1 Chapter 1: Andrew Valencian

Andrew's Point of View:

"Try harder, Smith. This is not a game," I said to the man in front of me, who immediately nodded and then left my cabin. A deep breath left my mouth as I looked through the documents kept in front of me. Flicking through every single detail was boring and almost tiring, but it seemed like my men were highly incapable.

Suddenly the door flew open and my eyes went up.

Uh, what was her name again?

"Andrew!" She said, her voice agitated. God, I should remember her name, right?

"Yes, E–Emma," I took a leap of faith from the numerous names in my mind, and she scoffed. "Oh so you remember me?" She asked as she came over to my side.

Not really.

"What's the matter?" I shifted my eyes to the document again.

"What's—are you for real?"

I finally shut the file and looked at her. "Yes. I exist. Hard to believe because I'm so perfect, but what can I do? I can't deal with everyone having an existential crisis in my presence."

She scoffed again, this time almost judgmentally. "You're perfect? You left this morning without any note, you didn't give me your number and you didn't care enough to reach out to me either. What the hell should I make of that?"

"You clearly don't know since you came all the way here," I commented. "It was a one-night stand, Emma. Get over it."

"Get. Over. It!?" She shouted and I rolled my eyes.

"Did I say it would be anything more than that?" I tried to reason with her. "You meet me at a club. I ask you for a good time. You're as eager as the next woman. We go to your place. The end of the story. Now where in that did I promise to give you anything?"

She shook her head. "You're unbelievable."

"Thank you. Now if you'll excuse me, I actually have some work." As I was about to open the file again, she took it from my desk. I chuckled. "Give it back, Emma. It's not something you want to play with."

"Really? What is it?" She backed away and opened the file.

"That's it. I'm calling security." I said, not wanting her to cause any more trouble. I pressed a button on my table and three men came in.

"Please escort this woman out. And take the document from her hand and give it to me," I said to them and they easily snatched it from her.

She looked at me just before they were taking her out. "I should've known it."

I smirked, however, not knowing what she was talking about. "Aren't you smart."

She couldn't say another word and was dragged out. I sat down and continued working, shrugging thoughts about her. I was reading up on important files about the past of Valencian Corporation, studying all of their past incentives and its performances.

My phone rang, disturbing me once again. A smile played on my lips seeing the name 'Mom'.

"Hey, mom," I said as I picked up.

"Andrew. It's nice you still pick up my calls," She joked. "It's been two weeks. Come visit sometime."

"Ah, I'm just flooded with work. I'm still catching up on last week's," I told her and exhaled. "But you're right. Know what? I'll visit tonight. Is dad home?"

"Yes, he's here. He also wants to meet you."

"Great. Make sure Autumn's there."

"I'll have to ask her, Drew. You know she barely comes home."

"Okay. Just ask." I insisted. "See you later."

"Bye," She said and I hung up the call. Autumn was my little sister and she, well, as most pre-teens are, was kinda hard to get a hold of. Due to her raging need for getting freedom and being independent, she wanted to join a boarding school and my parents agreed after long discussions.

I closed the files and decided to take the flight back home.

______________

"Welcome back to New York, Mr. Valencian," I was greeted by the head of my security and the NYC branch manager as I got off the plane and I passed on a subtle smile.

The branch manager started walking with me and I exhaled. "How's everything in the company?" I folded my sleeves up and asked.

"Everything is perfect, boss. However, Ms. Lilith still wants to talk to you."

"Yeah, well, ask her to get an appointment," I stopped as we reached my car and looked at him. "Be serious, Liam. I don't want her to be the reason I fire you."

He gulped and nodded slowly. "Have a nice time, boss," He wished as I sat down and started driving to my place. Mom has asked me to get a driver a million times, but how could someone leave the thrill of driving behind?

I raced up to 100 miles per hour and soon parked it in front of my parents' penthouse. The security greeted me once again as I walked in.

"Mr. Andrew!" The receptionist walked up to me and gave me a sweet smile. She was a sweet lady in her early 40s. Beautiful, even.

"Sarah. Nice to know you haven't forgotten about me." I said and she chuckled.

"I've watched you grow up. I can't ever forget you," She commented as she handed me a gold card, reminding me to keep the bad thoughts at bay. "I hope you stay for a while this time."

"Ah, you know. Work and all. I'll be leaving tomorrow."

She gave me a sad smile. "Well, if you need anything, I'm just a call away."

I nodded as I walked to the elevator and took the lift to the penthouse. After taking a deep breath, I entered inside.

Mom stood up as she saw me, her face brightening up. "Andrew!" She called out as she came to hug me. I gave her a strong hug and looked at my dad sitting on the couch. He stood up too as I walked over to him, tearing away from my mom.

"Hello, dad," I said in a respectful tone and gave him a side hug.

"You know, I still used to make time for your mother when I was the CEO. You should come back more often."

I smiled as we all sat down. "Autumn's not here, is she?"

"I swear, nothing happens right here without me," I heard a pretty voice and turned around to see her standing with a mischievous smile on her face.

I chuckled. "You made it."

"Of course. You come back once a month." She said as she sat down beside me. "I bought you something."

"Really?" I said and looked at mom who gave me a small laugh.

"Here," She handed me a rose. "You should wear that on your suit. In the pocket," She pointed out and I chuckled. "Sure," I replied and kept it.

We spend some time together just talking about random things. I could see how the relationship between my mom and dad has improved over the years, and that pleased me. That was, till they asked me to talk to them in private.

"We've been thinking about this for a while, Andrew," Mom said after we were now sitting in a rather tense atmosphere. Autumn went to her room for some work.

I sat back and exhaled. "Just say it, mom. What's wrong?"

"You're almost 19 years old now. We've never bothered you with this but now it is time we asked you about it."

I raised my eyebrow to let them continue.

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

Their question made me laugh out loud, but then I realised they were serious.

"That was the important thing you wanted to talk about?" I asked, still laughing. "Mom. I'm working hard. The Valencian Empire is too big for someone who's never handled a business before. I don't have time for things like that."

"But you do have time for things like these?" Dad spoke up and handed me a file. I opened it and there were photos of me and different women checking into hotels and other resorts. There were at least 9 of them.

"So you have cameras following me?" I asked and looked at him.

"Me? No. The world, sure." He stood up and I did too. "Andrew, your life was yours before you became the CEO. Now if you go around and do things like that, all the other companies need is the truth and you're serving it on a platter."

I shook my head. "I'm doing pretty good, dad. I don't need lessons on this."

Mom stood up too. "You have to stop sneaking around like that, Drew."

"This was the reason you called me here?" I asked, and chuckled. Call me crazy, but I really didn't need love lessons from someone like my parents. My memory of when I was young was still alive and well.

"No. I am." A female voice resounded in the room and I turned around.