Chapter 26
Yosiah
Xylina stopped in her tracks soon as she noticed her dad waiting in the conference room. I stopped next to her, watching how she reacted. I believed her when she told me she had cut her dad off and was no longer in communication with him, but I also wanted to see how she responded.
Phillip slammed his hand on the table and snarled, “It’s about time you showed up. Do you know how long I’ve been waiting!”
His rough tone snapped Xylina out of whatever trance she was in. She whipped her head in my direction, staring at me in curiosity.
“What’s going on, Yosiah?”
“What’s going on is your husband called me here, promising me to give me the hundred thousand you refused to as long as I left you alone,” Phillip answered for me.
“What? Is he telling the truth?”
Silently, I nodded.
Xylina shook her head. Her face twisted into a fury I hadn’t seen before.
“No,” she said, quietly at first then she faced her dad who had an impatient look on his face.
“No! Neither of us is giving you a dime!” This time her voice grew louder the more she spoke.
“You abandoned me and then came demanding money. How dare you?!”
“Listen you damn brat, you owe me. It’s because of you I’m on the run now. All you had to do was give me the money I asked for and all this shit could have been straightened out.”
“You being a shitty person and crooked businessman has nothing to do with me. I—” Xylina’s mouth snapped shut when I placed a hand on her shoulder. If I didn’t interfere, the two would break into a screaming match and we didn’t have time for that nor did I want to witness it.
“Phillip, what you’re not going to do is come here and disrespect my wife. No one owes you shit. If you want the money, then you’re gonna sit there quietly and listen to my conditions.”
His face reddened. Phillip didn’t look happy at being scolded by me and it was clear he had more to say but he tucked his tail between his legs instead. “Two hundred and fifty thousand.”
“Are you fucking crazy, he’s not—” Again I silenced Xylina by giving her shoulder a squeeze.
I couldn’t lie, this was the first time I’d seen her lose her cool like this and seeing it in defense of me had me looking at her in a different light.
But this wasn’t a fight she needed to get worked up about.
“Don’t stress our baby out.”
“But, Yosiah—”
“I’ve got everything under control. Trust me.” Again I squeezed her shoulder but this time in reassurance.
She inhaled then pushed a heavy breath out. Her face was still slightly tense but she gave me a stiff nod anyway.
“Listen to your husband, Xylina. A woman isn’t needed to talk business anyway. Just sit there and look pretty.”
His words turned my blood hot. I faced him with a frown. “Didn’t I just say to not disrespect my wife. Matter of fact, don’t mention her again or the deal’s off.”
The wounded yet pissed look on his face was exhilarating. Phillip was used to having the upper hand and calling the shots. Last time we were face to face, he had my dad and me by the balls. This time he was one hanging on by a thread.
My hand dropped from Xylina’s shoulder and went to her hand. I led her over to the table across from her dad. I pulled a seat out for her before taking one next to her.
I pulled my phone out to send a text when Xylina leaned over and whispered in my ear.
“Hearing your no nonsense business voice made my panties wet, hubby.”
I snorted, lifting one corner of my mouth and glancing at her. She had a dreamy look now plastered on her face. I grabbed her thigh under the table and squeezed. “Behave.”
She pouted and batted her lashes. “I’ll try.”
Shaking my head, I turned my attention back to the phone and sent a quick message before setting it face down next to me. My eyes went to Phillip and all playfulness left.
The air felt like a rubber band stretched too far, just waiting to snap.
Phillip watched both me and Xylina with irritation and impatience written all on his face.
His jaw clenched so tightly I wouldn’t be surprised if he cracked a tooth or two.
Under normal circumstances, one might find the environment suffocating, but it was entertainment for me.
Seeing Phillip on the begging end was better than finally finishing coding a new software for me.
I wanted him on edge and not knowing what was to come.
I was able to intercept one of his calls to Xylina without her knowing.
After hearing him instantly start yelling and throwing out demands before I could even say hello, I knew it was time for me to put my plan in motion to rid him from her life.
I promised him the money he wanted and we agreed for him to meet me today to get it and sign a no contact contract.
He was nothing but a burden, causing stress she didn’t need.
The door opened and my lawyer walked in.
“Who’s that?” Xylina asked, watching as Gloria sat next to me.
“My lawyer.” I faced Phillip. “Now that we’re all here. Let’s get started.”
“About time.” He sat up straight. His eyes lit up with anticipation for the first time.
“Our agreement is, I pay you and you disappear. You leave Xylina alone and never contact her again. Deal?”
“How much we talking about?” Phillip questioned.
I was disgusted by how money hungry he was. He didn’t care about his daughter and the fact that he was agreeing to cut ties with her. He didn’t even seem to care how she was doing. Watching and listening to him caused me to feel sympathy for the neglect Xylina suffered even more than I had before.
I faced Gloria and nodded for her to take over. “Mr. Bedford is offering you five hundred thousand dollars. It’s already set up in a private account that’s unable to be traced back to you.”
“What?” Xylina whipped to face me, but I shook my head. She didn’t look happy but didn’t interrupt again.
“All you have to do is sign this contract.” She opened her briefcase. “Ensuring you won’t contact Xylina Bedford again. Once signed, you’ll get this card with the money on it.”
“How do I know there’s money really in the account and this isn’t a scam?”
“You would know about scams, wouldn’t you Phillip? Gloria, show him the papers please.”
Again she went into her briefcase and pulled out papers, pushing them across the table. “As you can see, that’s the account information, printed today. The card in question is displayed as well, showing the total balance and active status.”
Phillip scanned the paper. “And all I have to do is sign and this is mine?” His eyes shot up to me.
“That’s it,” I agreed.
“Fine, give me the papers. It’s not a lot, but it’s enough for me to get out of town and start over.”
I watched as Phillip foolishly snatched the papers from Gloria and signed the areas Gloria read off.
“Here.” He tossed the papers back to our side. “Give me the card.”
Picking up my phone, I sent another text. I held my hand out and Gloria handed me the bank card. “You know Phillip, for a businessman, you should know the number one rule of business is to never sign anything without looking it over first.”
His face balled up. “What are you talking about?”
Just then, the door opened again. This time David, Phillip’s old business partner, walked in along with his lawyer. His eyes burned with hatred and instantly shot to Phillip, who looked like he’d seen a ghost.
“What the hell is this? What is he doing here?”
David silently took a seat at the end of the table. Phillip was lucky looks couldn’t kill or he’d be a dead man.
“You know what comes with being a shitty person and an even shittier businessman? Enemies. And you, Phillip, have made your fair share of them.”
“There are no friends in business. If you want to make it to the top, then you have to step on those in your way.”
“You fucker! You stole everything from me! If I didn’t have other investments lined up me and my family would be fucked!” David bellowed.
Phillip gave him a bored look. “Are you done? If you would have gotten on board with things, then you wouldn’t have those issues.”
“And end up on the run like you? No thank you.”
“Sometimes sacrifices need to be made. Only thing I did wrong was not tying up loose ends properly.” Phillip faced me. “Enough of this, hand me the card so I can get out of here!”
I shook my head. “Tsk, tsk.” It was clear Phillip was used to having people by the balls. His arrogant attitude was still in full force, but little did he know, I was about to humble him and smile while doing it.
I grabbed one of the forms Gloria had placed on the table in front of me during the ex-partners exchange.
“Insurance fraud, tax evasion, embezzlement, money laundering, bribery, blackmail, contempt of court, jumping bail.” I paused and whistled. “Along with enemies, you’ve racked up quite the amount of charges, Phillip.”
“What’s your point?”
“The point is you don’t seem to realize the position you’re in. Your money hunger hurt a lot of people and you have no remorse. You don’t even care that your daughter was left penniless because of you.”
The way he glared at his daughter made my hand clench. “She looks to be surviving fine to me. Plus she’s married to you. If she’s anything like her whore of a mother, she’ll be fine.”
Seeing Xylina slightly flinch at his words was the nail in the coffin for me. “Let’s wrap this up, shall we.”
“That’s what I’ve been saying this whole time! I signed the contract; now give me the card!” He held his hand out.
“One last thing and then we’re finished.”
He released a long, dragged out breath. “Gloria.”
Pulling out more papers, she passed them around the table, making sure everyone received one. I waited as everyone looked them over to gauge their reactions.
Phillip was the first to answer, this time taking time to read them. “What the hell is this!”