My Fallen Star

Chapter 3

The week went off well for the couple. Their jobs were tiring yet they loved doing it. The best part was that they could get off work early to spend time with each other. Their Friday night was spent hanging out at the bar with their friends. Their work life and personal life were balanced with everything going perfectly well. Little did they know that everything was about to change and this was all the calm before the storm.

It’s Monday morning and Dean walked into the office building with a big smile on his face. As he walked through, his employees greeted him. 

As he entered his office his newly appointed secretary Emma also followed him. "Good morning Mr. Anderson. I have your schedule for today," she spoke in a soft tone.

Dean took his seat and leaned back into his chair. He nodded for Emma to continue to read out his schedule.

"You have a meeting with Mr. Baker at ten-thirty in the morning. Mr. Baker wants to invest in shares in our company and also, sign a partnership with the firm." 

"Interview a couple of new freshers who have applied for the vacant position for Mr. Oliver Palmer and there is a board meeting at three. You have to sign a few paperwork to start the construction of the new Phoenix mall and finally an appointment with Mr. Allen at six. Mr. Allen wants to sign with our company for the construction of his new company building."

"And there is a slight change in your schedule for tomorrow, Sir." Dean was confused now.

 "What is it?" he asked.

"Your flight to England for the International Conference has been changed to tomorrow night at nine," she said. Dean buried his face into his hands. 

"Okay thank you. You may go now." she left and Dean turned to see a lot of files on his desk. One weekend was all he got to relax and Monday was soon here. And he wasn't present in his office for only two days yet he has a full schedule. Imagine if he was gone for a month.

He shook his head of all those thoughts as he focused on the task at hand. He slowly started to sift through the small pile of files by reading and signing them. Just as he finished, his secretary entered. "Mr. Baker is here, Sir." she informed as the said investor walked in. 

Dean and the investor greeted each other before the latter was asked to take his seat. Emma brought him two cups of tea and a few croissants. 

"Well, Mr. Baker I heard that you wanted to invest in a few shares with my company. Why are you so interested in investing here, leaving out the other companies in town?” Dean asked firmly.

"Your company is known far and wide all over town. Investors are flooding to invest in your company, but you have a certain type of investors who you like to invite and I guess that we fulfil your standards," Dean gave a slight nod.

"...and it's a great opportunity for us to grow as well. And regarding the partnership, my boss, thinks that it will be a great honour for you to invest in our company." the investor sounded confident and hoping that Dean will not turn him down.

"I have heard of your company, Mr. Baker and I don't think you fulfil my criteria, but I think I might give you a chance and invest in your company as a partner. I will decide with the board and I will let you know ASAP." Dean stood up.

"Thank you for your time, Mr. Anderson," the investor stood up.

"My pleasure," the two shook hands. Dean walked Mr. Baker to the door and closed it after he left.

Appointment with the investor, Done. Next. Interview.

The fresher who impressed Dean among all during his interview was a young man who had graduated from the university a few months prior, Alex Matthews.

"Thank you, Mr. CEO, for agreeing to interview me." Alex Matthews said confidently yet with a tad bit nervousness.

"No mention, Mr. Matthews tell me, why did you choose to work for us in the first place?" Dean asked as he eased into his chair.

"Your company is a very esteemed and prestigious firm and if. I get to work for a year at least here, I can work anywhere else," Dean c****d his left eyebrow at his statement.

"So you're saying that you're leaving the job after a year?" he asked.

"No sir, I'm stating the obvious. It's a great honour for me to work under you with your team and I will not leave the company until or unless I am asked to." Alex defended. Dean nodded, impressed.

Soon the interviews ended. Emma once again entered and reminded him of the meeting.

Dean nodded before he told her that he'll be there in a few minutes. He called Kayden to tell him that he couldn't meet up with him for lunch and also to hear his Kayden's voice, but what he didn't expect was for his husband to hang up the call.

He stood confused looking at the phone. Did he just hang up?

He stood up and fixed his coat. Just as he was about to walk out, his phone rang and it was Kayden. Before he could greet his husband, Kayden interrupted him.

"I'm sorry but we can't have lunch together today. There was just a huge car accident on Motorway 9 and they are bringing some of the injured here. I got to go babe. Bye!" 

Though Dean was a little upset that he couldn't have lunch with his Kayden, he could understand his situation. He stood up and fixed his coat before walking out to the conference room for the board meeting.

"Good evening gentlemen, I hope you're ready for today? I invite Ms. Emma Andrews to read through the agenda for the meeting. Also, I would like to invite the proxy for Mr. Jack Cooper who wasn't able to join us today," Dean said.

"Good evening. This is the agenda for today. Minutes of the previous board meeting held on January 2019 discussion about the number of shares purchased by the company and the number of shares purchased from the company. Discussion about the company's future holdings and investment. A query session regarding the upcoming presidential election for the board." Emma said as she stood beside Dean before walking towards her seat.

"Let's discuss the new investors. Mr. Baker had requested that we invested in his company. He also wanted us to invest in a few shares in his company. I've had a few more files sent in about a few investors. I will send a copy of the files to you and the final names of investors will be decided in the next meeting. I guess it's time for us to vote for the new president of the board. Mr. Noah Evans and Mr. Jacob Taylor have volunteered to be the presidents for the upcoming financial year March 2019 to February 2020," Dean continued.

"Please raise your hand if your vote is in favour of Mr. Evans." There were about seven hands.

"And for Mr. Taylor?" There were around six hands. They went over a few details and the role of the president before declaring.

"...with the polls, I guess Mr. Evans is the new president for our next financial year. Can we have good applause for Mr. Evans?" Everyone applauds for the newly elected president.

Dean walked back into his office after the meeting ended. His phone rang again. This time it was his father, Dylan Anderson.

"Hey Dad, how's the early retired life treating you?" Dean teased. His dad laughed on the other line.

"Are you busy, son?" Dylan asked.

"Yeah dad, I have a meeting in a few minutes with a client," Dean said.

"Okay, I just called to tell you to come to the tennis court tomorrow morning at seven. It’s important, son." Dylan said. 

"Seven?" Dean let out a deep sigh internally.

"Yes. Seven. Now don't forget," his father said sternly.

"Okay, dad. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye for now," Dean said before he hung up. He ran his fingers through his hair. He hated waking up so early in the morning to go for tennis when he could spend that time cuddling with his husband.

"Mr. Smith is here to see you, Sir" Emma announced dragging Dean back into reality.

"Send him in," Dean said. Mr. Smith walked in a few minutes later and the two businessmen shook hands.

"It's a great pleasure to meet you, Mr. Anderson," Mr. Smith firmly said.

"Pleasure is mine, Mr. Smith," the two businessmen moved their conversation to the small lounge area in his office.

The coffee was brought in by Emma while the two businessmen were engrossed in talking. Mr. Smith had bought a business in Philadelphia recently and he wanted Anderson Constructions to design and build his new company building. 

Mr. Smith agrees to sign the contract with Anderson Constructions the next day. They spoke about the deals and finally shook on it.

After the meeting, Dean plopped onto his change. He was so tired. He just closed his eyes to take a nap when his phone rang.

"Hey, dude! Are you free for a drink?!" it was Lukas Thomas, his best friend since middle school.

"Yeah sure... I'll be there," Dean replied. He needed a drink now.

He stood up and fixed his coat. He looked at the time, it was 7:30 pm and still no call from Kayden.

He got into his car and drove to the usual bar where he meets up with his and Kayden's friends always.

Dean walked into the bar to unwind after a busy and stressful day at the office. He saw Lukas already in a booth with Matt and his girlfriend Julia. The two friends had become friends with Matt and Julia during the orientation program on their first day at the university. The four friends were so popular around the university. Dean was considered as the leader of the Engineering department. All the other departments knew that if they mess with them or go against anyone in the said department, a war was coming for them. They were a force to be reckoned with.

"Hey, Dean!" Lukas looked up and greeted Dean. But Dean didn't say anything as he sat down next to him.

"Busy day huh?" Matt asked.

"You have no f*****g idea," Dean groaned.

"Where's Kayden?" Julia asked. Dean shrugged.

"He's still busy. He probably would be at home by now," he answered just as their drinks arrived.

They started talking about their Monday blues while Matt and Julia drowned themselves in alcohol. After an hour and a half, Dean had had enough of a little bickering couple with their side of the table nearly covered with empty beer bottles.

"Don't you think you two have had enough?" Dean asked the now drunk Matt and Julia. It seemed to be the question of the moment.

"I am not drunk," stated Matt slamming down his glass onto the table. "I just... don't remember my name is all."

Julia snorted beside him. "You have an alcohol problem, Mister! I, on the other hand, can handle my alcyhol constumption very well," she said, stumbling over the words. Dean and Lukas raised their eyebrows.

"Alychol constumption, huh? You can't even admit to the fact that you were jealous earlier, let alone alcohol consumption!" Matt mumbled.

Julia waved it off, "I told you I'm not drenk and I wesn't je-ahlous! Matt is drenk…I could even pilot an airplane right now…"

Dean rolled his eyes as he decided to dive in and save his friends before they annoyed the hell out of him. He pulled away from their beer bottles, "That's enough, you both are drunk!"

"That's not fair?" Matt almost yelled.

"Yeah not fair!" Julia pouted.

"What the f**k is wrong with you two?" Dean was annoyed.

"They fought. It was me who dragged them here. I thought a drink will be good for the two of them. Looks like it didn't work." Lukas shrugged.

"Ya think!" Dean glared at Lukas. He pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Let's go guys. We're driving you home," Dean gulped the last sip from his second beer and stood up.

"We? Oh no!" Lukas tried to get out.

But Dean held onto his shoulder. Tightly. "Lukas," he said in a stern voice.

"Just kidding! f**k man! Do you think I'll let my two best friends go home drunk?!" Lukas scoffed as he punched Dean's arm. Dean shrugged which earned an eye roll from Lukas.

"Let's go lovey-dovey" Lukas helped Julia to stand up. Julia had a difficulty in standing but once she stood up, she put all his weight onto Lukas as support. Matt used Dean as a support to stand but since he was not as drunk as his fiancée, he was able to walk on his own. With a little bit of support of course.

Lukas drove the couple back to their apartment with Dean following them in his car. Once the two friends helped the couple to their apartment, they left once they put them to bed. Dean drove Lukas back to the bar to get his car.

The drive was Dean and Lukas talking about random things here and there. Once they reached the bar, Lukas removed his seatbelt. "Hey! Thanks for tonight man. I needed it," Dean smiled.

"Don't worry buddy. We both needed it after a f*****g busy Monday," Lukas shrugged.

"Night, man." Lukas and Dean did a bro fist bump before Lukas got out of the car. They bid each other bye before Dean drove away to go home.

All he wanted now was to go home and cuddle with his husband. He wished he could have gone home sooner, but he couldn't turn down Lukas on his offer for a drink though he has a few bottles of beer at his house. But still, he felt that no matter how stressful or tiresome his day was, just one look at his Kayden, he feels relaxed and refreshed. 

Dean excitedly got out of his car and rushed up to the main door. He felt guilty for not informing Kayden that he was going out for a drink. And seeing that it was already passed ten, he hoped that Kayden wasn't asleep yet considering the day he has had. But disappointment crept into him once he walked in through the door as he was welcomed by darkness.

Kayden wasn't home.