Chapter 9

Months flew by quickly.

 Elise and her parents had expected the Harkins to try and hurt them in one way or the other, but surprisingly, nothing had happened, so they decided to carry on with their lives.

Elise adjusted to working for Junior. With her pay, she was able to move her family into a befitting home in a secure area in town. She even wanted her parents to retire but her father said he wasn't ready.

Earlier, he had gone searching for a job at a renowned bakery and luckily, he was able to get the job.

Infact, the bakery owner was really happy to have him work with them, due to his experience.

He was supposed to be resuming that Monday, so Elise decided to take a minute to call and ask him how it was going.

"Hey Dad," Elise said immediately after he answered the phone.

"Hi dear. How're you doing?" Charles asked his daughter.

"I'm ok. I'm just calling to check in on you. How's your first day at the bakery going?" Elise asked. She had a smile on her face, even though she knew her father couldn't see her.

"I'm not at the bakery, I'm at home" Charles replied.

"Why's that? Did something happen?" Elise asked. Something about her father's tone made her worry.

"I was still at home, preparing, when I got a call from the owner of the bakery, he said they didn't want me anymore," Charles said.

"How's that possible? He sounded really excited to have you work for him," Elise asked.

"Well, he said he appreciated my enthusiasm and would have loved to have someone with my expertise in his bakery, but unfortunately, someone else had already filled my position," Charles explained, he sounded really downcasted.

"That doesn't make any sense, he had already given you the job, how could he suddenly change his mind?" Elise asked.

"I wish I knew why. In Fact, after I expressed my disappointment, I asked if there was something I could do to be considered in case of any future openings and his response left me feeling very confused" Charles said.

"What did he say?" Elise asked.

"I'm just going to quote him because his words are still fresh in my head.

 'I'm sorry, but I don't think so. Your previous employers gave us some negative feedback about your work ethic and reliability, so we won't be able to consider you for any future openings.'

That was his response. I even tried asking who he was talking about, but he wouldn't say and when I asked him what exactly was said about me, he replied that he was sorry, but couldn't disclose that information. But he wished me the best of luck in my job search and hung up." Charles explained.

"That's weird. Something must have happened. I'm really sorry about this, I knew you were really looking forward to working there" Elise said.

"It's ok darling, I'm sure something else will pop up" Charles said.

They quickly said goodbye to each other and Elise hung up. Elise went back to Juniors office but she couldn't concentrate.

"Hey. What's the matter?" Junior asked.

Elise told him all that had happened and he concurred that something wasn't right, people do not change their minds that way.

"Well, I think you should go over to the bakery and ask what really happened," Junior suggested.

"I'm not sure it would make much difference," Elise said.

"Besides we have a lot on our plate right now, I'm sure my dad will get something better soon, if he doesn't, I don't mind caring for him," Elise said.

"I don't buy what that bakery owner said. From what you've told me about your family, your dad has a very strong work ethic, why would a former employee randomly call to discredit him? You're saying it could be a mistake, but I doubt it," Junior reasoned with Elise.

After carefully considering it, Elise decided to visit the bakery. When she got there, she was directed to the manager's office.

"Good day sir," Elise greeted

"Good day. How may I be of assistance to you?" The manager asked her.

Elise explained how her father had gotten a job there and how he was suddenly fired before he could even begin working there.

"Young lady, I've heard all you've said and I'm sorry about what happened to your dad, but I honestly cannot tell you why that happened, the CEO himself is the one in charge of employing people" the manager said.

"Can I talk to him then?" Elise asked.

"I'm afraid that would not be possible. He's really busy right now. I'll advise you to forget what happened and move on," the manager responded.

Elise knew on her own, there was no way she would be allowed to speak to the bakery's owner, so she quickly went out of the manager's office, called Junior and requested for his help.q

Few minutes later, she heard her name.

"Elise Chapman?" The manager called out.

"Yes, that's me." Elise replied.

"I just got a call from D'Miller brand, they said you're here to discuss business with my boss, you would have said so earlier, I'm sorry if I've wasted your time, please follow me" the manager said.

He led the way to the CEO's office and ushered Elise in, she thanked him and he returned to his office.

Elise and the CEO spoke briefly and when he wanted to get down to business, she told him who her father is and demanded that he explain why he did what he did.

At first, he was reluctant, it was almost as if he was scared to talk about the reason behind his decision, Elise said she was going to take her business deal elsewhere and this got him to speak, no one wanted to miss a deal with D'Miller brand.

"It was a lady. She contacted me and somehow, she knew your dad had been employed here. She told me not to allow him to work for me. At first, I refused, but then, she threatened me." The bakery owner explained.

"This woman, what's her name?" Elise asked. Somehow, she already knew the answer to that question.

"Jennifer Harkin. She's a very influential woman. She's friends with Amanda Jay, the famous food blogger. She said she was going to call her and convince her to write a bad report about my bakery. I got scared. If she did that, I would be out of business in no time." the CEO answered.

"I didn't mean any harm, I was only trying to look out for myself, I'm sorry" he apologized.

"I'll need proof," Elise said.

"Proof of what?" The CEO asked, a confused expression on his face.

"Proof that Jennifer Harkin threatened to put you out of business if you employed a harmless old man, can you get that for me?" Elise asked.

After contemplating for a minute, the bakery owner agreed.

"I'll do it, just don't take whatever business deal from D'Miller brand elsewhere," he said.

"Alright then, I'm going to drop my card with you, reach out to me when you have it." Elise said, dropped her card and walked out of the bakery.

She felt really angry, she couldn't believe that after all these months Jennifer Harkin had decided to show her face again and she comes with trouble, well, if it's trouble she wants, trouble she'll get.

Upon arrival at D'Miller brand, Elise reported all that had happened and all what the bakery's owner had said.

After listening, Junior was deep in thought, after a couple of minutes, he spoke up.

"I've got a very good idea. I'm going to open an establishment for your dad." Junior said.

Elise was shocked, she wasn't expecting that.

"Oh no, I cannot possibly allow you to do that, you've done so much for my family already," Elise said.

"I know but I want to do more. You've proved to be more than a friend, you're a loyal ally. Besides, this establishment is just one way to speed up things for us, it'll bring us closer to my revenge on the Banks family. We need to deal with the Harkin and MacMatthew's first, that way, the Banks will have no one to turn to," Junior replied.

"So, what do you have in mind to set up?" Elise asked.

"I'll tell you that soon," Junior replied.

"So, do you need me to scout areas where we'll build this establishment?" Elise inquired further.

"Actually, I do," Junior said with a smile on his face.

"Where?" Elise asked.

"In the centre of town. At the biggest complex there," Junior replied.

The biggest complex in the center of town was owned by Jennifer Harkin.

"You know who owns that complex, right? It's Jennifer Harkin, how do you intend to get her to give it up?" Elise asked.

"Jennifer wants to play a game. We'll play with her and beat her at her own game, that's how." Junior responded.