“Thank you all for coming.” Fredrick began while clinging to the microphone. He was on the podium and was facing the audience.The guests clapped. The tables had been cleared as dinner was over and it was time for the main business of the night. Lisa and her family secured a table toward the end of the room. All the invited guests and their associates were seated across round tables in the hall.Fredrick continued his speech. “First of all, I’d like you all to congratulate each other for reaching this milestone. We all know that it’s impossible to secure a partnership deal with any company owned by the legendary Alcantara family but you guys earned that right tonight.”Cheers and applause resounded through every corner of the room. “I want you guys to know that this was not a favor but this was a privilege your respective companies earned. Your hard work, business prospects, and visionary leadership were what earned you this spot amidst the hundreds of organizations out there so ple
Standing on the podium right next to Fredrick, Nathan gave a slight bow out of courtesy to the people and finally took the stage right after Fredrick moved away. The partners who were not expecting to meet with the Alcantara heir that night in flesh and blood began to create applause. “Thank you!” Nathan waved and cleared his throat loudly. “You may all take your seats.”Despite the proclamation, Joey Carson and his wife Margaret remained transfixed to their spot. Liam was the only one who managed to take a seat after feigning a fake smile. Lisa was shocked by the bone marrow as she remained frozen in her seat. “As Fredrick said, it’s a rare opportunity for you all to be here. Out of the countless proposals we got even though most of them were unsolicited, we decided to partner with you guys because we believe in your capacity.”When Lisa looked up, her eyes met with Nathan and he flashed her a smile, a knowing smile. Joey had finally managed to crash on his seat together with his
Immediately after Nathan stepped out of the airport, a bulletproof Lexus pulled up right in front of him. He smiled and adjusted the backpack around his left shoulder.Right after the partnership party ended, he had booked a morning flight to Rockville City. Nathan didn’t even wait for the party to end before leaving the venue. He had walked out right after addressing Lisa. “Welcome back, boss.” Jackson welcomed him with open arms after stepping out of the car. Nathan smiled and they shared a quick embrace. “And Charles?”“He had an emergency meeting with the investors so I had to come alone,” Jackson replied and then proceeded to open the door to the front seat for Nathan after taking charge of the backpack.After Nathan sat and put on his seat belt, Jackson started the car and drove out of the airport premises. “Great partnership party huh?”“Yeah,” Nathan replied and pulled out his phone. “Everything went according to plan.”“And the Carsons?” Jackson turned to Nathan for a while
At that point, there was nothing Nathan could do. He just remained transfixed to his spot and allowed his eyes to meet with Avery’s. Derrick’s gasp was so loud that it caused passersby to stare. Kelvin had fire in his eyes and he kept roving them. “That’s him right? That’s the Alcantara heir right there.” Kelvin cried out to Derrick. Derrick slowly let go of Avery’s hand and began to take steps toward Nathan. All this while, Nathan was staring at Avery unblinkingly. He couldn’t help but imagine what was going through her head. She was staring at him with a blank expression, color evaded from her eyes. “So you lied to us all?” Derrick asked. Nathan took his gaze off Avery for a moment and saw the way Derrick was gawking at him. “Where have you been all this while?” Kelvin cried out. Without giving a response, Nathan walked past them and charged toward Avery. “Where are you going?” Derrick ran after him. He quickly stood in front of Avery as if he was preventing Nathan from harmi
While he wondered when he was going to see her soon or not, Nathan couldn’t help but feel excited at the sight of Avery. After speaking to her about his experience in the last few years, he fell as if a large log was lifted off his chest. As she sauntered toward Derrick’s car, he wished she could turn around and give him a stare, perhaps just once. He had seen the look in her eyes as he shared his story. It was evident that she still had a soft spot for him and it didn’t matter to him now whether Derrick was in the picture or not. Nathan was determined to get his girl back. Suddenly, someone cleared his throat loudly and Nathan immediately turned to the direction of the sound. Kelvin was standing on the other side of the car with his head cocked toward the opened window. Nathan motioned to him that the car was opened and Kelvin immediately pulled off the door handle. When Kelvin entered and sat on the seat Avery had earlier occupied, he turned to Nathan with stars in his eyes. “Al
Avery instantly fell into a state of panic. She began to sweat and was soon pacing from one end of the table to the other while Derrick remained on his feet with a heart full of prayers and eyes filled with hope.“We can’t do this,” she finally cried out.“What do you mean by that?” Derrick fired back. “I care about you. I love you and you know that I’ll do anything for you. I’ll go anywhere with you.” He professed.“That’s the problem.” Avery fired back. “Have you ever considered how I feel?”Derrick withdrew his hand in shock and began to stutter.Avery saw the pain in his eyes and instantly felt sorry for him. She walked up to him and placed her hand on the ring.Derrick smiled and his hope reignited.“I know what this means to you and I know that we’re cool and have learned to get along for a while now but that’s not love. That’s friendship.”“Do you care about me?” Derrick asked with glassy eyes.“Of course I do.” Avery sharply replied.“Then marry me.” He mounted his other hand
“And where did he instruct you to take me to if I may ask?” Avery demanded.Steve smiled and she caught herself smiling too. There was no denying that the bodyguard bore an intimidating posture and was strong but beneath the qualities that made him a strong man,Avery could tell that he had a warm personality.“Why don’t you come with me?” Steve demanded and charged toward the Bentley he had parked at the side of the road. “Except you want to go back there and ask Derrick for a ride but I nearly crippled him so he can’t take you to your hotel room.”Avery began to charge toward Steve. “On second thoughts, why don’t you take me to the place your boss told you to? Derrick just gave me a scare and since he knows where I’m staying, I have a conviction that he’ll follow me there.”“You’re smart. My boss asked me to protect you with my life.” Steve said. They had now reached the spot where the car was parked. He opened the door to the front seat and turned to Avery. “Hop in, miss.”She sat
“This way,” Daniel said and led the elderly men into the room.That morning, Morgan had requested that all his personal and business allies join him for an emergency meeting in his mansion. Daniel, his assistant was already ushering the men into the living room while Morgan was taking a bath upstairs.Even though the meeting was slated for 8 am, some of the Allies showed up around 7 am and the rest had just walked in. Nobody would want to keep Morgan Morales waiting for breaching time arrangements with him comes with consequences.Morgan will be meeting with a total of five men that morning.A few moments later, Morgan appeared in the living room dressed in a casual outfit. From the expression on his face, his allies could tell that he was troubled. The thing about Morgan was that his expressions conveyed his mood.With a tightened jaw, he sat on the largest couch in the living room which was left vacant for him. Daniel quickly showed up with a cup of coffee but Morgan waved it down.