Antony chose to fold his hands in front of his chest. Suddenly, he felt irritated but also empty at the same time.
Who is that girl? He asked himself, curious. His mischievous thoughts somehow surfaced spontaneously. It seemed he had to find out who she was. And he had to get the information. Not now, but later. A promise he made to himself. Because right now, there's still a lot of work to be done.
The elevator then stopped on the nineteenth floor. Antony walked out of the elevator, ignoring Anastasia calling his name. Let the woman handle her own affairs because Antony had already decided to terminate his contract with her, no matter if he had to pay a penalty. There was someone else he wanted to pursue right now, and it wasn't Anastasia.
Antony entered his own office, the largest and most luxurious room on the floor. Not because he had a penchant for luxury, but once again, it was all about maintaining his image as the CEO of the company. His secretary opened the door after informing him that Altezza, his cousin and COO, was already there waiting for him. The tall man was standing and chatting with Antony's personal assistant, Ruben. Both turned simultaneously upon seeing Antony's arrival, accompanied by Anastasia.
Altezza raised an eyebrow meaningfully, but Antony didn't care at all. He chose to keep walking and sat in his throne-like chair. Altezza took a seat on the leather sofa, followed by Anastasia, who sat facing him. Meanwhile, Ruben followed Antony and stood alert beside him, handing him documents containing a summary of the meeting they would have today. "Everyone is already gathered, Sir. Just waiting for your arrival to start it," Ruben said without preamble.
Yes, today there was a general meeting involving all the representatives from the company's branches. It was a routine meeting, actually, just reporting on the company's performance and employees every quarter. It could be done without his presence, but Antony had to attend it because it was part of his responsibility as the company owner.
Antony looked at Altezza, who nodded understandingly, recognizing that Antony needed time to read the summary. About ten minutes later, Antony closed his document and stood up. Altezza rose as well, leading the way out of Antony's office. Only after that did Antony and Ruben follow him from behind. They walked together toward the elevator that would take them to the fifteenth floor, where the meeting would take place.
Right as the elevator doors opened, Antony saw the girl in the black shirt chatting with his receptionist. When she turned around, he heard Altezza greeting her warmly, surprising Antony that his cousin apparently knew the girl he was interested in pursuing.
"You guys seem really close. Known each other for a long time?" He tried to ask with a flat tone. However, seeing his cousin's thin smile, he was sure Altezza had something else on his mind.
Stupid. He cursed in his mind. Altezza was playing with him. Since earlier. And why didn't he realize his cousin's behavior? Antony cursed silently.
"Not bad," he answered ambiguously. As if intentionally making Antony curious. And he was curious indeed. If there were no meetings waiting for them, he was sure Altezza would tease him even more.
The next three hours were tough. Several problems arose in various branches. And after finding solutions, the meeting was adjourned.
Shelly. That's the name Antony heard earlier when Altezza and Claire were talking. Antony glanced at the woman in her mid-40s who was discussing with their financial director, Roland.
The financial manager of the Kansas branch had been working for the company for quite some time. One of the few employees who had been there since Coskun Company was founded. And she was also one of his father's confidantes, just like Mr. Roland.
As far as Antony knew, the woman with the cynical face had been asked to move to the headquarters by Antony's father but refused because she preferred to stay with her small family in Kansas.
Yes, Coskun Company was initially founded in Kansas. But with the growth of their business and the expansion of their network, the headquarters were eventually moved to Manhattan. In the office they currently occupied. The office he currently led.
And the Kansas office became one of the main branches owned by Coskun Company, along with other branches in several major cities in America.
"Mr. Quirino," she greeted him warmly. Antony welcomed her handshake and shook it firmly. "I hope you're always in good health."
"Thank you," Antony replied. "I hope you and your family are always well," he added politely.
"Visit the Kansas branch occasionally. Honestly, I'm tired of having to see Sir Altezza's face all the time," she said loudly enough for Altezza, who was still standing faithfully beside him, to hear.
"Don't be like that, Mrs. Shelly. If he comes to the Kansas branch, I'll lose my charm there," Altezza replied with a sulky tone. Roland, Shelly, and a few others still present could only chuckle at his words. "Let me be the one who visits there often. He can just sit pretty and review the reports," he continued with a pleading look.
"Alright, alright. Here you're the boss, Sir," Shelly replied with a playful smile. "But with one condition."
"What is it?"
"Don't keep persuading Claire to be your personal driver. Honestly, I really need her," she gently warned. Antony heard Altezza's distinctive laughter in his ears.
"Alright, alright. No matter how hard I try, she always rejects my proposals, Mrs. Shelly," Altezza replied seriously, lifting both hands in a gesture of surrender.
"It's hard to find an employee who can match my character. I could let her go if I find a suitable replacement," Shelly continued.
Antony knew Shelly wasn't one to give compliments easily. If words of praise like that came from her, then that's how it was. And that made Claire even more intriguing in his mind.
"I excuse myself; my driver has been waiting for too long," she said, shaking hands with Altezza again and finally shaking hands with Antony. "I truly look forward to your visit, Sir," she said at the end of her statement. Antony just nodded in response.
The classroom was starting to empty as some of its occupants had already gone to the cafeteria for lunch. Abigail remained seated at her desk with an open book on the table, lamenting the math grade she had just received."Darn it!" the teenager muttered with a hiss.Her friend sitting beside her glanced over from the corner of her eye. "Bad again?" she asked, grinning teasingly.Abigail turned to the face of the beautiful Italian-descendant girl and then squinted. "Are you satisfied because I got a lower grade? Are you satisfied because you can mock me as you please?" she retorted, annoyed.Flavia, the golden-eyed, pretty girl nodded happily. "At least I know there's something an Abigail can't do. And that's math," she chuckled gleefully. Once again, Abigail just squinted. "Abby," she called."Hmm..." Abigail replied as she put her book back into her light blue backpack."My grandparents invited me to spend the weekend in Manhattan. Do you want to come?" she asked, pouting playfully.
KansasMonday came around again. But for some reason, this Monday wasn't like the usual Mondays filled with sour faces and a bit of grumbling from the employees feeling bored with the routine. This Monday seemed more chaotic. Claire, walking in from the front door, already noticed how the office boys and cleaning services team were bustling around with their tools in hand. And not only that, even the security guards seemed busy cleaning their guard posts.Claire ignored them and continued walking towards her office. And it turned out, it was just as chaotic in there. Claire placed her bag in the designated drawer under her desk and glanced at Bella with confusion. "What's going on?" she whispered to her friend. Her eyes scanned the room, observing her colleagues busy sprucing themselves up.Bella looked back at Claire with an incredulous look. "You don't know?" Bella asked Claire, who responded with a raised eyebrow. She looked back at Bella with a puzzled expression. "The owner of Co
"So, what's your position at Coskun Company?" Claire looked lazily at the man sitting across from her. His name was Erick, the son of one of her mother's social circle friends.At first glance, Erick was quite handsome. He had a tall stature, fair and clean skin. His face was free of acne or any scars, which Claire suspected was the result of regular visits to a beauty salon. His clothing also hinted at affluence.Of course, Claire's mother mentioned that Erick's father was a diamond entrepreneur, making him undeniably wealthy. On a scale of one to ten, Claire rated him a nine based on appearances alone.However, that was just the external assessment. For the past half hour, Erick hadn't stopped talking about himself and his family, boasting but consistently belittling others. He commented on every person who entered his field of vision, offering unnecessary judgments and excessive self-praise. Now, it seemed he was evaluating Claire.If it weren't for the need to uphold her mother's
"Where are you?" The loud shout made Claire wince. She wanted to move the phone away from her ear, but upon seeing the flat square object on the bathroom sink, Claire realized she had a Bluetooth headset in her ear."Why? Missing me?" Claire retorted, waving her hand gently to reduce the water on her hands before placing it under the hand dryer."Missing your fleas! Damn it!" The girl on the other end snorted. "Where are you now? Don't tell me you're in the restroom!""Do you have a GPS on me, or are you monitoring me from your favorite basin?" Claire chuckled. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror, adjusting her hair before grabbing her phone and leaving the restroom."Say whatever you want. Just tell me where you are. It's Monday, Claire. Are you heartless enough not to go to work and add to my workload? Just last weekend, I praised you, and now you're burdening me with all this?" Her friend complained again. Whether she liked it or not, Claire couldn't help but laugh."Sorry,
"Can I help you with something?" greeted a woman whom Claire was sure was the receptionist for that floor."Where's the meeting room?" Claire asked after shaking her head a few times to clear her mind of inappropriate thoughts."Are you from the branch office?" the receptionist asked again. Claire nodded affirmatively. "Please go straight ahead, pass through two doors. The meeting for all branches is in the third door." Claire nodded in understanding and followed the instructions from the receptionist named Selin.The first room she passed had thick transparent glass walls. Inside, people were engaged in serious discussions—clearly an internal division meeting. She continued walking while observing. The second room also had thick transparent glass walls with an oval-shaped table inside, but this one appeared empty.While the third door had black-tinted glass, probably the type that allows one to see outside but remains opaque from the outside. Claire forgot what it's called.She knock
Antony was taken aback when he stepped out of his apartment lobby and found a beautiful woman in a sexy red dress waiting for him. The stunning model, currently serving as the brand ambassador for his company, waved her hand adorned with expensive diamonds and greeted him with her signature smile. Instead of returning the smile, Antony gave her a sharp look.Lately, this woman had been crossing boundaries, much to Antony's annoyance. Despite explicitly instructing her not to invade his private space, Anastasia seemed far more stubborn than he had anticipated. Should he instruct his apartment security to blacklist her as a visitor? Of course, he could do that; he paid handsomely for their services."What are you doing here?" Antony asked flatly."Today, I'll be signing a new contract with Coskun Company. So, why don't we go together?" The woman inquired with a teasing manner. Antony merely raised an eyebrow and, without saying much, walked away, leaving her behind.His chauffeur was al