3 Chapter 3

" Mr. Ziles, can I have a moment of your-" " Mr. Ziles, there's this problem going down at-"

" Mr. Ziles-"

" Mr. Ziles-"

" Mr. Ziles-"

This is what happens when I leave Lenny in charge. Sighing, I took one step towards my office before more people came along and were blocking my way through. My temper was starting to rise and before I went with my usual attempt for them to back off I took a deep breath and said, " I expect each and everyone of you to take a step back and report back to your desks before all of you are fired!"

With that being said, my path was cleared in less than a second and I was finally able to walk all the way into my office and shut the door.

The last thing I need is a splitting headache just when I was starting the day but it seems like everyone is getting on my nerves a little too much lately and it's causing me to have the worst migraine.

Opening and peeking through the door was Lenny and for a second my blood started to rush. Why wasn't he doing his job? He's supposed to be writing down all the problems that the workers have and then fixing them but instead, he just gave me more work to do." Mr. Ziles-" " What do you want, Lenny?" I've about had it with people taking me for granted and this kind of behavior from Lenny is unacceptable. Usually, I would just fire the guy right after I found something wrong with him or if he didn't complete all the requirements it takes to have a job like this but Lenny's been with me for four of those difficult years it took for me to become a CEO of my company just cause the board of directors didn't think a twenty-eight year old could be a CEO. It was difficult at the time and when I had my head down and didn't think I could ever prove to them that I can become someone responsible, Lenny was always there to pick my head up and show me that it's possible. So I'll let it slide this time because I know that I owe him more than he does me.

" I'm sorry, Lenny. Continue to what you were saying." I take a seat at my desk with my hands intertwined and eyes facing Lenny.

This better be good.

" Uhm. Sir, I was just about to say that I've scheduled an appointment for you to meet with Mr. Dinfold around two this afternoon, followed by another meeting with Mrs. folio at five and then-"

" Ok thank you, Lenny. You may be seated at your desk now please." Just when the door was about to shut I remembered something causing me to stand up and say, " Wait! There's something I want you to look into for me." He turned back around, peeking his head through the doors again and smiled. I never got why he does that. " What is it, sir?" " I need you to look into this girl I met this morning at the coffee shop nearby my house. She has green eyes, brown long hair with a mix of blond in them, she looks about 5'2 but I'm not exactly sure. I need a full report on everything about her by this afternoon."

His smile fades away, mouth opened into a small circle until he closed his mouth and swallowed his spit, trying on a small smile. " Of course, sir." He closes the door gently, leaving only me and my thoughts in this room.

Why did I ask that question?

Why would I want to know anything about that odd woman?

She doesn't fit into the lifestyle you have, Alex, so why ask? Why be so curious about her?

The questions are filling up my brain and I can't seem to think of anything else anymore. Staring quietly at the coffee mug she handed to me, remembering the fakest smile she gave me as well.

Time passes by and now I'm staring at the clock hitting two in the afternoon. Time for my meeting with Dinfold. He's around his forties and makes a lot of jokes when it comes to work so every now and then I have to smile and put up with it as if I like his crappy jokes. A tap on my door interrupts me from my thoughts as I see this beautiful lady walk in. Not my usual type but it's not like anyone's asking me.

" Are you Mr. Ziles?" I stand up from my chair waiting for her to walk near me and take my hand, shaking it rather slowly but for all good reason of course. " Yes, that'll be me, miss?" " Fiona. Fiona Dinfold. My father sent me here to negotiate with you on the terms of owning one of your businesses in exchange for two thirds of our share of his company."

Why hasn't this information been discussed with me? At our last meeting Dinfold was only talking about his two cats and how 'cute' they look together. None of what he discussed was work related and by the time it was, our meeting was over. So instead of shutting this woman down immediately, I'm indugding this agreement because then I'd finally be able to get what I want instead of listening to some old man talk about his kittens.

" Ah, yes. Please, have a seat." She walked up to the chair across from my desk and sat with her legs crossed. Though while she looks certain of what she's saying I'm sitting back in my chair with this weird question in my head.

Who is this woman?

In all my talks, meetings, discussions, with Mr. Dinfold, I've never once heard him mention that he has a daughter. She has brunette hair, gray eyes, and a familiar look that would say that they're family but somehow I don't buy it. There's more to this woman and I'm intrigued to see how she'll win me over to this big deal she spoke of.

" Right, well. Anything that you might be holding back, like any questions or such feel free to say out loud." There's only one question I have for this woman. " Does your dad know you're here?"

" Excuse me?" " Does your father know that you are here? In my office?"

" How is this any of your business?" " If we're discussing anything about my businesses or my money or even you in my office right now, it's got everything to do with my business." Hesitation is one of the signs of avoiding something. Like a question, some would say.

She holds her elbow close to her face with few distance apart and starts coughing.

Using the first trick in the book to get out of my question huh? She stops coughing after a while then pays attention to me. " I'm sorry, I've been coming down with the flu lately." She says, making a small smile form on her face but being the me that I am, I'm not just going to let her deflect my question away like that, so I decide to play this my way. " Oh, it's fine. Though I wouldn't want anyone catching anything from you or you getting worse so I think you should take a few days off and when you're feeling better, you and your father can come down in person and talk about this deal with me." " Oh, that's not necessary really, I'm fine and ready to move on from this conversation."

" No, really I think you should leave and once you have everything in order, please contact me." I pressed the button on my desk, calling in Lenny to escort Fiona out of my office.

I've got to say, somewhere deep down I feel a slight ounce of pity but what am I going to do about it. She blatantly kept avoiding my question and I don't do business with people who lie or avoid my concerns or questions on anything necessary. Lenny eventually came in and escorted Fiona out of my office which I thought would take forever. In the time after I called him, we were just sitting awkwardly in our seats, waiting around for years to come.

Now that I think about it, it somehow seems funny to me.

Another knock on the door and here comes Lenny with a folder in his hand.

" Sir, I was able to find a lot of information about this so-called girl you wanted me to find. Granted, the information you gave to me was poorly any good for what I needed to find so I just took a trip down to the shop myself and got some of the information I needed."

" And?"

" Her name is Freya Standers and she just moved here from New Jersey. She's twenty years old and has her masters and her law degree and she's quite popular herself."

" What do you mean?"

" While she was in New Jersey she was a lawyer who worked for this very uptight boss named, Montgomery Sawyer. Unfortunately, the law firm shut down because of the female lawyers making countless claims of the boss harassing them while they were at work and even so, stalking their houses. She moved here with her best friend, Maya Pane who works at the same shop she's working at, only she takes night shifts. Her parents are still in New Jersey and from what I discovered, they haven't talked to her since she quit her job as a lawyer and moved here to L.A."

" And you got all this information by just going to the coffee shop she works at?"

" No Sir, I just got her first name while I was kindly engaging in small talk with her but all I really needed was a name to find out the rest." He sets the folder down on my desk and walks towards the door. " Thank you, Lenny. You've done very well today." He turns around, looking at me with the widest smile possible and responds: " Thank you for the compliment, Sir. It means very much to me." And walks away.

Holding the folder in my hands, I open and see the many pictures of my angelface in a courthouse facing a judge with a silk white suit on.

Gorgeous.

Alex, what are you doing? You barely know this girl. Hopefully, I can find out why I'm so stuck on this woman before I do something I might just regret in the future.