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The office was quiet for what felt like forever, and Allen was sweating profusely under his suit.
He wanted to say something, anything to make things alright between himself and Elijah.
But he couldn’t think of anything that might ease the situation. So instead, he decided to say nothing
After another long pause, Elijah finally let out a sigh and then leaned forward, resting his elbow on the
armrest of his chair, and placing his chin upon his knuckles.
“Do you want to rethink your answer?” Elijah asked quietly, tilting his head to the side to catch a
glimpse of his eyes. Still unable to find any words, Allen stood there, shaking his head slowly, and then
he said timidly, “No! No… I mean… I can’t. Please don’t push this any longer… Mr. Maxwell. I mean,
Darius. I will gladly tell you everything you need to know about your account, but not someone else’s.”
Leaning forward further, Elijah’s voice lowered even more, “That’s good then.” “Please… I… wait,
huh?!” Allen stammered, completely taken aback by Elijah’s response. “Trust is a very fragile thing,
Wouldn’t you agree, Allen?”
“Well, yes! Of course, I do!”
“Very good.” Elijah stated, nodding his head and then saying, “Then I’ll trust you to not call me,
‘Maxwell again, and keep my profile at this bank confidential.”
Amazing at how twisted Elijah was and his mind games, Allen could only nod as he replied,” Yes, Mr.
Darius, I promise that I will keep my mouth shut.”
“Honestly, I am telling you this for your own good. You would want to get on my good side, wouldn’t
you?”
Blinking, Allen looked at Elijah, and then nodded hurriedly, “Yessir! Absolutely!”
“Good, Now that the ball is rolling, I hope you won’t disappoint me…” Elijah said with a small smirk on
his lips as he watched Allen closely. “My trust is not something to be trifled with, so if you mess up, I
wouldn’t hate to make you pay.” ‘How did Miss Melina not know she was living with such a scary and
powerful man?’ Allen thought to himself as he gulped loudly. Then he forced a smile as he lowered his
gaze and stammered, “Y-Yes… Yessir!!”
Smiling, Elijah sat straight again, and then said, “Ok then… I want thirty thousand from my account.”
With wide eyes and a startled expression on his face, Allen stared at Elijah in total disbelief
and confusion, asking, “Thirty thousand dollars?” “Exactly,” Elijah said with a calm and collected tone
as he looked at Allen intently.
“May I ask what it is for?”
“No, you might not.”
Seeing that Elijah was getting annoyed, Allen nodded his head frantically and said, “Yessir!”
Then he walked over to his desk, sitting behind it before reaching for the phone and dialing a number.
After resting the phone against his ear, he waited for some time until he heard, “Hello, boss?”
“Get a briefcase, put thirty thousand from Mr. Elijah Darius’ account into it, and send it to my office,”
Allen said firmly, and then hung up the phone before looking at Ryan, Matt, and Elijah. Smiling
nervously, he tapped his finger on the table and then asked, “Should we start the withdrawal papers
now?”
Silently, leaving the sofa, Elijah walked over to the desk, took a seat in the chair, and said,” Let’s
begin.”
Pacing around the lobby, Peach kept nibbling on her nails, worried that Elijah wouldn’t be able to get
the money.
Her heart was beating fast in her chest as she thought of everything that could go wrong. And she
didn’t know why, but for some reason, she started to wonder if she should have gone with Elijah, Matt,
and Ryan.
“You might have no nails left before Elijah gets back.” James teased as he sat behind the counter.
Immediately, she stopped in her steps, rushed over to him, and leaned over the desk, asking,” What
does Elijah do for a living?”
That question came as a surprise to James as he looked at her with widened eyes before answering,
“Well, he’s an investor.”
A sense of pride washed over James as he smiled at his response, amazed that he could think of such
a good lie under such difficult circumstances.
Peach narrowed her eyes at him before asking, “An investor in what? What kind of investments does
he do?” James shrugged before answering nonchalantly, ‘He invests in things?” “Huh?” Peach
questioned, looking dumbfounded at him. “Like what?” “Oh, you know… stocks, real estate… bonds,
cars, that kind of stuff?” James suggested, throwing his random thoughts in the open, hoping she
grasped a clear understanding and stopped asking him questions.
But Peach looked even more confused as she continued to stare blankly at him, and then mumbled,
“When did he start this, and which business has he invested in?”
“Oh, um… the thing is, well…” James hesitated, trying to think of an excuse that would convince
Peach, “… He has not started investing yet… This is just a business plan in the making, and Elijah is
going to create the firm soon.”
Nodding slowly, Peach continued staring at James for another five minutes, until he mumbled, “It’s a
loan that he recently took from the bank that he’s going to use to establish it.
As Peach sat on a stool, her face darkened with sadness, and she rested her cheek on her fist as she
said sadly, “What Melina did to him must have pushed him to better himself… I don’t know if that’s a
good or bad thing…”
It was quiet between James and Peach for quite some time, until he broke the silence and asked
curiously, “Did you know Elijah was Melina’s ex-husband when we came here.”
“I know it will sound like a lie, but, ‘No.’ Peach said, picking at her nails nervously. “I didn’t know at all.
How could I have known? I tried to avoid anything concerning the ‘Hayes.’ News, magazines, TV
shows, movies, or even just the mention of that name, I don’t want to know about it. It hurts me deeply
to even speak that name aloud.”
Feeling hesitant, James study her teary eyes,
and after a moment of reluctance, he said softly, “How did you come to have such hate for your own
family?”
“Half family,” Peach corrected him as she wiped her tears away with her thumb.
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