Chapter 2

It was 2 PM at Wendy Villa. Every member of the family had gathered, patiently waiting for Granny's arrival. They were engaged in side conversations until they heard the door slam. There was ten seconds of silence before Tony roared, "You fool, why did you slam the door so hard?"

It was David who accidentally let the door slip out of his hand and hit it hard. "I'm so sorry," he mumbled, and the whole house hissed at his stupidity. At that moment, his legs felt so heavy that he struggled to take further steps.

"Hey David!" Diana called him, and he looked up and saw his wife. Mrs. Elena gave her daughter a scornful look, but Diana didn't seem bothered by it.

David gained some energy and walked to the vacant seat between Diana and Tony. Tony looked at him derisively and asked, "Why do you stink so much?" scrunching his nose.

Diana's look conveyed to David that she wanted him to ignore whatever Tony said.

"Uhn hun," Granny cleared her throat as she entered and took her seat, which was the highest among them all. She looked healthy and active, even though she was already in her 70's. She had been in control of the Wendy family since her husband passed away some years ago.

The meeting hall was 30 feet by 40 feet. It had a big mahogany table in the middle, with enough chairs around it.

The meeting began instantly as Granny began to pray. "May the peace and joy in this family never die off."

"Amen," the whole house echoed.

Granny rested her back and gazed at every member of the family until her eyes caught David. David could sense the hatred in her eyes, but he was used to it.

"We have just one week left until our anniversary. Every member of the family has contributed several millions, which have been spent on different things needed for the occasion to be a success," Granny explained, heaving a sigh before continuing her speech.

"However, we still need $30 million more to make the anniversary the talk of the town." David pulled out his cracked screen iPhone 6 from his pocket and logged into his bank app. It displayed nothing else but $3.00. Tony, who had been watching him, couldn't help but burst into laughter.

The whole house's attention turned to him, and he immediately pleaded, "What's funny to you, Tony?" Granny asked sternly.

"I'm so sorry, Grandma. This loser beside me just logged into his bank app, thinking he could help with the $30 million, but I was shocked to see $3.00 written boldly on his app" he mocked, pointing at David.

The high volume of the laughter in the hall made David regretted his action. He clenched his fist and gritted his teeth firmly. He glared at Tony disdainfully and swallowed his saliva.

"Maybe he had no knowledge that $30 million has seven zeros," one of them said.

"How can someone be so stupid to compare death with slumber?" another person said, and a thunderous laughter erupted.

"Enough!" Granny scolded. Instantly, the hall became as quiet as a graveyard, and then she continued.

"Presently, the Wendy Group estimated net worth is about $350 million, but it would be unprofessional and risky to take out of the fund since we have numerous ongoing projects," she said, pointing at Alfred, Tony's elder brother. "You wanted to say something?"

Alfred stood up gently, resting his palms on the mahogany table for support.

"I want to suggest that we should reconsider some of the choices we made initially. We can make use of a hotel with a lower price instead of spending so much on The Wales hotel. We can also make the party to be opened to limited numbers instead of unlimited people. This way, the cost of meals and drinks would decrease," he suggested and took his seat.

Alfred was the financial manager of the Wendy Group. He was an economist and known for being prudent in everything he does.

"You made a point, Alfred," Mrs. Elena interrupted. "Nevertheless, we want an elaborate celebration not just for anything else, but to help the popularity of our company. Moreover, it will give other big companies the chance to consider partnering with us, such as Tutfold Plc and others."

"Very true," Tony commented. Mrs. Elena took her seat while Tony brought up another suggestion.

"I second my aunt's point. I would suggest that we should reach out to Mr. Steven Huge for a loan." The whole house was stunned by his suggestion, but it seemed to be the only way they could get such a sum.

Steven Huge was a popular investor in the entire Glover city. He owned a popular micro-finance bank in the city, even though there were ongoing bad reviews about the bank.

Diana didn't say a word at the gathering because she had lost her reputation in the family since she married a loser. Granny still remained baffled about her granddaughter's taste for men. There were several rich men who had been asking for her hand in marriage even after she married David, but it seemed that her love for David was indestructible.

Alfred scoffed and uttered from his seat, "Did you all have knowledge about the wild policies in Mr. Huge's businesses?"

"Whatever policy it is, we will take the loan," Granny declared. "You made a good suggestion, my boy," Granny added, giving Tony a gleeful smile.

"Who will volunteer himself or herself to be a guarantor?" Granny's question brought total silence to the the hall immediately.

One of the wildest policies in Mr. Huge business is that, a member of the family taking loan must be in their custody till debt will be repaid. The member of the family volunteered, is known as the guarantor.

"Nobody? Did you all expect Tony, who brought the helpful suggestion, to volunteer himself? You are all wrong if that's your thought," a chill ran through Tony's spine as Granny excluded him.

Tony used to be Granny's favorite right from his childhood. She was even planning to make him the manager of their under-construction branch in the next city.

Being a guarantor in any business with Mr. Huge requires thinking twice. His policies have caused bad reviews about his company to rise every now and then. There was a time he was charged to court, but he was able to evade unfavorable judgment because he has contacts with many powerful people in the business and political organizations of the city.

After some minutes of humming from the Wendy family members, Granny slammed the table angrily and declared.

"Whoever volunteers himself or herself will get a 15 percent monthly allowance of any revenue the Wendy Group makes until the next anniversary."

Everybody was left in awe of Granny's offer; almost everybody was tempted to volunteer themselves, even Tony was not exempted.

After the offer, there was just a continuous murmur. None of them was ready to risk their lives with Mr. Huge's dreadful policies. 

Who does that? Accepting to be a guarantor for such loan company is more of depriving oneself of his or her own freedom. None of them dared to submit themself since nobody knows how soon the Wendy Group will be able to earn a whopping sum of $30 million that could be spared for debt repayment. 

Moreover, whoever volunteer's themself would not have the chance to witness the party since the individual would be in Mr. Huge's custody.

In David's ignorance, he stood up and announced,

"I will volunteer myself."