3 Chapter 2

Ryan P.O.V.

Waking up in the mornings was the thing I hated the most and that also with the massive hangover. I groaned as the loud sound of ringing started echoing in the room making me awake. I felt like my head was going to explode anytime because of the heaviness but unfortunately that stupid sound was coming from my own phone. I was laying on my stomach with one leg dangling down in the air. I shifted on my bed and groaning, I took the phone in my hands and without seeing who was at the other end, I said "Hello." groggily.

"Good Morning, Mr. Hernandez," Rowan said at the other side with sarcasm and amusement dripping in his voice.

"Why am I detecting sarcasm and amusement in your voice this early in the morning?" I asked sleepily with my eyes still closed. "Well –for amusement, I should inform you that mom would be waiting for you at breakfast with the information of you being drunk last night." He told making me groan in annoyance.

"And as for sarcasm, your good morning is not good anymore as it's 9:40. So get your ass here in 20 minutes for the meeting with Andersons. Ring any bell?" He added making me shot up from my bed.

"Yeah of course I remember the meeting. I am on my way. Be prepared." I said and hung up, not wanting him to laugh at my lie and have the satisfaction of being always right. I ran towards the bathroom to take the quickest shower, stumbling in between the blanket on my way. After the shower, I got dressed in a pair of blue jeans, a white t-shirt, and a black leather jacket. Spraying some perfume on myself, I made my way towards the main door as I combed my hair with my fingers, trying to make myself look presentable and as I was about to get near the main door, I heard my mom yelling at me;

"Ryan. Get yourself back here and eat your breakfast."

"Mom. I am getting late." I shouted back at her, whining.

"So, it's not my fault that you came home late last night –drunk." She said, emphasizing the word drunk as she wiped her hands with the tissue paper and leaned on the doorway of the kitchen, crossing her arms and glaring at me, making her look more beautiful with attitude than she already was.

"Why did that dipshit Rowan even thought of coming here? I will kill him." I said groaning as I was getting late and my headache was being more aggressive on me.

"Watch your words, young man. Don't call him that. Next time you better watch yourself before getting drunk but for now, just eat your breakfast to help with your hangover and you will be free to go." She said making me roll my eyes at her as she took Rowan's side as always. But the look on her face told me that she wouldn't budge unless I listen to her. I huffed in annoyance and took long strides towards the kitchen.

French toasts, scrambled eggs, sandwiches, casserole, and few more things were all set on the table but I grabbed the glass of orange juice and drank it all in big gulps, then I picked a sandwich and ran out of the house but not before kissing my mom on her cheeks and hearing a chuckle from my dad who was busy reading the newspaper on the table, not bothered by our bickering.

My mom was the best person in my life. Humble, generous, caring, kind, patient, and on the top, intimidating, even with her smile. She was my role model. I grew up wanting to be like her, and she made me the person I am today, and according to her, Dad handing over the business to me was the best thing that happened to me as it would keep me from dating, as she always quoted, bimbo girls.

Getting out of the house, I jumped on my bike, wore the helmet, and sped off to my office. My office was not far from my parent's house; it was just a 15 minutes ride so I didn't feel like taking a car for such a short ride and I also needed some fresh air to get rid of my hangover.

After exactly 15 minutes, I was in front of my office. Getting off of my bike, I tossed my bike keys towards my guard and ran towards the conference room. On my way my employees greeted me but I was too late to even greet them back. Upon reaching the room, the door was already open so I got inside without making a noise.

There I saw Rowan sitting on the chair and looking intensely at the girl who was rolling her eyes at him, sitting opposite to him. Another girl was sitting beside her, looking outside the window while her fingers were lightly tapping against the glass table. From her back I could only see her hair which was of chocolate color--almost the color of black, shining brightly under the sunlight coming from the window but I could also sense the authoritative vibes radiating off her.

There was a strange silence in the room and no one seemed to notice me so I cleared my throat to make my presence obvious. Everyone turned to me and then all stood up.

"Ryan, she is Miss Claire Anderson and her assistant Alana Williams." Rowan introduced us as we shook hands.

"So good to finally have you here Mr. Hernandez. We were waiting for you." Claire commented, too calmly but the sarcasm was obvious in her tone. She was staring at me with anger-filled eyes and her demeanor looked so authoritative, radiating murderous vibes off her. 'Why she is so angry? I am just 20 minutes late'. I thought to myself.

"It's nice to meet you too. Shall we start?" I asked, smiling hesitantly.

"Of Course." She said with a smile too large to be real.

"Ok. Then let's get started" I said while taking a seat on my chair as she started opening her files and started presented her ideas.

During the meeting, I was truly amazed by her. Her ideas, her passion, her style of representing everything was just screaming elegance. She was not nervous, not even the slightest but was so confident of everything she was saying. Explaining and clearing every point as a professional confirming that it was right of me to decide to invest in their work, and by investing I will be the 55 percent owner of the shareholders. And her voice, -- it was flat but demanding attention, -- soft like cotton but authoritative and intimidating at the same time.

The meeting was about an old hotel which she bought and wanted to renovate in vintage style with a modern architect. She showed different styles to decorate the hotel in slides with the addition of restaurants and casinos in different sections. The rest of the meeting went well and at last it finally the time to sign the contract.

"Are you sure you want to sign the contract in the first meeting?" Claire asked cautiously.

"Yes. We already know about your company, we have listened to your presentation and I really like the ideas you gave. So why waste another week when we know we are going to sign eventually." I replied while going through the papers, signing them at last, and putting them towards her. She looked at me strangely before looking back at the papers and sighed deeply before signing them.

"Congratulations. I will have Rowan delivered a soft copy of this contract at your office by tomorrow." I said.

She nodded. "I have been working on this project for five months and it's halfway. So don't you think we should start our work early, the better?" She suggested.

"Anytime is good with me. Next week I guess -- and I assume I will have my room ready in your office, no?" I asked cocking my head to the side. "Yes, I will have your office arranged there." She answered with no emotions on her face at all. She looked at her wristwatch and looked back at me. "Well... Now, I should get going. It's getting late." She said while getting up from her chair.

"It was nice meeting you, Ms. Anderson. I really look forward to this project being a success." I said with a smile and shook hands with her.

"Yeah, me too, and thank you for your cooperation." She said and after giving me a brief nod she went out of the room while I stared at her retreating figure.

"I didn't really expect you to sign the contract this soon. I mean you are practically the new owner of her company now and she was really cool about it." I heard Rowan commenting from beside me. "You listened to her presentation, right? That was great, and I can tell that this work will be blown up, and as for buying the shares, her company was going at loss completely, and the condition is up for her, she can repurchase her shares when the company is stable as long she let me have at least 25 percent." I replied.

"You are really planning on getting in the different business lines as well," he stated. I nodded "That's the plan but we will see how it goes."

He bobbed his head in understanding but then I suddenly remembered something. I looked at him with my eyes narrowed. "Well, you tell me. Why did you bring me to parent's house when you knew I was drunk?" I asked calmly to which he had the audacity to smirk at me.

"You know it was payback time for telling mom about Rosalie. I had to deal with her wedding excitement for a week until I lied about breaking up and then again had to listen to her tantrums for not getting married." He replied as his smirk turned into a scowl making me laugh but his glare was enough to make me put my hands up in surrender.

"I am going. Got a ton of work to do unlike you, lazy dimwit." He huffed and walked out of the room.

I sat there for some time, looking at the busy roads of New York until I got myself together and got up to go finish the paperwork. Little did I know and this meeting would not leave my life the same. It will bring both the worst and best out of me. 'So let's just wait for the next week.' I whispered to myself.

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