The Real Owner

Author's POV

He was listening to everything that was going on and how Mary was giving the right words back to Joe. 

"You can't tell me you are the owner of this restaurant, right?" Joe said, as his thoughts brought him to the realization that she was actually sitting on the boss's chair.

Even Richard, who was behind the curtains, could not help but be amused at Joe's question. 

"Wasn't he sent in by the manager to see the owner of the restaurant?" Yet he still had the audacity to ask Mary if she was the owner. 

"What do you expect? Were you expecting to see somebody else? A woman cannot also own a corporation," she said to Joe as Joe laughed.

"Really? It has really gotten to this. Richard has been able to get himself to this area of the world. Wow. He's actually getting way more famous than I thought. I hope you're doing a good job mentoring him through the way," Joe said and laughed as he was about to walk away, but Mary stopped him. 

"What exactly brought you here? You still have not told me? What made you insist on seeing the owner of this restaurant? You can't just come here, mock me and then expect to go so freely. There has to be a reason for everything," Mary asked Joe as Joe laughed before taking his seat. 

"It seems as though he had been waiting for her to ask him this question. I am here because I want to make a deal with you. But I don't know how to make a deal with someone so close to Richard. I don't know the kind of words he has fed you with and how much you have come to like him and, of course, how you are ready to protect him. In reality, I want to buy this company. My fiancée wants to buy this company and I am here to help her with that. She wants to own every right to this restaurant, this corporation," Joe said as Mary laughed. 

"Really, you must be daydreaming right now because it's not something you can just mouth about and say you want to buy. You can never get it as yours. Always try to remember that important part. Do you understand?" Mary warned and then pointed to the door. 

"You can be excused. Leave now," she insisted as Joe did not bother saying another word and just walked out. 

He was so amazed. For more than that, he was angry to see that it was actually the same person they had insulted outside at the restaurant who owned it. Yet nobody, not even the workers, could hint at them and let them know that she was the owner of the company. So that alone ruined everything. 

As he slowly walked to his car, he was thinking of ways to get back at Richard. Meanwhile, Richard came out from behind the curtains and stood back while the manager told him about Joe's appearance. 

He clapped his hands loudly as he adjusted his seat. Just then, Mary stood up for him as he took his seat, crossing his legs and sitting very comfortably with a smirk on his face. 

"So what does he want exactly? What does he want to gain from all of this? So Anna wants this company just because she was not able to get an insult through to me. What else does she want again? To crumble everything I own?" Richard said angrily as Dorian walked in. 

"I just saw Joe leaving this restaurant. Why is he here? Why did you let him enter? I hope he doesn't know anything about your identity yet," Dorian questioned as Richard scoffed. 

"I'm not that daft, okay? I am not the one who answered him. But Mary, he came to actually buy the restaurant. Very funny of him. But that can never happen." 

"I think this is perfect, Mary. They are already making assumptions. It's time for us to make their assumptions a reality. Don't you think so?" Richard said to Mary as Mary acted a bit surprised. 

"We cannot do something like that. That is against the rule. Yes, I know you want Anna to be pained. I cannot do that. I am only here to protect you and help you cover up your identity. None of that is important at the moment. We have other things to concentrate on. Like who sent the letter," Mary insisted, but Richard was not ready to talk about it. 

Something about the words of that person made him a bit frustrated. It felt like it was someone around him. He did not know who the mole could be. He had not told anybody about his father's wealth, and it was just between the both of them. 

"But another thing is Dorian cannot betray him. Neither can Mary do anything like that. They were one of the most dedicated people to the Rex Corporation." 

"Do not worry about the letter. I already bought it and I plan on forgetting about it. I am going to continue my plan. It would not change anything," Richard said angrily and then continued with his investigation as Mary and Dorian left the office for him. 

It was midnight and, of course, he had to get home. He did not even realize that it had gotten so dark as he packed up and picked up his suitcase. 

Walking out with guards behind him and his marks clearly covering his identity, he was about to enter the passenger seat when his driver made a silent sound. 

He looked at him, questioning why he made that sound as he lifted a white envelope again. 

"It's a letter. A weird letter which was placed on top of the boot of the car," he said as Richard wasted no time to collect the letter from the driver. 

He opened it and, of course, it was another threat again. 

"Who could be doing this? What did he plan on gaining from threatening him continuously?"