Chereads / Behind Her Façade / Chapter 9 - CHAPTER 9 - SHE'S MORE THAN WHAT RUMORS SAYS

Chapter 9 - CHAPTER 9 - SHE'S MORE THAN WHAT RUMORS SAYS

After Cale left, Emris stared at the door for a long time lost in thought. She knew they cared about her but she had to make this project work.

"Woof..." Emris snapped back to the present when she heard MG. She caressed him briefly before pulling a file from the desk drawer. As she reviewed the information in the file, a smirk crossed her face. She knew this information would make the Italian investor agree to her demands.

"beep.....beep.....beep"

The beeping sound beside her made her glance at the monitor in front of her. She could see her personal assistant waiting at the door. She placed the file inside her bag, glanced at her wristwatch, and then proceeded to unlock the door.

As soon as the door opened, Cheryl walked in with her tablet in hand. Emris could tell she was ready for them to leave.

"Chairman Ems it's time." Cheryl said

"Is the car ready?" Emris asked taking her coat as she stood up.

"Yes ma." Cheryl continued taking the bag from Emris's hands.

"Ok then, MG let's go." Emris made her way out of the office with MG besides her.

"Chairman is MG also going with us?" Cheryl was puzzled that she quickly asked.

"Is that a question I'm supposed to answer?" Emris replied Cheryl with a cold tone.

Cheryl was speechless, she didn't expect the Chairman to take her pet with her to a meeting.

"No Ma." Cheryl answered quickly not to get on the nerves of the Chairman.

"Good, now if you're done asking pointless questions, let's go. I have other meetings to attend, and I don't plan on wasting much time on just one investor." She continued coldly.

Cheryl quickly followed behind the Chairman as they made their way to the underground park.

Although the Chairman visited the company today, she had no plans to show herself to the rest of the employees. Cheryl could still remember the Chairman's words when asked if she wanted to make an appearance before the company.

"Would listening to some pleasantries benefit me and the company?" That was the Chairman's response, answering their questions with a question of her own.

She could only get into her car and follow behind as the Chairman's car left the building.

The fleet of cars that arrived at the restaurant attracted a lot of attention. The person who emerged from the car also drew many eyes, but she didn't care; she simply walked in with her pet beside her and her PA leading the way.

The restaurant boasted luxurious Italian decor. The walls, covered in gold and diamonds, shone brightly.

A man in a tuxedo played a melodious piano piece on a platform in the middle of the restaurant, creating a relaxed and joyful atmosphere.

When Cheryl appeared, a waiter quickly approached her.

"Madam Cheryl... Your private room is ready. Please follow me," he stuttered, trying to control himself from drooling when he saw Emris.

Cheryl nodded slightly, while Emris maintained her cold demeanor, quietly following the waiter's footsteps toward the private room.

The waiter opened the door the moment they got to the room.

As soon as they sat down, Cheryl noticed a pot of flower tea on the coffee table. She leisurely poured a cup for Emris and herself, not even bothering to acknowledge the man before them.

The man in front of them was seething with anger. First they had entered with a dog, and now they were drinking tea without so much as acknowledging his presence. He scoffed, "One of you is the assistant and the other the Chairman, correct?"

He never expected the Chairman of Makdews to be so young. Before his involvement with Makdews Corporation, he had thoroughly researched the entire group. Rumors had always suggested that the Chairman was a mysterious figure with a strong hold on the company. Despite his efforts, he had never been able to uncover the Chairman's identity. Nevertheless, it didn't matter to him.

After all, within the circle, no one could surpass his power. His family epitomized wealth and influence. Though his father didn't hold the highest office, he was a cousin to the most powerful person in the country. He had nothing to fear here.

"It's me..." Emris muttered, not even glancing at the figure before her as she stared intently at her cup of tea.

Mr. Evann Nalo sneered as he looked at the young lady in front of him, who seemed to possess no attacking power.

At a glance, she seemed easy to handle. To someone like him, everyone was insignificant.

"Today, I'll get straight to the point... I'm sure your assistant has informed you of my response."

Emris raised her gaze from the cup of tea in her hands and looked at the man sitting across from her, his assistant still standing beside him.

Upon seeing his face, Emris felt nauseous. He was a middle-aged, balding man with a beer belly, his face full of disdain as he looked at her.

Her gaze turned cold as she scanned him and his assistant. "Mr. Nalo, I suggest you check your mail before you make any silly mistakes."

Evann wanted to refute her, but upon hearing her words, he quickly checked his email. He was stunned by what he saw. Evidence of his illicit operations and other secrets not meant for the world to see were all in the email sent to him.

Cold shill ran down his spine as he looked at the young lady in front of him and back at his phone thinking of a reasonable explanation as to why she could find out his secrets.

"Now I'm sure Miss Levert would want your head for going behind her back and being a barrier to her plans if I were to pass these information to her, wouldn't she?" Emris continued, smiling wickedly.

"You.....You." Evann was speechless. He was convinced that even with the snap of her fingers, all his years of hard work would be for nothing.

"I what?" Emris continued smiling at Evann as her nails tapped on the table.

Every tap on the table got Evann scared out of his wits. He had to avoid Emris's gaze as her hazel eyes were so sharp and clear that it seemed like she could see right through him. He now realized that the rumors of the mysterious Chairman of Makdews were true.

But what made him puzzled was how there was no information of this Chairman on the internet. Even her family background was blank. The only people whose information he could find was of the CEO and the Chairman's personal assistant. Even so, the informations on the net about them were not helpful as they hardly appear in social gatherings and the media didn't dare take photos of them with their approval.

He felt as though he had dug his own grave. He saw the signs but he directly offended the Chairman and her subordinate, as he thought they were insignificant because he could not find enough information about them even though their company has dominated this country and overseas.

Cheryl felt like laughing as she observed Evann. This was the same man that was always arrogant through calls. He knew the consequences of offending the Chairman of Makdews and he still dared to step on her. How foolish.

"You should sit Mr secretary." Cheryl said to the man standing besides Evann.

The secretary didn't move even after Cheryl has spoke to him.

Cheryl's gaze turned cold as she looked at the secretary "Why are you still standing Mr secretary?"

The secretary shiver at her gaze but as he didn't see the content of what was in Evann's phone he regained his posture as he replied rudely, "It's Mikko Madam."

Emris's gaze swept to the secretary who was being stubborn but she didn't say a word.

"Whatever, now sit." Cheryl continue in a dominant tone.

"Is Mr Nalo against you sitting?" Emris asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Grr..." MG growled at Evann as he felt Evann was opposing Emris.

Evann almost jumped from his seat the moment MG made that sound. He could see the canine of MG as he bared his teeth at him.

"Calm down, boy," Emris chuckled at MG's behavior as she proceeded to pet him. He had always been like this with strangers. The moment he sensed someone opposing her, he would threaten them.

Evann could only pat his chest when he saw that MG had calmed down as MG's action almost gave him an heart attack. "No...no, not at all Chairman Ems. He will do as you have commanded." He quickly answered Emris.

He didn't know why Mikko became stupid all of a sudden, he just felt like strangling this foolish secretary of his.

"What the f**k is your problem? Will you sit your a** down or are you tired of living?" Evann scolded his secretary "Do you even know the situation we are in right now?" Evann continued to reprimand Mikko as he told him of their predicament in Spanish.

He knew Emris knew Italian language and he wanted to prevent her from listening to their conversation so he spoke in Spanish instead.

"No hay necesidad de regañarlo así, señor Nalo. Después de todo, es un ser humano, no un animal. Debería tratar a sus empleados con respeto, (No need to scold him like that, Mr. Nalo. After all, he is a human, not an animal. You should treat your employees with respect)." Emris said to Evann in Spanish.

Evann and Mikko were shocked when they discovered she could also understand and speak Spanish fluently.

Emris saw their shocked looks but she came here for business and not to look at their faces so she didn't care. "Ahora vamos a la razón por la que todos vinimos aquí, pero antes de eso, comamos. (Now let's get to the reason we all came here, but before that let's eat)." Emris continued in fluent Spanish

"So Mr Nalo how's your business in Italy." Cheryl asked as they waited on their orders.

"It's going well." Evann answered quickly, he couldn't help but wonder if all the subordinates of the Chairman had undergone trainings before working for her as he noticed they all replied in the same way and tone as their Chairman. The only difference was that the Chairman was more ruthless and cold than her subordinates.

"Hmm." Emris didn't bother to look at him as she stared at her wristwatch.

Evann didn't know if he should continue or not, so he choose the formal as he said. "Also about the land close to the....."

"Comamos, luego hablamos de negocios. (Let's eat then we talk business)." Emris said in Spanish interrupting him the moment the waiter came in with their order.

The waiter hurriedly placed their and went out as the atmosphere was oppressive.

It wasn't upto twenty minutes before Emris dropped her cutleries as the food tasted bland in her mouth. The others also dropped their cutleries the moment she dropped hers and Cheryl called for the waiter to take the leftover out leaving only their wines in tact.

Evann felt perplexed when he saw that everyone had a wine glass with champagne in it but only Emris had tea in front of her. He couldn't seem to understand the person in front of him.

"So Mr. Nalo how much do you want for the purchase of the land and your underground mine." Emris started the conversation immediately the waiter went out. She didn't speak in Spanish again as she already made her stand.

"But Chairman Ems, why do you want the underground mine all of a sudden? You only talked about the land," Evann said, stunned by her request.

"I'm interested in your underground mine. Is that a problem?" Emris asked, exuding an opposing aura.

Evann became uneasy as he tried his best to discourage her. "No, there isn't a problem. It's just that the mine is insignificant. You can't possibly find anything useful there."

"You are not in a position to tell me what will be profitable and what won't. I asked you a question—name your price, Mr. Nalo," Emris continued coldly.

Seeing her determination to acquire the mine, a mischievous glint flashed in his eyes as he replied, "Chairman Ems, I'll take 10 billion dollars—if that works for you."

Emris caught his expression and immediately knew what he was up to. "Oh, really? Fine, I'll give you 15 billion dollars instead."

Evann's interest piqued as she mentioned the amount of money. He felt he had made a fool of the woman in front of him. Before he could say a word, Emris interrupted.

"But first..." Emris said, taking the file that Cheryl had just pulled from her bag.

Cheryl had never seen the file before and had no idea what it contained, but she still handed it over to the Chairman.

Emris took the file from Cheryl, placed it on the table, and stared intently at Evann.

At the sight of the file, Evann began to fidget. He was sharp enough to recognize that whatever was inside would be a draft contract. He realized the tables had turned against him

"Chairman Ems, what's this? Don't you trust our cooperation? Why the need for a drafted contract?" Evann bombarded Emris with questions, trying to mask his frustration with feigned anger.

Emris chuckled at the effect the contract had on Evann and felt pleased with herself.

His reaction gave him away—he was trying to cheat her out of her money. She wasn't foolish enough not to see right through it.

"I don't believe in trust, especially when it comes to greedy men like you," Emris spat coldly at him.

"Now, let's begin," Emris said, handing the file to Evann.

Evann froze as he read the contract. He couldn't believe the conditions he was seeing. This particular Chairman was both meticulous and brutally ruthless in her business dealings.

Emris watched as Evann's expression shifted from shock to fear.

"Chairman Ems...," Evann began, but every word he wanted to say got caught in his throat."

Noticing his boss's unease, Mikko quickly glanced at the contract. He, too, was shocked by the conditions he saw.

Now, no matter what they planned to do, even after selling the mine to her would be futile. They knew they had been caught in their own trap.

Cheryl read out the terms of the contract out the moment Emris signalled to her. "In summary, whoever breaches the terms stated out in the contract is expected to pay a compensation fee of 50 billion dollars to the other party."

Although Cheryl read our the terms, she was stunned by what she saw; she hadn't expected the Chairman to be this careful.

'I guess the incident took a huge toll on her' Cheryl thought to herself.

Emris raised her hand, signaling Cheryl to stop. This was the only part she wanted to emphasize to Evann. Locking eyes with him, she said, "And I know Mr. Nalo wouldn't take that risk, am I right?"

"Of course, Chairman Ems. I wouldn't dare present any fake documents," he blurted out.

"But I didn't say a word about faking a document," Emris chuckled.

At her words, Evann realized his mistake, but it was too late. "Chairman Ems, I..." He started to speak up, but Emris interrupted him.

"Or were you thinking of giving me fake documents, Mr. Evann Nalo?" Emris glared intensely at him.

Evann nearly jumped out of his skin when Emris uttered his full name. Since the start of the meeting, she hadn't once used it, and hearing it now sent a chill through him. He couldn't bear to meet her gaze; her eyes were so cold and piercing, it felt as if she had seen right through his plan. In that moment, he felt as though he had dug his own grave.

"No, not at all, Chairman Ems. Upon further consideration, I would prefer to receive 5 billion dollars for both the land and the mine. Let's proceed to sign this contract promptly, considering your busy schedule," he swiftly replied, attempting to evade her gaze.

Mikko on the other hand was dumbfounded when he witnessed how Evann's demeanor shifted in the presence of the Chairman.

"If you say so Mr. Evann." Emris replied with a smirk.

What puzzled Evann was the fact that her signature was already on the contract, as if she knew he would agree to the terms.

Evann didn't waste time wondering how she knew; he just wanted to sign the contract and leave the young lady's presence as quickly as possible.

The moment he signed the contract, he sent the deeds to the land and the underground mine to Cheryl via email.

After verifying the authenticity of the file sent via email, Emris instructed that a check for 10 billion dollars be given to Evann.

"I will be checking out the underground mine in a week, Mr. Nalo," Emris said, making her way out of the private room.

"Chair—Chairman Ems will be coming to Italy?" Evann stuttered when he heard this but didn't get any response from Emris.

As soon as they left the private room, Emris took out her phone to make a call. "Pay attention to Mr. Nalo. Inform me of whom he meets and make sure he doesn't leave Italy after returning there." She hung up after giving her instructions and made her way out of the restaurant.