3 Fated Meeting

~Vancouver, Canada~

In a polished boardroom in one of the most expensive commercial skyscrapers in town, men and women in business attires sat comfortably around the rectangular conference table at the centre of the room.

Their gazes were directed at a man in his mid-forties standing next to the lit projector and reading some numbers from there.

The man had a small smile on his face, proof of his confidence, and automatically, his colleagues followed his lead by nodding their heads in understanding. Well, except for one man who occupied the seat at the head table.

Roy Kim, President of KDX, a global technology company recognized internationally, intertwined his fingers with an emotionless gaze ahead.

After he had listened for a while, he leaned forward slightly, turned on the mic in front of him, and temporarily put an end to the presentation.

"I haven't heard anything interesting," Roy said to the man as his gaze swept across the room.  "And why are you all nodding your heads like he is making any sense? Just like him, are you all blind as well?"

Instantly, breaths were seized and all attention was focused on him. No one dared to make a sound for fear of having his attention turned to them.

In this case, most certainly, no one wanted to be the centre of attention.

Roy's stern gaze focused on the man in a grey suit in charge of the presentation. Just like the other men and women, this man looked worried, even more so than everyone else combined. Beads of perspirations had already trickled down the sides of his forehead as he nervously wiped them away.

"Why are the numbers not adding up?" Roy knocked twice on the table, causing a few people to jump in their seats. "I did not fly all the way to Vancouver from Danastan to listen to your gibberish. You better have a proper explanation for me or risk losing your managerial position," he declared, his face devoid of any emotion.

The combination of his striking appearance and his undeniable presence commanded great attention. Everyone silently swore to themselves never to slack off again.

It was obvious that he was not to be trifled with.

Roy spent the next ten minutes pointing out the flaws in the plans. His firm tone and harsh words had even the leaders of the company quaking in their shoes. After he was done, he rose to his feet. 

"Prepare another proposal and come pitch it to me by 10 AM tomorrow," he said to the man standing across from him. "Have a good evening."

As soon as Roy stepped out of the room, a man in black turned around. He was on call the entire time, a white earpiece in his ear.

Quickly, he whispered something to the other person with a hand over his mouth before sliding the phone inside the pocket of his suit jacket and coming over to meet Roy.

"Sir, you got a call from home," he revealed while leading the way for Roy. 

The latter's brows were creased. "Charles?"

"Yes, Sir. He had a Code Red message to pass on."

"What is it?"

There was a brief silence before the bodyguard proceeded to make the report. "The Assemblyman concluded on your marriage to the Prime Minister's daughter in a private gathering. He is planning to register your marriage without your presence."

As soon as those words reached Roy Kim's ears, lines appeared on his forehead as his expression darkened. Due to the shock, he had stopped in his steps and was staring at his personal bodyguard.

Finally, after a long minute had passed, he asked, "Is it possible for my marriage to be registered without my signature?"

"It depends on who your father is," the bodyguard answered while meeting his gaze.

There were a few seconds of silence before Roy continued in his steps. "Book flights for noon tomorrow."

"Yes, Sir," the bodyguard quickly replied while swiftly taking out his phone from his pocket. He used the other hand to press the button for the elevator.

Roy's father, who was a minister in The Federal Republic of Danastan, was trying to marry him off while he was away on a business trip. But he miscalculated, thinking that his son wouldn't rush home from an important business trip for this. 

The meeting that Roy had come to Vancouver for was definitely not as important as his own marriage. Everything else could wait. He wasn't about to let his father marry him off like that. 

Outside the building, Roy dialled a particular contact several times with no hope of the call connecting. At the end, he left a quick text.

'Can you take an emergency leave for three days? Call me as soon as you get this message.'

---

The following day, Roy had only one instruction for the HR team in Vancouver regarding the manager who presented the previous day. "Fire Mr. Martins if he fails to meet up to my standard."

There was no time to waste or emotions to dawdle on. He had a plane to catch in two hours.

---

~Vancouver International Airport~

Anna pulled her small suitcase behind her while making her way inside the airport. Her baby blue dress swayed with each step as she quickly headed straight for her airline stand to print her boarding pass.

It was only when she was handed her boarding pass that her breathing slowed. But then, she squinted her eyes at her seat number. It had an A. That didn't look good.

Immediately after she discovered it, she quickly turned to her airline attendant. "Please, can I change my seat?"

The older woman lifted her gaze from the screen in front of her. "I'm sorry, all the seats are occupied, but you can…" Her gaze suddenly drifted to a male figure in a striped suit behind Anna before pointing her jaw towards him.

"He is the manager, you can ask for his help," she whispered and then went back to staring at her computer's screen.

Anna followed the woman's gaze to a short man with a bald head with his back facing her. He was talking with two other men in suits.

One of them had his hands were inside the pockets of his tailored suit pants, and despite the slight frown crowning his looks, he was extremely handsome.

Anna could tell he was an important person even though she couldn't make out his face from the distance between them.

Because she had just come out of surgery, she was not allowed to strain her vision.

Right as she was contemplating on going to meet the manager of her airline or not, the airline attendant said from behind, "If you really want to change your seat, now is the time."

With that advice, Anna pulled her luggage and walked over. It was her quick steps that drew their attention to her.

As soon as she felt the three pairs of eyes on her, she swallowed a lump. Stopping in front of them, she bowed slightly in apology for interrupting their conversation.

"Excuse me, Sir," she said, shifting her focus to the airline manager. "Can I change my seat in the economy section? I don't want to sit by the window. I recently got an eye surgery and they are still sensitive to light."

Elena didn't want to sit by the window where the flight attendants would request that she leave the window shield open. As she didn't want to turn out to be a rude passenger, it was better to avoid the situation altogether.

"We are sorry about that." The airline manager smiled apologetically. "But there are no more spaces in the economy section. Would you like to upgrade to the business class or first-class cabin instead?"

"I… I don't have the money…" Anna felt flustered that she had to spell out the fact that she couldn't afford to upgrade her seat, especially with the gentlemen's eyes on her.

Roy released a soft sigh as he retracted his gaze from her. She looked pitiful.

Glancing at his personal bodyguard, he gave a clear instruction before making his way to the VIP lounge.

"Upgrade her to the first-class cabin."