Chapter 4

 Alex's POV

Finally, the big day was here. Our years of hard work would be rewarded if Mr. Ashworth accepted our offer. If things went in our favor we would soon make it to the list of most successful people in the country.

I could imagine my father's face, he would become the happiest person on earth. Our lives will change in a single day. Today would become the greatest day in the history of Evans Co.

From what Dad told us about his friendship with the chairman's son, I'm very confident that we are going to make it work this time. I don't know. I have this feeling that whatever is going to happen today, in the end, it'll be in our favor. 

"Okay!" I clapped my hands as I exclaimed with excitement. Resting my hands on either side of the sink, I leaned and stared at my reflection in the mirror.

"Alex, whatever happens in the meeting today, in your favor or the opposite, you must not forget that you at least got the chance. You should be grateful for the opportunity you have today. You can do this."

 Stepping away from the sink, I took a deep breath and I gazed right into my honey-brown orbs.

   "I can do this." 

"Done talking to yourself?" I heard a soft chuckle from behind.

 "Yup," I said, popping the 'P' as I turned and found my beautiful girlfriend leaning on the door frame. God! She was wearing my t-shirt again.

 "The moment I saw you walking in here all dressed, I knew that you were going to do something like this," she chuckled again, walking towards me showing off her graceful short legs.

 "I still don't understand how this motivates you," she taunted, eyeing my perfectly dressed figure.

I took a long stride and captured her small figure with my arms, lifting her off the ground.

 "Hey!" She quickly grabbed my shoulders for support.

 "Honey, it's not the talking that motivates me, it's the reaction you give every time I do it. "

"Yeah, sure," she smiled playfully, rolling her eyes. "Now put me down. You'll get late for your meeting."

" I don't want to," I gazed into her bright blue eyes.

Slowly, she wrapped her arms and legs around me as I watched her with love.

She's like an angel sent from heaven only to be cherished by me. 

"Alex," her voice came out almost as a whisper as I watched her freckled cheeks turn a deeper shade of red under my gaze. 

"Hmm?"

Our face was so close I could feel her breath fanning my lips.

 "What are you doing?" Her plump lips stretched into a wide grin revealing her perfect teeth.

"Falling in love," I told her truthfully and was rewarded with the sweetest giggle right after.

"Enough. Now, put me down," she said, still laughing.

"Not when you're laughing in my arms with my shirt on."

"What do you mean?"

She brought her face closer to mine, our foreheads touching.

"You know," I whispered, still looking into her eyes.

"You tell me," she said seductively, her eyes roaming on my lips nervously.

Smirking at her reaction I slowly brought my lips close to hers, closing the distance between us. Just as my lips brushed onto her delicious ones, a distant ringing of my phone snapped us out of this lovely situation.

"Damn it," I grunted with irritation.

On the other hand, the beauty in my arms was clearly amused by the situation as she laughed at my state while throwing her head back.

"I'm not done with you yet," I warned, trying my best to glare at her.     

"Yeah, sure. Now put me down," she breathed, pushing my shoulders to be freed from my arms.

I placed my tiny girlfriend on the ground and quickly went to the bedroom to answer the call. It was Dad's so without wasting a heartbeat, I answered the call.

"Gosh! Alex, are you still in bed?!" roared my Dad from the other side.

"I was in the shower. Did something happen?" 

"No— I mean, yes," he released a sigh.

"There is a change of plan— You can drive directly to the Ashworth Tower. Ryan and I have to stop by our office to collect some documents. We'll meet you at the A.T."

"Sure. And?"

 "And don't be late, Alex. I'm begging you on this one. Don't. Be. Late."

"Dad,"

Kate raised her brows at me as the hint of frustration and annoyance slipped in my tone. I shook my head at her.

"Don't worry, I'll be there on time. I promise."

He sighed again, "Fine. See you then."

 The call ended.

I rolled my eyes looking at all the 7 missed calls from Ryan and 2 from Dad. I threw my phone on the bed.

"What happened?" I heard Kate, she was standing behind me the whole time.

 "Nothing, just usual bickering," I told her, grabbing my suit jacket from the bed.

"So? Are you nervous?" she asked, helping me with the jacket.

"I am, slightly." 

"Slightly?" she raised her brows.

"Well, I'm more worried than nervous," I stated, putting on my watch.

"Why?"

"If for any reason Mr. Ashworth refuses to work with us, our years of hard work would go down the drain. And we don't have any backup plan. If this plan fails, we have no other plan."

"What?!" she exclaimed, her eyebrows touching her hairline. "How could you do that?"

"Apparently, Dad is very confident about this project. He never considered the other possibility. According to him, that's never going to happen."

"What about Ryan? What does he think?"

"Same," I answered, walking towards my study desk.

"How can you be so calm about it, Alex? It's a very serious matter."

"I know, darling," I turned to her.

"And who said I'm calm about it. I just cannot allow myself to show my true feelings."

Her lips turned into a smile, " And, why's that?"

"I can't snatch away their happiness, their faith from them, Kate. I'm not that cruel," I shrugged. "I've never seen my Dad have so much faith in something. If he believes it's going to work then I believe in him." 

"You're a great son, Alex," I was pulled in a hug by my sweetheart.

"I know," I nodded, resting my head on hers. "But, I think I should go now or I will be killed by your future father-in-law."

She instantly let go of me.

 "You're going to talk about us?" she blurted joyfully. Her cheeks in a deep shade of red. "When? Today? Tomorrow? When? Tell me!"

"It's a secret," I announced as I went back to my desk.

"LEXI!!" she whined, stomping her feet on the floor.   

I grabbed my laptop and all the important documents from the table and shoved them into my leather bag, completely ignoring her behind me.

"I'm sorry, darling, it's a secret."

 I quickly checked if I had everything I needed, then picked up my bag and turned only to find her looking at me with puppy dog eyes. Almost instantly I covered my eyes with my left hand.

"Stop it, Kate. I'm not going to tell you," I told her sternly this time. My hand was still covering my eyes.

I could not let her win like that. She could not use my biggest weakness against me.

"Lexi…"

"I'm getting late, Kate. I'm leaving," I said walking past her. I had just enough gap between my fingers to get out of the room without getting bumped into anything.

I was already in the living room when two arms came out of nowhere and wrapped around my waist.

"Fine, I won't ask you. But remember, I'm always by your side. And, good luck for the meeting."

I turned and kissed her forehead, "Thanks, my love," I whispered.

"Come on now, you're getting late," she reminded me, gently pushing away.

She walked me to the door and after kissing her goodbye I left the place.

Reaching the Ashworth Tower was a complicated hour and a half long drive where I did my best at focusing on the road and pushing all the possibilities of failing aside.  And it all vanished the moment the golden letters of the Ashworth Ent. came into view, I was hardly a few miles away from the skyscraper.

Ashworth Ent. A place where everyone wishes to work at least once in their lifetime. The corners of my lips stretched into a big smile and I stepped on the gas pedal.

I arrived at the Ashworth Tower thirty minutes before the time and was not too surprised to see Dad and Ryan already present. They have a serious belief in punctuality.   

And truth to be told, this place was magic. I've not seen such a wonderful workplace before. Ashworth Enterprises is known for its world-class work culture and environment. And this enormous and spectacular building known as the Ashworth Tower is its headquarters. This is the place where the dreams of millions come true every day. Today, hopefully, ours too.

Right now, we were in the lounge waiting for Mr. Ashworth's Secretary to escort us. I must say my heart could jump out of my chest at any moment. I could feel my feet getting sweaty inside my shoes. My hands were ice cold and I felt like a pendulum swinging between nervousness and excitement.

I was fine when I was with Kate or in the car but all my emotions were magnified now that I was finally face to face with the situation.

When I looked at Ryan, I knew his emotions matched mine but he managed to distract himself by talking about random things. Dad, on the other hand, was beaming with happiness and as the time got near his eyes sparkled even more with excitement.

"Dad," I whispered leaning in, "What if—"

"Alex, no stupid questions," I was cut off by my brother who was sitting next to our father.

Instead of completing my question, I just stared at our father anxiously hoping that he would understand the unspoken possibility in my head. 

"Alex," he smiled warmly and held my shoulder comfortingly. "Ryan," he smiled at him. "Boys, trust me. We will not fail. We've worked hard for this. So, relax, okay? Ryan? We will not fail. There's no room for failure. Understand? So, relax." 

"Thanks, Dad."

"Alex?"

I smiled. I loved his confidence. His words somewhat relieved my anxiety. And not just mine Ryan's too. He visibly relaxed and looked as if he could finally breathe.

Right then, I saw a man around my brother's age dressed in a navy suit approaching us. From my peripheral vision, I could see Dad's lips already stretching into a smile.   

"Good morning, gentlemen," greeted the guy in a navy suit. "I'm Raymond, Mr. Ashworth's secretary, and I'm here to escort you."

"I know, Raymond, and thank you," Dad appreciated and the guy led the way for us.

The walk from the lounge to the Chairman's office was mesmerizing. The corridor that led to Mr. Ashworth's office was mostly brightened by the natural light penetrating from the glass wall that covered most parts of the building. The interior of this place was beyond explanation. It was elegant, classy and sophisticated yet modern, casual and minimalistic at the same time. The color combinations for the walls and furniture were so clean that no matter how depressed you enter the place, a single look around could make you feel motivated and energised again.

When my mind came back to where we were now, I found ourselves in front of a door whose brass nameplate read:

George F Ashworth

 Chairman

We were about to walk into the Chairman's office. The anxiety that was distracted by Dad's words and the beautiful interior came right back like a boomerang. This was not the first time I was attending a business meeting and trust me I've never been so pessimistic about any of them before; however, there was something about this project that deep down just doesn't feel right to me since the very beginning.   

"Alex?" my brother yelled at me in a whisper, noticing that I was busy with my thoughts.

I looked at him and found him already staring at me, surprisingly with a look of worry.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

I nodded as an answer.

Raymond and Dad had already entered the room.

"It'll work," Ryan whispered to me with a short tap on my shoulder and followed others.

"Don't worry. It'll work," encouraged the voice in my head and I stepped into the room.