Chapter 99 CHAPTER 99
Evelyn's POV
I pushed the door open and walked in. My shoes clicked rhythmically on the marble floor. I stopped for a moment to take the beauty in. It was exactly to taste.
“Good morning, CEO,” the receptionist said. “Congratulations on day one.”
I smiled at her in response.
Moon's enterprise was back.
I continued past the reception, up the elevator to the third floor where my office was. It was my first day living the dream I had held in my heart for so long.
But the battle was not over yet. I was determined to take back everything that had been stolen from me and my mum. Every single thing.
Jake was the first person I hosted in my office. He doubled as the internal auditor for the company and as my private investigator. We were looking for ways to retrieve the money Xavier had stolen and stashed away.
There was a thin folder in his arm as he poked his head through the door. Jake was the youngest member of staff and was also my friend in a way.
“Madam CEO,” he teased, knocking in mock rhythm of the clicks of my shoes on the door. “Happy first day in office.”
“Come in, Jake,” I said, my eyes returning to the screen in front of me.
He pulled the chair in front of me and collapsed on it. I looked at him. There was a thin flower strapped underneath his armpit. Perhaps he had good news for me today.
I closed the laptop. “I need some good news to boost my first day here, Jake.”
“I'm not the board, Evelyn. I bring good news, most times. How's the baby?”
I smiled. “She's growing fast. What do you have for me, Jake?
He dropped the folder on the desk. “We found our middleman. Kyle.”
“Kyle?” I repeated.
Was it the same dame Kyle that I knew as Xavier's childhood friend?
He pushed the folder to me. It contained just a single piece of paper. “Him.”
I recognised him instantly. “Yeah, I know this Kyle. He's the middle man?”
“He's the person we need to deal with.”
I nodded. “I need this process sped up, Jake. Skip briefing me until you find something I need to see. I need this money before we lose track of it.”
“Yes, chief.”
He stood up.
“More importantly, I need this money to be treated as my personal money and not the company's. Make sure you don't have them mixed up when filing.”
He grinned and walked out of the office.
It had been a month since I started picking up the pieces of my life. I was able to get back my father's company through the anonymous buyer that had purchased it from Xavier. He placed me as CEO, but he owned half of the company. I had a small share but it was a deal I had never expected.
My memory was fully restored and Xavier was still undergoing trial. After receiving the deal, I started looking into the accounts and I found out large amounts of money had been moved. They were moved to different offshore accounts that had been linked to Xavier.
Xavier had been stealing from my father's company till we went bankrupt. Now, I need to get that money back. The money I would retrieve would be enough to buy the company back.
I didn't hear much from Alpha Michael after that evening at the garden. He only sent me part payment for my contract and I received a letter of offer from Greywood Industries. They wanted to compensate me for the two products that Rosaleen had stolen from me. The letter sat on my desk for many days unattended, until it got lost amongst my things.
I was not going to be compensated. I wanted full rights to my products. I never signed them as part of Greywood's properties. They were stolen.
I pushed my seat back. Today was the first meeting I would be having with them with my lawyer. Perhaps I was going to see Alpha Michael after a whole month.
—
Walking into Greywood felt like walking into a bad childhood memory. I had to remind myself that this time, I wasn't here as an employee. I wasn't here to please anyone. I was here as the CEO of Moon's enterprise.
My lawyer was Shane, a badass corporate lawyer who decided that my life inspired her enough for her to represent me at half the rate she charges others. She was like me, smallish and a bit tough. Together, I hoped we would be able to shake the legal defences of Greywood Industries.
We were ushered into the conference room, the same one I had been on that day that Xavier and Rosaleen kidnapped me.
“I was supposed to defend ownership of my product in this same room one month ago,” I said, leaning close to Shane. “Guess I'm taking it back today.”
She smiled. “The odds are in our favour.”
I heard an investigation had been carried out by Alpha Michael in my absence and Rosaleen was found to have stolen the products. Tamara testified against her and there were a couple of other staff who came out to say she bribed them to sabotage my work in one way or the other. She eventually got fired from the company but right now, she was Alpha Michael’s fiancée.
He was the first to step into the conference room, and seeing him after so long shattered all the defences I thought I had built around me. My chest tightened and I felt cold shivers on my body.
“He's your ex? This god of a man?” Shane asked, whispering.
I glared at her. “Are you not supposed to be on my side?”
She let out a whoosh of air. “I mean I've heard legends about him but nothing prepared me for this sight. I'm sweating.”
“Well, I'm shivering,” I said and we laughed.
Our eyes met just then and he walked towards us. My poor heart was pounding out of control in my chest. Why did he have so much effect on me when I thought I'd moved on?
“Evelyn,” he said, stretching his hand towards me. “It's good to see you again.”