The Billionaire's Revenge

Chapter 4

Pearl was glowing when she came into work that morning. It was a day that was going to be full of activities for her. She had an early fact finding mission for a case and after that she had promised to visit the children foundation which was in Newham.

Pearl had volunteered to teach the children at least once a week for the next two months, and she excitedly looked forward to it. She loved children and was very fond of her nephews. And she was also a stickler for giving back to the community, so she volunteered a lot.

It was also the day she was going to have dinner with Derek Edensor, a man whom she had firmly thought she was not going to have anything more to do with or so she thought. But if not for anything she was quite captivated to know the next move in this little game which he played.

She had decided that she would play along and eventually beat him at his own game. She was beginning to get excited at the prospects of him conceding defeat. It would probably be the first time that he would lose at his own game.

As she stepped into the building she met Jake Morris -a senior associate- who was someone she considered as one of her closest friends on the job. He was tall, standing at a height of at least six foot five, Pearl was thankful that she managed not to look like a dwarf beside him like most women did. With an athletic body which gave him quite an added advantage, he was a dashingly handsome man.

They discussed a case which had been filed the day before and was due for court. They were to handle the case together and so they went straight into her office.

"What do you think would be considered normal procedure in the 4th Avenue case, jake?" Pearl asked as he sat on the chair opposite her desk.

"Well since the client is still suggesting that we hold on for him to find his so-called "eye witness", we might actually have to ask Judge Daniels for some added time." He replied

"We might actually have to be on our toes for this one Pearl, it seems completely innocent in my view." Jake said, pointing to a document he held up for her to see.

"Ah" she said as she spotted the clause in the document which she now held and was scanning through. "The man is willing to go all lengths to prove his innocence. I must say that I admire that quality in him." She said,

"Yes but the company we are up against, are as well willing to do it all to provide new proof showing his guilt." Jake said, "We must be prepared for the worst still, with fingers crossed." He added.

"I believe we will win the case in the end. He must be settled amicably. I must say that I am particularly zealous to see that he does get all the settlement he deserves, after serving the company for that long and getting almost nothing in return." Pearl said as she flipped through page after page of the paper work on the desk.

They went at it for the next half hour and then they stepped out for a coffee break. While they both tried to relax from the work, they sat silently sipping their coffee in the office. Pearl had some papers on her lap, and she tried to scan through them.

As she sipped her coffee, head bent with her reading glasses on, Jake regarded her from the brim of his own cup. She looked really breathtaking and beautiful, he thought. Apart from that he admired her for her intelligence, and refreshingly balanced personality. He was quite infatuated with her.

He had asked her a question the week before. A question which he had hoped to receive an answer to sooner than later. He was considerably anxious to know and she had asked him to give her time to think about it. But maybe now was a good time to get the answer he looked forward to, he had never been good at waiting.

Just then Pearl looked up at him, smiling.

"Have you thought about the question I asked you the other day?"

She had known it was coming and she had tried her best to avoid it long enough. "That is all I have been thinking about." She said

He looked a little flustered just then.

"You know, people say when it takes that long, it is a bad sign." He tried to say this jokingly but the humor sounded forced.

"Jake, I like you a lot."

"You like me? Oh man, another bad sign." His face suddenly grew a little tense.

She looked straight at him this time. "I am so sorry Jake."

He shrugged. "You are probably not half as sorry as I am. I have never asked anyone to marry me before you know."

"You are actually my first too. And I cannot tell you how flattered I really am. I mean, you have everything that will make a woman fall heads over ears just to have you."

"Except for one thing." Jake looked down at his hands as they trembled a bit. His whole body felt trapped in his skin. All of a sudden his skin felt too tight for him. "I respect your decision Pearl. I am not one of those who think you can learn to love someone over time. For me it is either now or never."

"You will definitely find someone, Jake. And that woman will be very fortunate to have you." Pearl felt so awkward. "I hope this does not mean that I am losing my best friend on the job."

"Well probably." He held up a staying hand as she began to protest. "I'm just joking." He sighed. "I do not mean this to sound self absorbed, but this is actually the first time that anyone has turned me down for anything."

"How I wish my life had been so easy." Pearl smiled.

"No, you do not. It makes rejection a whole lot harder to accept."

Jake walked to the doorway of the minimalistic style furnished office, "We are still friends, Pearl. You are way too much fun to be around and I'm too smart to let that go. And I'm sure you will find someone too, and he will also be very fortunate to have you as challenging as you can be." He said with a smile now.

He looked at her and added, "By the way,

Have you found him yet?"

She was slightly surprised. "Why do you ask that?"

"Well, call it the seventh sense. I believe losing is a little easier to accept if only you knew who you lost to." He replied.

"There is no one else," she said quickly.

Jake did not look convinced. "I'll talk to you later."

Pearl gazed at him as he left, it quite disturbed her.

Working at Fairchild & associates was a delightful experience for Pearl. She had friends from school who had had high prospects for well paid employment and had taken their chances in the big world of law but she had chosen to start small and then move her way to the top.

With her dream of becoming an attorney in the supreme court, she only had some ideas of the challenges that would prove difficult for her to overcome but not all.

She had not considered the infatuation that was building up in Jake Morris. He was a senior associate at the firm and she had him to thank for the help he had offered her when she was still getting the hang of the job. She considered him as a friend and nothing more.

They had become friends almost instantly, and they made a great team in the mind of a lot of her fellow clerks. She had been advised to pursue a relationship as that would ensure her promotion but she refused the suggestion blatantly, stating that she would never do anything to cut corners in her pursuit of her dream.

Now she was a junior associate with all her dreams in front of her. It had been her hard work, consistency and her faith in God. That was all. She definitely owed her success to no one except God.

Pearl spent the next few minutes clearing up her schedule for the rest of the day as she remembered her engagement at the children foundation, slated for that afternoon. She walked out of the office after stopping over at the reception to hand in her card. Outside, she waved a cab and was on her way to Newham.