Completely Obsessed

CHAPTER FOUR

Valerian POV

The city was already awake when I opened my eyes.

I glanced at the clock beside my bed 5:30 a.m.I had never been the kind of man who needed an alarm to wake up.Sleep had always been a temporary inconvenience.I got out of bed and walked toward the floor-to-ceiling windows of my bedroom. The city stretched beneath me, covered in lights and morning fog.From this height, everything looked small.

People.

Buildings.

Problems.

Everything.

My name was Valerian Hawthorn Moretti.To the public, I was a businessman. The CEO of Moretti Holdings. A man whose name appeared in financial magazines and business newspapers. But behind closed doors, my name carried a different meaning.

Fear.

People knew better than to cross me. Competitors who tried to bring me down eventually disappeared from the business world. People who betrayed me lost everything they had worked for. And those who owed me a debt rarely got a second chance. I didn't need to raise my voice. I didn't need to threaten anyone. A simple look was usually enough. There was a knock on my bedroom door. “Come in.” The door opened, and my assistant walked inside. Ethan Cross.

He was in his late twenties, always dressed neatly in a dark suit, with a tablet in one hand and a cup of black coffee in the other. He was one of the few people who could walk into my presence without trembling. “Good morning, sir.” I turned toward him. “What's on my schedule?” Ethan glanced at his tablet. “Your meeting with the board is at eight. After that, you have lunch with Mr. Sinclair at twelve-thirty. At two, there's a meeting with the legal department regarding the acquisition.” He paused.

“And you have a dinner reservation tonight.” I looked at him. “With whom?” “Your mother.” I sighed. “I forgot.”

“I assumed you did.” I gave him a cold look. Ethan simply continued scrolling through his tablet. “There's one more thing.” “What?” “The restaurant.” My expression hardened slightly. “What about it?”

“The new branch of The Crimson Table has officially opened. Your mother asked me to remind you that you promised to check on it.” I stared at him. “I don't remember promising anything.” Ethan looked at me over his tablet.

“You did.”

“When?”

“Three weeks ago.”

“And you remember that?”

“It's my job to remember the things you conveniently forget.”

I stared at him for a moment. He didn't look away. Most people would have. Ethan wasn't most people. “Fine,” I said. “Move my afternoon schedule.”

“To what time?”

“After the legal meeting.”

“That's already scheduled until six.”

“Then move it.” Ethan nodded. “I'll handle it.” He turned toward the door. “Ethan.” He stopped. “Yes, sir?”

“Make sure no one knows I'm coming.” His expression became serious. “Understood.” He left. I returned my attention to the city outside. I wasn't sure why my mother cared so much about that restaurant.

It was just another business. Another building. Another place filled with people trying to make a living. I had no reason to care. And yet, for some reason, I had agreed to go. Perhaps I simply wanted to understand why it mattered so much to her. I turned away from the window.

My day had already begun. And I had no idea that before it ended, I would meet someone who would eventually become the biggest complication in my perfectly controlled life.

A woman named Nairobi.