His Island Girl

Chapter Two

"So what are you gonna do man?" Barry inquired after taking a sip from his wine glass.

"I honestly do not know man" Dave sighed.

Barry had driven them from work to their usual bar after a hectic day. The place was cool and quiet, a VIP section and it provided a peaceful atmosphere for thinking.

The meeting with the board of directors was a stressful one and they had to accept almost all the proposals sent to the company at once. They had a meeting with the Jenkins a day after, and today, a partnership between the Jenkins and the Orman Empire was established and a contract was signed by both parties.

Long story short, the biggest assignment was assigned to the CEO which is none other than Dave. He will be in charge of everything involved from start to finish. This means that he will head the construction team in building a recreational resort on a little island off the mainland and it required that he gives in his possible best as usual to make the work a success and work is to start immediately.

His team which included Barry and four top officials from the company will team up up with four top officials from the Jenkins to handle the Jenkins-Orman contract.

What bothered him at the moment was not the weight of the contract or the people involved, no. He could handle anything in this field and all the pressure it comes with it because this is what he does for a living. The only thing on his mind is that at the end of everything, there will be a big difference. It's either he climbed higher up the rank of the bests or he dropped lower if he failed. Will he be looked down on if he failed? He has never harboured such thoughts before because he has always excelled in the business world so he wondered why such thoughts were looming on his head at this moment.

"What if I fail?" he confessed his fears to his friend. He was never known to be weak and it will be a surprise to everyone hear that from him.

"Hey hey is that really coming out from you?" Barry expressed his shock as well.

"You're Dave Orman man and you're not supposed to say that. Is there anything you cannot handle?"

"But even a lion can be scared of something at some point" Dave retorted.

"Well, I'm not saying things can't happen but do you really know who you are in this town? In case work has blocked your thinking let me remind you-"

"Ohh here we go again. Thanks for reminding me, now I know" Dave cut in so as not to experience another round of endless praises from his friend. They both laughed at the moment.

One thing Dave loved about his friend is that he always had a way of lifting his mood. They've been friends from high school and they always got each other's backs.

"Look over there" Barry pointed at a lady sitted at the opposite end. "She can't get her eyes off you, do you want me to bring her over?"

"Er...no and I can't remember telling you that I'm in need of a lady right now" Dave interjected.

"Come on buddy there's no harm in a casual hello, besides when do intend to start dating again?" he asked the not so welcomed question on Dave's part.

"Barry you and I know that if I need a woman in my life I can get a handful of them to satisfy my needs but 'dating'? that is not on my agenda right now" he countered. Somehow he still hasn't gotten over his first love Natasha who betrayed him and went after his sole enemy Lesley. She was one of the reasons he hated Lesley even more.

"Listen man, you need to forget about the past and look at what you have presently" Barry interrupted his thoughts.

"Meaning?"

"I mean look around you and you will find someone who will cherish a lifetime with you. Get married soon I can't wait to dance on your wedding day" his friend joked and they both laughed over their drinks.

*****

The next morning got him busy at work as usual. Intermittently, he couldn't help but think about the discussion he had with his mother during breakfast. She has stressed that he needs to be home early for some sort of peace treaty in the family as his elder sister Samantha will be coming over for dinner tonight. He was not ready to deal with her animosity or any arising issue his sister will come up with since her actions and motives has proven that she wants to be the villain in the family. He has so many things and people to contend with and Samantha is the last person he will want to add to the list.

Samantha was a shrewd woman and even when their father was still alive, she has always been sneaky as she tried to persuade him into making her the head of the company as his eldest and first child when he's no more. But it has always been their father's wish and last will that Dave heads the company as he is the heir and only qualified person to keep and maintain the family's legacy. Her greed and envy drove her to the edge as she began the role of the prodigal daughter after their father's demise. She insisted on having more share of the property even though she had inherited more than 30% of the entire property. For peace to reign, Dave allocated another 5% of his inheritance to her but her resentment towards her brother made her pack of the family house to live on her own.

Heaven knows he tried his possible best but nothing would move him to abandon his father's last wish. If it's war she wants this time, he was ready for it. His thoughts was interrupted by the soft knocks on the door and before he could utter his response, the door opened and Barry walked in. He was the only one that waited for no response or permission to come into the office. Infact he always came in unannounced.

"Yo bro, what's up with the face" he asked after seeing the look on Dave's face.

"Can you at least act a bit formal with me when we're at work? I'm your Boss for peace sake" Dave sighed. Barry couldn't help but chuckle in amusement.

"I'm so sorry Boss. Let me go back and make my entrance more formal" he smiled and turned towards the door.

"My friend sit" Dave ordered jokingly.

"Yes Boss. Thank you" he bowed before settling in his sit. His little banter only made Dave chuckle silently.

They began to discuss on issues related to the new project as they will be having a meeting with the rest of the team members in about an hour. They became so engrossed in their discussion that the sound of the door startled them as Christen walked in. Barry was immediately annoyed because he hated her guts.

"Do you know what knocking is?" he was the first to speak as he couldn't hold back his annoyance. He has always disliked her because of the way she flaunts herself as 'PA to the CEO' in front of everyone. She always thinks highly of herself and sees herself as better than everyone else. He never got along so well with her as she also disliked him for reasons best known to her.

"Excuse me, last I checked this isn't your office and besides I had no option than to come in after getting no response from my Boss" she fired.

She was dressed in very exotic and fitted clothing which exposed sensitive parts of her body. She knew it was inappropriate for her to show up at his office dressed seductively but she decided to risk it. In fact she wore them on purpose today leaving her jacket in the office with the hopes of getting her boss's attention and perhaps trying her luck in seducing him. However, she didn't expect to meet him in company of the one person who has always tried to pull her down. So she has resolved not to allow herself be intimidated by him.

Barry opened his mouth to speak once more but Dave tapped his wrist.

"I'll handle this Barry" he assured calmly. He knew that the duo never got along so well with each other so he has his ways of engaging with both of them amicably.

"I thought I made it clear that I will be unavailable for the next few hours Christen" he reminded her.

"I'm sorry Sir but this is an emergency and requires your signature first" she spoke seductively while starring at Dave almost lustfully and this irked Barry the more.

Dave sighed in discontentment and when he didn't respond, she dropped the file on the desk to show him it's contents. She leaned in on him closely, almost seductively with her chest nearly touching his shoulder. Her hair fell in his face in such a way that he couldn't get a good view of what she was trying to show him. Her strong perfume filled his nose, it disgusted him. Her movements were too slow and as if trying to buy more time for her charms to take effect on him. But Dave was having none of these getting to him infact he was getting irritated with her acts. He swiveled back his chair.

"You're not making a fool of yourself Christen, are you?" he said.

"W-what do you mean" she stuttered. She was suddenly alerted that her charms were not working on him.

"Drop the file I'll review it later" he said calmly but she could sense the coldness in it as she leaned back.

"But I-"

"You may take your leave now" he ordered sharply.

She was startled by his sudden coldness towards her. She was used to his cold attitudes sometimes but this hurt her the most She turned to take her leave only to come in contact with the evil smirk on Barry's face. She became filled with rage and wished there was a way that she could pour it out on him. She was about leaving the office when she heard him speak again.

"Ah Christen"

She halted in her steps with her hopes rising. Did her plan work out? Is he going to apologise? She thought.

"Yes Sir" she replied silently as she turned to look at him.

"The next time you walk into my office dressed like that, I will fire you" he smirked.

Barry grinned in satisfaction as he looked over at her. She was so furious as she looked over at them one after the other. They had just codedly made fun of her and her anger knew no bounds as she snorted and stormed out of office.