Hank had rushed to his car, after leaving Daniel and his staff back at the kebab spot. Daniel ran and caught up with Hank before he could enter his car.
''Hey Hank. Can you stop walking fast like a bullet? Sometimes I don't know what is wrong with you. You sometimes act as though you are a robot or some alien from space.''
Hank just looked at Daniel and said nothing.
Since he did not go with his driver, Asher, he entered his car and drove away without batting an eye nor saying anything to Daniel.
Daniel stood there looking perplexed. ''Huh? Did he just zoom off?''
Daniel gave out a loud sigh and spoke in an angry tone. ''This Hank, is crazy. In fact, he has finally gone bananas. I am certain it is lack of intimacy, making him act like someone from a zoo. So arrogant. I wonder which woman will be able to tame this annoying cousin of mine. Urggh. Hank, you are so annoying.'' Daniel muttered under his breath with an angry expression.
Hank finally returned to his penthouse after it had been a while since he went out with Daniel.
He kept thinking of the voice he had heard in the alley. ''I am sure that was the mountain fairy. I am a hundred percent certain she was the one singing.''
Hank's memory was very sharp. He could retain and remember details from years back.
After what seemed like an eternity of thinking, Hank went into his bathroom and took a quick shower. He returned to his study, sat in his chair and stared at the ceiling.
He let out a big sigh and opened one of his drawers and pulled out a small, well-wrapped box. Inside the box, was Chelsy's necklace, the floral scarf and the black thong Daniel had placed inside.
Hank took out the necklace and held it up like it was a trophy. He looked at it and murmured to himself. ''Where could you really be, miss mountain fairy? I know you were there. I believe you were the one singing at that Kareoke box. But how and where will I find you?''
As he spoke, he brushed his hands over his soft lush dark brown hair.
As he was thinking about Chelsy, his phone started ringing. It was grandma Julia. ''Hey nana.'' Hank spoke with a gentle tone.
Grandma Julia, on the other side of the call, replied with her soft voice. ''My sweet Hanky. You always know how to make me feel so happy. I know those flowers earlier on came from you. You indeed took after your grandfather. You will be such a loving, caring and romantic husband.''
Hank could not hold his smile, and said, ''come on, nana. You don't have to exaggerate with your words. I know grandpa was the love of your life, and he would normally do more than this. I just wanted to put a smile on your face, since I won't be seeing you for over three weeks.''
When grandma Julia heard this, she asked with a surprised look on her face. ''Hanky, why won't I be seeing you for three whole weeks? Are you going somewhere?''
Hank gave a little sigh, and replied. ''Nana, I will be traveling to New York on Sunday for a business trip. I will be spending three weeks there. But don't worry. Daniel is around to take proper care of you while I am not around. If you need anything or miss me too much, we could always talk over the phone.''
Grandma Julia went a while without saying anything. Hank was wondering if she was still on the line. ''Are you still there, nana?
Grandma Julia responded with a little sadness in her voice. ''Hank, I really wish you could have a wife and children, so that you won't spend all your life working, from one business trip to the other. You need to balance your work together with your life. For almost six years now, you haven't taken a single vacation to rest.''
Hank couldn't see his grandmother this sad, and he said,''Don't worry nana. Everything will fall in place soon, okay?
They spoke for a few more minutes, and the call ended.
Hank loved his grandmother the most in the world. After his mom died when he was thirteen, he was practically raised by his father and grandmother.
He didn't really miss his mom, because grandma Julia had moved in with them and filled that mother's space with so much love and compassion.
Making sure she was happy and contented was his top priority. Hank put the necklace back into the box and went to his room, and slept.
The weekend had passed, and it was Monday.
Chelsy got to work quite early and started her day. A couple of minutes later, Erica and Cleopatra walked in looking all bubbly. ''Hey Chelsy. Good morning. Hope your weekend was amazing.'' Erica asked.
Chelsy looked and gave a warm smile. ''Greetings Erica. My weekend was amazing. Thank you for inviting me out on Friday. I had lots of fun.''
When Cleopatra heard Chelsy mentioning the previous Friday, she said, ''Oh my gosh. Will I ever see my mister charming, Mister Fitzwilliam again?'' She made a pouting face.
Erica and Chelsy couldn't help but burst out laughing.
''Come on Cleopatra. Just wake up from your slumber and smell the coffee. This guy would not even look at you. Wait a minute. Have you transitioned from liking Mister Rivers to liking his cousin Mister Fitzwilliam?'' Erica asked.
Cleopatra just rolled her eyes and replied, ''Since Mister Fitzwilliam is single and such a hottie, I will cross the carpet to him.''
Nicole, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation, snapped back. ''Can you all just shut up already? It's too early to start gossiping and being a nuisance.''
No one paid attention to her, and acted as though she was not in the room. Nicole got so angry, and just focused on her computer.
It had been a busy morning for everyone at Rivers Holdings. The reason being that they had to sign a major contract with Gilmore Enterprises.
Most of the executives were busy in their various departments. Daniel, together with Douglas Lampard, his French translator, and their company lawyers, went through the contract one last time.
Gilmore Enterprises and Rivers Holdings had to sign a collaboration to work together on the trans union project which cost about eight hundred million pounds. That was one of the highest contracts that Rivers Holdings had to sign.
So Daniel had been so busy ensuring nothing went wrong. ''Douglas, I hope everything with the translation is perfect.'' Daniel asked with a stern look on his face.
Douglas answered with a positive tone. ''Yes, Mister Rivers. Everything is perfect and ready to go. We just have to sign the contract and get it over and done with.''
Daniel took a deep breath and said, ''We still have three hours before Gilmore and his team get here.''
He asked his lawyers and Douglass to go to their offices and wait for their arrival.
It was midday and the staff were on break. Most of them had gone to the canteen to eat. Chelsy wasn't feeling hungry, and thus, decided to go to a quiet place in order to call her elder brother Leonel. It had been a while since she spoke with Leonel.
She went to the stairwell and sat on one of the steps. As she took her phone to place a call, she suddenly heard someone speaking in French and in a low tone. This person said, ''Hey. Make sure you don't mess up on your end and stick to the agreement. As for me, I have ensured Daniel will not find out about the added clause in section five. Since the contract will be both in French and English, I have altered the French document. He will never find out until we have hit him.''
The man gave a little chuckle and ended the call. Chelsy, who had been listening to everything, held her mouth in order not to make a sound.
She stood up, and quietly walked out of the stairwell and rushed back to her office. When she got to her desk, she could not fathom what she had heard. So, Mister Lampard is plotting against Daniel? Jesus Christ. What should I do now? Chelsy thought to herself with her face looking so tensed.
Ruben had come back from lunch with Erica. When they saw the distressed look on Chelsy's face, they asked, ''Hey Chelsy. Are you okay? Why do you look so upset?''
Chelsy just shook her head and replied, ''Nothing is wrong. I just have a little headache. But I have had some pain relievers and feel much better now. Please excuse me for a minute. I need to use the bathroom.''
She walked out and went to the bathroom. She stood in front of the mirror and said to herself, ''I have to tell Mister Rivers. I can't watch someone destroy another person's hard work.''
Chelsy has always admired people who work hard, because she was a hard worker as well. Seeing someone trying to dupe or bring someone else down, didn't sit well with her spirit.
She took a deep breath and stomped out of the bathroom and took the lift to the tenth floor. When she got there, she was stopped by Daniel's secretary.
The secretary asked if she had an appointment? Chelsy said, ''No ma'am. But it is really important I see him now. It is very urgent. Tell him it is Chelsy Powers, and he will let me in.''
The secretary looked at Chelsy and said, ''Listen to me, miss Powers. So many women come here every day, wanting to meet Mister Rivers with the excuse of having something important to tell him. If you are a friend, you should have his contact, or if not, book an appointment to see him.''
Chelsy felt so frustrated and said, ''listen ma'am. If I don't get to see him now, things will go south for him, and you would wish you had let me see him.''
The Secretary's face grew red with anger and snapped at Chelsy. ''What insolence. If you don't leave right now, I will call security on you.'' As the secretary's voice was loud, Lucas heard the commotion and went outside. Lucas was Daniel's personal assistant. ''What is going on here?'' He asked with a stern voice.
The Secretary looked at Lucas and said, ''Mister Lucas, this lady came here wanting to see the boss. I asked if she had an appointment, and she said no. So I asked her to leave or book an appointment, but she insisted on seeing the boss.''
Chelsy, who had a frustrated look on her face, said, ''Thank God you are here, Mister Lucas. I really need to see Sir Rivers. It is a matter of urgency. It has to do with the Gilmore contract signing this afternoon.''
When Lucas heard this, he raised his eyebrows and said, ''How did you know about the Gilmore contract? Only top executives know about this.''
He took a deep breath and asked Chelsy to follow him.
Chelsy followed him into Daniel's office.
The Secretary looked at Chelsy with so much disdain in her eyes and murmured to herself, ''That lowlife. Who the hell does she think she is?'' She rolled her eyes and went back to her computer.
Daniel was on the phone when Lucas and Chelsy got in. He was a little surprised to see her there. He told the person he was on the phone with, he would call them back later.
''Hey Chelsy. What a surprise. What brings you to my office? It's so nice seeing you. Hope everything is okay.'' He asked with a warm smile on his face.
Chelsy shook her head and said, ''Mister Rivers, all is not well. You are being drawn into a trap. But if you don't mind, can you please bring the Gilmore contract you have prepared? Especially the one written in French. There is something I would like to show you in that contract.''
Daniel's countenance changed from warm to that of fury, and he spoke with an angry tone. ''Miss Powers, how did you know about the contract? Start speaking immediately.'' Daniel spoke through clenched teeth.
Chelsy took a deep breath and told him everything she had heard, and how Douglas Lampard had connived with the Gilmores to swindle him.
''How did you even understand what he was saying?'' Daniel asked Chelsy.
Chelsy looked at Daniel with a little bit of disappointment in her eyes, and replied, ''Mister Daniel. With all due respect, I won't come here and raise such allegations without cause. Well, to answer your question, I am half French. I was born and raised in France. So, French is actually my first language.''
When Daniel heard this, he raised his eyebrows and said, ''Wow, I didn't know that. I am sorry if I raised my voice at you. I was just a little surprised you knew of something that is meant to be considered classified information.''
His countenance softened, and he pulled the contract that had been prepared in French. He gave Chelsy the contract and asked her to go through it.
Chelsy opened the contract, and went straight to section five. She glanced through the documents, and she said, "Sir, this clause here in section five says, upon completion of the Trans Union project, eighty percent of Rivers Holding's market shares will be handed over to Gilmore Enterprises.''
When Daniel heard this, he could not hold the rage that was building inside of him. He hit the table and cursed under his breath. ''Damn you Douglas. Gilmore is indeed a sly fox.''
He gave an evil laugh and remembered Hank warning him to watch out for his close collaborators. He took out his phone and placed a call to Hank. When Hank answered, Daniel asked, ''H, can we please talk?''
What will happen to the Gilmore contract that has to be signed that afternoon?