The Marvelous Elijah's Return novel Chapter 20

The office was quiet for what felt like forever, and Allen was sweating profusely under his suit.

He wanted to say something, anything to make things alright between himself and Elijah.

But he couldn't think of anything that might ease the situation. So instead, he decided to say nothing.

After another long pause, Elijah finally let out a sigh and then leaned forward, resting his elbow on the armrest of his chair, and placing his chin upon his knuckles.

"Do you want to rethink your answer?" Elijah asked quietly, tilting his head to the side to catch a glimpse of his eyes.

Still unable to find any words, Allen stood there, shaking his head slowly, and then he said timidly, "No! No... I mean... I can't. Please don't push this any longer... Mr. Maxwell. I mean, Darius. I will gladly tell you everything you need to know about your account, but not someone else's."

Leaning forward further, Elijah's voice lowered even more, "That's good then."

"Please... I... wait, huh?!" Allen stammered, completely taken aback by Elijah's response.

"Trust is a very fragile thing, Wouldn't you agree, Allen?"

"Well, yes! Of course, I do!"

"Very good." Elijah stated, nodding his head and then saying, "Then I'll trust you to not call me, 'Maxwell again, and keep my profile at this bank confidential."

Amazing at how twisted Elijah was and his mind games, Allen could only nod as he replied, "Yes, Mr. Darius, I promise that I will keep my mouth shut."

"Honestly, I am telling you this for your own good. You would want to get on my good side, wouldn't you?"

Blinking, Allen looked at Elijah, and then nodded hurriedly, "Yessir! Absolutely!"

"Good, Now that the ball is rolling, I hope you won't disappoint me..." Elijah said with a small smirk on his lips as he watched Allen closely. "My trust is not something to be trifled with, so if you mess up, I wouldn't hate to make you pay."

'How did Miss Melina not know she was living with such a scary and powerful man?' Allen thought to himself as he gulped loudly.

Then he forced a smile as he lowered his gaze and stammered, "Y-Yes... Yessir!!"

Smiling, Elijah sat straight again, and then said, "Ok then... I want thirty thousand from my account."

With wide eyes and a startled expression on his face, Allen stared at Elijah in total disbelief and confusion, asking, "Thirty thousand dollars?"

"Exactly," Elijah said with a calm and collected tone as he looked at Allen intently.

"May I ask what it is for?"

"No, you might not."

Seeing that Elijah was getting annoyed, Allen nodded his head frantically and said, "Yessir!"

Then he walked over to his desk, sitting behind it before reaching for the phone and dialing a number.

After resting the phone against his ear, he waited for some time until he heard, "Hello, boss?"

"Get a briefcase, put thirty thousand from Mr. Elijah Darius' account into it, and send it to my office," Allen said firmly, and then hung up the phone before looking at Ryan, Matt, and Elijah.

Smiling nervously, he tapped his finger on the table and then asked, "Should we start the withdrawal papers now?"

Silently, leaving the sofa, Elijah walked over to the desk, took a seat in the chair, and said, "Let's begin."

Pacing around the lobby, Peach kept nibbling on her nails, worried that Elijah wouldn't be able to get the money.

Her heart was beating fast in her chest as she thought of everything that could go wrong. And she didn't know why, but for some reason, she started to wonder if she should have gone with Elijah, Matt, and Ryan.

"You might have no nails left before Elijah gets back." James teased as he sat behind the counter.

Immediately, she stopped in her steps, rushed over to him, and leaned over the desk, asking, "What does Elijah do for a living?"

That question came as a surprise to James as he looked at her with widened eyes before answering, "Well, he's an investor."

A sense of pride washed over James as he smiled at his response, amazed that he could think of such a good lie under such difficult circumstances.

Peach narrowed her eyes at him before asking, "An investor in what? What kind of investments does he do?"

James shrugged before answering nonchalantly, "He invests in things?"

"Huh?" Peach questioned, looking dumbfounded at him. "Like what?"

Noticing how hard Peach had clutched her fist, James reached out and put one of his hands on hers, gently stroking it with his thumb.

"They decided that they wanted this land, so they cooked up their devilish plan to drive away our customers and make business here impossible. They threatened us, treated my mother and me like scums to force us to leave…" Peach paused and inhaled shakily. "My mother and I went bankrupt almost immediately..."

"How could a family be so insensitive and despicable?!" James exclaimed. "They have no right to treat anyone like that! Why did they do that?! What right did they have!?"

"It was straight after my father died too-"

"Oh my God!"

A sense of grief filled the air, and Peach felt her heart clench in pain once more, thinking of the past few years.

"I'm sorry," James muttered quietly. "I really am."

Suddenly the sound of the front door opening got their attention, and Peach subconsciously looked back, her wet eyes meeting Elijah's calm gaze.

Seeing that her cheeks were soaked and her eyes red, Elijah's eyebrows furrowed as he watched Peach, wondering what had happened to her.

When he reached Peach, she quickly struggled to dry her face with the sleeves of her white shirt, and then shyly mumbled, "You are back-"

"Did something happen to Miss Grace?" Elijah interrupted and asked her, taking a closer look at her face.

Blushing in embarrassment, Peach shook her head and looked down as she answered, "No, my mother is fine."

"Then why are you crying so badly that your eyes get so puffy and your nose is running?" Elijah asked her, frowning slightly in concern.

"Umm... I was... James and I were..." Peach muttered, aggressively sniffing in her snort.

Looking away from Elijah, she stared at Matt, holding a briefcase, and the concern on Ryan's face as the two gazed back at her.

"It's nothing," Peach said with a quick sniff, looking back at Elijah.

But he seemed to see through her lie, seeing how her lips quivered and how her eyes were swollen with tears, and he let out, "Follow me!"