacob tapped his fingers on the table, trying to think. After a while, he said, “I can’t make an exact calculation for now because at first, I must get others’ approval first. But if we want to sell the businesses to you, our financial chiefs must work to prepare the business transaction offers. Of course, it’s after getting all leaders’ approvals. So, it may require a few months to complete everything.” Then he added, “It’s if they agree with the decision to sell and transfer the underworld businesses.”&ldq
“Your loss was my gain.” Harold chuckled. “I had never expected I would fall in love with her. The moment I saw her unconscious, I felt something for her.” He let out a sigh. “She reminded me of my late partner, who died when she was pregnant with my baby.”“I’m sorry, man …”“Yeah. Knowing later Emily was pregnant, it was like a second chance with me. I fell in love with her gradually, but with the twins, it was love at first sight.” He looked at the sky again. “They were so small, but then they filled my heart with love. The moment I saw them, I knew I would do anything to protect them.”“Including giving your name?”“It’s the smallest thing I could do for them.