Chapter 105

Chapter 105Leave it to me
The room was quiet as the silence dragged on as Elijah and Bryan sat there, relaxing on the couch,
now that Curtis, Hosah, and Joey had left them alone.
“Well, I don‘t know why I underestimate a Maxwell… But I thought you were going to find Joey’s words
offensive and not want to work with him.” Bryan broke the silence.
“And miss the opportunity of correcting my image in the eyes of someone who acted out of
ignorance?... After today, what do you think Joey‘s impression would be of me… still the same or…?”
Elijah paused and looked at Bryan
“He seemed to respect you.”
“And he didn‘t have that for me when I first walked in here… Have you ever worked under someone
you have wronged and had to live up to correcting your image with them, every time you see them?”
“He‘s going to be very careful around you, from now on, always remembering his mistake.”
“Exactly. Now, isn‘t that more fun watching the one that disdains you in your face, spent his days
respecting your opinions and you, rather than have him out there, being salty about you, and you,
having resentment for him?”
Seeing the half smile forming on Elijah‘s face and hearing the soft chuckle escaping his lips, Bryan
smiled, mumbling, “Well, I never thought that far ahead before, but, yeah, it is.”
After a brief silence, Elijah looked at his watch and said, “I need to get back to my wife.”
“So it‘s really love?” Bryan questioned, raising his eyebrows.“What is love?”
“You and her…”
When Elijah didn‘t respond immediately, Bryan elaborated, “Forgive me for such sensitive words… But,
first, you kept your identity for years, while being married to Melina, and allowing everyone to walk over
you, and now, you are with Peach, and judging from the last name she bears from you…”
A brief silence passed between the two men again as Bryan saw how Elijah tensed, and then he
mumbled, “She doesn‘t know that you are a Maxwell… till this day, does she?”
Again another awkward silence followed between the two men, and Bryan brushed his hand through
his hair, laughing out the tension he felt, saying, “I should stop trying to pick at your brain… you are
way too complicated, man.” 1
Ignoring Bryan‘s words and the feeling that came with it, Elijah just chuckled in response, turning off his
phone and putting it away into his pocket. Then he stood up from the couch, saying, “Thanks for
today… I appreciate everything you have done so far. I know how to scratch the backs of those that
scratch mine, So when the day comes for me to repay my debts, know that I got your back.”
A short laugh left Bryan‘s lips as he stood up from the couch, meeting Elijah‘s gaze as he let out, “I
know that this started as a business transaction, but you have rubbed off on me quite a lot, man.”
A half, a slight smile was the only response Elijah gave before walking off, and Bryan shook his head
with a smile, following him out the door.
Shoving his hands into his pocket, Elijah continued down the hall, realizing that a couple of Bryan
words had stuck in his mind, and he frowned slightly.“My eyes are not deceiving me!” A voice that Elijah remembered way too well grabbed his attention,
and
he gazed to the right to see Mr. Gordan, approaching with his golf gears in a bag, smiling like he had
won a lottery. “I was right! It‘s you..”
“Mr. Gordan,” Bryan said with a grin at the old man.
When he reached them, Mr. Gordan glanced between Bryan and Elijah, looking confused and yet
amused, asking, “What an odd pair to see together… You two know each other.”
Grabbing Elijah by the shoulder, Bryan wore a big smile on his pinkish lips and said, “Well, what do you
think?”
“Umm…” Mr. Gordan began, before staring at both of them in confusion.
One of the biggest CEO in the country was actually being goofy with the so–called low–life son–in–law
of the Hayes family was a mathematical solution that seemed impossible in Mr. Gordan‘s opinion, and
he let out, “What the relationship here?”
“Just buddies,” Bryan said with a mischievous smile.
Even more confused and curious now, Mr. Gordan darted his gaze between the two of them, and he
muttered to himself, “is that so?”
“I should get going,” Elijah said, eyeing Bryan‘s arm around his shoulders, making him notice the stare,
and withdrawing his hand slowly.
Meeting Bryan‘s eyes, Elijah hesitated, and then he gave him a manly pat on the back and said,
“Goodbye, Bryan.”Before he turned on his heels and walked away, leaving Bryan smirking as he watched his back and
then turned to Mr. Gordan and said, “Well, this is my cue to leave.”
“But… B–ut… Who is he?! Why are you friends with a, ‘nobody?!” Mr. Gordan blurted out at Bryan as
he turned to leave.
Halting in his steps, Bryan looked at Mr. Gordan and then laughed in an amused tone, mumbling, “A
nobody? Hah, you are a funny man, Jeffrey… Good one.”
Speechless from Bryan‘s remark, Mr. Gordan watched him stick his hands in his pockets and walked
off before he mumbled, “Am I missing something here?! Why would I be joking about him being a,
‘nobody?‘… except, he is… not!”
The sky was becoming a bit dull as five o‘clock approached, and the car came to a stop in front of the
hotel, causing Elijah to sigh as he shut his eyes.
After a brief moment of calmness, he unlocked the door, stepped out, deeply inhaled, and then smiled
as the thought of seeing Peach ran crossed his mind.
The suite had been quiet for a while until Peach reached her gaze to stare at Ryan, and then dropped
her pen, blurting out, “I am Ninety–eight percent sure!
“Umm?!” Ryan exclaimed, almost falling out of the chair.
Holding back a laugh, Peach took a second to suppress it all and mumbled, “Sorry that I startled you…
I was talking about what I said back in the restaurant. Elmer had been using accounting loopholes to
hide millions of dollars of bad debt, while simultaneously inflating the company‘s earnings. It‘s all in the
records…”The sound of the door suddenly unlocking made Peach and Ryan look over, and after a moment,
Peach stood from her seat, smiling at Elijah as he approached her.
The moment he reached Peach, his arms wrapped around her waist, and he pulled her close, resting
his chin on her shoulder as he kissed the side of her neck.
When Elijah pulled away from Peach after a few moments, he took a step back and smiled as he
asked,” Is everything okay?”
Then he subconsciously stared over at Ryan as his buddy let out, “I should get back
to Matt and the other.”
“Hey… Thanks for today.” Elijah called out, causing a faint smile to appear on Ryan‘s face as he
nodded before walking out of the room.
As soon as they heard the door closing behind him, Peach looked back at Elijah with this excitement,
and he chuckled at it as he asked, “What is it?”
“I found out that these papers are corrupt transactions and entries from Investistic Co. and Elmer had
been hiding millions of dollars in loans using accounting loopholes and simultaneously inflating the
company‘s earnings, and all
the records are here to back it… Well, two briefcases of it. I have not checked the others.”
“Are you serious?” Elijah whispered, a look of disbelief on his features as he took his time to process
her words.
When Peach nodded in excitement, he didn’t hesitate in believing her word, grabbing the sides of her
face and kissing her repeatedly on her lips and cheeks, and then he pulled back, grinning, andmurmuring, “You beautiful genius! I freaking love you so damn much!”
The last sentence of his made Peach‘s eyes widened, and she stuttered, “Y…you do..?”
Considering how their marriage happened, and the circumstances at that time, Peach had never been
certain of just how far Elijah‘s feelings extended for her, and since this was the first time she heard him
say those words with so much honesty and excitement, she was shocked.
novelbinFor a second, Elijah watched her eyes grow watery, and he wiped at the tears running down her cheek,
and then he brought his finger beneath her chin and lifted it, whispering, “I do, Peach.”
Her eyes slowly searched for deception as he spoke, and then when she saw none, she smiled, trying
to memorize every inch of his handsome face, and then replied, “I love you too, Elijah Darius.”
A slight sense of guilt hit Elijah as he realized how long he had been lying to Peach, and then he pulled
her closer by wrapping his arms around her waist tightly, holding her there, and kissing her hair before
resting his chin on her head.
Her smile reached her eyes as she buried her nose into his chest, breathing in his scent deeply before
letting out a small chuckle, and they stayed in that position for a few minutes before Peach whispered,”
So what are we going to do about Elmer?”
“Leave it to me.” Elijah mumbled, closing his eyes at the feeling of her warmth. “I will handle him and
his ten accomplices.”