Treasure and Mrs Daisy prepared early for the shareholders meeting. They arrived at the conference room, and everyone stood to their feet as Mrs Daisy walked in. Treasure came in a second later, and immediately, her eyes met with Jake's. She gasped, but he winked at her in return. The meeting commenced immediately. As Mrs Daisy spoke, Jake kept stealing glances at Treasure. He was only distracted when one of the shareholders sitting beside him raised his hand for a question
"CEO Daisy," he said
"what is the new CEO of JGM Internationals doing here at Rendezvous shareholders meeting?" He asked. Mrs Daisy stared at the faces of the other shareholders one after the other and realized at once that each had the same question on their mind.
"This young lady here is my daughter, Treasure Elaine Marcus." She said.
"she, as you already know, is the new CEO of the famous JGM Internationals, and she owns thirty percentage of shares here." At the mention of this, they all exchanged surprise looks, but Mrs Daisy continued.
"JGM is one of the most successful companies in the world, and we should be honoured to have it's CEO in our midst today." She paused observing their countenances before she spoke again.
"Now, any more questions concerning our subject matter?" She asked, but no one spoke. The meeting lasted for three hours, and by the time it ended, Treasure was very exhausted. Mrs Daisy wasn't surprised that Mr Jackson had chosen Jake as his representative, but Treasure was shocked to see him. Mrs Daisy headed for her office, but Treasure waited outside the conference room for Jake.
"Hey! Mr Jake Jackson!" She joked nudging him as soon as he emerged from the hall. He laughed, adjusting his tuxedo in a stylish manner.
"It suits me right?" He asked, but Treasure laughed.
As they walked, Jake noticed Treasure's bodyguards. He was a little uncomfortable with their presence but he knew he could do nothing about it. At the office cafeteria, Jake kept staring at Treasure with a coy smile on his face.
"What is it? What's up with that smile?" She asked.
"Well, you lied to us!" He blurted out. Treasure was confused.
"Lied?...when was that?" She asked a bit troubled.
"You told Lexi, Vanessa, Romane and myself that it was only a mansion in Bristol that your father left you..." he said,
"...but look at you Treasure, you are the new CEO to his company! Tell me, why did you lie to us?" He asked.
"I never lied to any of you" Treasure replied
"how I got to the position of the CEO of JGM, is a long story, but I promise I'd tell you all about it when the time is right." She said Jake's lips stretched into a smile.
"Congratulations" he said
"Thank you." Replied Treasure as she sipped her juice.
"Where's Vanessa?." She suddenly asked while staring out to know if she was lurking around somewhere
"In America." Jake replied absent mindedly as he picked up his burger to take a bite out of it.
"Is everything alright? Why isn't she here with you?" She asked.
"Yes, everything is alright" he replied assuredly.
"I'm here because Mr Jackson, my uncle asked me to represent him at the shareholders' meeting so she couldn't tag along" he replied. Treasure heaved a sigh.
"I'm tired Jake, I need to go home" she said
"Home?" Jake asked with sparks of excitements in his eyes
"Yes." Treasure replied
"Want to come with me?" She asked and Jake beamed.
"This house is awesome!!" Jake exclaimed when they had gotten to Mrs Daisy's mansion.
"Stop acting silly, Jake!" Treasure replied
"come in" she said again.
"What would you like?" Treasure asked, quite aware that Jake had already eaten his fill from the cafeteria.
"Cake!" He said to Treasure's surprise.
"Cake?!" Treasure exclaimed.
"Y...you can still eat cake after what you ate at the cafeteria?" She asked.
"I don't know..." He replied smiling slyly.
"...but since I met you again, I think I have recovered my sweet tooth." He said as he caressed his beardless chin.
"You're really weird" Treasure said before signalling Lockhart to get the cake.
Meanwhile, at JGM, Mr Donald finally realized how important it was for Rodney to befriend Treasure.
"It would be awesome if I had the CEO of JGM as a daughter-in-law" he thought to himself
"That way I won't loose everything I worked for all these years and I can occupy a suitable position in JGM as well. This is a good opportunity for me to climb higher" he thought to himself.
"Dad, you sent for me" Rodney spoke as soon as he entered Mr Donald's office.
"You're wooing Treasure right?" Mr Donald asked.
"Has there been any progress?" he asked again. Rodney was taken aback.
"I fail to understand you father" he replied
"I want Treasure as a daughter-in-law of the Donalds." Mr Donald voiced out. Rodney laughed.
"You're joking right?" Rodney asked a bit pissed, but Mr Donald laughed even louder.
"Yes...yes, of course I'm joking, I'm just rehearsing my lines for a circus show!" He replied sarcastically, but suddenly frowned his face.
"You better go back to wooing Treasure! I want you two to get to know each other better, and if possible get married!" He said sternly, but Rodney stood transfixed
"Get married?!" He asked.
"Yes Rod!" Mr Donald replied as he walked over to Rodney
"Have you got any idea what you're saying dad?" Rodney asked.
"Tre...no, Miss Marcus is the CEO of JGM, how I'm I supposed to walk up to her with such a proposal?" He asked
"I'm not anywhere close to her, neither do I match up to her standards or her class...I..I.."
"Be quiet Rod!" Mr Donald yelled.
"Don't you want to be able to match up to her standards? Do you not want to be just as successful as she is without any stress to it?" He whispered in Rodney's ears, but Rodney said nothing in reply. He was lost in his own thoughts.
"Get her to fall for you, and leave the rest to me" Mr Donald said.
Jake and Treasure discussed into the night, and by the time he was ready to leave, Treasure walked him to the door of the mansion
"Can I come with you?" She asked
"Not a chance" he replied
"I won't have you endanger your life for my sake"
"Come on don't say such such things." Treasure replied a bit embarrassed
"You're a big shot now you know, everyone will love to have you as it stands now" Jake spoke without thinking. They both fell quiet allowing his words to trail off.
"No...no what I meant was...I.." he struggled for words but Treasure laughed
"It's alright, I understand" she said with an assuring smile
"Goodnight" she said again.
"Call me once you've gotten to your hotel" she said again.
"Yeah, I will" Jake replied before waving her goodbye.
Two months later, Treasure had become very familiar with the company and its employees. She knew their names and the positions they occupied too. She accessed the company's account daily, and also checked on the Managers' report. Once in a while, she came across Rodney, but it had always been during office hours so they had no time to talk to each other. Treasure always moved around with her bodyguards, making it difficult to be approached most times. She had gotten so busy with attending series of meetings and taking business classes from Mr Donald and Barrister Malcom that she had no time for herself and her private life.
Jake had also been trying to reach out to her, but she had been too busy to give him any attention.
"This is bad Tresh!" Mrs Daisy scolded.
"You barely eat anything, yet you work a ton everyday. Look at you! You've lost weight Tresh, are you the first person occupying the position of CEO in the world?" Mrs Daisy spoke angrily. Treasure was too tired to argue with her mom. She was still engrossed in her laptop when Mrs Daisy slammed it shut.
"Mom, I'm not cut out for this, I've got loads to do please" Treasure complained, but Mrs Daisy pulled her into her arms.
"I know this is hard on you" she said
"I know you're working so hard to prove yourself, but please, not like this" Mrs Daisy said caressing Treasure's hair.
"Mom, being a CEO is exhausting" Treasure said as a tear escaped her eyes.
"There's a lot of work to do, so many documents to check and deals to make, sometimes I just feel like I might never be able to meet dad's expectations of me" she complained
"Don't cry Tresh" Mrs Daisy said wiping Treasure's face with the back of her hand.
"I wasn't really the best president when my father gave "Rendezvous" to me." She said
"Yes, I had studied business over seas, and had graduated with the best results, but I lacked the skills needed to head the company. I was loosing my confidence and my composure as well. So many people ridiculed me, they turned down my business deals, and my company was at the verge of going bankrupt. But then, I met your father, he taught me the basics and the skills I needed to move my company forward. He supported me and stood by me, and with his help and guidance, I was able to hold up the company till today."
"Really?" Treasure asked
"Yes darling" came Mrs Daisy
"I believe you can do better than the both of us, since you have both our bloods running in your veins. Get your head in the game" she said
"The business world maybe cruel and scary, but I want you to see it as your stage, and see these difficulties as thorns that should be stepped on lightly while you dance, this is a solo performance, and I believe you alone have the power to impress your audience." Treasure beamed.
"Thanks mom" she said as she hugged Mrs Daisy.
"Go to sleep now Tresh, tomorrow is going to be a long day" Mrs Daisy spoke again as she tucked Treasure in.
As she turned to leave, she took Treasure's laptop with her.
Meanwhile, in New York, Jake and Vanessa were not getting along well. They argued a lot and stayed away from eachother more often than before. Today, Jake was a little upset. Since he returned to New York he had been trying to get through to Treasure, but all his efforts had proved abortive. Vanessa on the other hand had gotten fed up with his cold and nonchalant attitude towards work.
"Jake you've got to sign these documents so I can submit them at noon today." Vanessa said dropping an envelope packed with documents on Jake's table. She turned to leave but Jake made no move to check out the documents she had just placed on his table.
"Don't tell me you're still trying to get through to Treasure." She said. Her words jerked Jake back to reality but he stared blankly at her.
"You're slacking off at work Jake" she spoke again. This time, Jake massaged his temples in utmost confusion.
"I'm sorry, give me five minutes," he said
"I will have these documents signed and sent to your office before noon" he replied as he reached for the envelope.
"If you worry so much about Treasure, when will you have the time to worry about me?" She asked but suddenly stormed out of his office
"What?...w...what was that?" Jake thought to himself surprised at Vanessa's behaviour.
The news of Treasure's appointment as the new CEO of JGM Internationals had spread like wild fire. Elmer hurled the remote control at the TV screen at the mention of Treasure's name .
"Father has cheated me!" He said as he lit up his cigarette.
"How dare he do this to me?" He asked no one in particular. As he stood to his feet, his phone rang.
"What is it mother?" He asked in a rude tone
"Your father has made a mockery of me" she said.
"You have to take back what's yours, figure out a way to do that!" She yelled, but Elmer hung up on her.
"This is my fight, Treasure is too small to handle what's coming her way" he muttered to himself.
Meanwhile, Treasure had begun to face even bigger difficulties at work. The company was loosing much funds and there was no way she could figure out how to solve the problem.
"Mr Donald.." Treasure called
"Don't tell me you have no solution to this. This company is suffering from insolvency and you have not a single idea how to salvage this situation?" Treasure asked
"I'm sorry Miss Marcus, but this is the first time we are faced with such a huge problem" Mr Donald replied
"But, I know who can help at situations like this" he said.
"Who can?" Treasure asked
"Tell me" she said
"My son, Rodney Donald." He replied.
"If you give him the opportunity, I'm sure he can figure out a way sooner than you expect" he said
"Alright, give him this project" Treasure replied. She buried her head in her palms in frustration.
Mr Donald walked out of Treasure's office with a coy smile on his face. In his office, he picked up his telephone and called Rodney's office. Five minutes later, Rodney walked into his office after a gentle tap on the door
"You called me" he said
"Take a seat" Mr Donald replied. When Rodney had made himself comfy on one of the office chairs before his father, Mr Donald threw a file at him.
"What is this about?" Rodney asked
"I have created a means for you to get closer to the CEO." Mr Donald said
"Use this opportunity, and take the bull by the horn" he said. Rodney went through the file, and right there, his eyes shone in utter disbelief
"Don't tell me..."
"Yes, it's exactly what you're thinking" Mr Donald replied
"I created this problem so you can solve it using this method. Get her to trust you and make your way into her heart in the process. I believe you know what to do. you may leave now" Mr Donald said dismissing the startled Rodney.
Treasure got home later than usual. She met her mom on the phone with Detective Harry
"Yes detective, I'm relaxed, but its been years." Came Mrs Daisy
"How could there be no positive result concerning my husband's murder?" She asked as tears welded up in her eyes.
She noticed Treasure's presence and quickly, she dried her eyes with her hands.
"Let's talk about this later" she said and hung up the call.
"Honey how are you?" She asked Treasure
"Rumor has it that your company is suffering from insolvency, is this true?" She asked, but Treasure said nothing. She walked briskly up the stairs to her room and remained there.
Treasure remained in her room lost in her own thoughts.
"How possible is this?" She asked herself.
"It's been eight months since I got into JGM Internationals, and it's already suffering from insolvency?" She asked herself.
"Something isn't right here. I can't trust anyone in the company, I can't trust Mr Donald either." She said.
"I need help, I need to know how to solve this problem without their help, that way, I can earn the respect I deserve as the CEO of JGM" she said to herself
"But, who can I ask for assistance?" She thought to herself.
"Hey Tresh, how have you been?" Jake spoke from the receiving end of the call.
Treasure explained her ordeal to Jake, and quickly, he came up with an idea.
"Can you do that alone?" He asked
"I'll try" Treasure replied, but Jake wasn't convinced.
"I will come to you" he said
"But you have a lot on your hands" Treasure argued, but Jake replied
"It's my uncle's company, I can always take a leave if I want to, see you soon" he said and hung up.
******************************************
"What?!" I can't get a leave?" why?" Vanessa asked
"Keep it down Miss Montez!" Mr Joe, her boss replied.
"I received a note from the CEO, to grant Mr Jackson a leave of absence for a month, so your leave will have to be delayed." He said
"But why?" Vanessa asked.
"You two occupy important positions in this office, and we can't have two of our employees go on a leave like this, unless you both want to ring the bells." He said with a coy smile on his face.
"Ring the bells?" Vanessa asked a bit confused.
"Yes, I meant getting married." Mr Joe said. Vanessa was flustered.
"When will I be granted a leave?" She asked
"As soon as Mr Jackson gets back" Mr Joe replied. Vanessa grew cold.
"This is unfair." She said, but Mr Joe's telephone rang drowning her voice.
"I'd go meet Jake." She muttered to herself leaving the office.
Jake was busy packing up his desk when Vanessa stormed in.
"You're getting a month's leave?" she asked.
"Yes nessa, I am." Jake replied walking up to her.
"I'm sorry." He apologized
"I had already requested for this leave before I learnt of your intensions to take yours, I'm sorry." He apologized again.
"It's fine." Vanessa replied
"Where are you going?" She asked
"To Treasure." Jake replied, but Vanessa's countenance changed.
"What?... What do you mean Jake?" She asked.
"You're going to Coventry? You're going to visit Treasure?" She asked, but Jake said nothing.
"You've changed so much Jake" she said
"What has gotten into you?" She asked
"Nothing Vanessa" Jake replied,
"But I'm worried about you." He said
"You're the one with a strange behaviour here" he complained, but Vanessa kept mute.
"Treasure needs help nessa" Jake said holding her hands
"She's our friend, and that's why I'm going to Coventry, for her sake" Jake said, but Vanessa withdrew her hands.
"You've never made such sacrifices for me" she said
"W...what exactly are you trying to say?" Jake asked in confusion, but Vanessa yelled
"You've always been like this, you never think straight once it comes to Treasure. It's less than a year since she popped out of nowhere and you're already running after her" she complained, but Jake was even more confused than before
"I'm I missing something?" He asked, but Vanessa stormed out of his office.
"Why do I feel like I'm missing something really important?" Jake muttered to himself but shrugged the thought away.
"Maybe she's just in a bad mood" he said to himself.
Elmer wasn't the only one who wasn't happy about Treasure's position as the heir of JGM Internationals. Cherry and her son's equally felt cheated and unhappy with Treasure.
"This is unbelievable!" Cherry yelled after reading the news headline for the tenth time that month.
"How could Marcus do this to me?" Cherry thought aloud.
"Charles and Curtis are also his sons, yet he chose such a little girl to take over JGM. This is a slap to my face!" She yelled
"Relax mom." Charles said as he sipped his whiskey.
"It's a good thing Elmer didn't get that position either." He said,
"Treasure is just a girl, it's easier to handle her, and I will take back what's mine" he said
"You mean what's ours right?" Curtis spoke as he walked in making himself comfy on a settee.
"let's not fight over this" Charles said.
"Treasure is our target, but whoever gets the property papers first, gets to own everything." He said.
"That's a fair fight" Curtis replied, but Cherry spoke.
"Are you two sure you don't want to work together?" She asked.
"This won't be an easy deal to pull, it's not like the property papers are something you can easily obtain just by asking. Elmer and the rest of the kids might also be interested in it don't you think so?" She asked
"Stay out of this mom" Charles replied
"This is for me and Charles to figure out" Curtis said.
Ryan, Elizabeth's son, and Trinidad, Valentina's daughter were the only ones who were less concerned about Treasure's position as the heir of JGM. Although they were surprised when they first got wind of the news, but they were content with their inheritance from Marcus.
Lady Ginevra from Bristol called Treasure to report a case. Two men had dropped by the mansion the previous day in search of Treasure.
"We told them you had gone back to Coventry, but they insisted on searching the house." She said
"They looked nothing like cops, but we couldn't ignore their badges. We decided to contact the Bristol police department, but before they arrived, the men had fled. The police asked us to be more careful of men showcasing fake IDs just to get into the mansion. They also asked us to keep in touch with them, but I'm really worried about you ma'am" she said
"this sort of thing has never happened before, although we have alerted the security officers, but I'm feeling insecure." She complained. Treasure was lost in thoughts
"Can you identify any of them?" She asked
"No madam, I'm sorry." Ginevra apologized.
"It's ok." Treasure said.
"I will be more careful, thanks for telling me this." She said
"Who were those guys and what do they want?" Treasure thought to herself.
A week later, Treasure had totally forgotten about Ginevra's call. She woke up to Rodney's call, and when she had taken it, he spoke.
"I'm sorry to have disturbed you ma'am" he said
"It's a nice Saturday, and I thought it was a perfect day to meet up to discuss matters concerning the company's current situation" he said
"This is an official meeting, why can't it be discussed at the office and during working hours?" Treasure asked.
"Um...I..." He struggled for words.
"It's fine, will be there." Treasure replied.
Thirty minutes later, Treasure had gotten dressed to meet Rodney, but as she opened the front door to step out to her car, Jake was standing before her with a broad smile on his face.
"Jake?!!" She exclaimed, as she fell into his outstretched arms.
"SURPRISE!!" He said as he hugged Treasure.
"When did you get here?" She asked
"The previous night" he replied
"Where are you going?" He asked as soon as his eyes caught a glimpse of Treasure's outfit.
"A meeting" Treasure replied
"It's a Saturday" Jake said with a coy smile on his face
"Don't be ahead of yourself, it's about my company's insolvency. You should come with me since you're here now" she said
"Really?" Jake asked
"Yes" Treasure replied.
"I will introduce you as my PA." She said.
"Wow!" Jake exclaimed
"That's awesome." He said
"Let's go then" Treasure replied.
Rodney was shocked to see Jake by the time they arrived.
"Sorry, I didn't give you a heads up" Treasure said when they had taken their seats.
"This is Jake Jackson, he is my Personal Assistant. He will be at the office starting next week. I thought it necessary to bring him along so you two could get to know each other " she said as she observed Rodney's disgusted countenance.
"Ma'am do you think this is a good idea?" He asked
"We are here for serious business, shouldn't we keep this private?" He asked but Treasure replied
"That won't be necessary, I already explained our ordeal to Mr Jackson here and he proffered wonderful solutions as well. I brought him here to assist us in JGM's current situation." She said
"Please share your solutions and what you think we should do sir" Jake said to Rodney trying his very best to keep a straight face so as not to attract any form of suspicions.
Rodney was reluctant, but he knew he had no excuse to give. But quickly, he hid the file Mr Donald had given him. He was not going to allow his opportunity of impressing Treasure go with the wind.
"I have to figure out a way to handle this fellow" he thought to himself as he observed Jake
"He doesn't seem like an ordinary individual to me, he must be someone who understands the business world since Treasure appointed him as her PA. But let's see how smart and how capable he is at handling matters like this especially now that it's my father who created this mess himself" he thought to himself