The Life we never Planned

Chapter 6

Chapter 6 — HIS POV

By eight the next morning, I had already rejected three proposals.

Not because they were bad.

Because they were ordinary.

I had built my empire by refusing to accept ordinary.

"Next."

My assistant placed another folder on my desk.

I barely glanced at it.

"Declined."

He paused.

"You haven't read it."

"I don't need to."

He gave me a look but said nothing.

Good.

He knew better than to argue when I had made a decision.

I turned toward the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city.

Thousands of people moved beneath the building.

Cars filled the roads. Businesses opened. Deals were being made.

Somewhere in that city, people were making decisions that would affect millions of lives.

And I was expected to know about all of them.

Power was never quiet.

My phone vibrated.

I looked at the screen.

A message from my mother.

Dinner tonight. No excuses.

I sighed.

Family.

The one responsibility I couldn't dismiss with a signature.

"Cancel my evening meetings."

My assistant looked surprised.

"All of them?"

"Yes."

"And dinner?"

"I'm going."

He nodded and left.

I returned to the documents on my desk.

But my attention didn't stay there for long.

My mind went somewhere it shouldn't.

To a woman sitting across from me yesterday.

Confident.

Unimpressed.

She had challenged my questions without becoming disrespectful.

Most people tried to impress me.

She hadn't.

She had been focused on one thing.

Her company.

Her future.

Her ambition.

I leaned back in my chair.

Three years.

Three years since I had first seen her.

And now she was finally within reach.

But I wasn't going to rush this.

For the first time in my life, I wanted something I couldn't simply acquire.

I wanted her to choose me.

My phone vibrated again.

This time, it was an urgent message from one of my international divisions.

A problem had developed in one of our largest operations.

I stood.

"Prepare the private jet."

My assistant looked up.

"You're leaving today?"

"Yes."

"How long?"

I picked up my jacket.

"Until the problem is solved."

There was no hesitation.

There never was.

Business came first.

At least, that's what I had always believed.

But as I walked toward the elevator, one thought followed me.

Her.

And for the first time, I wasn't completely sure business still came first.