Chapter 1

LIZA POV

The shiny white Mercedes C Class paused in its swift movement when the traffic light turned red, opening the way for the cars on the opposite side of the road to whoosh passed by, clearing the heavy morning rush and traffic of the early Wednesday morning.

I looked at my wristwatch which signaled that it was a little before 8 o’clock. Always be punctual! 

I smiled to myself and stared outside as the light turned green, and the engine woke up again as the driver swerved that car through the morning heavy morning traffic. He took a swift turn to the left and I adjusted my posture in my seat to get a clearer view of what came next!

Here it comes...

A big smile stretched on my lips when the giant, skyscraping reflective glass building came to sight, the ones beside it leaving room for it to reign freely. Standing 1,100-foot and 73 floors from the ground, CGC Building was the tallest and most majestic building located right at the heart of the golden city, Los Angeles. And man was it breathtaking!

My eyes stayed locked on it as I took a good minute to admire it, up until the car pulled right beside it and the door on my right was opened. I dropped the smile and put on the professional face, then fixed my suit coat and stepped outside.

The glass doors slit open, divulging the classic, world-class, opulent interior one could ever think of. The two people who were standing stoic by the door walked towards me and one in a little pencil skirt passed me the tablet.

“Good morning President Forbes.”

“Greetings President Forbes.”

“Have a lovely morning President Forbes.”

The warm greetings were called as I walked towards the executive elevator with the two ‘people’ occupying my sides like guard dogs.

“Good morning everyone. Have a lovely and productive day!” I called out and slit into the awaiting private elevator.

You might wonder why I was the one who answered.

Well, you'll find out later!

The elevators slit open and I walked out heading straight for my office which was on the 72nd floor. I plopped myself behind the big marble white desk and listened to my assistant, Gail, as she went over my schedule for tonight.

“We have 4 meetings before lunchtime and a photoshoot at 2 for the new product line. Your schedule will be cleared by 5 and you can go back and feed your baby.” She mentioned as I quickly whisked a freshly brewed cup of coffee and took a small sip, letting the bitter taste of nicely brewed coffee beans and highly concentrated caffeine work wonders on me. Nothing better than a hot cup of coffee in the morning.

“Four meetings?” I asked staring at my assistant, who was, in case you didn’t know, a lovely woman standing 5 ft. 5 above the ground, very ample with perfect curves and dips all in the rightful place. Her shoulder-length blonde bob cut framed her square face, highlighting her feminine jawline making her high cheekbones just pop out, her brown eyes sparkling behind her long, thick lashes that I envied so much. She was a perfect woman in all ways possible. Loving, kind, and just so caring. And the fun fact, she was my lifetime partner!

“08:45 you will be down in Glow Farms, marketing department. The agenda is on your desk as well as the last meeting’s minutes. At 09:30 you will be in the E-finance department for the budget of the Balu Project. At 11:10, you will be in Express Miles for the conference video call with the new supplier. They have the new lorries in store and would like you to have a look at them. And lastly, at 11:50, you will be in La Drobe to discuss the spring/summer collection launch!” She said finally and smacked her lips while she looked up at me. That didn't sound bad for a Wednesday!

I heaved out a small sigh and closed my eyes, leaning further into my seat.

“The conference call is 40 minutes long?” I inquired with my eyes still closed shut,

“Yes, President.” She said with a light glee in her voice.

“Get Alex to take care of it. I won’t be available.” I announced and opened my eyes to find her grinning at me, I bunched my brows at her and she just shrugged and began typing on her tablet.

“Done! Anything else?” I shook my head and pulled out the agenda files on my desk, took a good look at them.

“Okay! I’ll go have my own coffee then. 15 minutes before we go down to Glow Farms.” She informed and turned to leave the 0ffice when her phone began vibrating in her pocket. She fished it out of her pocket and abruptly turned to face me.

“What?” I asked when she ran to my desk and handed it to me. I looked at the caller and smiled to myself before swiping it and answering the call.

“Liza, why aren’t you answering your phone?” My mother’s voice boomed in the speaker as she yelled at me. The only thing that my mother mastered in this world was screaming at me at least every second of my life, but God knows I loved that woman to bits!

“Sorry moms. It’s on silent mode. I didn’t know you were calling. What’s up?” I couldn’t help but grin wider when she went ahead by screaming at my sisters at the back before focusing on me again. She was a handful.

“Remember I set up your tinder profile with Gail that time? Guess what, I found this amazing young man and I swear…”

“Mom, please! We have gone over this at least a million times now. You know that it’s not going to end well.” I said and rolled my eyes, then threw Gail a stink eye as she snorted out her laughter.

“I know baby girl! I know. But this young man is different. You are going to like him. He is 30, and he is an assistant nurse at this hospital He is so decent Liza. You should give him a chance.” She said almost begging me. I slumped even further into my seat and thought hard.

“But you know that I don’t want to right?” 

“I know. But you are already 27 and you have no man, no child, not even a side guy to keep you company. I ain't getting any younger and I want grandkids. You saw your dad, the man has aged. He has white hair and a beard now. And you refuse to get married.” She feigned a sob and I just had to acquiesce.

“Alright, alright. I’ll go. Date and time?” I said causing her to squeal out loud and clap her hands excitedly. Wasn't she sobbing just a minute ago?

“Erica Basket at 8, tonight!” She announced causing me to feel even more defeated.

“Mom, that's my restaurant.” I reminded her,

“I know. But it's middle class. So he won’t suspect you. Remember to act normal; don’t wear your fancy clothes. Be a normal girl okay? I love you, don’t leave the poor Alan waiting.” The doot-doot-doot sound was the last thing I heard before peeling the phone off my ear. I slowly reached out my hand and gave it to Gail who was so amused by the interaction.

“Traitor,” I said glaring at her angrily,

“I was just looking out for a friend.” She said shrugging, and swiftly turned to leave.

“Let’s go mine some gold.” She called out behind her causing me to smile!

Now that's what I’m talking about!