Chapter 437 – Beginning with a Daring Encounter

“You had no right to do what you did. That is my elder brother and his girlfriend we are talking about! You have no relationship whatsoever with them to dump such responsibility on them. He did us a favor by agreeing to accommodate you and Jamal, and he went an extra step by agreeing to watch over Jamal in your absence. What you did is UNACCEPTABLE!” Jade said, her voice rising as she spoke.

Candace nodded, “You are right. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking straight. I really needed to ensure that Jamal would be well taken care of if something happened to me. And since he is fond of Celsie’s parents and your parents, I thought he would be happier with Benne and Celsie. I should have talked to you first before doing that. I’m sorry,” Candace said in a weary voice, then Jade took a deep breath to calm herself.

“Let me get something straight. Is there something you plan to do that I don’t know about? Do you plan to run away from here after meeting Jero?” Jade asked, and Candace shook her head.

“Of course not. I love my son and would not abandon him for anything. I just don’t trust Jero. I don’t have a good feeling about this meeting, so I’m trying to be sure that Jamal will be fine if anything goes wrong,” Candace explained, and Jade frowned slightly.

“I won’t let Jero hurt you.”

“That is not a promise you can keep, Jade. I know Jero. Do you really think someone as spiteful as Jero will let me be after I testified against him? The only reason I agreed to see him now is so that we don’t have to keep running from him in the future. I want to end everything between us even if it means I have to kill him with my own hands,” Candace said, and Jade shook her head.

“We’ve been through this already…”

“I haven’t changed my mind, Jade. Even while he was locked up in prison, we continued to live in fear. That is not the kind of life I want for myself or Jamal and Andy. I don’t mind going to jail for his murder if it would mean that Jamal would grow up safe and not have to worry about such a father showing up in the future.”

“I’m sorry, but like I told you already, I won’t let you do something like that. I won’t let you waste your life,” Jade said with a shake of her head.

“I’m not asking your permission, Jade. Just make sure Jero leads you to the Lords. Once he has fulfilled his end of the agreement, I will meet with him. Our meeting will determine whether I live or he dies,” Candace said with determination.

“You should think about your son. If you do anything to Jero and you get arrested, you could spend the rest of your life in jail. Who is going to look after him if something happens to you? Leave Jero to me. He is likely going to get a death sentence after all the people he has killed since he escaped from jail. And who knows? The lords might even kill him before he gets a chance to meet you,” Jade said reasonably.

“Jade, if you were in my shoes, would you leave Jero to chance or the law? Even when you know how corrupt the law is?” Candace asked, and Jade frowned.

“You should think about Jamal…”

“I am thinking about Jamal. I’m thinking about his future. If anything happens to me and your brother doesn’t want to care for Jamal, can I trust you to make sure Jamal is well taken care of? At least until you hear from Andy. You can release him to Andy when she shows up,” Candace said, and Jade’s frown deepened.

“Candace…”

“Can I trust you to do that?” Candace asked once again, and Jade sighed.

“Yes.”

“Thank you.”

“Mr. Delgado? Mr. Jonas?” A man in his early sixties called out to them as he walked past the private section they were seated with his wife and daughter, and both friends, who had been laughing at something Celsie had said, looked up.

“Mr. Reynolds,” They both greeted as they stood and excused themselves from the table to go greet the elderly man, while Harry tried to hide his displeasure when he sighted Tanya standing beside her parents and eyeing him.

He didn’t feel the least bit sorry for speaking to her in the manner he had done, and he didn’t like that he was running into her again either.

“I’m sure you have both met my lovely wife and beautiful daughter,” Mr. Reynolds said as he led them to his table, and Benne smiled as he gave him a nod.

“Yes, we have,” Benne said as he gave both ladies a polite bow of acknowledgment, and Harry did the same.

“I was going to give you a call, Mr. Jonas. I learned you had a misunderstanding with my daughter publicly,” Mr. Reynolds said after all four of them were seated, his disapproval ringing clearly in his voice as he looked at Harry with a cool smile.

“I was going to ignore it, but I learned your daughter embarrassed both Harry and my sister publicly. She is lucky Harry stepped in. Else it would have been a lot more than a misunderstanding,” Benne said coldly before Harry could speak, and Tanya’s eyes widened slightly in surprise when she realized who Jade was.

“Your sister?”

“Yes. Harry was out with her, and your daughter embarrassed them. Jade is a lawyer, and she wouldn’t have hesitated to handle the issue both physically and legally had Harry not stepped in the way he did. You should thank Harry,” Benne said, and Mr. Reynolds turned to glare at his daughter with disapproval for causing trouble without knowing who she was dealing with, and she looked down.

“I’m very sorry about that. I didn’t get the full details of what transpired between you both. Why don’t I pay for whatever you are having to make up for it?” He offered, and Benne shook his head.

“Maybe you can buy him a drink some other time. We are here to celebrate Harry’s appointment as my Co-CEO, so it is only fair to me that I waste as much of his money as I can tonight,” Benne said with a grin, and both Harry and Mr. Reynolds chuckled.

“Congratulations, Mr. Jonas,” Mr. Reynolds and his wife said while Tanya kept her head down in embarrassment.

“Thank you,” Harry said with a polite nod.

“Are we to assume that you both plan to be in-laws? I mean, are you in a relationship with Mr. Delgado’s sister?” Mrs. Reynolds asked Harry curiously, hoping that he wasn’t so that she could set him up on a date with Tanya once again.

Benne said nothing but looked at Harry as he waited to hear his response to the question since he too was curious.

“We haven’t made up our mind yet. When we do, you will know. If you don’t mind, we have to return to our table. We don’t want to keep my dad and Benne’s Jewel waiting,” Harry said with a polite smile as he stood, wanting to escape from there before they started another matchmaking exercise.

“Oh, sure,” Mr. Reynolds said and shook hands with them.

“We haven’t made up our mind whether she’s our sister or not?” Benne asked with a chuckle as they walked away.

“Shut up!” Harry warned, making Benne laugh even more.

A few tables away from there, Aaron was engrossed in a similar discussion with Celsie, “I suppose you are well acquainted with Benne’s sister, Jade?” He asked, and Celsie smiled.

“I am.”

“What do you think about her and Harry? Do you think she might be interested in Harry?” Aaron asked, and Celsie narrowed her eyes at the older man she had observed to be sly in the last couple of minutes.

It seemed like many more people were interested in this ship than she thought. Sonia would find it very interesting. “Why do you ask? Are you interested in Jade?” She asked with a grin, and Aaron chuckled.

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