Chapter 2 FIRST ENCOUNTER II

   "I'm looking forward to working with you Mr. Grayson." The man said as he stood up and stretched his hands towards him.

   "Same."

   Ethan also stood up receiving the man's hand for a successful deal, and he pulled his hands away from the man's grip before turning to leave. As he walked away, a man who was sitting a table away from him stood up and followed him out of the restaurant.

   "Where are we headed to Sir? Max asked staring at his boss's back.

   "To the hotel," he said not looking at the man standing behind him and max nodded.

They walked out of the restaurant to a black Bugatti la Voiture Noire and he entered the driver's seat while max walked to the black Range Rover behind his car where some other men were and both cars drove off.

.

 El arrived at the hotel and the doorman opened the door of the car for her.

   "Welcome miss," the man said still holding the door as she walked out of the car.

   "Thank you," she replied warmly, not looking at his face as she walked into the hotel, straight to the receptionist at the counter.

   "Welcome Miss Welsh," A beautiful lady greeted with a smile. "Here's your card." She held out her hand towards El, holding a card. She always kept El's card for her for the past five years she had been staying here and El was their VIP Customer.

   "Thank you," El said sweetly as she also held out her hand to receive the card, but her attention was suddenly pulled from the girl standing in front of her to her vibrating phone in her purse.

        She removed her phone from her purse and looked at the familiar number calling and she smiled as she walked away from the counter to take the call. It was Adrian.

.

   Outside the hotel, a black Bugatti la Voiture Noire with a black Range Rover at its back stopped at the front of the hotel. A figure came out and walked towards the entrance of the hotel, while four men in black came out of the other car following him at his back.

   "Welcome Sir," the doormen greeted, looking surprised as they stared at the figure walking past them with four men behind him.

      He continued moving without turning to look at them and he walked into the hotel.

   The men were speechless. They couldn't believe their eyes as they just continued staring at the back of the figure that walked past them. They had seen this man on the news on different platforms and on trending topics on the internet but never had they seen him in person.

        It was the famous Ethan Grayson, the world's most popular business tycoon, and the owner of the hotel they worked in.

   El had just finished taking the call and walked back to the receptionist. "I'll take my card now."

   "Of course Miss Welsh. Here it is," the lady handed it over to her.

       "Thank you."

      She walked to the elevator.

     Ethan walked into the hotel gracefully with the four men behind him, making people turn their heads in his direction, as they whispered amongst themselves. This was the second time he had been to the hotel after it was opened since he was rarely in the country, so this was a rare sight for them.

       He walked straight to the elevator, not minding all the attention on him, and pressed the button on the elevator but felt a soft hand under his. He paused as he stared at the little figure standing in front of him whose hand was under his. Her face was familiar and he immediately remembered where he saw the face from.

   She was the waitress from the restaurant he had dined in with his business partners before he got here. He was perplexed by her actions then and couldn't help but watched the drama until the end. And here she was again staying at one of the most expensive hotels in the country, his hotel.

        El stared at the huge figure behind her, whose hand was placed over hers, and couldn't stop staring. What caught her attention wasn't the fact that she had seen this familiar face on different platforms, but the beautiful deep blue eyes she looked into which were mesmerizing.

        For some seconds, she froze and was lost in those beautiful eyes as if hypnotized by them with her hands still under his. She felt like time stopped and the only thing that was on her mind was how beautiful they were, but she also saw something else, loneliness and she felt pity for him.

        She was brought back to reality when the elevator door sprang open and as her gaze shifted to them, he removed his hand from the elevator button and walked past her into the elevator with the men behind him. His face was calm as he stared at her shocked face nonchalantly.

   "What the f**k?" She screamed in her head, as she stared at him scornfully. What happened to 'the lady's first' in a gentleman's code? She smiled hysterically. What was she expecting? That he would offer her the opportunity of going in first? 

       After all, he was just acting like his typical self. The typical Ethan Grayson she's heard of. She had heard rumors about him being a jerk and he just proved to her that he was one. She cursed herself inwardly for thinking otherwise earlier, to the extent of even feeling sympathy for him. A jerk like him doesn't deserve one. 

   She watched him as the elevator door closed with him staring at her face. He had seen the disgust on her face as she stared at him, and was dumbfounded by that because no girl had ever done that to him. They usually drool or try to flirt with him.

      "Who is she?" He asked Max, his personal assistant who stood beside him. "She's our VIP customer, who has been staying here for five years, Sir. I believe her name is Eleanor Welsh, daughter of Mr. Antonio Welsh."

        "Antonio has a daughter?" He asked Max surprised.

        "Apparently yes, Sir. If I may ask sir, why the sudden interest?"

         The elevator door sprang open.

        "That's none of your business. Stick to your job, or I'll make sure you never speak again." He said as they walked out of the elevator to the hallway of the floor, which had only two suites; the one he Is staying in and the other one is the one El has been living in for the past five years.

       Both rooms were built and decorated in the same way, but the color of the decorations was according to personal preferences, even if they were of the same brands.

      "I don't want to be disturbed for the rest of the night," he said as they got to his room door. "Yes Sir." He swiped his card and got into his suite, closing the door behind him.

    All the furniture in the living room was the same brand and they were black, except for the twilight fog carpet which was placed at the center of the room, and the black titan Zeus television placed on a twilight fog tv stand close to a wall. The couch was placed at the left part of the room, where a glass door that revealed a swimming pool was and by the right, there was a counter with stools close to it where a wine rack with different wines placed inside was. 

       He removed his suit, dropped it on the couch, and loosened his necktie as he walked to the counter at his right and brought out an Isabella Islay whiskey with a cup. Still standing close to the counter, he poured the drink inside the cup and added ice. He gulped it in a go, before walking to the couch of his room and sitting on it with the drink and cup in his hands.