Filed to story: The Breaking Point (Maya & Julian) Book PDF Free
Once Julian arrived in Lakevale, he passed his phone to Cameron before entering the meeting room. “Give Maya a call later. Tell her I won’t be heading home tonight.”
Graham International’s director of sales was supposed to meet with one of the company’s business partners, but he had been in a car accident. As a result, Julian and Cameron had to rush over to Lakevale at a moment’s notice.
While Julian was busy meeting with the other company’s representatives, Cameron was busy with all kinds of logistics matters too. It was already past 1.00AM when he recalled what Julian had told him to do.
Julian’s phone ran out of battery, and Julian was still in a business meeting.
Mrs. Graham is probably asleep by now.
Cameron was too afraid to disturb Maya. He began charging Julian’s phone as he decided to let Maya know tomorrow instead…
After a shower, Maya came out of the bathroom and dried her hair with a towel. She was about to blow dry her hair when Analise called out from the living room, “Maya, it’s getting so late. Why isn’t Julian back yet? Did he drink too much at a business meeting and is too drunk to get home?”
Maya was startled by her grandma’s voice. She quickly set the hairdryer down and stuck her head out to glance at the clock on the wall in the living room. It was 10.40PM.
She didn’t think her grandma would still be waiting for Julian.
“Why aren’t you asleep, Grandma? Didn’t I tell you? He’s quite busy these days. He must’ve decided to sleep elsewhere tonight.”
Maya rubbed her forehead. She was beginning to get a headache. Usually, Analise went to bed quite early, so much so that Maya assumed her grandma would’ve gone to sleep by the time she came out of her longer-than-usual shower.
“Hurry up and give Julian a call to ask him where he is. See if he needs someone to pick him up.”
Analise trembled as she took Maya’s phone from the table and held it out. Her voice was stern, leaving no room for discussion.
Maya sighed. She couldn’t argue with her grandma, so she dried her hands and took the phone.
Under Analise’s solemn gaze, Maya shiftily hid her screen as she scrolled to the number listed under the name B*stard.
Her finger hovered mid-air as she hesitated for a while before she finally made the call.
“Hello. The number you’ve dialed cannot be reached at the moment…”
When the crisp voice of the automated message rang out, Maya exhaled in relief. She purposely put her phone on speakers and waved it in front of Analise.
“His phone is switched off. It’s not like I’m trying to avoid calling him on purpose.”
“The point is that you didn’t even call him sooner,” Analise huffed as she glared at Maya. “You’re married now. Don’t just focus on your career. You should be paying more attention to your husband. A man needs to feel the gentle love and care of his wife. Why wouldn’t he come home if you expressed more care and concern for him?”
“You’d never be able to find another man like Julian who’s so filial and capable. A married woman needs to learn to work on her marriage too, understand?”
The look of indifference in Maya’s eyes made Analise fret. Her voice became more and more agitated.
For a woman from Analise’s generation, it was bad news when a married man didn’t come home at night.
“I got it, Grandma. Julian’s company has been extremely busy lately. It’s normal for him to get off work late. Just relax and go to sleep.” Maya was worried about her grandma’s high blood pressure. She quickly patted Analise’s hand and brought her back to her room.
After sending Analise back to her room, Maya exhaled in relief and set her phone down. She picked up the hairdryer again.
…
In the wee hours of the morning, the alarm rang. A group of people with weary, disgruntled faces shuffled out of the meeting. The last man to walk out was still dressed in an unruffled suit. Even though he just finished a four-and-a-half-hour meeting, there was no trace of exhaustion on his handsome face.
“Your phone is fully charged now, Mr. Graham. I just turned it on for you.”
Julian’s assistant had been waiting by the door for him, and now that he came out, his assistant swiftly handed his phone over to him.
Julian glanced at the screen before heading back to the hotel.
It was a quiet night. He couldn’t fall asleep.
After tossing and turning for some time, he took his phone and checked Twitter.
When he saw that the program, Top Designer, had topped the trending list, he suddenly recalled that Sabrina had called him today about this program.
Julian clicked on the official announcement and glanced at the list of special guests.
Alas, as soon as he saw the familiar name, the fleeting sense of drowsiness that was slowly creeping up on him instantly vanished.
He took a screenshot of the announcement and sent it to Kevin’s WhatsApp. When he didn’t get a reply, he called Kevin.
“Hey, man. Did you not take a look at the time?”
Julian had to call three times before Kevin answered the phone, and the first thing out of the latter’s mouth was a complaint.
Julian heard the deafening music that was ringing on Kevin’s side. “What’s the matter? Did I disrupt you on your blind date?” he fired back sarcastically.
Kevin nearly spat out his drink. He signaled for his friend to lower the music before asking, “Aren’t you on a business trip? Why are you calling me in the middle of the night?”
“You’d better give me a good explanation about what’s happening with that list of special guests who’ve been invited for that program East Joy Talent is running.” Julian’s voice was icy.
Kevin knew he was in the wrong. After a pause, he said, “You know how good Alana’s designs are. Our talents expressed the most interest in her. It was a collective decision.”
“What does that have to do with Maya?” Julian’s voice became even more chilly at the recollection of that secretive call Kevin had this morning. He spat the words out through gritted teeth.
An image of Julian’s icy expression flashed across Kevin’s mind and he hastily explained, “Oh, Maya. She’s Alana’s personal assistant, so she’s joining the show, of course.”
In the face of Julian’s harsh questioning, Kevin didn’t dare to tell him that Maya was Alana.
Julian stopped talking.
Just as Kevin thought that Julian was going to hang up, Julian’s voice came through the speakers again. “I’ll invest 30 million into the show. Find a reliable and prominent leader in the industry to boost the show’s credibility.”
The sudden change in Julian’s attitude almost made Kevin assume he had fallen into a drunken stupor and was hearing things. The moment he heard about the investment of 30 million, his eyes began to gleam.
“You got it, man. I’ll make all the arrangements.”
After hanging up, Kevin’s friends kept him occupied with more drinks. It was after 3.00AM when he finally stumbled out of the room.
The next morning, Kevin was woken up by his alarm. He groggily stuck his hand out from under the covers and looked around for his phone. Once he found it, he made a call to his assistant, Zoe Cox.
“Yes, Mr. Stewart?” A crisp, professional voice rang out.
“Did the finance department receive a sum to be invested into Top Designer?”
Kevin massaged his aching temple as he asked without even opening his eyes.
Zoe sounded excited as she swiftly replied, “We received 30 million from Graham International this morning.”
“Good. Inform the public relations department to carry out the investor’s request. Tell them that they must convince Nolan Jefferson to join Top Designer by 3.00PM today. Offer him three times his usual asking price to get him to be the chief mentor for the show.”
After giving a list of instructions to Zoe, Kevin yawned, tossed his phone aside, and went back to sleep.
Zoe stared at her phone in a daze. Nolan Jefferson was a key figure in the fashion industry. He graduated from one of the top three most illustrious universities and became a professor at a young age. It was hard for anyone to invite him. The amount that Kevin offered was more than what an ordinary person could earn in their entire lifetime.
