Chapter 3.

The taunting look on Tarquin's face said it all; he was the boss and he had ordered Ivy to leave his company.

Ivy knew this wasn't the time to be rude so she went on her knees and started pleading but he refused to give her a listening ear nor hear her out. Ivy refused to leave when he asked her to leave his office to get ready to be sued in court.

Tarquin also promised to tarnish her image with his influence so she would never be able to get employed by anyone. Ivy didn't even know what to do, because she didn't have any money with her.

She just moved into the country, "How will I survive and cope when everything is already turning out like this?" She quietly asked herself.

"I'm sorry sir," Ivy pleaded with a shaky voice for the hundredth time, but Tarquin refused to listen. He stood up from his desk and put on his suit when a young lady came to inform him of the board meeting which was about to begin.

"Before I return, throw this thing out of my company," Ivy heard him say to his assistant before walking out. She knew he was referring to her and this hurt her more.

"How can someone be this heartless," She said loudly and stood up. Ivy could see the pity Tarquin's assistant already had for her in his eyes. He also knows that the way his Boss was handling the matter wasn't right but no one would dare tell him what to do.

"Please ma'am, you have to leave, my boss is very petty and would never back down until he does what he has in mind. Don't waste your time thinking he will change his mind," John said to her sadly. Ivy could feel her eyes burning. Tears threatened to fall but she tried as much as possible not to allow it to.

"I know," She replied and stood up. He ushered her out and handed her main luggage back to her which she cheerfully accepted.

"Thank you," Ivy appreciated and walked out of the company's premises. She contacted the driver who brought her to work in the morning.

On arriving home, Ivy was more than disturbed.

She jumped on her bed when she got to her room and buried her face into the pillows.

The scene that happened with Tarquin replaying in her head and she couldn't hold back the tears any longer and started crying out loud, cursing herself for relocating which she thought would help her move on after her last relationship crashed drastically.

"I took the wrong step. I should have stayed back in my country, maybe I would have relocated to another city and looked for a new job as Emelia, my best friend had suggested but I refused and decided that moving to another country to start afresh was the best option." Ivy thought.

"Now that things were already this messed up, where will I even start from?" she asked herself.

She was in another country where she didn’t know how things worked. She was more than scared of going to look for another job because she didn't know if Tarquin had already stigmatized her as a thief which can be possible through the internet.

Ivy didn't stop crying, and eventually cried herself to sleep, not even bothered about pulling off her attire.

*

Tarquin walked into the meeting hall to meet the board members who were already sitting down, patiently waiting for him.

He didn't bother to greet nor exchange pleasantries with any of them.

"I am higher than all of them," He reminded himself as he sat down.

"Let's proceed," he announced coldly and his assistant placed the company documents in front of him.

"Good day, Mr Jones!" One of the board members said to him and then started addressing everyone without standing up which made him annoyed. Tarquin raised his hand, an indication for the board member to stop which he did.

"You ought to be on your feet if you want to address any matter here, except you all want me to walk out of this meeting which you don't want," Tarquin's voice was cold to the core because he was yet to get over that luggage theft situation which had stressed him out for days now.

The board members looked at themselves before the one who had been talking stood up.

Tarquin knew they were all cursing at him in their hearts, stating how petty and rude he was with little things he could overlook, but that's just who he is.

He might be rich, and powerful but he is equally petty and couldn’t let any single matter involving him slide, even if it wasn't necessary… you cannot even get away with the least of his properties nor offend him in any way and think he would overlook it.

No, that's not who he is, he didn't tolerate it, and all his employees should know that already.

The meeting continued when the man acted according to Tarquin's order.

Tarquin gave them the required documents when the board members asked him to submit them.

The board members all went through it and confirmed that it was the needed documents that were required before the company could be handed over to Tarquin which made him sigh in relief.

"We have seen the documents, Mr Jones… I can see that you are truly eligible to take over from your father as we have always looked forward to, but there is a last wish your father asked us to help fulfill before he passed on," another member of the board said and paused. He looked at others before looking at Tarquin.

Tarquin was already very impatient with their long speech and all he wanted at this moment was to be asked to sign the documents which would make him the legal owner of the company and his father's other properties, and also get to become the new chairman of his father's empire but hearing them mention a wish to lengthen everything made him agitated.

"What's the wish?" he asked impatiently, while trying not to flare up, he remembered his mom's words but he waved it off. He hated when he was being kept in suspense, and the one he was getting right now was trying to push him to the limit of his patience.

Tarquin looked at the board member who raised the issue of the wish but he wasn't saying anything. He didn't know if the board member was scared of saying his father's last wish but Tarquin didn't care because there's nothing he cannot take care of. Tarquin didn't want to get angry and make a fuss so he calmed himself down and asked again.

"What's the wish, I don't want to lose my temper because I don't understand the reason behind your silence after you mentioned that my father has a last wish," Tarquin said aloud angrily and the board member cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry, Mr Jones! Actually, your father wished you would get married before we hand over the company to you," the board member announced.

Tarquin felt himself becoming enraged, his temper was now boiling at its highest, and his eyes were already bloodshot. His mother had mentioned that during dinner but he thought she was joking.

Tarquin tried not to show how angry he was already, and looked down at the documents on the table, gritting his teeth in anger.

He knew why his father made that wish.

Before his father's death, Tarquin had mentioned to him that he would never get married because he was scared of being a bad husband and father to his children as his father was to him and his mother. 

He feared that he would turn out to be like his father because his father's blood runs through his veins and his father knew that he was serious about it when he mentioned it at his sick bay.

Tarquin sighed and he couldn't help but regret ever making that revelation to his father. He heard a board member clear his throat but he didn't look up because he couldn't fathom how scary his eyes were going to be. He was boiling with rage and regret.

"He also added we should only make you temporarily own the company after your marriage, and until your marriage lasts up to a year without any crises, we shouldn't make you the permanent owner of the company. He also said_"

"Enough!" Tarquin barked, cutting him off, he had had enough. He stood up and started walking away to their surprise. His Assistant quickly packed the documents and went after him.

"Why is my father still cruel even after death?" Tarquin asked himself with a sigh as soon as he walked out of the company's premises.

"He must be kidding if he thinks that this is enough to stop me," He said to himself.

He entered his car and asked his driver to take the day off because he would be the one driving himself around that day.

He needed to clear his head and he only gets to clear his head when he drives. Tarquin drove out of the company, heading towards the outskirts of the city

 >>>LATER IN THE EVENING<<<

Tarquin picked up his phone and called his Assistant after about three hours.

"Arrange a meeting with the lady who mistook my luggage thinking it was hers, I have an important offer for her," Tarquin informed John over the phone before ending the call.

He had thought about everything while driving and he decided to hire a temporary lady who would act as his wife until he fully took over his father's company.

Perhaps it was because Ivy was different from Christy and others; not a high-class whore like them and easy to tame... That was why he chose her.

Tarquin didn't know why he chose her who mistook his luggage as hers, maybe it was because he had an opportunity with her.

All he knew was that he just had to use the issue of the luggage exchange to make her agree to be his temporary wife until whenever he got his company and everything else.