Dealing With Solevan

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

DEALING WITH SOLEVAN

COPYRIGHT 2019 © JOESLINE

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

A knock interrupted us.

"Come in." Jayden spoke.

Emily walked into the room. Her eyes met mine before she looked down on the floor. Things must be not looking good. I asked with a heavy heart, "Majority votes for Roy?"

She did an unwillingly nod towards my question. Of course. It wouldn't make any sense that they would vote for an ex-wife that married for money.

I turned to Jayden for his comment but to my surprise, he didn't seem any disappointed. Did he expect that I would be voted out as well? For some reason, I couldn't feel any less happy that Jayden wasn't disappointed about the result. He left his chair and started straightening his attire.

"Let's go."

Just as we were getting nearer to the conference room, laughter was heard echoing through the hallways. The people inside were obviously very happy with the voting result.

Among the cheering, Roy's father-in-law voice was the most prominent. He spoke with so much of pride, "Roy, I'm really happy for you. Now it's time that you show who's the boss-"

Just as he could finish his words, the oak door was opened. His smile was instantly replaced with astonishment. He wasn't expecting Jayden. Everyone that was inside the room stood froze, unable to react towards Jayden's unnotified presence.

Moments later, Grace coughed to interrupt the awkward silence. She looked at Jayden and greeted him, "Jayden"

Jayden acknowledged her greet with a brief smile before settling himself on the lead seat. He raised his hand, gesturing the crowd to return back to their seats. His body language spoke of an absolute authority. Everyone followed through without a question. As for me and Emily, we continued to stood beside Jayden.

After everyone had settled down, Jayden adjusted himself to a comfortable position as he asked, "So Emily, who are the ones that voted Annie out?"

"Elson, Grace, Francis, Wesley and-" Emily frowned as she turned towards Jayden's uncle, "Bill."

My eyes widened at the name. I couldn't comprehend. This was the same man that had been assuring me when I was feeling insecure about taking up this role.

The old man laughed as he attempted to conceal his nervousness, "My dear nephew." Oh now, you are playing the blood-related card?

He continued, "If only I knew you were safe, I wouldn't have voted otherwise. I was just making sure that the company could continue to operate well while you were away. To be honest, you can't blame me to vote for Roy. Ms Swift clearly is not capable of taking up such a huge role." And now I am Ms Swift already?

I folded my arms, as my eyes fumed in anger. But he could be right about me. The wave of my insecurity hit me again. If I was even competent enough, I would have seen through the tricks up his sleeve.

Jayden tapped on the conference table while he addressed Bill, "Uncle"

I watched the man that was still dominating the place with his confidence. His charisma was undeniable.

Jayden smiled, "I believe no one will know better when I took off every time for my business trips."

A muscle twitched involuntarily at the corner of Bill's right eye; his mouth formed a rigid.

Jayden smirked, "I believe it's time that we call the police in."

Without much hesitation, Bill stood up and slammed on the table in agitation. He exclaimed, "You have no proof that I caused the accident!"

The smile in Jayden's face did not fade off, "I have not mentioned anything about an accident or even me being in danger." His eyes stared at Bill, sending chills down the old man's spine.

Bill stuttered as he uncontrollably had his finger pointed at Jayden, "Y-You...."

Then he paused. Colour drained his face. It was as if he had come to realize that Jayden had outwitted him in his own game.

Jayden probed further, "Since you know about the mishap, I believe Officer John would like to know how you came to know about it."

Shortly after that sentence was thrown out, a man in a brown coat walked in. He flashed his permit and landed his hand on Bill's shoulder, "Mr Bill Solevan, I believe there are many questions awaiting for you to clarify back in our office."

--

Settling on the sofa with a magazine on hand, my lips rose on both ends. The mere thought of doing nothing felt exonerating. I leaned on one side as my eyes turned to the gorgeous looking man who was sitting beside.

After the drama that happened on the voting day, Bill was charged for tampering the engine of Jayden's private jet. As a result, the voting session became invalid with his charges. Jayden also removed Roy shortly from the company for collaborating with Bill to push for reappointment of the CEO of Solevan Holdings.

At this point of time, I had nothing but admiration for this man. And I hadn't noticed before of the weight of the world that he was carrying on his shoulder all this time. I had to admit that I was also a contributing factor. After I had developed feelings for Jayden, I would have forgotten about our agreement. We had a deal and I agreed to the terms. But I wanted more and I expected him to reciprocate. There was nothing wrong about wanting more. But instead of communicating with him about my feelings, I took it into my own hands and judged him unfairly.

Even when Anna attempted to drive us apart and I ran away, Jayden had never once let me go.

I held out my hand, "Jayden"

He looked up, giving me his full attention. I darted my glance away, embarrassed while I made an attempt to admit my mistake, "I'm... sorry for not trusting you."

Jayden's eyes turned soft. His lips raised on both ends as he took my hand and held it tightly, "I know that we didn't start it off right. And I never had a relationship without the terms and conditions set on paper."

Beads of tears dwelled at the edge of my eyes. This was the first time that I heard him opened up. I knew for a fact that Jayden had made himself emotionally unavailable since his mother had passed away. After Old Solevan found his new love with Melissa's mother, the disappointment must have been overbearing. Jayden's usual confidence could be an attempt to conceal the insecurity that he felt inside.

I winced, "I should be more understanding."

My throat constricted as tears started sliding down my cheek. He didn't deserve to be picking up his own pieces. He was so young and yet he had to grow up so quickly. Old Solevan might have thought that it was a good idea to find Jayden a new mother after his mother had passed away. But least did he know that he had his hurt his son by doing so. Jayden's mother was his life and she could never be replaced.

"I will learn to love you.", Jayden wiped off those tear stains from my face, "I promise."

His mesmerizing eyes held my gaze as he added, "I can't undo my past and I can't erase the terrible mistakes that I made. But I will, from now onward, to love you, care for you and make the effort to understand you."

"I... am out of words to tell you how important you are to me." He took a deep breath, "If I have to sacrifice anything and everything to be with you, I will do it."

Those words stirred a little unrested emotion in me. Butterflies wrestled in my stomach as I embraced his confession wholeheartedly.

His gaze held mine, "Annie, will you marry me and make me the happiest man on earth?"

***

Author's Note:

I am so happy that I managed to squeeze in another chapter for the update! Hope you guys will love it!