Chapter 4
1768 Words
Julian walked into the luxurious glass and wood office and threw a booklet on the table, startling Edgar.
“What the f**k, man?”
“Nothing, but you are the f**k, man. That is the morning paper.” Julian snapped.
Edgar curiously glanced at the paper only to see a considerable portrait of him and Vivienne with a huge question mark hanging between them, and a tiny photo of Rosalind dressed raggedly placed in between.
A subtitle below screamed out shocking news: “London's supermodel, Vivienne Renard abandoned at the altar!”
“The news is everywhere. The company's reputation is at stake because of what you did Edgar!” Julian snapped and threw another paper in front of him.
Edgar looked down at it, the catchy headline made him raise his eyebrows. “Things falling apart for confused Billionaire, Edgar, CEO of Montgomery'Co. Could this affect the company's finances?”
He sighed and picked up the document he was working on. “People will speculate, Julian. It's normal.”
Julian couldn't believe his ears at his cousin's words.
“Can you hear yourself? This wedding was supposed to be the key to a multimillion-dollar deal, which is to be used in funding our finances until you chose to ruin it chasing after some beggar chick!”
Edgar clenched his teeth and glowered at Julian, his body tensing beneath his well-cut suit. “Don't you dare call Rosalind names.”
“Oh, why? Because of her sweet little p***y? Honestly, bro, you're stupid! I am so disappointed in you. Have you no shame?” Julian exclaimed. “Your wedding was ruined yesterday and your reputation is at stake because of the same b***h who claims to love...”
“Shut the f**k up, Julian, and get out of my office!” Edgar yelled, livid with rage. “And stay the f**k out of my business.”
The entire workers on the first floor of Montgomery'Co had their mouths hanging open in shock at the profanities spewing out of their CEO's half-closed doors.
It wasn't new that the boss ruined his wedding yesterday. Although everyone was shocked to see the heartbreaker stroll into the office that morning as though nothing had happened.
But no one had dared to say anything because Montgomery'Co paid their workers the highest in the industry.
Their eyes widened at their boss's cousin's next word. “Your employees are disgusted at your heartlessness. Everyone is. Didn't you see their faces?”
“f**k… Off!”
“Oh, I will. But get ready to face the board and explain what happened to the multimillion-dollar deal, asshole.” Julian scoffed and walked out, making sure to bang the door hard.
Edgar sighed angrily and sat down, adjusting his suit.
....
Outside the main building of Montgomery'Co, a luxurious car pulled up.
The door opened and Vivienne came out dressed glamorously in a limited edition of Chanel’s outfit that accentuated her perfect curves; a milk-colored skirt and black lacey blouse, with a pair of black glossy heels and her hair styled glamorously.
She clutched her bag and stood in the empty premises, checking her makeup as her car drove off.
A sudden flurry of activity drew her attention as a group of breathless people caught up with her, pushing microphones and clicking cameras at her face, while asking her a barrage of questions.
She smiled tightly and took off her dark shades. ‘Just as expected!’
“What do you have to say about Edgar Montgomery abandoning you at the altar?”
“Are you heartbroken?”
“Who was the lady Edgar Montgomery ran after yesterday?”
She smiled brightly and waved her hands gently.
“Calm down, please! This is a business premises and I wouldn't like the people inside to be affected by this session!” She said calmly.
The paparazzi quietened at her words, with many scribbling furiously on their notepads.
“I would only answer three questions.” She announced in an indifferent voice.
“How are you feeling, with all this drama?” A young lady asked, shoving her huge microphone into her face.
“Honestly, I feel quite bad, because of the way I was treated at my wedding, by my husband-to-be, because of an unknown lady!” Her face turned forlorn as she replied in a downcast voice.
Her reply caused a ripple among the paparazzi.
“Vivienne Renard, there are speculations about you snatching Edgar Montgomery from the poor lady at your wedding yesterday, how true is that?”
The cameras clicked capturing her every expression.
She frowned just like she practiced at home with her mother. “No! That isn't true. The truth is... I don't know this lady. For all I know, she might be someone from my fiance's past.”
They nodded, jotting furiously on their notepads.
“What are you doing here?”
She smiled gently and raised a pretty basket filled with fruits. “A gift for my fiance! That will be all. Thank you all for your attention, have a wonderful day.”
“Miss Vivienne, one more question...”
“What is going to become of the rumored multimillion-dollar deal that was part...”
“Can we get the unknown lady's name?”
She didn't reply and continued walking towards the door of the lobby, the paparazzi running after her.
“Who is that?” One of the reporters asked pointing towards a particular lady with a head of beautiful, straight black hair. She was simply dressed carrying a fancy plastic bag and walking in their direction.
“It’s the unknown lady from yesterday!” Someone said and a gasp echoed through the crowd as they rushed towards her with compliments.
“She is so beautiful!”
Vivienne glared at Rosalind in anger and turned to go inside the building when a gentle, innocent voice called her name.
“Miss Vivienne?” Rosalind called in a calm, gentle voice as she slowly moved towards her.
Vivienne stopped and turned to her with a smile, masking the hatred burning within her.
“Hello, you are the girl from yesterday, non?” She asked, mixing her English with French, an action that only happened when she was getting really mad.
Rosalind nodded her head gently, her innocent eyes making people drawn to her.
“I wanted to apologize for yesterday. I just want you to know that Edgar and I are back together and I hope you won't interfere anymore, because we really love each other,” she said calmly with a smile.
A flurry of activity began at those words as the paparazzi’s cameras clicked in countless rapid successions. As the murmur rose higher.
Vivienne gasped in disbelief at her words. “You...”
.....
A group of men gathered in a huge glass and brown oak wood office room, which was furnished with a long conference table and numerous seats on each side of the table. Most of the chairs were occupied by the group of squabbling men on each side of the table.
They were engaged in a heated argument.
“We have to make him submit his shares or pay up the multimillion-dollar deal.” A balding, fat man yelled, his suit buttons straining to hold the two-piece of suit together.
“No, not with the Reyes threatening to dwarf Montgomery'Co out…” A younger man fired.
Julian sat in their midst with two fingers smoothening his temples, not saying a word.
“If he was thinking of that, why did he ruin the wedding, which was the key to the multimillion-dollar project?” Someone else shouted angrily, banging on the table.
“I second his opinion, let him submit his shares.”
“Working on a plot to get me thrown out? I see,” Edgar called as he leisurely walked into the room with Carlos trailing behind him with a pair of glasses on his stoic face.
Edgar lowered his tall figure into his chair at the head of the table, with Carlos taking a seat beside him opposite a stormy Julian.
The other board members got seated, and the meeting kicked off. Carlos stood up and turned on the projector on the table.
Montgomery’Co’s infographic and charts containing the finance data were projected against a huge whiteboard opposite the conference table.
“These are the figures I calculated this morning. Our figures and tally are dropping slowly, creating a cause for alarm.” Carlos presented in a monotonous voice.
He was putting on his usual poker face, looking as though nothing could ruffle him.
Edgar and the other board members all quietly had their eyes trained on the static image of red, blue, and black lines running through different figures. He raised an eyebrow.
“Why?” Julian questioned with a smirk.
Carlos raised an eyebrow and tapped on the iPad in his hand. Another image popped up dwarfing the data charts on the board.
“Reyes Enterprises!” Carlos answered grimly.
Edgar's eyes went wide as he became frozen in his seat. ‘This can't be. The Reyes…’
“The Reyes went down about seven years ago, isn't it?” The balding, fat man asked the one question that had been running through Edgar's stunned mind.
“What are you bringing it up for?” Someone shouted irritatedly.
Carlos clenched his teeth and spared Edgar a subtle glance.
He turned to the person with raised eyebrows and a sarcastic smile.
“Please do not tell me, Mr. Duncan, that you don't check the finance feed,” He said mockingly, as he glared at the mortified man. “Because if you do, you would know that aside from Montgomery'Co and Renard's Empire, Reyes Enterprises is now the highest shares buyer, threatening to dwarf the existence of this company and Renard's.”
Shocked gasps spread through the conference room as they soaked in the information.
Edgar recovered his senses and asked the one biting question.
“How is this possible?”
“Well, I looked into the Reyes and found out that it is now being controlled by an unknown person.” He replied and clasped his hands together.
“A mysterious backer is suddenly funding their finance. Reyes Enterprise was reinstated about a fortnight ago, and they have been surprisingly succeeding in buying shares, and at a very fast rate. Making their rating rise to the top three of London's finance.”
Edgar suddenly felt nervous and sweaty as he suddenly recalled a headline that had put him in constant fear for the past six years.
- Writer
