Chapter 2

Immediately, Gabby held him back saying " what do you think you're about to do? don't make a scene here and don't give them the satisfaction of riling you up". Williams withdrew but he was still fuming.

Then they both turned to look at Ariella and saw that she had put on a cold demeanor.

Suddenly, Ariella called out to the bartender " give me twenty shots now" immediately Gabby was alerted " what are you trying to do Ari?" " What should I do other than celebrate which is why we came here in the first place. Those two fools can't be the kill joy for our mini celebration. C'mon let's get this party started" Ariella screamed happily.

Gabby was wary of her behavior but she still went along with her and soon they both became drunk.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the club, Ricardo Milos and Linda Mark were having a meeting with Rodriguez Lopez the CEO of asphalt group. They discovered that HARN company that they've been trying so hard to partner with belongs to their nemesis so they withdrew and went with their second option which is Rodriguez.

Rodriguez on the other hand is a critique business man and can read them as clear as a book. He has done his investigation and knew that they were in huge debt and they need the investment and support of a bigger company to settle their debts. He also knew that they were pursuing his competitor HARN company and their sudden withdrawal was suspicious so he also has some things he wants to figure out from them.

"We will be glad if our proposal is considered sir" concluded Ricardo .

Rodriguez looked at them and smirked"why do you think I'd consider your proposal " Linda and Ricardo froze on their chair. " Relax I was just kidding. Or is there any reason to be scared?" "No no not at all sir" Linda immediately replied. Rodriguez smiled and stood up." My secretary will give you feedback " .

Immediately he left, Linda was about to say something but she stopped and tapped Ricardo and said" look at Ariella. I thought they said she is responsible. I'm sure she slept her way to being the CEO look at how she looks like a slut " but Ricardo's eyes were fixated on her and he didn't hear Linda's comment.

But when he noticed Rodriguez approaching Ariella with a smile on his face, his mood dropped as he felt a pang of jealousy in his chest. Linda noticed this and said immediately" don't tell me you still have a soft spot for this bitch. She doesn't deserve it at all". Ricardo just ignored her.

Ariella was already drunk because she kept ordering shots and dancing wildly alone since Gabby left her to follow another man. Rodriguez looked around monitoring everything and his eyes caught a beautiful young lady drunk and dancing.

He noticed that she was the cynosure of all the men in his club but he noticed that she kept ordering more drinks and he knew she'd soon pass out from the amount of alcohol she is taking so he approached her.

On seeing him, Ariella in her drunken state said " woohoo... Hotshot are you here for a dance with me? You couldn't resist me hmmm..." Rodriguez smiled and took the drink from her and led her upstairs to his condo to avoid her being taken advantage of.

Ricardo seeing this stood up immediately and was about to approach Rodriguez but Linda dragged him back." Where do you think you're going?" She asked."

Can't you see that he's about to take advantage of her?" He replied. " And how is that your business. Who knows if she had been sleeping with him to attain that position. I knew she couldn't pull it off all by herself" Linda said with an evil smile. Ricardo went back but he wasn't comfortable till they left.

Ariella opened her eyes in a drunken haze and said " hey where are we going? Ohh you just want to use and dump me as usual oookkkkayyyy " Rodriguez wondered what brought about that but he took her in and tried to lay her on the bed but she kept saying" just do what you're good at and leave me alone " .

He wondered what would have warranted that speech but he forced her to lay on the bed and left the room. " Ugh I forgot to ask for her name" he recalled suddenly and shrugged and he went to the guest room to sleep.

Ariella woke up to an aroma of coffee and pancakes and she said in her sleepy state"Gabby are you not tired? Why are you making breakfast this early?"

Then she shot up remembering that she was not at home and her eyes cleared immediately. She checked her clothes and it was intact and she stood up and headed for the door. She saw a beautiful lounge and she headed to the place where she heard pots sounding.

On getting there, She saw a tall, dark and handsome shirtless guy mixing a pancake batter and she called out to him" hey.." Rodriguez looked back and saw her and he said smiling " how is your hangover? Take this it'd help with it." He handed her ibuprofen and water.

" Thank you" said Ariella. " You're welcome....." " The name is Ari" " Okay you're welcome Ari" Rodriguez replied with a smile on his face.

"Do you care for breakfast?" " Yes, thanks" she responded after sometime. " Okay then " retorted Rodriguez and he went back to his cooking.

Ariella was dying to ask for what happened and she was secretly praying she didn't embarrass herself. She then asked for her stuffs and he provided it. So she texted Lucas the location and asked him to pick her up. After breakfast, she thanked him and went to the car to meet Lucas.

She asked for updates from Lucas and he began to give her information regarding the interview held the previous day. He mentioned that Geo corps have withdrawn their partnership proposal without valid reason. So she asked who were the people involved and Lucas mentioned their names.

" Their names are Ricardo Milos and Linda Mark. They are the copartners of the corporation". When Ariella heard their name, she smiled and told Lucas " they have to withdraw to save their face".

On getting to the office, she started work after changing her dress and she stayed till night due to the pile of work waiting for her on the table. On getting home, she just showered and slept almost immediately.

The very next morning she was awoken by Lucas's consistent calls. " Lucas what is it that can't wait till I get to the office?" " Madam, I'm so sorry to disturb you but this can't wait. There is a scandal currently trending the blogs site about you and the CEO of asphalt group and the board members are demanding for a meeting now!".

Ariella stood up immediately and asked" CEO of what????"

Rodriguez's assistant woke him up with a call saying " boss! there is a condescending news about you and the CEO of HARN company and the board members are currently waiting for your reply".

Rodriguez replied shocked " The CEO of HARN company????...."