Alvin forced himself to avoid overthinking when Anya wanted to go alone to do some work. He couldn't understand how he was able to support her when she wanted to resign and when she doubted herself.
Putting his immense trust in her, he went to the mansion to do some work before the party. Anyway, he was welcomed by Liam who looked edgy and concerned while Liam was waiting for him with Ean.
Alvin had told Liam to take over from Casper. But it didn't happen. He wasn't interested in leading Matthews Industries. So he was looking for foreign investors or companies who would love to take control over Matthews Industries.
If he is successful, he won't care what Liam was going to do in his life as the Matthews will be reduced to just a shareholder at their own company.
If Liam was there to ask Alvin to stop, the latter will be disappointed in Liam.
Ean faintly shrugged his shoulders when he met Alvin's eyes. He had no idea about the reason behind Liam's presence. He wanted Alvin's signatures on some papers so he dropped by to know more about Wilson and Janet's case.
"Alvin, are you… alright?" Liam didn't know what else to ask when all the news channels were cursing Janet and Wilson and sympathizing with Alvin.
Alvin barely paused at the words. Is he alright? No, he was worried about Anya.
His eyes studied his stepbrother. Liam was pretending to be alright due to his imprisoned mother, the company under inspection, and the minor Matthews families scheming against the Matthews family to conquer the power.
Alvin paused at the stairs when Zane ran downstairs, with a wide grin on his face. Before Zane could step on the last stair, Alvin easily carried the little man who was eager to meet his mother.
Zane had met Ean and Liam earlier so he looked around holding the strong shoulder and asked his father, "Chipmunk Monster, where is my Mommy?"
Alvin looked at his little enemy. He wasn't sure what people indicate by mentioning the bonds of people. Nevertheless, he couldn't bring himself to think of threatening Anya using Zane's name. He could imagine why it affected Anya so much.
Leaving Zane in front of his room, Alvin tousled Zane's hair as he responded gently, "Your mommy will be here soon. Get ready."
Zane felt his goosebumps raise at Alvin's gentleness. 'Why was Chipmunk Monster so nice?' He watched four men enter the study room so he went to get fresh.
In the study room,
The silence in the room was suffocating. Liam knew they were waiting for him to speak. He had thought hard and long to decide to stop the battle. "I want the complete powers of my position."
He was president and CEO of Matthews industries for the name. All the powers were under the Chairman, Casper Matthews. Once he gets the powers over the company, Casper will lose his hold on the company and Alvin wouldn't hurt the company or the innocent people.
Rob's started estimating the plan and troubles if Alvin agreed to help Liam. Ean frowned harder. Why would Liam come to Alvin for that?
Will they have to lose sleep again?
Alvin patiently waited for Liam to finish what he wanted to say, without drawing any conclusions.
Liam placed a file on Alvin's desk and continued, "I want your support to get majority votes for me at the shareholders' meeting."
He was going to propose a change in powers. Casper would never agree to it, so he wanted Alvin's support and his help to convince some of the shareholders.
No, he wasn't doing it for his benefit. He took Secretary Harrison's advice. He will try to avoid trouble against the company and secure employees' well-being.
He pointed at the file, "It has a list of shareholders. The shareholder's meeting is on Saturday." It was Wednesday, they have only two days.
It wasn't an easy decision for Alvin because Alvin wanted a foreigner to control the Matthews Industries. And Liam was expecting the impossible to happen in two days, three nights.
Liam was losing hope as each minute passed. He couldn't do everything alone so he wanted Alvin's support. He had no idea what to do other than this.
Rob analyzed the whole situation and the possibility of Alvin's plan. He frankly responded, "Mr. Liam Matthews's plan is better." Alvin didn't have to travel unnecessarily to convince people to control Matthews Industries.
Ean interjected immediately, "I'm not going to get involved in all these." He hated handling old men.
Even if Casper will be a chairman for a name, that won't stop Casper. Alvin put up his condition, "Send him away."
"I will take care of that." Liam was confident about it.
Alvin agreed to follow the plan and grabbed the file. He commented, "We don't have time."
Thus the four got into work sorting the people to meet and a way to tackle them.
….
Downstairs,
Anya felt her head throb severely on the way back to the Oasis mansion. Despite having no extreme physical activity, she felt her body heavy and strained.
As the car pulled close to the mansion's entrance, her mood further soured looking at Maserati. It was Liam's car.
Why are people adamant about ruining their holiday, and having little peace of mind?
She didn't want to get out of the car and face another drama. She was done for the day.
Could she hide from the trouble? No. She slammed on the brakes and sighed.
Getting out of the car, Anya forgot everything as soon as her eyes landed on her baby sprinting towards her, ready for the evening. "Mommy…." She grinned ear to ear looking at the red bowtie.
"Oh!! My baby is adorable." Anya exclaimed, energized by the excited Zane. Scooping him into her arms, she embraced the little frame.
Zane gave her a quick hug and looked at her flushed face. Rubbing his little palm, blowing it through his lips, he pressed on her flushed cheeks. "Momma, you should start wearing earmuffs and scarves."
Anya nodded at Oliver and went upstairs as she chuckled. "My baby is right." Then she held his arms and announced, "I should use my Cuddlebug to keep myself warm."
Anya wrapped him in her arms and shook his little frame, making him laugh. She knew he was worried they might not be able to make it to the party. She was glad they didn't miss it.
Her footsteps ceased when Rob exited the study room and approached her. The look on his face didn't look good.
"Young Madam," Rob greeted her apathetically, "President Matthews instructed me to escort you and Little Master to the party." He let her know Alvin was busy.
Rob clearly witnessed Anya and Zane's face fall. He found Anya giving it a thought whereas Zane looked sad, in contrast to how excited Zane was the whole day.
Zane wasn't excited about the party or Christmas. He was anticipating introducing Alvin. He wished to tell his friends that he also had a father who was tall, smart, and strong.
Zane opened his mouth to throw his tantrums but sealed his lips. He didn't have his father before and they lived. He turned to Anya and wrapped his arms around her neck.