The meeting went well, and the clients left while Eliza and the rest of the team stayed back in the conference room to go over the agreements. Then her grandfather barged in.
"If you're here to remind me of dinner plans, forget it. I won't be attending dinner at your house with my husband." Eliza said immediately.
"Your mother was gracious enough to extend an invitation, so you will…"
"I really don't have the time for this. I'm busy trying to revive the company you and your spawns dried out. Let's leave personal matters out of work hours." She said and turned to the two secretaries behind her. "Deliver these, and drop a copy of the old draft on my desk. I'll be there shortly."
"Yes Ma'am."
"If you don't want to come to dinner at our house, then at least invite us over. We heard you moved to a new house. We're family, so we should at least be…"
Eliza's laugh cut him off.
"Don't make me laugh, Henry. I'm not letting any of you set foot in my house, so you don't taint the place. And remember the notice given at the opening ceremony of my husband's company. Don't dare try to use his name or mine to gain favours. I promise it will come back to bite you in the ass when your friends discover that you can't repay them through us."
Then she left with Alrik.
"No luck?" Gregory asked as he stepped into the conference room that Eliza just left, with his sons behind him.
"That damn girl is so stubborn! How could she keep this hidden all this time? No wonder she refused to let him go no matter how we tried to force her away from him. She should have just told us he was the CEO of Crestview Group." He slammed his hands on the table.
"I don't think she knew."
"She must have known. Why else would she cling to him so tightly, and don't tell me it's because of love. That would just be foolishness."
"Whether she knew or not, it doesn't fucking matter. What matters is how we can get in Alrik's good graces, and use his wealth to our advantage. Eliza is the key to getting close to him. I've been receiving phone calls from people I've been trying to connect with for years. They all want to be close to me now, but I can't even take that risk because I know they just want to use me to connect with Alrik. If I make promises I can't keep, I'll be sued." Francis grumbled.
"We just have to try harder. We put up with him for years. No matter her complaints, Eliza should know that she would have slept on the streets if we hadn't given them a room to stay in. We should be compensated for that at least." Gregory scoffed, and they all agreed.
They stayed there for a few more minutes, trying to come up with a new plan to get Eliza back on their side.
Alrik and Eliza decided not to eat at the company cafeteria. Alrik took her to a nearby restaurant so she could loosen up for a few minutes. But the peace they sought was lost after just a few minutes.
"Hey sis! Fancy seeing you here. This is my favourite place to have lunch. I see you also discovered it." Marco said with a smile as he walked up to their table.
Eliza sighed. Marco had stopped calling her sis years ago. "Why the nickname all of a sudden?"
"Can't I call my baby sister by a nickname?" He chuckled as he tried to sit with them.
"I didn't say you could join us." She snapped and he paused mid air, then straightened with an awkward laugh.
"Come on. We're all here, so we can just share a table, right?"
"No. What do you want? Just say it and leave. You never eat out, you're way too lazy for that. You always have food delivered, so you must have followed us here. For that, there must be a reason. Just spit it out before my food arrives or you'll lose your chance." She said and he scoffed.
"I just wanted to spend some time with my only sister."
"Don't bother. You didn't remember our blood relation before today. So keep ignoring me like you've been doing, or go back to the animosity. I'm used to that from all of you. The sudden nice act is deeply unsettling."
"Here's your meal." The waiter spoke as he arrived with the tray of food Alrik and Eliza had previously ordered.
Eliza faced her meal, and turned to speak with Alrik. Marco stood there for several more seconds, hoping to be acknowledged, but she pretended he didn't even exist.
He understood that he had been dismissed, and left with clenched fists.
"How did it go?"
"The bitch didn't even let me join them to eat. Now she acts so high and mighty. If not for her husband's wealth, why would I stoop so low to associate with someone that was disowned?" Marco scoffed.
"Father has revoked that. She's no longer disowned, you know that. So make sure he doesn't hear you say that."
"Whatever. It's not like she even cares what we do or say anymore. Why would she need us when she had him?"
"She may not need us, but we need her. And she owes us. I don't care what we have to do to make her see reason." Francis said and the call ended.
Alrik and Eliza returned to her office, and worked together till it was time to leave. Her phone began to ring just as the car pulled out of the company parking lot, and she rolled her eyes when she saw Francis' name on the caller ID. She contemplated not answering the call, but she knew he would just throw a fit later. She should just block them all, but she still needed a way to communicate with them concerning company matters, especially during this transition period.
"What do you want, now? I've had enough of you all pestering me today."
"Eliza! Come quick. There was an accident."