Chapter 5

“Since it's for my safety. I accept.”

Richmond's brow raised in surprise. He hadn't anticipated her agreement would come so easily.

“I'm proud of you, Joan,” he said with a smile. Joan nodded once. No smile.

“But why did he choose me?”

Richmond exhaled and rolled his eyes, “I can't explain that. Perhaps you can ask him when you meet.”

“Hmm, but Uncle, don't you think Tristan wants me because of the Langley Corp?”

“No, I don't think so,” Richmond said, shaking his head. “Langley Corp is nothing compared to what Tristan owns. If anything, Langley Corp will benefit more if you marry Tristan.”

Joan took a breath and nodded thoughtfully. She parted her lips to ask another question, but nervously shut her mouth when seven men in black, tailored suits advanced toward them in unison.

Joan flinched, fear taking over her. Richmond, however, remained composed. Drawing from his calmness, she straightened in her seat and steadied her breathing.

The man who appeared to be their leader stepped forward and bowed slightly. “I am George. Head of Household Security for Blake.”

Joan looked at Richmond. He met her gaze and gave a brief nod of confirmation.

“My master is inviting you to dinner tomorrow evening.” George said, and handed Joan a black business card. Without another word, he turned to his associates and they left.

Joan looked down at the card in her hand. Her heart skipped as she read the name: Tristan Blake.

“What does he look like?” She turned to Richmond.

Richmond adjusted his seat before answering. “He’s hardly seen in society, but his name is always heard. From what I hear, Tristan is a cold, indifferent billionaire. You do not need him to be romantic, Joan. You need his shield.”

Joan exhaled, taking in Richmond’s words. After what she had seen with Keon, she did not think she needed a husband anymore. If Tristan could only be there to protect her inheritance, that would be enough.

“I’ll see him tomorrow,” Joan replied and rose to her feet.

“Thanks for coming,” Richmond said with a smile. Joan smiled back and left.

She got home to find the house empty. Keon and Eliana had not returned from the park. At least, she had the house to herself so she continued packing.

She was still packing when her phone buzzed with a message. It was from Keon.

“Hey babe. Eliana asked Kimberly to take her to Disney World instead of the park. Kimberly is still a stranger. I cannot leave our child alone with her, so I went with them. I'm sorry I didn't ask your permission first. Trust me, Kimberly and I are staying in different rooms.”

Joan hissed after reading the text and threw her phone onto the bed. She continued packing her dresses into boxes.

“I thought Eliana was sick and needed rest. Now, she wants Disney,” she muttered to herself and hissed again, clearly annoyed.

A few minutes later, another text came in from Keon. This time, Joan almost jumped out of her skin out of excitement.

“Please, can you oversee the company temporarily until I return? Please handle clients, sign off on payroll and close deals.”

Joan didn't waste time before texting him back. “Sure. Enjoy yourself.”

She couldn't believe Keon would finally give her access after she had begged him for over two years. She had written proposals, built his client base from scratch and made his company a priority, yet Keon never wanted her in a position at the company. He had made her work from home.

Now, because he was having fun with Kimberly, he finally gave her a chance.

“This is the opportunity I needed, and it came at the right time!” Joan exclaimed, her laughter filled the room.

“Keon has no idea what he's about to lose.” Joan said through her laughter. And she could not wait to make it happen.

The next morning, Joan woke up early to go to the company. Keon had texted her a reminder. She planned to leave the office early so she could attend dinner with Tristan Blake.

Keon already informed the staff. Everyone was already expecting Joan to represent him and make major decisions until he returned.

“Ms. Thompson, we have a meeting with one of our top clients in thirty minutes time,” the secretary told Joan, placing the document on the table.

Joan nodded and dismissed her. She reviewed the document. It was the last project she had helped Keon prepare.

The client asked difficult questions about budget and timelines. Joan answered each one perfectly to their shock. Without wasting much time, the ten million dollar deal was closed.

All the Elite Corp staff present in the boardroom were shocked by Joan's performance. The meeting was fast and successful.

Keon's call came the moment Joan returned to her office. Someone was quick to inform him before her.

“Thank you, Joan. I’ll write to the board to appoint you Vice President.”

Joan's eyes narrowed. Why did he suddenly want to give her the position now? He had never wanted her to be seen at the company. That was why he only allowed her work from home.

Keon dropped the call and turned to Kimberly. “I can't believe Joan won the client in one meeting. I had two meetings with him and he wasn't satisfied.”

“It's just luck. It's not like she's more professional than you,” Kimberly said, jealousy bleeding through her tone.

Kimberly wanted to distract Keon from thinking about Joan’s performance, so she started talking about them.

But Keon had grown absent-minded. Somehow, he found himself thinking about Joan and regretting how badly he had treated her.

His mother had never known about Kimberly.

To the Thompson family, Eliana was his adopted daughter.

Kimberly's family was one of the richest in the city. She'd only taken the job at Elite Corp to stay close to Keon.

When Keon's mother told him about Joan, Keon had agreed too easily. Because Kimberly had just threatened that morning.

“Either you take care of Eliana so I can go for my masters, or I tell both our families that Eliana is yours and that we're married.”

Marrying Joan solved everything.

“Keon!!” Kimberly yelled at him, jolting him back.

“Joan….. Kimberly,” Keon stammered, and the slip got on Kimberly's nerves.

In Keon's office, Joan spun slowly in the executive chair, a small smile on her lips. She'd just finished scrolling through Tristan Blake’s page and couldn't stop thinking about him. The man was unfairly handsome. Her heart beat faster as his face replayed in her mind.

“No,” she whispered, biting the inside of her cheek. “Focus, Joan.”

She sat up straight, took a deep breath, and opened Keon’s computer. She started scrolling, downloading every sensitive document, financial statements, clients information...

Everything she needed to bring Elite Corp to the ground.