Chapter 76

"I'm looking to offload a significant portion of my shares."

Isabella stiffened beside her. Mary's voice had gone cold. Truly, chillingly cold. To think such fabulous English could be so threatening.

Jonathan did not raise a sliver of emotion. "Why now, if I may ask?"

The eyes of the black-haired lady were devoid of sarcastic arrogance. "Why do you think?"

He did something wrong. That was the first flash of thought. But then he sharply realized Mary was testing him.

"New ventures?" he said. 

"Indeed."

He wanted to know. He had to know. What was better than Delta Incorporated? What was stealing away their third largest stock holder? No, who was?

Not knowing that in reality Mary needed cash. 

"Care to share which ones?" Johnathan's tone was flat. His words were not. 

"Care to tell me when it can be done?"

In one fell swoop, it was Mary who controlled the conversation. She was seeking a higher profit. That was the cut-throat reality of business.

That did not mean the CEO had to accept it so readily.

"How many stocks are we discussing?"

"Eighty-percent."

Jonathan's eyebrows shot up. "That's quite a bit."

"I hope this does not overextend your abilities." Her words did not leave room for argument. Her words were absolute. Mary expected him to accept this sale. 

"How about a downsize? Your current share value is 23%. I can opt for fifteen percent."

"Eight."

"Ten."

"Hrm. So desperate to keep my money, aren't you?" Mary tapped a finger on the armrest. "Right, right…and what do you specialize in again? Robots?"

"Robotics for construction companies, ma'am. We recently acquired Dusky Machines. The transition process has been smooth and while I understand concern for the downward of profit—"

"Without me, you'll go bankrupt." Mary paused. A crooked smirk spread. "So?"

Johnathon didn't immediately respond. Mary's eyes wandered to the standing photo on his desk, facing away from her. She decided to take a gamble. "Married? I do admit, causing unrelated parties stress does cause me some stress."

"That is my younger sister. She is in high school. I am not interested in women," Jonathan said. "I'm not interested in men either. I am a sigma. A moneysexual so to speak." Pause. "Even still, I will admit to my trepidation."

"Your concern means nothing."

Jonathan closed his eyes, thinking and keeping them closed until he was done. "Forty grand."

Isabella and Ophelia went wide-eyed. If it weren't for their sunglasses, they would have looked like total fools.

"A reimbursement, hm?" Mary was as cool as the outside wind. "You have my attention."

Wait, this wasn't apart of the plan—

"Fifty."

"Curiousity."

"Fifty-five."

Isabella turned to her and silently screamed at her. Accept! ACCEPT—!

"And now merely my amusement."

Oh my fucking god, Isabella thought.

Johnathon struggled for the next offer. "...seventy."

"There we go." Mary put down a piece of paper. "My new bank details. Have your people send it there."

Johnathan pulled the paper to his end. "I'll have the paperwork drawn up for the budget allocation. No one will know and it should be ready by tomorrow."

"Excellent," Mary said, standing up and smiling. "You've grown Johnathon. I'm impressed."

"We sigmas are insightful, spiritual beings who have activated the inner divine. We understand our purpose and the laws in nature. We possess a high worldview, crisis management, trust in the universe, a dissolved ego, sympathy and compassion, patience, emotional stability…"

Isabella crept up Mary's ear and whispered, "What's this bum talking about?"

"I have no clue."

"...it was only a matter of time before I changed. Next time, Mary, I will grow even further."

"Of course." Mary spun on her heel and left the office. The two girls already standing were right behind. 

The tension slowly eased from their shoulders as they walked back to the elevator. Once inside, Isabella and Ophelia let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Shut up," Mary said, snapping their backs straight. "We have a plane to catch. Let us discuss there."

Right. To be able to afford the flight, they promised to return within an hour of the exit. They called a taxi and hurried back.

***

"You were supposed to sell your stocks!"

"You almost lost fifty grand!"

Isabella was complaining about her spur of the moment switch. To Mary, it sounded like she was bitching and moaning for no reason. Almost was irrelevant; it happened. It worked. Flying on the jet with her phone in hand, the smirk on her face was impossible to wipe away. The deposit was successful. She was successful. 

"Told you, didn't I?" Mary ignored Isabella and talked to Ophelia, phone put away. "Pretentious."

"The CEO?" Ophelia put a finger on her chin, thinking. "I didn't think he was that bad."

"He called himself a sigma."

"Wasn't he talking about frats?"

"Trust me, he wasn't."

"Oh." Ophelia thought about it again. "Then I guess he was a little weird."

"Little? More like mega weird."

"Says the weirdo who decided to gamble our safest bet for no reason," Isabella butted in.

"I am a business woman. I do business things. Spur of the moment decisions happen all the time. Ah, but you wouldn't know. It's not like you talk to anybody."

"Shut up. Also—"

"If you want a drink, do it elsewhere," Mary interrupted. Ophelia's eyes widened.

"Oh! Oh, you two…you're being considerate to me." Ophelia blinked, then smiled. "I'm fine, really. I'm not that pathetic."

"You're not pathetic. Pathetic means being Isabella. If the people I love go out of their way to hide their pain, then it must be because I didn't love them enough. No one should have to mask what they fear and hate. Not in front of me."

The snide remark aside, Mary's proud words were one of the few times Isabella was truly envious and in awe of her. She never faltered. She never compromised her morals. She remained steadfast in her ideals and always got what she wanted. Whether it was the CEO of a huge company or the law itself, Mary rebelled and fought. 

And at the end of the day, she was loyal to them. Always loyal.