Love’s Lasting Legacy

Beep, beep, beep. The alarm on my side table rang, dragging me into another Monday morning, and I usually got up by 5 a.m. every morning, just like I had trained myself while in a foster home. Hi, I am Maya Johnson, CEO of Pulse PR. Many of you know me as the most successful woman in the corporate world, mostly because I have the amazing ability to turn the toughest corporate crises into beautiful rose gardens. Just like making lemonade out of lemons. It would be rude for me not to give brief thanks to my team and most especially the guy I met in my second year at Cornnet University, New York, which I got into through a locally funded scholarship and working several part-time jobs. If you had not damaged my little fragile heart by marrying my best friend and telling me I was not your type, how would I have known that there is a silver lining in every storm? At that moment, I had several options, but the only option that stood out for me was to let the storm refine me rather than wallow in pity. The most painful experience of my life has led me to create a company that helps others turn their challenges into victory. Yeah, the path to success took eight freaking years of constant hard work, failures, setbacks, and many victories, but finally, I am sitting on my glorious throne of success. Beep, beep, beep. My alarm beeped again, knocking me out of my little flashback. To be honest, this is my little way of appreciating how far I have come ever since I was listed in 30 under 30 Rising Stars in NYC five times in a row. Realizing how much time I had wasted while appreciating my hard work, I rose quickly to get ready for today’s activity. I picked up my phone and scrolled through my schedule to see what today holds for me. “Carrington Enterprise!!!,” I yelled in shock and a little bit of disgust. Zane Carrington is the CEO of Carrington Enterprise, a global conglomerate involved in everything ranging from real estate to tech startups. Zane is known for demanding the impossible from his partners. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was in some kind of dilemma, but I am sure he has the media in the palm of his hands, so what could make him come to Pulse PR for assistance? Not wanting to work myself up too much about it I headed towards my marble-tiled bathroom and finally, after thirty minutes, I came out fully dressed in a navy-blue gown that hugged my body, essentially highlighting my hourglass figure paired with black kitten heels, my brunette hair pulled back into a sleek ponytail with middle parting. I did a little makeup on my face to highlight my features and make me look put together. Before leaving my apartment, I looked at my reflection in the mirror one last time before picking up my car key, locking the door, and going into my sleek Tesla to head for the office. ***** An hour later… Stepping into the modern office setting of Pulse PR, the noise of the city outside faded into the background. The building was proof of my hard-earned success. “Morning Ms. Johnson. Your meeting with the representatives from Carrington Enterprises is scheduled for 10 pm and will be held in the conference room.” The receptionist informed me with a warm smile. “Thank you, Anna,” I replied in a low tone as my mind was already swirling with thoughts of Zane Carrington. I walked into the elevator, pressing the button for the top floor. As the door of the elevator closed, I took a glance at my watch. The time was 9:30 am. In an attempt to relax my anxious nerves, I let out a shaky breath and tried to regain composure as the elevator door opened. The story between Zane and I is a very brief one with only one key component, which is that our personalities clash like fire and ice. Zane and I do not mix. *****5 years ago, at the first 30 under 30 Rising Stars in NYC, Maya won… “Don’t see yourself as too special for winning the award that night, it is only a matter of time till the companies you helped come after your pretty little life for having some of their dirtiest secrets. Maya, you are a ticking time bomb in the hands of these hungry CEOs. Tread carefully,” Zane whispered into Maya’s ear in a cold and stern voice. His voice grated on her nerves, like nails on a chalkboard. After the event, Zane’s words were still hunting her. She couldn’t help but wonder if he was right or was just jealous because rumors had it that one of his many girlfriends was also on the list. After thinking about Zane’s statement for a long time Maya decided he was just advising her to be more careful and let the situation slide. Still, she also subconsciously started avoiding any interactions with him because she always ended up having arguments with him. Maya also felt that Zane was quite bratty and always had a way of manipulating people to be on his side. ***** Present day “Ms. Johnson, Ms. Johnson,” my assistant called out to me in an attempt to wake me up from my daze. I cleared my throat and regained composure before moving my eyes to assess my surroundings. I wonder how long I had been standing in the elevator with the door open. I gave Jane a little smile to reassure her that I was fine as I had noticed the worried look plastered across her face. “Have Carrington’s representatives arrived?” I asked as I tried to distract her from the fact that I was anxious while stepping out of the elevator and strolling towards my office, which was excluded from the open office ground by a thick opaque glass wall. “You haven’t answered…,” I stopped in my speech as I opened the door and saw a tall, well-built man standing by the large window that had a dynamic view of the city with one hand in his pocket and another holding a cup of coffee. Even in my dreams, I will always be able to recognize the devil in my joy at the happiest moments of my life and career before I could even enjoy it properly. He also seemed to be lost in thought, as he had not noticed my presence. I quietly closed the door before dragging Jane to the corner. “Why didn’t you mention that Mr Zane is in my office?!” I said to her in a low but aggravated tone. “That was why I came searching for you, ma. I am deeply sorry.” I let out a defeated sigh before asking her how long he had been waiting for me to come. “He arrived at 8 am this morning,” Jane said with fear in her soft feminine voice. “What!!” “I sincerely apologize, ma.” “Why didn’t Anna inform me when I walked in?!” I said in fury as my blood was boiling with the thought of keeping him waiting for almost three hours. “I will handle this later but trust one of the two of you is not going home without a huge deduction in their salary,” I said before walking into my office with my head up high while trying to hide my nervousness. I couldn’t help but wonder how deep of a mess he was in not to send a representative, but rather he came in person. I silently prayed that the matter at hand didn’t have anything to do with murder, r**e, or human trafficking as my values and love for full advocacy of human rights would prevent me from offering any form of assistance. “You are late, Ms. Johnson,” Zane said, without turning to face me. ‘He noticed my presence in the room without having to look at my direction. Does this mean he noticed me the first time too,’ I thought to myself quietly. “I sincerely apologize for keeping you waiting for quite some time,” I said in the most apologetic voice I could muster. “Some time???’’ Zane said, but this time he turned to look up at me before taking long but slow strides towards me. The distance from the large window of my office to the door was quite some distance as my office was quite large. Sooner than I expected, Zane was standing in front of me. I noticed his gaze assessing me from head to toe and I almost immediately regretted wearing a bodycon dress. My cheeks flushed red for some reason, his gaze felt quite intimate, or maybe it felt that way because he had one of the most beautiful dark blue eyes I have ever seen. “Don’t stare at me! Apologize properly,” he uttered with the kind of calmness that had a lot of negative emotions behind it. His voice quickly snapped me out of my daze, but I didn’t lower my gaze. I only turned my back to close the door before walking past him to drop my Gunnel handbag on my desk and finally take my seat. Zane quickly turned to me with a smirk on his lips as he seemed to clutch at the cup in his hands in an intimidating manner. “I have already apologized, but you seem to be offended by my choice of words. I believe that your opinions on how I should apologize to you are your issue to handle. Lest we forget you are the one who came into my office two hours earlier than scheduled.” “How dare..?” “I believe my point is clear to you now. Moving on, I would like to know what brought you to Pulse PR and why you didn’t want to let my employees handle this case,” I said to him like I had not just interpreted him. “You’re quite perceptive, Ms. Johnson. I did come here specifically to speak to you directly,” he said as he leaned to the edge of my desk and sipped his coffee. “I have always admired you, for your ability to be consistent in this devilish corporate world, and you do it with some… grace.” He smirked as he dropped the word grace with sarcasm. “I take pride in doing my work with the uttermost diligence. I doubt you can relate as I have heard a lot about how you deal with issues at work,” I said to him to step on his pride. “If I may ask Ms. Johnson, how do I deal with issues at my company? It is quite intriguing to know that a ‘respectable’ woman like you listens to side talk. It doesn’t speak well of you, Ms. Johnson,” he said, knowing fully well he had just attacked my values, but I cared less what he thought of me. “Mr. Zane, I demand respect from you, or you leave my office,” I said to him in an agitated tone. “Respect??” Zane scoffed. “You demand respect, but you kept me waiting for you for three hours. I won’t call that being respectful.” “Once again, I apologize, but I run an organization and unforeseen issues can arise at any given point,” I said, trying to dismiss the complaint. I realized the sooner we got past me keeping him waiting the quicker this meeting would be over. “Admit it, Ms. Johnson simply enjoyed the anticipation of seeing me again after our heated argument three years ago at the city’s fair,” Zane said in a low voice as he had a subtle smile that sent chills down my spine, but I remained aloof. “Mr. Carrington, did you come here to flirt with me? I guess your issues are not that important to you. On that note, I would like to take my leave. I have a lot of clients to attend to,” I said as I stood up to take my leave. “This is not me flirting with you, Ms. Johnson. I have a serious issue that requires your expertise.” He said as his amusement faded into a cold hard stare. “What exactly needs my expertise? I need more details,” I said with more agitation as my curiosity increased. “It’s a matter of… my company’s reputation,” Zane said as He struggled to avoid my gaze. Looking in every direction but never meeting his gaze. After seeing him a little vulnerable, I took a deep breath and sat down. “Carrington’s reputation?” I muttered to myself, finding it hard to believe that the great Carrington enterprise’s reputation was at stake. It is a known fact that no one could stand against Carrington’s, but it seems the tables have turned. Zane noticed the disbelief all over my face, and he took a deep breath before giving me a piercing look with those gorgeous blue eyes. “It’s very complicated… The simplest way to explain things is that someone is trying to bring the Carrington Enterprise down by using…” “Using what, Mr. Zane?” “Using blackmail,” he said, quite defeated. ‘What a sight to see!’ Never in my life would I have thought that I would see the most feared CEO in NYC be this vulnerable. ‘Maya! Don't let your guard down. Remember he might just be playing games,’ a little voice in me whispered. “Do you know who is trying to blackmail you?” I leaned forward and asked in a low tune. “That is the main reason I seek your assistance,” he replied, and he sounded cold in a way that reminded me to be professional. I cleared my throat and wondered if I wanted to be involved in this case. It seemed to be very messy. Considering the warning he gave to me 5 years ago, I felt like he might be setting me up, but what would he gain from seeing my downfall? For the fifth time that day, I let out a deep sigh. I fidgeted with my fingers before replying to him. “Mr. Carrington, I will need some time to think about this issue thoroughly. This is a very serious matter.” “I will be waiting for your reply,” Zane said as he got up to leave. Only for him to stop in his tracks when he got to the door, he turned to me and met my gaze in a way that seemed to call out my name. “Yes?” “Ms. Johnson, this isn’t only about the reputation of my company. It’s about something else… let’s just say it is personal and is about to ruin everything my family and I have worked for,” his voice dropped to a conspiratorial hush faster than I thought possible. He smiled coldly at me and walked out of my office. And leaving me alone with his chilling words. What is more dangerous than a threat to Carrington Enterprises?