Stephania was quick to quip, “Are you implying that I’m a jinx?”
Molly found herself intrigued by Stephania’s unconventional thinking. “You’re quite interesting, Stephania. I’m starting to like you.”
Sure enough, Jack showed up at Chade Inc. the next day. Molly went to the basement to avoid him.
On the third day, Jack brazenly entered Chade Inc. Molly was irate. She pulled out a pocket knife she carried around and shouted in the busy lobby, “Alright, Jack, you claim to love me. Prove it. Cut off a finger to show your love. If you do it, I’ll be your girlfriend. If you don’t, I’ll call the cops if you bother me again!”
The surrounding crowd quieted down to watch the spectacle unfold.
Jack was taken aback. The Molly he remembered was gentle, intelligent, and elegant, not this fiery, unpredictable, and arrogant woman. “Molly, stop this nonsense.”
“I mean it, Jack. Either show me a severed finger, or stay away from me forever!”
After saying that, Molly stormed out of the lobby leaving Jack standing in awkward silence.
Molly had already rejected Jack multiple times. She told her mother, “Mom, it’s not about saving dignity. If he keeps this up, he’s just proving himself to be a creep. He’s not just pursuing me. He’s harassing me.”
Coleen was furious. “Your father and brother aren’t home, but it doesn’t mean he can walk all over us.”
Coleen called for the manager over the intercom, “Manager, come upstairs.”
She sent her daughter off to work.
For safety’s sake, Molly called her nephew. “Leo, are you free?”
“I’m busy,” Leo replied.
He had lost weight, but his muscles had become more defined. He was no longer the pushover he used to be.
“That’s a shame,” Molly said.
“Are you asking me to be your chauffeur again?”
Molly explained, “Jack’s been bothering me. He’s been loitering outside my office.”
Leo paused before saying, “Don’t leave the building. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
When Leo arrived, he found Jack still in the lobby. He walked over and sat down across from Jack. “Congrats, Jack. You’ve taken over your father’s shares and pushed him out of the company. You’re the boss now.”
Jack treated Leo with newfound respect. “Mr. Leo, it was just a family matter, nothing like the rumors suggest. My father’s getting old. It’s natural for me to take over. I still fulfill my duties as a son.”
Leo scratched his ear thoughtfully. “That’s a nice way to put it. I may not be in the business world, but I’m Andre’s nephew. I know enough. Jack, you went against your father’s wishes, forcefully taking his shares and pushing him out. Your so-called ‘duties as a son’ is more like a death sentence.”
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