Chapter 30 Blissful NightXANDER’S HOME, NEW YORK.Rolling to the side of the bed, Xander stiffened when he felt a body next to him. Opening his eyes properly to see who it was, he was almost shocked to see Dawn. However, Xander remembered all that happened the night before and felt quite relieved. Dawn had drunk on the sweet wine his mother brought, and Venus insisted he let Dawn spend the night.After putting her to sleep in the guest room, Dawn still went to his room while sleepwalking, refusing to return to hers. Yawning, he got up and headed downstairs, still feeling quite sleepy. Only Carla’s coffee can wake him up. And just as expected, she was already by the kitchen brewing the coffee.Xander hugged her from behind, kissing her cheek. “Hey there, Carla. How was your night?”“Beautiful. I am guessing you had a blissful night. I saw her in your bed.” Carla teased.He waved a dismissive finger, settling himself on a stool. “Get your mind out of the gutter. Nothing happened betwee
Chapter 31 Above the markX&J EMPIRE, NEW YORK.“I can’t believe this! How did we get here in barely three weeks?” Xander asked as he stared at the sales report in awe.Jace had a full-blown smile on his face. “I am just as shocked as you are. Not only did we top the market, but we also went above our mark. You would think someone jazzed them in some way. Everyone is going really into it in the market. We have to make more production. There is so much traffic on the website because of those ordering online. I must say, Nina is a walking money machine.”Xander held up a complete, proud grin. “Believe me whenever I say I know what I am doing. Give me a moment.” He said, picking up the table phone. “Yes, Lisa. Get me the head researcher for the food department, Miss Ruiz.”“Right away, sir,” Lisa replied.“This is the first time I have seen you look this happy,” Jace commented.He shrugged. “I can’t help it. Nina is making me proud.”Nina’s entry brought their conversation to a halt. “Hi
Chapter 32 The Heiress M&M FOOD, NEW YORK.“What the fuck are you all doing with your goddamn time? How are we getting lower sales each passing day?” Asher yelled, throwing the sales report at the wall. The papers were scattered all over the floor. Everyone on the staff had their heads bowed, not knowing what to say. The entire week has been wavy for everyone in the company. Not only did their sales drop, but they were getting bad reviews on the newly produced product. The current head researcher altered some changes that Asher had approved unquestioningly without seeking the marketing team's review. The amount of money lost is beginning to drive Asher crazy. He keeps wondering how Nina handled everything without having him do too much. The banks are already on his neck, and it's either they make sales to pay back the money or the company gets sold out at a cheap rate. “Why is anyone not saying anything? Do you not have solutions to proffer? Are you saying I hired dullheads?” He b
Chapter 33 The InsiderNina walked stealthily down the stairs of the hospital. She would have taken the elevator, but for some reasons known to her alone, she intentionally took the stairs. Most importantly, it serves as an exercise for her legs. Her phone rang the moment she touched the ground floor.“Are you nearby?” She said to the person on the other end.“I am at the cafe opposite the hospital. There is an empty table behind me. Please hurry to prevent anyone else from taking it.” The response came.“Alright,” Nina mumbled and hurried out of the hospital.She should go home to rest after receiving her usual injection dose. But then, some things shouldn’t wait until later, and one of them is what she is about to do now.Nina knows she might and would get into trouble for the journey she had embarked on in an irritable state. Her good deeds had somewhat served as the only thing she could rely on. There happened to be a mutual friend of Andrea and hers that Nina had enabled a job in
Chapter 34 Caring for herBRICKS BAR, NEW YORK.“She is so stubborn. I don’t think I have met anyone like her before. Always acting like she doesn’t need help.” Xander whined, almost choking on his drink.Jace grinned in amusement. “She probably doesn’t need help.”He cut his brother a distasteful glare. “Of course, she needs help. Who doesn’t?”“Maybe you, you have your head stuck up in your ass and you still haven’t asked for help to get it out.”“I am going to have you strangled to death if you keep talking trash.”He laughed, unperturbed by the threat. “Come on, don’t be like this. You know the kind of person Nina is from the beginning. It would be best if you were thankful at least that she allowed Carla to work for her. If you are worried, call Carla to ask how she is doing.”“Maybe I should let her be. She doesn’t want me in her business.”“Are you giving up so soon?” There was taunt in his voice.Xander flared his nose. “I won’t repeat myself. That is a promise.” He hissed, s
Chapter 35 Foul PlayX&J FOODS, NEW YORK.Xander furrowed his brows as he stared at the chart. Something is wrong. He has done lots of business in his short life, and there has never been this dramatic eruption. There has to be something involved. He scratched his head as he tried to think hard about whether he had missed out on the details. He picked up the table phone. “Lisa, can you come to my office, please? Also, call Jace to show himself.” “Right away, sir,” Lisa replied on the other end. Not too long after he made the call, the door to his office opened, letting in Lisa, who seemed to be under duress from Jace's shameless flirting. “Can you cut it out? You are in the office, for crying out loud!” Xander bickered. “You should have him reported to the HR, Lisa. It's wrong that you keep letting him mess with you.” “Please don’t try to intimidate me. I have a company waiting for me to run it, just in case you let me go.” Jace boasted, settling into the chair. “Report him stil
Chapter 36 A BansheeM&M FOODS, NEW YORK.“This is unbelievable!” Leila screeched, pacing the office back and forth.Darren remained seated, boiling from intense anger. “Where did I ever go wrong to deserve a moron like you for a son?” He questioned.Asher stood in the middle of the office with his hands to the back like an offending child. After so much pestering from his parents as regards the money he was supposed to collect from Andrea. He admitted to them that his new wife has no dime to her name. They couldn’t believe their reality.“I…I am sorry.” He stuttered.“That must be easy for you to say.” His father eased. “Do you know you have just cost us the company? No banking institution will borrow us money. The money was supposed to buy back shares in case M&M faces a downturn. Yet here we are, penniless and hopeless, all because of a stupid son who couldn’t do himself and everyone else a favor to gather his information right.”“To make matters worse, sales are declining. Why can
Chapter 37 The CasseroleNINA’S APARTMENT, NEW YORK.“Thanks for the groceries. But you don’t have to keep doing this, Xander. I can take care of myself by myself.” Nina mumbled into the receiver.It's almost as if Xander never listens to her and does whatever pleases him. He had groceries delivered to the house, saying he didn’t want her or Carla to stress since they were both in delicate conditions.She can’t thank him enough for being unique; many times, she wants to refuse him, but he does it when she mainly needs help. It's almost as if he has a camera following her around to tell when she is distressed. It feels nice having someone to look after her in such a thoughtful manner, but she refuses to get carried away again.Xander grumbled on the other end. “That is my way of contributing to you, and you have no choice but to take it. Thankfully, it's not something you can return.”She chuckled. “Thank you very much.”“You are welcome. I have a favor to ask, though.”“Which is?”He