Chapter 62

62 First Challenge

There was nothing there apart from a sign bearing his name on his table that would tell the tale that Brandon was the owner of this room. This did not quite match with the memory that I had of him but then I knew best that people could change.

“Sit down,” Brandon commanded as he sat down on one of the sofas.

I took the seat opposite him and knew that serious business starts now. Brandon looked at me with his grey eyes before he sighed while I waited for him to speak.

“The board of directors and some representative of the shareholders will be here later today in the afternoon,” he said.

“Don’t worry, I’ll just wait here or something...” I quickly said reassuringly.

“That’s not it. They’re here with the sole purpose of seeing you,” Brandon quickly corrected.

“To see me?” I asked incredulously.

Why would important people like that want to see me? I had nothing to do with Renox...right?

“More precisely, they’re here to see my fiancée to make sure that she really exists. It’s so stupid, really...” Brandon said with a bored expression on his face.

.....

If I recalled correctly, Brandon wanted me to act as his fiancée to please his family so that they could leave him and his love life alone and marriage is required for him to take over his father’s chain of hotels and casinos. That doesn’t quite explain the meeting later today, though.

“Sorry, I don’t quite follow. I thought that I only needed to act as your fiancée in front of your parents...” I said with slight confusion.

“That’s right. If I have a fiancée my parents will stop introducing me to worthless women with the hope that we’ll get married, and I can focus more on my work. There’re many things that I need to work on and I don’t have the time or effort to date anyone and marriage is the furthest thing from my mind right now,” Brandon stated, sounding very bored and sick of it all.

“Aha...” I murmured.

“However, for both my father’s company and my own, the board of directors and some shareholders are demanding for me to settle down for the long-term stability of the business. It doesn’t make any sense but that’s the hand that I’ve been dealt,” Brandon said passively.

“Ok, then for today’s meeting...” I said as I started to get the direction that this was heading.

“Correct. I’ll introduce you to everyone as my girlfriend who I plan to get engaged with as soon as possible with their approval,” Brandon concluded.

Wait, then that means...

“You’re a smart girl, Elena. The keyword is ‘with their approval’. This is your first challenge. Can you get the board of director’s approval to be my fiancée in today’s meeting, please?” Brandon said with a mocking grin.

Huh?!

When I first took on this case, I knew that it would be massively difficult because it’s Brandon that I’m dealing with but this is just...

How am I supposed to convince the board of directors? Aren’t they all super senior and experienced? They also held high position in society and the meeting is already this afternoon!

“I was right to charge you 20 times the usual rate...” I muttered underneath my breath without thinking.

“What did you say?” Brandon asked followed by a soft laugh that told me that he heard all that I had said just now.

“This is crazy! Why didn’t you tell me this before?” I turned to snap at him in my panic.

To my extreme anguish, Brandon just laughed as I continued to panic in the face of such a grim situation.

“Why are you just sitting there laughing? Have you gone mad?” I snapped.

“You’re just very funny when you’re all bothered and flustered,” Brandon replied while still laughing a little.

“I don’t want to hear that from you right now. How can you drop a bomb like that on me?” I cried out in frustration.

“Obviously because I’m paying you an exorbitant amount for you to deal with it for me,” Brandon replied unfazed.

Breathe, Elena, breathe!

“How do I convince them? What do I have to do?” I asked in rapid succession.

“To be honest, I’m not sure...but I was sure that you could figure something out,” Brandon replied like it wasn’t his problem.

I looked at him as I was stunned into silence. My mouth dropped opened and I must have looked very dumb right at that moment.

“This is ridiculous. Tell me, what do they have in mind? What do they expect to see?” I inquired again.

“I don’t know. Maybe something that will convince them that we’re truly in love and serious about relationship?” Brandon threw in a few guesses.

My eyes narrowed at his suspiciously. Honestly, how am I supposed to show that in a meeting? Despite my anxiety and high level of stress, Brandon seemed relaxed and at ease as he lounged on the leather sofa. I placed my fingers in between my brows and stretched them apart to keep myself from frowning. Botox is expensive...

“What happens if they don’t believe us?” I asked.

“Hmm...I’ll probably have to find another way to convince them,” Brandon said as if in thought.

“And the contract?” I asked further.

“Void. It’ll be voided immediately if you fail,” Brandon stated.

I knew it! If I don’t succeed, I’m going to have to kiss this job goodbye along with all the money that came with it. Why didn’t I ask for a hundred times the usual rate?!

“You’re really just taking advantage of me, aren’t you?” I muttered bitterly.

“What are you talking about? You asked for 20 times the usual rate and I agreed. Completely fair and square,” Brandon replied with a chuckle.

I hated to admit it, but he did have a point. Now, how should I deal with this mess...?

“How much time do I have till the meeting?” I asked.

“2 hours and 42 minutes, precisely,” Brandon said as he glanced down at his watch.

“Shit...” I muttered softly.

Suddenly the sofa shifted underneath me, and I looked up to realize that Brandon had planted himself next to me.

–To be continued...