“What makes you think I can do it?” Guinevere asked
“I overheard some ladies at Skypeak saying your family is involved,” Zach said.
“Richard’s family is involved too,” Guinevere stated.
She was not trying to shift the responsibility, she was simply not confident. How was she going to convince her father to talk? He was already very tight-lipped about everything. Even though she had the status and the contacts, they were useless in her hands.
“Oh, you didn’t know? I’ve been disowned,” Richard replied casually.
An awkward moment of silence lingered as everyone turned to Richard. He shrugged with a forced grin before tossing the flashlight to Jodie.
As though cued to break the silence, Jodie said, “We’ll help you however we can.”
“Thank you, I could really use the help,” Guinevere replied sarcastically. If they wanted to help, they should have volunteered instead of raising their hands. Grunting, she got to her feet and added, “I’ll see what I can do. But don’t bet on me.”
Matthias stood up and dusted his pants. “Thanks Guinevere. I guess we can end the meeting here.”
“What? That’s it?” Richard asked.
“We’re all on the same page now. We’ll meet again once we learn something new,” Jodie said.
Everyone nodded and Richard sulked. He seemed disappointed that they were dismissing so soon. As they exited into the dark hallway, Richard tugged at Guinevere’s elbow and pulled her to the back of the pack. Wondering what nonsense he was about to add, she hissed, “What?”
“Hey, you have shares in my father’s law firm, right?” Richard asked.
It was an odd question to bring up at that time, so she simply raised an eyebrow in reply.
“Sell them to me,” Richard said.
Guinevere’s first instinct was to burst out laughing, but she hesitated at the memory of Richard declaring his disownment.
“Are you really being disowned?” Guinevere asked.
“Unfortunately. I don’t have a lot of shares to keep my position. So I need a little help.”
“I don’t know how much I have.”
“I’ll take any amount. If you have shares in Wilhelm, do you think you can spare me some too?”
“Wilhelm?”
“Yea, I need more financial power. But only for a while. I can give them back to you after.”
“Why Wilhelm?”
And just as the question left her lips, she made the connection. Her father’s insurance company, Richard’s father’s law firm, and even the bank Wayne worked in, were all under the Wilhelm Group. She halted in her steps at the new revelation, and announced, “Wilhelm Group.”
The three ahead of her stopped in their tracks.
“Wilhelm Group?” Matthias clarified.
“Yes. Greengrass Global is part of Wilhelm Group. And so are all the other companies involved.”
“So you think this has something to do with the group?” Jodie asked.
“I don’t think, I know,” Guinevere confidently replied with a smile. She was proud of herself for making a connection that the rest had failed to see. But her smile quickly faded, as she realised the power their puppet master had.
“That’s a good lead,” Zach said.
“I’ll dig around in my company. They’re… a subsidiary,” Matthias stated.
Clearly, they were all chosen for a reason. Every one of them were tied to Wilhelm Group in one way or another. Even though she didn’t know what Jodie and Zach’s connections were, there was certainly one.
After her finding, they agreed to meet again the following week. Richard begged Guinevere to think about his request before they parted ways. And as she’d promised, she did.
The following morning, just as the clock ticked eight, she called her family lawyer. She wanted to check on her shares before the working day started. When the lawyer told her the amount, she knew Richard would not be able to afford them. He didn’t look like the kind of person who had any savings, and even if he did, it wouldn’t be enough. If she really wanted to help him, she’d have to give them to him and hope he’d return them later. Knowing this, she had to make a decision soon. There was no way the lawyer would stay silent about her enquiry.
As she got herself ready for breakfast, she thought about what she should do. When she neared the descending stairs, she decided to help Richard out. But before she could make any arrangements, she heard her parents talking about her in the living room. Slipping out of sight, she listened.
“Don’t worry, Gwen will do it,” her mother assured.
“And if she doesn’t, will you be responsible?” her father threatened.
Guinevere knew they were talking about her divorce with Wayne. At the reminder of what she was tasked to do, her heart sank. Clutching her phone, she thought about informing Wayne about it herself. But she hesitated, fearing that he might think she was a part of the plan too.
“We should call off the wedding,” her father said. “I’ll tell the rest to make their move without us.”
“Wait! We’ll lose out,” her mother replied.
A sudden ring came echoing up the stairs and it interrupted them. Guinevere heard her father answer the phone and asked, “Guinevere did what?”
It was probably the lawyer. Her mother added, “What did she do now?”
Unlocking her phone, she hovered her thumb over Wayne’s speed dial. She was ready to call him when she thought of Jodie. Jodie would help Wayne if she knew what was going on. Wondering if it was a good idea, she heard her father telling the lawyer to meet him at the office. If her father was to do something with her shares, she wouldn’t be able to help Richard. At that moment, one call was more important. And Guinevere had to choose.
Next Chapter >
(For the chapter list, visit here.)
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The Clubhouse © 2014 – 2015 by Jeyna Grace.
All rights reserved. No part of the series may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission from Jeyna Grace.
Jeyna Grace 