Chapter 5 SOPHIA'S POV

CHAPTER 5

SOPHIA'S POV

I drove with my dad to Hutton's Ltd. Within the last twenty-four hours, he had summoned a meeting with all the board members so that he could introduce me to them as the new CEO of the Hutton's group.

"Please, do me a favor, Dad. Can our relationship remain a secret for now? I mean, they don't need to know that I'm your daughter." I demanded softly, and my dad nodded the moment I gave him convincing reasons why I wanted it to be so.

I was overwhelmed at how all the junior staff ran to queue up as they saw us approaching.

"Welcome, sir, welcome, ma'am." They all greeted us as they bowed their heads in respect.

Marching with my father was like walking side by side with a second god. I've never received such respect in my life before.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I apologize for fixing this impromptu meeting. But I couldn't do otherwise because it is a necessity." My father explained, stirring confusion in the eyes of the board members.

From the look on their faces, I can tell they're all racking their brains, trying to guess what he might have to say, but they don't have a clue.

"Without much waste of your time, I present to you, the new CEO of the Hutton's group, who's none other than Sophia Lorenzo." My father announced.

"What?" All brows in the boardroom furrowed at me as silence fell in the room.

"Ms Lorenzo? Does that mean that Boss has a grown-up daughter we never heard of?"

"Come on, use your senses! How can she be his daughter and yet, answer a different surname? Probably, that's his chief mistress!"

"I agree with you. Maybe that's the condition she gave him before he could slide his old c*ck into her pants!" The board members whispered to themselves. I can see their teeth gritting with a majority of them being unhappy, but they have no option other than to remain quiet and feign a smile on their gloomy faces.

Well, I don't give a damn! I smiled inwardly at my capability.

My mind is made up to retrench any staff that is not willing to work obediently under my policies. As soon as the meeting was over, I was shown to my sophisticated office. I leaned my back on the spinning chair as I sat down.

"Should I be worried, or grateful? Would I have ever arrived at this position if I were still married to that bastard?" I flinched as a mix of conflicting emotions raced through my head.

"Come in," I answered when I heard a knock on my door.

"Good morning, ma'am." A greeting from my assistant jolted me out of my thoughts.

"You may sit." I ordered politely, flying my hands towards the direction of the chair as he dropped the file he was holding on the table.

"Here are your schedules for the day, ma'am." He said and fixed his eyes keenly on the papers inside the file.

"First, you have a meeting with the CEO of the Williams group by 12:00 noon. Secondly, you have..."

"Hold on," I interrupted.

"Which of the Williams groups are you talking about? Is it the one that is into glass and zinc production?" I asked.

"Yes, ma'am." My assistant answered with a nod.

"Cancel the meeting," I said as I retrieved the document from his hand and trashed it in the waste bin.

His face wrinkled in confusion.

"But ma'am, everything regarding this has been finalized already. It's just for you two to meet and come to an agreement before endorsing the project. I...I thought Mr. Hutton had briefed you about that already. It was because you showed up at the mansion that made him call for the rescheduling of this meeting."

"Can you shut up already?" I cut in angrily.

"Are you now challenging my authority? In fact, I need you to place a call to them right now and tell them that the Hutton's group is no longer interested in running any project with them again." I instructed with a determined voice, unwilling to welcome any counteractions.

After work, I sat my assistant down and explained to him all that he needed to know about Frank Williams and the Williams group, giving him a stern warning to keep that a secret.

And of course, he dare not try to betray my trust, because I'll exhume his body even if he dies before I deal with him.

"Have you seen the news this evening? It's all about the Williams' family," my dad said as soon as I returned home. My lips curled up in a wicked smirk as soon as our eyes met.

"Hmmm. I never knew that you could be so cunning, sweetheart! How did you even do it? I even heard some rumors saying that Claire's mother was the mastermind behind the drugs!" my dad added.

"I've not even started, Dad. Just as you said, Frank must live his life regretting ever crossing paths with me, right? So this is just the beginning!" I concluded before a call on my phone disrupted our conversation.

"Hummm, thank God you canceled the deal with the Williams family, ma'am. I can't imagine us signing up with a company whose management is involved in drug dealings!" my assistant reported as soon as I picked up the call.

"That's why it's good for you to listen when a person with experience is talking." I said with a mean voice.

"Sure, ma'am."At least I've learned." I hung up the call before he even rounded up his statement. I'm basically not in the mood for any non-profitable talks. I slumped on the bed immediately after I had a wash and ate my dinner.

"Hahahaha... this is just the beginning, dear ex-husband!" I muttered to myself as I watched the videos of Frank's heated argument with his mother-in-law when he confronted her about the drugs. I was literally wheezing after watching her palm married to his face in a resounding slap.

"You bastard! Pray that my daughter doesn't get visited by trauma, because I'm surely coming for you! And if I should find out that you planned for this to happen, I swear I'll come for your entire family!" Claire's mother, Mrs. Adalyn, retorted.

"Fine! CCTV footage would solve all this! You claimed this was delivered to you at the park, right? I'm calling them right now for the video!" Frank groaned and left her house in a rage.

What? My heart skipped the moment I heard about the CCTV footage. I'll definitely be caught if the video should be sent to Frank.

"Dad!" I screamed my father's name, and in less than five seconds, I was in his room, gasping for breath.

"Sophia, is everything okay? Do you have a nightmare? Or..."

"No, Dad! I'm in a big mess! A nightmare would have been better in this situation!" I cut him short of his questions with my trembling voice.

"Frank is calling the park for CCTV footage from the time Adalyn received the parcel and sent it through the rider, Dad. What am I going to do now because my accomplice will definitely get caught and I'll be exposed?" I trembled in fear.

"Hahahaha! I thought you're smart? Why then are you afraid?" My dad asked reluctantly while laughing at me.

"Com'on, dad, this is not funny! What I need now, is a solution and not some sort of scolding!" I countered angrily.

"Alright. You're lucky that I have some connections in the park. But you have to be careful before you do something like this next time, because I might not be able to save you!" He scolded