TTM #1: Devoted to a Contract

Chapter XIV || You agreed to get married?

Nathanial's P.O.V

"You know she's isn't like Sophia."

Xavier tried to convince me that Ms Winters was nothing like the woman who broke my trust. I shifted my gaze to him.

"Maybe but I'm not willing to take my chances with women ever again."

We were currently driving to NICAX, where the rest of the boys were. We had some shipments gone missing in a matter of few months. These shipments were top secret, and only a few people knew about them, which means that a spy was working with us. I despised spies. I guess once we find out who he is, we'll just have to show him what we do to people who can't stay loyal.

"You can't detest every woman on this planet just because one had hurt you. The way you treated Jasmine was wrong. She deserves at least your respect, if not your affection." Xavier huffed from the seat beside mine.

"I told you this a million times. I wasn't hurt because Sophia left me; she ruined my family and our business. She brought us back to square one, and all the while, none of us suspected her doing something so drastic behind our backs. She broke our trust and hurt everyone I care about. What's to say, Ms Winters won't do the same? You've known her for only a few weeks, Xavier; it'd be wise if you don't blindly trust a woman. Do you have a crush on her or something?" I asked. Xavier rarely liked any girl. But if he did, then that means he'll get her one way or another.

"No, I don't like her in that way. I guess she's more like a sister to me. But I must say her friend did catch my attention." he smirked.

I raised an eyebrow. Well, it has been a while since a girl made him look at her twice.

"Hmmm, I see. Well, she must already be pining over you and waiting to warm your bed."

"That's where it gets interesting. She absolutely hates my guts. The first time we met, she was completely drunk and almost got herself, and Jasmine raped. The second time we met, she didn't recognize me and ended up thinking I stalked her. I can tell that she's a troublemaker, but that's what seems to reel me in."

I chuckled. This woman was definitely not like those Xavier had dated in the past. He generally likes girls who were quiet, composed and patient like him. Trouble was never in his dictionary, so Xavier wanting someone like her was uncalled for.

We reached NICAX headquarters and made our way into the building. The receptionist looked up with a smile and lowered her gaze when she realized it was us. The others also scurried away as Xavier and I made our way to the private elevator. We were used to this kind of attention. The five of us were very professional when it came to business and don't appreciate anyone slacking during work hours.

We got to the top floor where my office was present. My PA Ms Adam rose to her feet and greeted me. She followed us as we entered my office.

Chase was the first to notice our arrival. I cleared my throat to gain their attention which immediately worked.

I glanced towards Ms Adams and demanded, "Do you have any updates on the situation?"

She looked through her iPad before answering and replied, "Not much as of now, Mr Valencian. But I have come up with a list of suspects from the people who know about the shipments and their contents. I've narrowed it down to 10 people."

I nodded my head and said, "Good job Ms Adams. You will work with Isaac on researching the background of these people and report if you find anyone suspicious. I want you to do a thorough background check on each and every one of them. There could be more than one person involved in this. When you have a clear vision of the suspects, report to the rest of us. Is it clear Ms Adams?"

"Yes, Mr Valencian. But there's something else you should know. The reason we didn't realise the shipments were missing was because our digital tracker had been indicating that the shipments weren't missing and were perhaps on the radar. We could only find out they were missing when I had sent someone for a physical check."

"What are you saying Ms Adams?" Alex questioned, confused.

"I'm saying that someone hacked into our systems and manipulated our data. But in a way, this is good. I had someone check why the digital tracker still shows the shipments on the radar, and It turns out there is a virus in our systems, but unfortunately, no one so far was able to trace it back to who is responsible for this. It is heavily coded with firewalls and I'll keep looking for someone to-"

"That's not required, Ms Adams. The lesser people involved in this, the better. You keep tracking those ten suspects first. Isaac will assist you with anything you might need. Leave this to me. If one of us can't trace him, then I'll find someone who can. Email me all the details immediately Ms Adams. You may leave now." I cut her off.

"Yes, Mr Valencian. As you wish."

She nodded and exited my office, leaving the five of us alone.

I sighed and looked at the rest of the boys staring at me.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked.

"So it's true that you are getting married." Chase questioned.

"Yes"

"You agreed to get married?"Isaac puzzled.

"Yes"

"But why?" The both of them yelled at the same time.

"I'm not doing this right now."

"Why would you agree to get married unless... you were forced to." Isaac said, putting the pieces together.

"No.This arrangement goes way back when we were all young. Grandma is using her health as leverage, but that's not the entire story. I've signed a will stating that everything that belongs to me will only be passed on to my heir only if the child's mother is a Winters. I signed this when I was really young. Plus Jasmine Winters might be the piece that I was missing in my revenge. against the Winters." I explained.

"This fucking shit is really complicated Nate. I can't believe you're getting married to a Winters. They are really decieving and power hungry. I didn't think you'd be okay even associating yourself with a Winters after-" Chase admitted.

"Trust me I know." I cut him off

"So when is the wedding?" Alex queried.

"In two weeks. I need you to keep an eye on Jasmine until the wedding. It's most likely she will try to escape from this wedding. Make sure you have people watching her at all times. If  I'm not wrong, she'll be coming to New York tomorrow with her sister and two friends. Alex and Isaac, I want you both to go get them and drop them off at the Valencian estate. Chase, you will accompany her for orchestrating everything for the wedding. Xavier, I want you to personally make sure that she breaks her engagement with Anthony Jackson within the next three days. I don't want her to go alone, but if she knew you followed, she most likely would throw a tantrum, so just keep a close eye without her noticing and if anything goes wrong, get her out of there as soon as you can. You know how dangerous Jackson is. If he gets a whiff that she's marrying me, he won't hesitate to kill her on the spot." I concluded after assigning the guys their roles for the coming weeks.

They all muttered a yes and left from my office to continue their work.

I sat down on my chair and stroked my fingers through my hair, messing it up.

I thought about how the Winters once managed to ruin our lives. But this time, it will be different because I have Clifford Winters' little princess. She and her family may not know that she is still the rightful owner of Winters Corp, but I do. I'm going to rip their family piece by piece.

But first, I'm going to break Jasmine Winters.

Total no of words: 1413