Chapter 4
1487 Words
CHAPTER FOUR
HIS POV
Monday mornings were usually predictable.
That was how I liked them.
I arrived at the office at exactly seven thirty.
My security team was already waiting when I stepped out of the car. My assistant followed closely behind, tablet in hand, reading through my schedule.
“First meeting at eight.”
“Move it to eight thirty.”
“You have three meetings before noon.”
“I know.”
“The board meeting is at eleven.”
“I said I know.”
He stopped talking.
Good.
I walked through the main entrance of the headquarters.
The entire lobby seemed to change the moment I entered.
Conversations became quieter.
Employees straightened.
People moved out of my way.
I didn't acknowledge any of it.
I wasn't interested in making people comfortable.
I was interested in results.
My company had been built long before I was born, but I had taken control of it young. My family had given me the foundation.
I had built the empire on top of it.
There was a difference.
By twenty-seven, I controlled businesses in several industries and had interests in countries I rarely visited personally.
People called me a businessman.
That was an understatement.
Business was only one part of what I controlled.
I stepped into the private elevator.
My assistant entered behind me.
“There's one additional appointment this morning.”
“With whom?”
“A shareholder requested that you take over a meeting.”
I looked at him.
“Why?”
“He says it's regarding an international expansion proposal.”
“Which company?”
He checked his tablet.
“A privately owned company. The founder is a young woman.”
“Then let him handle it.”
“He specifically requested that you meet her.”
I said nothing.
My assistant continued.
“She apparently impressed him at the international business program last week.”
That caught my attention slightly.
“Name?”
He looked at the screen.
“Angela.”
My hand stopped halfway toward adjusting my cuff.
Angela.
The elevator doors opened.
I stepped out.
For several seconds, I said nothing.
My assistant followed me.
“Sir?”
“Where is the meeting?”
“Your office.”
“Cancel everything before it.”
He looked surprised.
“Everything?”
“Yes.”
He nodded.
I walked toward my office.
Then I saw her.
She was sitting in the waiting area outside my office.
Her back was straight.
A folder rested on her lap.
She wasn't looking around nervously like most people who came to see me.
She was reading something on her phone.
Three years.
For three years, I had told myself that the woman I saw in Aurelia was nothing more than a passing fascination.
Three years of convincing myself that I had forgotten her.
Then she lifted her head.
And I knew immediately.
It was her.
The same eyes.
The same face.
Only older now.
More composed.
More confident.
She looked nothing like the young woman I had watched from across that conference hall.
And somehow, she looked exactly the same.
My assistant nearly walked into me when I stopped.
“Sir?”
I ignored him.
She hadn't noticed me yet.
I studied her for a moment.
The way she crossed one leg over the other.
The slight crease between her brows as she read.
The expensive but understated watch around her wrist.
She had changed.
But the woman I remembered was still there.
“Who is she?” I asked.
My assistant looked toward her.
“The woman we're meeting.”
I turned toward him.
“You didn't tell me her name.”
“I did.”
“Not her full name.”
He quickly checked his tablet.
“Angela Williams.”
I repeated the name silently.
Angela Williams.
So that's who she was.
“Why is she waiting here?”
“Mr. Harrison hasn't arrived yet.”
“He told her to come at nine.”
“Yes.”
I looked at my watch.
It was nine seventeen.
“She has been waiting seventeen minutes?”
“Yes, sir.”
I glanced at her again.
She didn't look impatient.
Interesting.
“Find Mr. Harrison.”
My assistant immediately walked away.
I remained where I was.
I could have gone into my office.
I should have.
Instead, I watched her.
A few minutes later, my assistant returned.
“He's on his way.”
“Good.”
I turned toward my office.
Then I stopped.
“Bring her in.”
My assistant hesitated.
“Now?”
I looked at him.
“Did I stutter?”
“No, sir.”
He walked toward her.
I entered my office and stood beside the window.
I heard the door open behind me.
“Sir, Ms. Williams is here.”
I turned.
And there she was.
She looked at me.
For the first time, I saw recognition flicker across her face.
Not recognition of me personally.
Recognition of my name.
My reputation.
Her eyes briefly widened.
Then she recovered.
“Good morning.”
Her voice was exactly as I remembered.
Calm.
Controlled.
“Sit.”
She walked toward the chair opposite my desk.
She placed her folder on the table.
I sat across from her.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
She looked directly at me.
Most people couldn't.
They usually looked away after a few seconds.
She didn't.
“I'm sorry for the change in schedule,” I said.
Her eyebrows lifted slightly.
“You're taking over the meeting?”
“Yes.”
“May I ask why?”
“You came to my company.”
She frowned slightly.
“I came because Mr. Harrison invited me.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you taking the meeting?”
“Because I want to.”
She studied me.
There was something almost amusing about the way she was trying to understand me.
“You always do whatever you want?”
“Yes.”
She leaned back.
“That sounds exhausting.”
I almost smiled.
Almost.
Most people wouldn't dare say that to me.
She opened her folder.
“I came to discuss my expansion proposal.”
“I know.”
“Then you've read it?”
“No.”
She paused.
“You haven't?”
“No.”
“Then how do you know what I'm here for?”
“My shareholder wouldn't recommend a meeting unless there was something worth discussing.”
She nodded slowly.
“Fair enough.”
I leaned back.
“Tell me about your company.”
She began.
And for the next twenty minutes, I listened.
Not because I needed to.
Because I wanted to.
She knew her business.
She knew her numbers.
She knew what she wanted.
And more importantly, she wasn't trying to impress me.
She disagreed with two of my questions.
She challenged one of my assumptions.
When I pointed out a weakness in her proposal, she didn't become defensive.
She simply said,
“I'll fix it.”
That answer stayed with me.
Most people tried to explain their weaknesses away.
She acknowledged hers.
I watched her close the folder.
“That's everything.”
I nodded.
“You're ambitious.”
“Yes.”
“You're asking for a lot.”
“I know.”
“You're young.”
Her expression hardened slightly.
There it was.
I remembered that look.
Three years ago, she had worn it when an older businessman underestimated her.
“You've already mentioned my age,” she said.
“I did.”
“And?”
“And I'm still considering your proposal.”
She relaxed slightly.
I leaned forward.
“Don't mistake that for approval.”
“I wouldn't.”
“Good.”
She stood.
“I'll wait for your decision.”
I watched her pick up her folder.
She turned toward the door.
“Angela.”
She stopped.
It was the first time I had said her name.
She looked back.
“Yes?”
I held her gaze.
“Come back tomorrow.”
Her eyebrows drew together.
“Why?”
“I have more questions.”
She hesitated.
Then nodded.
“Alright.”
She walked out.
The door closed.
Silence filled the office.
My assistant entered a few seconds later.
He looked at me.
“You're taking the meeting again tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
“Sir, you have—”
“Move them.”
He stared at me for a moment.
Then nodded.
“Yes, sir.”
I looked toward the door she'd just walked through.
Three years.
I had spent three years trying to forget a woman whose name I hadn't even known.
Now she was sitting in my office.
And this time, I wasn't going to let her walk out of my life so easily.
I didn't know what she would become to me.
But I knew one thing.
I had finally found her.
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