Chapter 20 CHAPTER 20
Evelyn’s POV
“We want to sell the company.”
I stopped on the brake suddenly. I was driving to work today. “What?”
“We need the money, Evelyn. You seem to have forgotten we have needs because yours are being taken care of,” Madeleine spat out.
I had just sent her a large sum of money a few days ago. Why was she suddenly spending so much?
“The lawyer told me you have no plans in selling your shares,” she continued. “Do you want to resurrect the company? We have debtors to settle."
I stepped on the gas and made a quick turn. “I won’t sell off the only thing dad left to us,” I said. “I will settle the debtors and pull back the company to its feet."
She laughed. “I’m not in this with you. Xavier has a share in the company, as well as my little cut. We want to sell it. Unless you are willing to buy them, forget this mission."
The line went dead.
I grunted. What an abominable selfish woman.
I had to speak to Xavier. He was the only sensible one of the lot. I would convince him to have faith in the company and give me time. Xavier and I owned about half of the shares of the company. If only I could convince Michael to buy these shares.
I pulled up in my designated spot in the garage. At least I had a special parking space as the wife of the CEO. Besides that, I couldn’t see any other perks to being the CEO’s wife. I took the elevator to my floor and strolled into my office. My eyes landed on my proposal, sitting on my desk. I heaved a deep sigh. How was I going to save my father’s legacy if no one would even listen to me?
I sat on my chair and listened to the lesson that morning. By noon, I was done . I pushed my chair behind, grabbed the proposal and marched to Alpha Michael’s office. I was going to make sure I didn't leave without getting an audience.
His secretary greeted me politely as I walked into her office. “Is the CEO on the seat?” I asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” she replied, rising to her feet and leading the way.
Michael was just dropping the receiver of his land phone when I walked in. He looked at me, then the secretary and back at me again. The secretary curtseyed and took her leave.
“I’ve told you, you cannot just walk in here without due process,” he said, leaning against his seat. His eyes took in the navy wool sheath I was putting on, and from the way his eyes lingered, I knew I had not splurged almost three thousand dollars in vain.
“I’m not leaving until you listen to my pitch,” I said, walking closer. I didn't know if this new found confidence was coming from desperation to save what was left of mine, or the clothing that made me feel like I belonged in that room. Perhaps both.
“You shouldn’t be at work today,” he said instead,loosening his tie. his fingers struggled slightly to undo the tie. I walked closer to him.
“Let me help you.”
I leaned so close to him that I could feel the strong scent of his cologne, that I could almost hear his heart beating and I stopped myself from smiling when I saw how uncomfortable he was. “You should have checked on me before leaving for work today,don’t you think so,” I whispered close to his ears. “You are my husband afterall.”
I undid the tie and leaned up.
“You have five minutes, Evelyn,” he said, arranging a pile of papers on his desk.
"Five minutes is enough.”
I walked back to the front of the desk and pulled out a copy of my proposal. I dropped it on the desk. “This is the synergy project," I started. Suddenly the door flew open and Rosaleen rushed in.
She looked at me only briefly before facing Michael. “I’m so sorry to interrupt you, but this is very urgent.”
“What is this about?” his fingers drummed on the desk, thrice.
“We have a code red,” she said. “Our broadcast feed went blank and we’ve been unable to restart it.”
I bit my lips. Couldn’t she just call the technical team?
Michael rose up. “When did that happen?
“Almost ten minutes ago.”
“Michael -” I called.
“Not now, Evelyn. I’ll listen to that once this is sorted.”
I watched him walk out of the office, with Rosaleen’s heels clicking beside him. What a bitch. I knew she had made up whatever that was to get Michael away from me.
I dropped the folder on his desk and waited patiently. An hour passed and he didn’t return. I helped myself to some wine and looked through some of his documents. A lot of the company’s processes still used outdated means of storage and they were the things I planned to change if anyone would listen to me.
I sat on his chair and swirled it around, practising my pitch. I closed my eyes , saying the words I had repeated a couple of times until they stuck. When I opened my eyes, I was facing the window, and the view was breathtaking. Every CEO had a breathtaking view in New York. It seemed to be tradition.
My arm struck an envelope when I turned around again and it dropped. I leaned down to pick it up and a single piece of paper fell from it. When I saw my name written on it, I stopped. It was part of our marriage contract I had never seen.
“Upon dissolution of the contract, Evelyn Moon shall receive an annulment sum of $5 million and relinquish all shares in Greywood industries. Michael Greywood shall remain the sole custodian of any offspring conceived during the period of this contract and shall determine if they are to maintain any relationship with Evelyn Moon.”