The Billionaire’s Conquest

The rejection

The car park was a little too small for an establishment that big, it had a fairly rectangular shape which accommodated cars in three set of lines. The three set of lines had drive tracks in between and cars had to be parked in a slanted fashion. The walls at the edges which bounded the garage were fairly rough to touch like it was sharp as sand and ash in color . There was very little natural light coming into the garage but the few fluorescent light lit the place brightly.

Looking at a little distance within the car park, Estephan tried to devise a plan in order to get Diane’s attention. He needed her to want him, to crave him and most especially he needed to prove a point to Raymond that he hadn’t lost his touch.

As he kept brain storming and searching for ideas or what he could do to create an impression on Diane or just a way to lure her out of the four walls of the office and bring her down to the garage without actually having to go back into the building.

As he kept up the thought process, his eyes remained focused on a particular distance ahead and that was when Estephan saw a man dressed with a black and bright yellow track suit, the man got on a similar colored bike which had the inscription “chicken universal” and placed a similar patterned helmet on his head.

It had to be a delivery person who had just delivered a package. The delivery man started his bike and with a swift motion, rode the bike with the aim of navigating towards the exit.

Estephan stepping away from the packed cars, he walked towards the driving tracks and into the path the bike was most likely to use.This forced the bike to come to an abrupt stop, right before where Estephan was standing.

That was a really daring move and really careless one at that which reeked completely of Estephan in all directions except when it comes to his business, that, he takes seriously.

The delivery rider stopped and removing his helmet he looked at Estephan with his eyes slightly shut. He had this daring look in his eyes which could be translated as “this better be good”.

“How much do you make per delivery?” Estephan asked the delivery rider.

“20 dollars or more depending on the location” the rider answered with a slight sense of confusion in his tune.

“I would give you ten times that amount to send a message for me to a lady who works in this building”

“200 dollars” the bike man repeated

“Yeah” Estephan said

“All you have to do is tell her to meet me here, she would understand” he said with a grin and a wink.

“Who is this lady, what’s her name?” The rider asked Estephan

“Diane” Estephan replied

“Corner office lady” the biker man replied nodding his head and with a grin on his face, you could tell he knew her, with a body like that whose attention could she not get.

The rider walked into The Great Monument bank’s reception and towards the receptionist desk.

“Back already?” the receptionist said to him with a calm smile and not taking her eyes off the desktop in front of her.

“Yes I am” he said

“I have a package for Miss Diane” he added.

“I could get it to her for you, that would save you the stress of having to go upstairs again, just register the package in the log” the receptionist said back to him, this time looking at him directly.

“I was hoping to see her in person, it is a really important message that should be delivered personally” he said to her trying to gain sympathy with his facial expression.

“Alright then, I guess you know her office, fourth floor corner office” she said while her eyes were back to her desktop.

“Thank you” he said and walked into the elevator up to the fourth floor.

He knocked on Diane’s door twice before she gave a reply, she always did that as she believed who ever knocks once isn’t serious yet.

Lifting her gaze from the file opened up on her table she looked at the door to see who was coming in.

Diane had the corner office by the left end of the floor. The office is a small 12’ by 10’ approximately 120 square feet. The office has a window by the far end opposite the door. The office table is centralized and her revolving office seat is placed with the back facing the window but leaving enough room for it to revolve. Two other guest seat are placed at the other side of the table with their backs facing the wall. The room has a bubble gum fragrance once you walk in as you can almost taste the atmosphere. The table is filled with paper files and books packed at both sides. There is no desktop but a phone on the table and a small pen stand and a case filled with new files in the drawer attached to the table. You can obviously notice the office being unable to keep up with the technology advancement of modern times but yet neatly and beautifully kept.

The rider walked in and toward her table. He tried to look around the office quickly like he was taking a picture with his eyes, he was in Diane’s office and to him it was a big deal regardless of the fact that he was just paid to do so.

“Good day” the rider said in an almost shaking tune as the look she gave him felt like it could cut deep into his soul.

“I didn’t place an order today, and all orders should be dropped by the reception not in personal offices, so what are you doing in my office?” she asked as she kept her eyes focused on him.

“I actually have a message from a gentleman, he asked me to call you to the garage” he said quickly while slightly running his hands through the back of his head.

“To call me?” Who is this gentleman that you speak off” she said smiling as she had just heard herself talk like a lady in the 80’s who was receiving words from a suitor through a spokesperson.

He tried to describe the gentleman and it didn’t take long, she knew it was him. The man who outrightly humiliated her in front of her colleagues. What did he want to tell her in private after the way he spoke to her. She was so curious to know what the “sending word was about” but she knew better. She had read enough of relationship books to know that this was just a format . He wasn’t going to apologize to her, he just wanted her attention this was a living proof. How desperate can he get? She said to herself. She did admire him when he first stepped into the building but all that died the minute he belittled her In front of the entire acquisition team.

Picking up a sticky note from her table drawer she scribbled something in a piece of paper and handed it over to him.

“Thank you” he said as he collected the note from her, he was sure that could at least get him his pay as he assumed it would be her phone number since she wasn’t disposed to come out that very moment.

“You are welcome, send my message back to your supposed sender” she said with a giggle.

What is taking him so long Estephan said already pacing around the car.

“You sent “word” to her like we are in the 80’s, you could have sent a raven instead” Raymond laughed while leaning on the car and watching his friend pace around.

“Here he comes” Estephan smiled, that smile was similar to when he ate really crispy chicken, only that could be comparable to the one he wore now.

“Is that a smile I see on your face” Raymond asked

“I am just glad we can finally leave, we have waited a while that’s all” Estephan said trying to defend the fact that he was just smiling.

“Anything you say big guy”Raymond replied.

“What did she say?” Estephan asked as the rider approached.

“I was given a note for you” the rider said to Estephan

“Most probably her number” Raymond said interrupting.

“Okay hand it over” Estephan said to the rider.

“My money first” the rider replied.

He was business minded, Estephan appreciated that at least

“Sure” Estephan said and looking into his wallet handed 2 hundred dollar notes and in exchange the rider handed over Diane’s note.

Estephan and Raymond got into the car and Estephan opened the note. The first thing he did was to turn the other side of the paper. That could have not been all she wrote, was that what he paid 200 dollars to get?

As his facial expression changed he let go of the paper and it fell to the floor. Raymond on noticing the facial expression his friend wore and the way the paper left his hand, he bent down and picked it up.

It was simply written with just 2 letters and with capitalization, “NO”.