Her face went wild at the revelation of Tom wanting to take everything from Joseph. She wondered what he meant by that and what prompted him to make that resolution. She had to stand properly, leaving the table she was leaning on to give him the proper attention to what he had to say.
“Why did you suddenly change your mind? This was not your mindset before” she questioned and he smiled a bit to ease the tension building up between them.
“It’s not something that serious, don’t get yourself worked up over something like that” he responded but she was not satisfied.
The curiosity to know why he changed his mind and also the fear that something might happen to him set in within her. She doesn’t want anything to happen to him because he has become someone so precious to her, she might not be able to bear it if he gets hurt since she gets emotionally attached easily.
“What do you mean do not get yourself worked up? I am so scared right now that I cannot help but get myself worked up” she countered and he scratched his head.
It was obvious that he wanted to share but he was hesitating for reasons personal to him but he knew at that point he had no choice but to share it with Amber.
It turned out that on his twenty fourth birthday which happened to be two years ago, he had come back from work with no one to celebrate his birthday except his mom who always made sure to prepare all his favorite dishes.
He finished eating the meal and went back to his room to continue the proposal he was working on but he needed to get an approval for the usage of some things from his father so he went to his room to meet with him since he was rarely at home.
He was about pulling on the handle when he heard a discussion going on inside, it was loud enough for him to hear from the other side. The atmosphere was reeking of alcohol which signaled that his father was drunk due to the fact that is also unclear to him till date. The way he was kept talking and going silent made Tom realized that he was on the phone with his younger brother, Joseph.
Since he was not a nosy person who loves to mind his business, he turned on his heels to give them the space for their discussion but paused immediately his name came into the equation.
“You should not be insecure about Tom, he is still struggling with the revival of the mall so he cannot even dream of having the company. He is just someone I placed in that place to make sure when it collapses, he will be taking the blame. I grew Holland group just for you and had only you in mind every time I make a move so be rest assured that nothing or nobody is going to take it away from you” he heard his father commented, assuring Joseph over the phone that the seat is surely his.
Immediately he heard those words, everything about him broke down. His brain stopped working and he stood there blankly, fighting all the conflicting feelings of anger, disappointment, regret and betrayal. Although he didn’t have that much happy moments in the house because both the father and the son changed to him and his mother when they moved to Chicago, he still made sure to try his best in order to seek the father’s validation.
In order to prove himself worthy, he had to drop his dream of painting and told the father that he would go into the business. He almost died at the library due to excessive studying but that didn’t stop him until he achieved his goal of being a business expert, graduating at the top of his class.
The first assignment his father gave to him was to manage Shellhouse that was already buried in debt. Even with the obvious fact that the situation was worse beyond control, he didn’t complain and took it like that. He worked his butt off for the past two years to get things under control and was gradually building it back to his feet only to hear Chairman Holland tell Joseph that he was just placed there to take the blame if something went wrong.
The betrayal was too much for him, he wanted to barge into the room and challenge his step-father but kicked against it. He knew that was an opportunity for him to know his position in his heart and now that he knows where he stands, he have to work hard and build Shellhouse to become his, a great force that cannot be reckoned with.
He was still standing there with folded fists when he heard the concluding part of the discussion. “I will make sure it doesn’t work out for him and also when it is time for me to make you the Chairman, I will kick him and his mother out so they won’t become a nuisance to us. We have taken care of them for the past years so when the time comes, they will have no choice than to leave. That was the sole reason why I didn’t register my marriage with that woman, I don’t want to undergo any messy divorce lawsuit that can damage the reputation of the company” he added and Tom folded the paper in his palms hard, it got squeezed to the point that it got torn.
The moment he turned back and got to his room, his plan changed from just wanting to revive Shellhouse which was only a small company then to wanting the whole group but he didn’t make his intention known. He didn’t feel the need to make a move while Joseph was still in Dubai, he wanted him to come over so they can fight over it square and fair but Joseph seemed to have prepared many dirty tactics and began his attack on Tom and his mother as soon as he returned.
His former secretary kept complaining about the workload with an almost impossible deadline attached to most of them and she ended up resigning before he found Amber who was desperate to have a job. Amber never for once complained and did her job well so she was part of the reasons why he was successful in making Shellhouse a big place, even from a building to a mall. Her being by his side over the years was undeniably helpful for him because she was a brainy person who always prepare a countermeasure in case any plan they had fail and that had helped them a lot whenever they were dealing with investors or the designers they scouted.
She couldn’t believe what she just heard from him and wonder why a father would have that kind of intention to someone who contributed so much success towards his company. If anything, he was supposed to worship Tom for doing something so great and even providing means for other subsidiaries to grow.
She never knew all these were the factors that made Tom a workaholic and made him cold to the world. She never complained about her work because she was good and fast at it, also she always knew the right steps to take so it takes her lesser time to get most work done, also the desperation to get promoted and paid more drove her to do her best. Above all, she really love her work.
“I didn’t know something like this was going on with you. I had always wonder why your younger brother was eager to harm you even when you didn’t do anything” she remarked and a slight chuckle dropped from Tom.
“Even with the fact that I pretended not to do anything and picked up my dream once again, he has been looking for ways to ruin me ever since he came back because I became too huge of a stone that he cannot just toss around but I will never be moved. I am prepared for any card he pulls” he stated firmly and she knew that his mind was already solidly made up, nothing she would say about not fighting back at this point that he would agree with.
She closed her eyes for some seconds to take a deep breath and clenched her fist. If Tom is willing to have a head on fight with them then as his secretary and also his girlfriend then she has no choice but to support him since it was nothing illegal.
“At this point, I have no intention to stop you and I will support you by your side” she declared and he jumped to his feet.
With the intention to stop her, she waved her finger in the air to restrain him. “Don’t bother to say whatever you have the intention of saying because I will make sure to stick by you on this journey no matter what” she firmly told him and his shoulders dropped in defeat.
She was more determined than him who owns the fight at this point.