"Aurora..."
"Would you be willing to become a shareholder in my company?"
It was completely different from what I expected. I blink back, not sure if I heard him correctly.
"Shareholder?"
He responded with a nod. "It's an emergency, things were already unstable before, now that my son is in the hospital, the big shareholders are calling for his resignation."
I didn't know things were this bad, Pierce didn't let me know.
"What can I do to help?" I asked worriedly.
"It's simple, I'll buy shares, I just need you to own it on paper." He said eagerly. I looked at him skeptically, I didn't know what to say. I want to help Pierce, but I'm not sure, what if I fall into a trap?
I'm sure the man could see the hesitation on my face.
"Didn't you want to prove yourself?" He asks I can tell he wants to force me to say yes, and this makes me even more suspicious.
"Who will be the real owner of the shares?"
"Of course, I will be." He answers.
I raise an eyebrow, obviously expecting it. "Why can't you buy them with your name on them?"
This makes him silent and seems absorbed in his thoughts.
A few seconds later he looks up in annoyance, "Why do you ask so many questions, girl?"
"I need to know what I'm getting myself into."
"Don't you want to save Pierce? He is currently unconscious in hospital.'
My heart skips a beat when I hear this and I stand up. "What?"
The old man isn't done yet. "Imagine how devastated he would feel if he woke up and discovered that he has been asked to resign from his role as president."
He would be devastated, I wouldn't want something like that to happen to him.
"If he found out that you could help him save his position but chose not to, do you think he would still love you?" he asks slyly. Okay, this is blackmail, but unfortunately, it working.
"Isn't there another person who could be used for this?" I ask.
He shakes her head: "You are his fiance, so it is only natural that you are the second shareholder after him. It would be suspicious if someone else suddenly appeared out of nowhere."
I don't want to do this, I don't, but it's the only way I can help Pierce save his position. "I'll do it." I bow my head in defeat.
"I knew I could count on you." He says.
I raise my head with determination "What should I do?"
He stood up and said, "Let me go back and make the necessary arrangements. I'll be right back with some documents for you to sign.''
With that, he left.
I collapsed on the sofa defeated, I hope I don't regret this.
After that there was no more news from him, I waited all day but he never showed up. Tired, I decided to visit my one and only friend Jordyn.
When I entered the living room, I found Gray sitting on the couch munching on a bag of popcorn. "Sup." He winked.
I was too tired to chat with the boy, so I waved to him and then sat on the floor to face Jordyn.
"I saw the news." She cupped my cheek with a sad look in her eyes. "It looks like you haven't slept."
"They won't even let me see him," I cried.
Jordyn gasped. "Excuse me?"
"I even called his sister and begged her, but she wouldn't tell me."
Jordyn looked mortified. "What a cruel family."
"And you think sitting here and crying is the solution?" Gray said, rolling a popcorn into his mouth. I turned to him. "And what do you suggest? That I go to every hospital in the city to look for him?"
He rolled his eyes. "No one said that stupid, think why wouldn't let me visit? Because they hate you? No, I don't think that's it, they're hiding something."
My phone rang, drawing my attention away from Grey.
The call was from an unknown number, I clicked answer and held the phone to my ears. "Hello.."
"Aurora.."
I immediately recognized the owner of the voice, Pierce's father John.
"I have everything ready, I hope you haven't changed your mind." He asked.
Even though I wanted to, "I have not." I told him.
"Okay, we'll make an appointment tomorrow morning. I will text you the details in a short while."
As soon as he said that the line went dead. I looked up to find that Jordyn and Gray were staring at me questioningly.
Sighing, "Where do I begin..."
"You are crazy!" Jordyn screamed as soon as I told her what I was agreeing to.
"That man is buying stocks illegally and wants to use you as a front. If this gets exposed, you would be the one taking the fall, how could you not know?" She looked so shocked.
"Jordyn..." I called slowly, but she didn't look at me. "Is it true that Pierce has been having problems at the company lately?"
Her expression softened slightly. "yes it's true, he could be asked to resign before he even wakes up, but that doesn't mean you can sacrifice your future because of him. For him, it's just losing a title, but for you, it's prison. I suggest you think carefully before signing any papers."
"She's right, you know," Grey said. "Besides, it seems this guy's family cannot be trusted how do you know the old man is not hiding anything from you?"
"Don't sign it." Jordyn grabbed my hand. "I've only known you for a short while and I'm not ready to say goodbye yet."
Right now, I don't know if I should save Pierce or save myself. I wonder what Pierce would have me do. I miss him so much and wish he was here, I miss our peaceful days together before we started arguing and giving each other the silent treatment, where did it all go wrong?
The next morning John called me and asked if I would still be at the meeting and I told him I had changed my mind. I spent the whole night tossing and turning in bed and was unable to decide by dawn that I wasn't going to do it. I also don't think Pierce would want me to put myself in danger just for him. As I was preparing breakfast in the kitchen, I heard the doorbell ring. I quickly dropped what I was doing and headed for the door.
I found John standing outside, his visit was not unexpected. He was probably here to emotionally blackmail me into signing these documents. It's a shame I changed my mind. Maybe I would have done it yesterday, but not today. I let him in any way, his lips were twisted into a frown, and he didn't even bother to hide his displeasure this time.
"We discussed this carefully yesterday. Why would you suddenly change your mind overnight?" He didn't even wait to sit down to speak.
"I don't think I can do it, there's too much risk," I said honestly.
He looked at me, unhappy with my answer, "Isn't love about taking risks?"
I give him credit, he's good at blackmail, but it won't work this time.
"You and I both know Pierce wouldn't want that."
"You don't know my son at all, he is an ambitious man and he would do anything to secure his position. Do you think he got this far without taking risks? Life is full of risks Aurora, if you love him you wouldn't hesitate to jump."
He threw a brown folder on the table and said, "Sign it."
It felt like he was forcing me to do it and I chose to stand my ground, "I won't do it." What could he do anyway?
"Is it because I didn't offer you anything in return?" His expression suddenly softened. "Tell me what do you want?"
I could tell the man wasn't willing to back down.
"If I said I wanted you out of this house right now, would you believe me?"
He laughed, "I love your fierce spirit, but I fear you won't be able to maintain it for long."
He leaned forward to look at me and said, "If you sign, we'll split the odds 70/30."
When I didn't budge, he made another offer, "Okay, 60/40."
I rolled my eyes and showed visible displeasure. I wish he were gone already.
"Fifty-fifty, that's the best I can do for you."
Silence
"Okay, let me make a more interesting offer, you can only choose one, as long as you sign the papers."
"I can let you meet Pierce, or let you know who tried to kill you, the choice is yours."