Chapter 48-Maya discovered contract
Jonathan's POV...
"Between London and Dubai, which place is better to set up our tech company?" I asked Richard.
He thought for a minute. "They're both great places... but I honestly think we should establish first in Dubai, because of tax. Then later on... we can set up a branch in London"
I nodded. "That's a good idea," I looked at him. "Get everyone. We'll be having a board meeting by 11am," I ordered.
"Yes sir," he answered and bowed slightly before leaving.
I reached for the intercom. "Miss Tracy, I'd like to see you," I sent for my secretary.
A few minutes later, I heard a knock.
"Come in,"
The door opened slowly and she walked in. "You sent for me sir,"
"Yes, I did," I closed my laptop and picked a green file from my desk. "I've signed these documents," I said as I waved the file in front of her.
"I need you to work on them and present them according to the date specified in each contract,"
Technically, I can do that work myself. I do it all the time. But if I was going to pay her, then she should as well do the work.
"I'll be expecting them next week," I added.
"Yes sir," she nodded.
"That's enough time for you to sort it out. I need them to be accurate. No mistakes" I laid emphasis on no mistakes.
Wait a minute... since when did I become a caring employer? I always gave my employees tasks to complete with a deadline and I didn't usually care if it was short or not. What changed?
"Clear my schedule. I have a board meeting with staff and stakeholders so I wouldn't be seeing anybody. Most importantly... no distractions,"
She nodded quickly.
"Here," I handed the file over to her. "Don't disappoint me,"
"Yes sir," she answered and left.
I picked my phone to send a message to Audrey. This morning, we planned to meet up so we can spend the evening outdoors. I was going to pick her from work. We wanted to show off.
But right now, I have a board meeting and extra work waiting to be done. I had to cancel our plans.
I opened WhatsApp and I saw an unread message from Maya.
'I miss our childhood. When we were friends and hung out. I miss you Jonathan' the message read.
I scoffed. "Does she expect me to reply after the stunts she had pulled?"
I quickly typed my message and sent it.
There came a knock at the door. I looked up from my phone.
"Come in,"
The door opened and Richard walked in. "Everyone is at the boardroom and waiting,"
"Good," I nodded and stood up. "I want you to burn this contract," I raised a document in a blue file to him.
"Sir?" His eyes widened. "You want to burn a contract?"
"Yes. The contract between Audrey and I," I clarified and he heaved in relief.
"I thought you wanted me to burn a business contract,"
I smiled and shook my head. "No," I dropped it on the table. "I'll drop it here. Take care of it later,"
He bowed slightly and left and I followed suit. I placed my pen on the contract file and stepped out of the office and shut the door.
Third person's POV...
Two hours after the board meeting started, Maya arrived.
"I'm here to see Jonathan," she announced as she approached the secretary's desk.
Tracy stood up. "Miss Maya, you're welcome," she bowed slightly.
Maya just waved her hands. "Is Jonathan in?"
"No ma'am. He specifically made it clear that he didn't want to see anyone. Besides, there's a board meeting right now" she cleared her throat. "But you're family and I can't deny you entry..."
"Yes. I'm family," Maya said with pride as she raised her shoulders. "I'm very special to him. I'm his childhood sweetheart,"
Tracy furrowed her brows in confusion. How can she be his sweetheart? What about Miss Audrey?
"I'll need you to get me pizza. I'll wait for him and I might get hungry... so make it quick," Maya reached into her bag and threw some money at the secretary.
She faced forward and entered Jonathan's office. Maya walked inside the office and her eyes scanned everywhere.
"I've missed this place," she muttered and closed her eyes as she inhaled deeply, letting the lingering scent of Jonathan fill her nostrils.
She walked around and finally approached Jonathan's desk. She pulled the chair out and sat on it, at the same time placing her bag on the desk.
She reclined on the chair and closed her eyes. "This is how it should be," she muttered. "Coming to my boyfriend's office and seating on his chair,"
She slowly sat up and started opening the drawers.
"What has he been up to lately?" She shut the drawer and opened the second. "What business deals and contracts has he signed since the last time I came here?"
She flipped through the papers she found in the drawer.
"Just some old books and documents," she murmured. She knew he didn't keep important documents in his drawer.
Just then... something caught her attention. Her bag was sitting on a blue tile on the desk.
"Ooh, what's this?" She gently removed her bag and picked up the blue file. The pen fell to the floor.
She took out the papers from the file as she went through the heading.
"Engagement Agreement?" She read aloud and furrowed her brows. "What's this all about?"
'This agreement is made between Jonathan Ryder (hereafter referred to as "Party A") and Audrey Willows (hereafter referred to as "Party B")'
The first line of the document read.
"What type of agreement did Jonathan and that Audrey have?"
She flipped a page and she gasped in shock and gaped at the papers.
Obligation of party A
'Party A agrees to publicly acknowledge Party B as his fiancée'
'Party A shall maintain respectful behavior toward Party B in both private and public settings'
'Party A shall not engage in romantic or intimate relationships with any third party during the duration of this agreement'
She clutched the paper with both hands and sighed in disbelief. She turned to another page.
Obligations of Party B
'Party B agrees to publicly acknowledge Party A as her fiancé'
'Party B shall attend public events with Party A when required'
'Party B shall maintain discretion regarding the terms of this agreement'
Maya looked away from the paper and stared into oblivion.
"So their relationship isn't real after all? Just a contract" She laughed humorlessly. "Everything was a facade to cover up huh?"
"I knew it," she slammed her hands on the table. "Jonathan would never have anything to do with that woman. She must have coaxed him into this... the same way her mother did with her father,"
Her eyes widened with a wicked glint in them. Then... she started laughing menacingly.
"This is my chance. Jonathan is mine. I won't let that nobody take him or use him ever again. What a happily ever after for me," she continued laughing.
She took out her phone from her bag. "Time to show the world the type of person their beloved Audrey Willows really is," she opened her camera app and positioned the document properly to take pictures of it.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Maya raised her head in alarm and glared at the door with gritted teeth, her jaw clenched.
She smiled out of the corner of her lips. A knock wouldn't stop her from exposing Audrey and reclaiming Jonathan.
This is bad. Really really bad. But I guess it was bound to happen anyways. Keep supporting their love story guysss.