CHAPTER NINE
1991 Words
ODETTE’s POV.
Getting a hold of myself, I walk into the conference room again and now, father is the one talking. I try as much as possible not to glance at Malachi again because I know his f*****g gaze are still on me.
Flashing a smile on my face, I sit near Zach and he gently grabs a hold of my hand under the chair, a gesture which makes my lips curl up and from the corner of my eyes, I see Malachi’s face tense up.
“You took too long,” he whispers to me.
“My strap came off”
“Well, ladies and gentlemen” father’s voice reaches my ear again, “we have listened to what Zachary has said, so do you have anything to say concerning that?”
Everyone is silent for a moment until I see Malachi gently rise from his chair and my eyebrows hit my hairline.
“Well, eight hundred million dollars is not a small amount of money Mr Zachary, so what’s your guarantee that you will be getting this project after getting this money? Well, permit me to say this, I am not a full member of the board of Avanti and I stand here in place of my late father who owns about six percent shares of the property of Avanti and I have no much say in the running of the company but since I was called here today, I think I speak for all of us here when I say, this deal might not be legit”
From the way he talks, he reminds me of only one man…my father.
“Well, I can assure that this deal is legit” Zach answers, a frown settling on his face, “and if you must know, I own Vash, a fast rising entertainment company”
“And I own Echo, the biggest entertainment company there is in America and I am trying to let you know the pros and cons of this deal. You are a very smart man, I mean like our kind”
By our kind, I know exactly what he is trying to say. The two of them are alphas of different packs. While I have never been to our pack, I have heard stories of Malachi’s pack and he is much more dangerous than he looks. More like he and dad drink from the same cup.
“You don’t have to worry, Mr Malachi” i finally speak up, “we made our findings and we are sure if this one”
He holds my gaze for a moment before finally smiling.
“Fine then, I don’t think we have a problem then”
“So do we have a real?” Zach asks again, his gaze traveling all around the room, most of them nod except dad and Malachi.
“Well, gentlemen” dad continues, “why don’t we resume this conversation in an hour, I will like a private conversation with them”
All of them stand up and leave the room except Malachi and us. As soon as they are out of earshot, Zach immediately turns to Malachi and he looks very upset.
“Do you have a problem with me?” He asks.
“It’s fine, baby” I touch his arm gently and I see how Malachi’s jaw clenches together.
“Do you have something to say, Mr Bromte?” Dad asks him, “Is there a kind of bad blood between the two of you?”
“Of course not, Mr Phillps” he replies, “but I must say he has something that I am certain belongs to me even though I am not quite sure how and I intend to find out how that belongs to me”
“You do not even know me” Zach snaps, “yeah?”
“I know you well enough that you are Odette’s mate” he replies, “aside that, I don’t think I know anything about you again. Oh, and aside the fact that you lead a pack back in North Carolina, I don’t know anything else”
The frown on my face intensifies, was Zach in North Carolina? He never mentioned it to me”
“Did you do a background check on me?”
“Well, like I said you have something that I think belongs to me so I have to have every information I need about you”
“f**k off” Zach springs up from his chair, “or I won’t hesitate to f*****g kill you”
“The two of you will not be doing that here” dad cuts him off, “and not in the presence of my daughter. You are born alphas, you should act like one”
“Then tell this man to stay away from me,” Zach snaps, “I do not have the patience to entertain his kind”
“Look baby, just relax”
His phone buzzes and he picks it up before walking out of the room.
“What the heck do you think you are doing?” I ask Malachi”
“Exactly what I told you, Odette” he leans forward, not even caring about the presence of my father, “he has something I want and you know what that means” he then turns to my father, “with all due respect, Mr Philips, you have a gorgeous daughter and I am unable to take my eyes off of her” he finally stands up, “I will let my father’s lawyers know if you need us to bring some amount for your son in law”
Buttoning up his suit, he winks at me before walking out of the room leaving me wondering where the hell he gets his audacity from.
“Is there something I should know?” Father asks as soon as malachi walks away.
“It’s nothing dad, this is my life and I will handle it”
“Hmmm” he nods, “of course, I trust you to handle it since you are your mother’s daughter and you possess her powers. I will hate for what happened to your mother and I to happen to you”
“Zach and I do not have any issues”
“Neither did your real father and mother until he served her divorce papers”
“Are you suspecting him right now?”
“Trust me darling, even if he serves you divorce papers in front of me? I will not react, that’s your life and I trust you to handle it”
I don’t say anything again as Zach walks back into the room, what exactly is dad trying to talk about?”
“Sorry about the entire ruckus father in law” Zach says, “but you have my promise”
Dad smiles at him but does not say anything.
“Send all the details of this project to me and I will have the money wired to your account”
“No dad” I butt in, “we do not need you to give us all the money, we just need half of it. The reason we requested for a meeting was because we wanted to make sure the company is actively involved”
“Zach?” Father calls out to him, “can you give us a moment?”
“Of course”
He stands up and walks out leaving the two of us again.
Dad heaves a sigh before leaning forward again, “I didn’t want to tell you this right now but I guess I should… when your mum was pregnant with the three of you, she developed a turmoil and my blood was able to heal her then but now.. the turmoil is back and I need to take care of her”
My mouth opens, mum is f*****g sick and I am just finding out about it?”
“Why are you only telling me this now, dad?”
“She didn’t want to bother any of you and you are the only person I am telling. Kayden is busy outside the country. I am going to leave the pack and the company to you and Jayden. I need to take care of your mother and I am sending your husband the money from the company account so make sure to get it back”
“Dad!!” My whole world shatters to the ground, “is she going to be fine?”
“I will find a way” he tells me, “I didn’t let anything happen to her twenty five years ago and I won’t let anything happen to her now”
I sniff back a tear, “I am so sorry dad”
“It’s fine, she will be fine. I will complete the paperwork with Jayden and the two of you can discuss from there”
“I should see mum before she leaves”
“You can but don’t let her know that you know, it’s going to break her”
I nod and wipe my face, I have to be strong for her and him too. I have heard their story and i know how they suffered to be together, the moon goddess won’t be that cruel to take her away now. The thought of it gives me a little solace, mother is her favorite, she can’t kill her.
“Do you trust Zach?” He asks out of nowhere and a frown settles on my face.
“What do you mean?”
“Malachi has confidence, Zach is cunning”
With that he pulls his body from the chair and walks up to me, taking my hands in his.
“You are my precious jewel but I want you to take care of yourself, sweetheart”
“Of course dad” I nod through tears, “of course I will take care of myself”
He kisses my forehead lightly, “your mum will be fine, don’t worry”
*****
“What did you and your dad talk about?” Zach asks on our way home, I want to lie but I know he will still read my thoughts anyways.
“Mum is sick” I tell him sincerely, “dad is taking her out of the country to take care of her and he will be leaving the company fully in Jayden and my hands”
“Wow, that’s massive” he flashes me a small smile.
“Did you even hear what I said?”
“Aunt will be fine” Zach responds, “she is a strong woman”
I look at him for a moment, did he even care?
Why did I just think that? Of course he does.
“So North Carolina huh? You didn’t tell me”
“I wanted it to be a surprise for you when I took you but….
“Is there anything you are hiding from me, Zach?” I don’t know why but I just ask, “is there something i should know?”
“What do you mean, baby?”
“I don’t know” I shrug, “you tell me”
“There is nothing Odette” he sounds a bit upset for a moment, “trust me”
“Hmmm”I nod and close my eyes. Of course I trust him but if only I knew what that trust would cause me a few days later, maybe I should have just….
“Let’s take a trip to the pack house, I will actually like to see it”
I see how he grips the steering wheel for a moment before he nods.
“Once I close this deal, we will leave for North Carolina”
I open my mouth to say something but clamp it shut again.. trust, he says I should trust him.
- Writer
