LOVE AND LUST

Leila Baker hadn’t set foot in New York in three years. She had left with the certainty of never returning, yet here she was, sitting stiffly at the back of her car, She stared out the window, the city had changed since she had last been there. The car came to an abrupt stop in front of Julius & Myres consulting company.A company that once belonged to someone she used to know. Someone who had once mattered. Someone she had vowed to forget. The place looked so different from what she remembered. It was her revenge that fueled her to return and she was going to do all it take. She was lost in thought until a voice interrupted.

“Miss Leila, should I drop you off here”. Her driver politely asked.

“Yes, thank you. Take the car to the parking lot and meet me here in forty five minutes, I won’t be long”

Leila stepped out of the car and stepped into the building, her stiletto heels clicking against the pavement as she smoothed down the crisp lines of her tailored black dress.

As she went through the reception down to the elevator, nobody noticed her. That was her super power, one she had managed to gain over the years, the power of invisibility.

She made her way to the elevator, pressed the button for the top floor, and waited. She stepped out and opened the mahogany door that led to the Conference room.

Executives sat in neatly arranged chairs, the far end of the room, a chair awaited her, one labeled with her name. Without a word, Leila made her way to it, removing her gloves but keeping her sunglasses on.

“Sorry for keeping you all waiting! We can start now” She said.

A man to her left cleared his throat before speaking “Alright Miss Baker, We organized this meeting to discuss with you about the sudden takeover of this company. We know you’re capable but right now, the company needs to focus on other things and definitely not rebranding. I’m not sure if you understand what I mean ma’am”

She recognized the man that spoke as Armstrong. Leila had to bite her lips to keep her from giggling. Armstrong was her former boss and it was sweet now that the tables had turned. He genuinely looked scared of her. But they had every reason to be scared, it was not a secret that she has been taking over companies and even the business news mentioned her name often. LEILA BAKER TAKES ANOTHER COMPANY, BUSINESS MOGUL: LEILA BAKER HAS STRUCK AGAIN. The headlines were different everytime, the recently published one was; LEILA BAKER IS BACK IN NEW YORK AGAIN: ANOTHER TAKEOVER?.

She cleared her throat. She scanned the room with her eyes, Gavin was nowhere to be found. Gavin, Gavin Hasters. The only man that managed to make her weak and vulnerable. That was her past and nothing was going to stop her from making his life miserable, starting with his company. That was all that mattered to him anyways

“Ma’am?” Armstrong gently called.

That was enough to bring her back to reality. Leila removed her sunglasses and set it on the conference table.

“I did not come here today to negotiate. I came here to finalize and I noticed the president of the company is not present at this meeting. I’m not a wicked person. I’ll be coming frequently and doing check-in. I’m not here to ruin things. I’m a major shareholder in this company and I have the power to make decisions. I’m not a rash person so we can reschedule a meeting. One with the president present”

A deep voice spoke up from the distance. “No need, I’m here. Let’s start”

Leila’s breath hitched as she looked at him. He was still perfect, That’s when she realized the bitter truth. She was nowhere close to forgetting Gavin Hasters.