Blackwood Group headquarters.
Frederick and his family of three arrived at the lobby, only to be stopped at the front desk.
"Who are you looking for? Do you have an appointment?"
Frederick spoke up. "Hello, we're here to see your CEO. We're family. We don't need an appointment—just call up and let him know."
The receptionist maintained her professional smile. "I'm sorry, sir. Mr. Blackwood is incredibly busy. He doesn't take walk-ins without an appointment."
"Why are you being so inflexible?" Miranda snapped. "We just told you we're his family. How do you know he doesn't want to see us if you won't even make the call?"
"Anyone can claim to be family," the receptionist replied coolly. "You're not the first to try this. Please leave, or I'll have security escort you out."
Just recently, some scheming woman had pretended to be the CEO's cousin to get upstairs, and she had seen right through it.
She'd been working at the Blackwood Group's front desk for three years. She knew every trick in the book.
Worried that Miranda was going to ruin things, Frederick pulled her back and turned to the receptionist. "Just make the call. If your boss says he won't see us, we'll leave. But if you delay us and he finds out, it's your head on the chopping block. Do you really want to lose your job over this?"
The receptionist held her ground. "I'm not making that call. If you're really his family, call him yourselves. I haven't received any memos about family visiting today. If you're who you say you are, call him and see if he'll let you up."
Frederick was speechless with rage. "You..."
Miranda shoved him aside and glared. "Do you not understand plain English? Do you have any idea who we are? One word from us and your career here is over!"
Everyone in the building knew the CEO was the city's most eligible bachelor.
The line of women desperate to marry him stretched for miles, and most of them were far prettier than this girl.
"I'm going to have to ask you to leave. Don't make a scene, or it's going to be very humiliating when security drags you out."
"Oh, you really don't know who you're messing with, do you?" Miranda hissed. "We'll call him right now, and then you'll see!"
She pulled out her phone, found Julius Blackwood's number, and handed it to Frederick. "Frederick, call Julius right now. He'll see us."
She had cleverly saved his number after getting it at the mall.

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