Chapter 17! Boom!

Rockson gave a broad smile and challenged Jeremy with amusement written all over his face "you never paid me Jerry, being here is out of the goodness of my heart." Rockson relaxed by leaning in his chair and taking in Jeremy's taut expression, couldn't be any happier while praying in his heart 'take the bait your holiness'

"You know we need to give back to the society in which we belong. You of all people should understand what I'm driving at Jerry" Jeremy felt like he was being exploited by the shrewd individual before him. He was fully aware that Rockson was pulling his legs but being a man full of pride, he just couldn't let it go. His wife-to-be is also in the vicinity and he just can't allow Rockson to present him as a stingy person. If only Kimberley could read his mind, she definitely will tell Jeremy to forget and totally ignore her presence.

He spoke in a low growl with gritted teeth "you beggar! You can have whatever you want. After all, we really need to give back to the needy in society" Rockson choked on the words that were about coming out of his mouth and stared mouth agape at his friend for a few seconds before reacting with an exaggerated tone of voice "you mean anything? You are not thinking about going back on your words are you?" Jeremy looked at the supposedly needy human before him and felt mixed emotions. He is this happy because of this singular statement? Only that he will understand later why Rockson was shocked when he spoke of him asking for 'anything'

Rockson took to his feet and spoke enthusiastically to Kimberley while disregarding Jeremy "do you mind sharing your current project with us?" Her current project holds so much importance to Rockson because they may be caught off guard if that's really what the enemy is after. Kimberley being in her own space everyday and doing almost everything away from prying eyes does not make the feeling go away. Rockson's instincts have never failed him and he is just not ready to lose Jeremy's promise at this time.

Kimberley was stomped for words and didn't know immediately whether to be sincere with everyone or not, but taking Jeremy into consideration, she turned to give him a questioning look, who in turn gave a gentle nod and added bitterly with much hesitation lacing his voice "you can trust this crook. I can vouch for him" Kimberley hesitated no more and spoke in a crisp voice with enough confidence "my current research is on cancer! Specifically finding  a cure for all forms of cancer" 

Everyone had an agitated expression with a completely different thought in mind but among them all, Sherry Hills had her eyes sparkling brighter than the brightest star. Even though impatience laced her heart, Sherry had a very beautiful smile all over her face while she held the helm of her knee length dress so tight it was definitely crumpling after she let go. She listened quietly throughout Kimberley's submission and hoped for a good news. Maybe, just maybe her mother could finally have hope of survival. Sherry longed for a genuine smile on her mother's face for once in her difficult life.

Kimberley continued her submission "the general team however is tasked to investigate a cure for sickle cell anaemia. A study I oversee and currently, we made adequate headway in the process, but,..." Kimberley took in their expressions one by one and continued unhurried, "No one knows how I finally did it. I only tested the final product in their presence and I was yet to walk the team through the process of my findings at a later date. The rest, we all know about"

Rockson asked if there were any other teams researching any new drugs, to which Kimberley responded and they both realised there was nothing particularly special about the work of the other teams. Rockson couldnt be more sure of his initial assertion.

After tapping his pen for God knows how long, Rockson said to Kimberley "may I know which company Arieł represents!" 

It then dawned on Kimberley that she had overlooked the fact that her former boyfriend had been working with someone else all these while. She racked her brain for a while before responding with a forlorn look "he always said its top secret" Everyone in the room except Jeremy looked at her like she was a different species from an alien race. 

Kimberley felt awkward for a moment before regaining her compusure and shrugging off the awkwardness "never really had time to probe" Before she could make things any worse, Jeremy came to his woman's rescue "Vanish! He is with Vanish" 

Rockson's eyes threatened to fall off his sockets. He took in deep breaths to calm down his raging heart and hastily took his sit from across Jeremy. The mention of vanish really placed him in a terrible mood and Ariel officially piqued his interest. 

Kimberley felt melancholy wash over her and couldn't place her hand on when things went wrong. The news of Ariel two timing and eventually breaking up with her after accusing her family of theft  never moved her as much as the revelation of who Ariel actually works for, none other than the scum of the Pharmaceutical industry called 'Vanish'. An organisation that has so many evil deeds to their name that one can never count them all.

As Jeremy looked at Rockson's forlorn look, he softened his tone and said "we will get 'Vanish' through the eyesore."

Ariel has been the only eyesore Jeremy couldn't rid himself of since he discovered the former's relationship with the only woman his heart beats for but finding out that he had ulterior motives for approaching his Kimberley made him really pissed off. He swore to make the dude pay. 

As the atmosphere got more tense, Jeremy felt something very dark approaching and couldnt help having an ominous feeling. Closing his eyes, Jeremy regulated his breathing to determine the source of the bad premonition he was currently having.

Suddenly, Jeremy took to his feet and dashed out of the meeting room under the shocked gaze of everyone present and a confused Kimberley who thought Jeremy was walking out on them. She only heard him say in a tense voice "Kim, the system! Everyone out" Grabbing Kimberley on his way out, he dashed out with the rest following on his heels. Kimberley could have been really surprised at the endearment she was receiving from Jeremy if this had been a different occasion but right now, she didn't even hear anything else aside 'the system'

Along the way, he shattered the fire glass and pressed the emergency fire button. 

Every single employee discarded what they were doing and bolted for the elevator with those closest to the ground floor, running for the stairs. 

...

Paige woke up feeling restless and decided to work on her computer when she picked up a distress call on her secured network. 'Price' was the only thing she saw when she investigated the message. Within a few seconds of her hands dancing on the keyboard, she got the gist of the whole situation and was shocked terrified. While her hands were dancing more swiftly on the screen, she panicked a little and the only thought that filled her mind was Jeremy Pope. 

After exactly twenty seconds, Paige successfully sent a distress call to the fire and police departments as well as the media. The destination was Price Pharmaceuticals. The message was to look out for an explosion.

Covering the area, the media personalities felt that there was foul play as they realised nothing special was happening. The police couldn't help wondering if so many of them rushed here for a prank call however seeing colleagues from the fire department also being present, everyone had confused expressions as they watched each other not knowing why exactly they were dispatched here. A young lieutenant took out his phone to confirm from his superior what exactly to look out for but he couldn't believe what he was staring at "no signal?" How come there is no signal on his phone? Looking around, he was about asking another colleague for his cell phone when he heard a journalist cursing under her breath because she couldn't reach her control room. The whole atmosphere seemed tense as no one knew what was going on but couldn't even ask anyone. The fear of the unknown is always so strong as far as humans are concerned. 

Suddenly, 'boom!'

Everyone stared wide eyed at the scene before them in undisguised shock and terror. 

An explosion! Price Pharmaceuticals has exploded!

...

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