THE BILLIONAIRE IN LOVE WITH ME

CHAPTERFIVE

AMELIA'S POV

What are the odds that my first case would be against Christopher? What are the odds that the first case would be by Aaron? Whom had I sworn to never speak to again?

I laughed bitterly. Mothernature just loves f*cking with me, huh?

I sat back and thought about this situation carefully. Mothernature wasn't really messing with me like I thought. This could be an advantage. I said I was going to take Chris yippie down. What other way to do that than by taking a case against him?

I smirked. “Maybe the universe is trying to apologize to me by letting things go my way for once.“

I took out a sheet of paper and wrote down what I was going to do. Writing things out often makes me concentrate more on them. Top on my list was to restore the Jenkins law firm. My family's law firm used to be the top performer, but with my dad's sickness, the firm has been running on past glory. Not anymore.

Amelia Jenkins is back!

Next was to ruin Christopher and Cecilia Gates. I'm going to make his company forgotten. By the time I'm done with him, nobody will ever remember that he existed.

Now what was I going to do with Aaron's case? I was still pondering when the phone on my table dinged.

“Miss Jenkins?“

“Yes, Nina?“

“I just got notified of a board meeting.“

“There's nothing on my schedule about a board meeting.“

“Yes, Miss. That's because it was an impromptu meeting. They converge in thirty minutes.“

I dropped the phone without saying another word. I could only imagine what they wanted to talk about. They must have been shocked when they got the memo that my father had made me the new CEO without their consent.

Thirty minutes later, Cara was opening the door to the board room for me. I entered, and the murmurs stopped when they noticed me.

The board of members was made up of a bunch of old farts who had attended law school with my dad. I took my seat at the edge of the table and waited.

The silence stretched on for an uncomfortable minute before someone cleared their throat.

“Good morning, Miss Jenkins.“

“Hello, Albert.“ I smiled at the small man. He's loyal to my father, and I know he's going to go with his decision to support me, but his support isn't enough for me. I still need to win the others over.

“I'm going to start.“ Nina came in and distributed some papers to everyone on the table except for me. I took note of that action. It seems like she is still taking orders from the board members. Someone finally stood up and spoke. Cara snatched a paper from the nearest man and passed it to me. I hid my giggle at her action.

I looked through the paper. They wanted to discuss if I was capable of running the firm.

I only nodded for him to continue.

“Miss Jenkins, as we are all aware, you recently got released from prison. We are going to take a vote after discussion if she's capable of running the firm without any prior experience and with her reputation.“

“I can assure you that I have plenty of experience managing a law firm. Might I remind you that I graduated Summa Cumlaude from Harvard Law School?“

“We know, but you have never put your degree to use. You instead chose to work for your ex-husband.“

“That is also true, but that has nothing to do with this. My father has been grooming me to take over the firm for as long as I can remember. I interned here while I was in school, and I'm pretty sure I can do more than my father did.“

“That's a pretty strong claim, Miss Jenkins.“

“It is the truth. I know I have a reputation, but I am not going to let that affect the credibility of our law firm. We have to work together to take Jenkins Law Firm back to its rightful position. At the top.“

“Miss Jenkins, your enthusiasm is appreciated, but that isn't enough. You were nailed for fraud, for goodness sake. You're hardly in any position to ask for our cooperation or promise to do more than your father did.“

“Simply put, you're not qualified for this position.“ Another man said.

“And you are?“ I shot back.

He looked taken aback by the fact that I had challenged him, but he quickly composed himself. “Honestly, Miss Jenkins, anyone other than you is more qualified to be in this position than you. You talk about restoring our reputation when yours is in shambles.“

“That is…”

“Now,” he cut me off and continued. “Everyone here would understand if you were framed and you got your name cleared, but that never happened. I think it's hypocritical of you to say that when you're an ex-convict.“

He sat down amid encouraging nods and grunts of approval from the others.

“Are you done?“

“Yes, Miss Jenkins.“

“Good. Now I'm going to say my piece. I don't care what any of you say. My father chose to name me his successor. If anyone has any issue with that, they should kindly take it up with him.“

They all kept quiet. Do they think I'm simply going to roll over and let them boot me from my rightful position?

“Miss Jenkins…”

“I don't want to hear anything else. You can take a vote if you want, but I'm not going to step down from this position unless my father says so.“ I said before standing up and strolling out of the room.

I went back to my office and exhaled. Talking to the board members was too exhausting. I decided to try and avoid them for the meantime while I solidified my position. Showing them what I was capable of was much easier than trying to convince them to like me. Once they see the numbers I'm producing, that would shut them up.

I got familiar with my father's old cases while trying to take my mind off the land dispute case. I opened the file again. Aaron's family was suing Christopher's company for not taking the proper steps before building a branch on their family land.

I considered letting another lawyer in the firm take the case since I specialized in criminal cases. I know about civil lawsuits too, but I rarely enjoy them. But this was a different one because of the parties involved.

I finally resolved to take the case. I was going to handle it. This would serve to show the board members that I was going to do my share of the work. This case would also garner the public's interest, as they would want to see where it ends.

The ex-wife is suing the ex-husband's company. It would make for good press. This is actually a way to kill two birds with one stone. If I handled this case well, it would restore my firm's reputation while dragging Christopher's through the mud.

“Nina?“ I pressed the button that buzzed Nina in.

“Yes, Miss Jenkins?“

“Arrange a meeting with Mr. Heartfield.“

“For today?“

“No, tomorrow at lunch.“