"By the end of this week, I don't want my son working in that lousy place anymore. Is that clear?!!" he said in a stern voice letting the men standing in front of him know that he was damned serious.
The shabby-looking men nodded their heads in compliance and Mr.Joshua handed a small brown puffed-up envelope to the leader of the gang.
"This is your advance. You'll get the rest when you finish the job" he said looking grim and the leader took the envelope from his hand. He glanced at the content in the envelope and he smiled widely but menacingly.
"Consider it done," he said with a crooked smile.
"It better be, and I don't want any of you making any mistakes, understood? he stated in a frantic tone and walked out of the abandoned factory.
Back in Mr.Wilfred's cafe, Sylvester and Emmanuel were going about their usual work- attending to customers.
Sylvester recognized the girl from the previous day sitting in one corner of the shop alone observing him.
He clearly looked annoyed and all he wanted to do was go over to her and drag her out. But he couldn't do that.
Didn't she get it? Was what he did yesterday not enough?
Maybe a little more would teach that girl a good lesson.
Sylvester saw her raise her hand signifying that she needed something, but Sylvester knew better that she was just looking for an excuse to talk to him. He glanced at Emma who was busily engaged with some other customers.
He heaved a deep irritated sigh and strode toward her table.
" What do you want?" he questioned in a bored tone when he got closer to her table.
The girl looked at Sylvester and spoke,
"Is this how you talk to your customers"
"Only to those who deserve it" came Sly's tart reply.
The girl's face twisted into a small frown but she was quick to replace it with a smile.
"Can I get a strawberry smoothie please?" she requested.
"Is that all?" Sylvester asked looking at her keenly.
"Umm...I would also like to have a burger and some fries. Also pack a box of bagels and donuts, some sandwiches and sweet rolls, large fries, and three lattes" she replied.
Sylvester turned his back to leave showing no sign of surprise at the large order she had made and she didn't look pleased.
She thought she could impress him by ordering a lot of food but she was clearly mistaken.
Before Sylvester could leave, she stopped him by saying,
"What would you also like to have?"
she tried a new tactic.
Sylvester caught onto what the girl was driving at with ease and a menacing grin broke on his face while his back still faced her.
He turned to look at her and the girl was glad that her new tactic seemed to have worked.
Sylvester looked at her, unable to fathom how this girl's mind worked.
Did she really think she could win him over by flaunting her money? Unbeknownst to her, all she was doing was only contributing to irking him.
"I'm not interested" he stated as blunt as ever, the earlier grin on his face was lost without a trace.
On hearing Sylvester's words, the girl's heart sank. It was as though she had fallen from the heights of joy to the depths of disappointment.
The smile that plastered her face turned into a deep frown and she pursed her lips.
Sylvester noticed the displeasing look that had come to settle on her face and his lips slid into a lopsided smirk.
He turned to leave but the girl suddenly stood up and held his arm. She was looking desperate and she started to speak.
"Will you please be my boyfriend? From the very moment I set my eyes on you, you've been on my mind and I can't stop thinking about you,"she confessed.
Sylvester was slightly surprised and annoyed at the same time at the girl's audacity. She was really bold saying all those words to the hearing of everyone who was in the shop. Wasn't it the norm that boys were the ones to take a step in proposing to girls?
A lot of heads turned in their direction and almost everyone was listening in on the girl's confession.
He used his other hand to take off the girl's hand that had circled his arm in a firm grip.
He stepped back from her and heard her plead,
"Please, please...tell me what you want and I'll give it to you. Is it money? My dad has a lot of money.You have nothing to worry about.Just be my boyfriend." She said desperately.
She was behaving as though her life was dependent on Sylvester being her boyfriend.
"Listen carefully girl, I'm neither interested in your money nor being your boyfriend." Sly stated in a matter-of-fact tone."Stop making a fool of yourself. It's either you sit and enjoy your meal or I drag you out."
The girl's heart clenched at Sylvester's words and she figured that it would be easier for her to convince the sun to set in the east rather than trying to win Sylvester over.
She decided to try one last time but before she could attempt anything, someone stepped between them.
"Miss Evie, I'm very sure your father would be displeased to hear that you are putting up a scene over here. Its better you sit quietly and stop disturbing my workers and customers."
It was Mr.Wilfred who had intervened.He knew the girl's father was rich but he also knew that Sylvester 's family was far wealthier.
Evie fumed and when she saw that she was losing at this, she grabbed her bag that was on the chair, glared at the man standing in front of her and stormed out of the cafe.
A sigh escaped Mr.Wilfred's lips and he walked back to the counter. The customers in the cafe went back to focusing on their meals and there were incoherent murmurs coming from them as they commented on what just happened a moment ago.
Emma came to stand by Sylvester and whispered to him.
"You know,it's not that girl's fault that she fell for you at first sight. You're too handsome that no one can resist you." his lips curled into a playful grin.
Sylvester glared at him and went back to attending to other customers.
***chapter proofread by Ara_ Bae_3725.