chapter 2

Chapter 2 Clara After Jake's birthday, we got along pretty well. A few weeks later, he asked me out, as he officially asked me to be his girlfriend, and I said yes. Things have been going smoothly since then. My dad likes him; he thinks that he is good for me. Today is a very special day for me. Today, Papa is handing everything over to me. Today I get to be the CEO of Grey's Enterprise. Straightening my clothes, I walked into the boardroom with my head held high; my dad wore a proud smile on his face. At the end of everything, the board seemed happy with my father's decision and they congratulated me on my newest position. I was told I am to resume work tomorrow. When I entered my office, I found Juliana in my office, on my seat. "What are you doing here Juliana? You should be in your office working". "Yeah, I know, but I came to congratulate you on your newest position. I am very happy for you". I smiled at her "thank you very much" She cleared her throat "with you occupying the seat of the CEO, which leaves your seat as the vice President vacant. So I can't really wait to transfer my stuff into this office". I know what I am about to say will definitely make her sad "I am not appointing you as the vice President". She stared at me with her mouth and eyes wide open "what do you mean by that?" I sat down beside her. " You know that you still suck as a manager, no offense sweetie, so I can't make you a vice president when you can't even be a proper manager". "You must be joking". "No, I am not. I want to appoint Abraham as the acting vice President, so whenever I see that you are ready to become the vice president, I'll hand it over to you" She glared at me. " I am going to talk to Daddy". "In case you haven't noticed, daddy doesn't get to make the decisions around here anymore. Juliana, I'm not doing this to spite you or something, I'm doing this for the company's sake". She stood up and stared at me for what seemed like forever and then left my office. I never saw her that day again, not even during dinner. Dad noticed that there was a strain between us so he asked me what was going on and I told him everything and also told him my reason for making such a decision. The next day, my dad showed up at the office just to pick up a few of his personal stuff. So here I am, sitting in my father's seat as the CEO but my thoughts were disrupted by Jack's call, "Hello babe". "Hi Clara, can I talk to you?" Okay, he is kinda confusing me. "Uuh we are talking." He let out a small laugh "I mean in person". "Is everything okay? You sound down". He let out a deep breath "I don't know Clara. That is why I want to talk to you". I looked at my schedule for the day. " Okay, I can give you my lunch time. Is that okay with you?" "Yeah it's fine. I love you Clara" I smiled, "I love you too, Jake. I'll see you later". "Yeah sure, have a nice day". With that, the call ended. It was past lunchtime and Jake was yet to show his face. I've called him several times and his number sent me straight to voicemail. Looking at my wristwatch, I knew I couldn't wait for him any longer. I am supposed to have a meeting after lunch. I stood up to leave but stopped when the door opened and Jake apparently ran inside. He saw me standing, ready to leave. " I'm so sorry babe, I didn't mean to keep you waiting." I glared at him "I called you thrice. Where did you drop your phone?" Frantically patting himself, "I don't know, I probably left it at home. I'm so sorry." "We will have to keep it short. I have a meeting after lunch but I can push it a little further". He nodded "it's okay, I am fine with that". I smiled "okay..... So what's up?" He sat down. "I lost my job, Clara." My brows furrowed "how? When? He shrugged, "the company is having a bad time so they relieved most of us of our duties". I took his hands into mine and squeezed his hands. " Hey, it's okay." He removed his hand, running it down his face. " It is not okay Clara. I took a loan from the bank. I was planning to pay back slowly with some of my monthly income but, from the look of things, I don't even have any means of paying it back". I raised my brows "like how much are we talking about?" "One million dollars". I choked on my water. " One million what? What did you do with the money?" "I gave it to my sister." "You gave your sister one million dollars? For what? "Her husband left her when he found out that she had cancer and needed money for treatment. She is on the verge of losing her house because her husband took a loan from the bank with the house as a collateral. She also needs money for the kids. So I had to do something". "That's a whole lot of money, Jake". "I know that is why I am asking for your help". "You want me to give you a million dollars?" He shook his head. "I want you to give me a job in your company. I have good qualifications, Clara. All I am asking for is an open slot please". I bit my lower lip. "I'll talk to my dad about it, then I'll get back to you." "You are now the CEO Clara, you do not need to run to your dad for a decision as simple as employment. It's not as if I am asking for something improper. I am qualified, Clara. You can take a look at my resume if you want". "That is not necessary. I'll see what I can do. I think I can squeeze you in somewhere. Just come to the office on Monday, let's see where we can fix you". He gave me a smile, a big, warm smile, one that I love. "Thank you so much babe, I really love you." "I love you too, Jake". I looked at my wristwatch, I need to get going. I'll see you tonight, okay? He nodded " okay" I placed a warm kiss on his lips and left the building.