Chapter 4

The minute I stepped out of the elevator, the whole floor went silent, except one person. My eyes immediately went to Stav who was talking to a blonde girl. With his arm resting on her desk, he was saying something and she was laughing in return.

Rolling my eyes at his behaviour, I slowly reached them and cleared my throat. The girl noticed me and immediately went silent, unlike Stav who was still laughing with his back towards me.

I coughed again and this time, he recognised my presence, judging by the way his body stilled. Slowly, he turned around and faced me, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

"Are you done with your chit chat or should I wait?" I asked, assessing his appearance from head to toe. He was wearing a maroon shirt that hugged his muscular torso, and brown pants. His unruly hair was falling over his forehead, giving him boyish look.

"Sorry." He apologized under his breath and silently followed me as I started walking towards my office.

"You have a meeting with Chesca Rodriguez at 12, then you are supposed to be at lunch with Liam Wolf. I have already booked a table at Shranglin. All the information you need for the lunch meeting is arranged on your desk. After that, you have a meeting with the board of directors at 6. They are going to discuss the new Mindanao project so I have already emailed you all the finance reports and other details." He said all in one breath.

"Okay." I said and stopped at the door of my office.

My eyes reached Stav, who was staring at me like a lost puppy.

"What now?" I glared at him for wasting my time with his stupid expressions.

"I arrived at 6 today, arranged your schedule in a new journal, read out all the files and other important documents in your last secretary's folders." He said, smirking, as if he had achieved the impossible.

Cocking my head to a side, I asked, "What do you want me to do? Give you a candy every time you do something you are paid for?" I said and his smile vanished all of sudden.

"I don't want candy. I just want you to know that I am not a total lost cause." He stated, smiling once again. No matter how much I try to ignore it, there was something about his smile; something so innocent yet so masculine.

"That's for me to decide." I said, regaining my composure and walked inside my office.

Once I seated myself on my desk, I watched a very disappointed Stav standing outside my office with a frown on his forehead. I won't say what I did wasn't entertaining but other than that, it was actually for his own good. He was handsome, rich, smart and had an excellent academic record; everything is easier for guys that have all these qualities. He could use some humbling otherwise it won't be long before he becomes overconfident and messes everything up.

••••••••••

As my car stopped in front of the restaurant, Stav stepped out hurriedly and opened the door for me. Together, we both walked into the restaurant and he rushed to the receptionist to ask for our table.

Leaning against the desk, he flashed his bright smile to the receptionist. Although he was standing away from me, I could hear his voice crystal clear. "We had a reservation by the name of Alice Monetelebalo, beautiful. Care to show us our table?"

The woman smiled shyly in return and called a waiter who led us to our table. Once I sat down, I crossed my arms across my chest and threw daggers at him with my eyes.

"What did I do now?" He asked.

"Is that how you talk to girls? That's harassment." I said.

"Believe it or not, girls usually like it." He shrugged.

I was about to say something when I saw Liam Wolf step into the room. "Shut up now. He is here." I said and Stav silenced himself immediately.

We all ordered some food and started our meeting. I talked to him about our proposal of working together and he just kept denying my ideas. Liam was known to be a stubborn old man with ego issues. Despite the fact that the proposal was beneficial for both of our companies, he wasn't ready to work at our conditions.

"Your company is collapsing, Wolf. Believe me when I say, this collaboration is your only choice now." I said, clenching my jaw.

"The only reason I even agreed for this meeting is because I thought Patrick had taught his daughter better. But sadly, you are just like every other stupid young person who thinks he is the smartest businessman ever been born. You have no respect for any traditions. I was the one who taught your father the basics of business. Who do you think you are? I have been working long before you were even born." The stupid old man kept on rambling and rambling, and I just kept cursing him in my mind. If he wasn't my father's friend, I would have emptied this bowl of soup over his head by now.

I wasn't planning to interfere during his speech but Stav had other things on mind. "Mr. Wolf, I was reading about your company today and I read something about your son's affair. Just to be clear, are these the kind of traditions you are talking about?" He questioned without asking me first and Liam's eyes became impossibly wide.

"Stav," I eyed him, motioning him to shut the hell up.

"Is that why you called me here? To insult me?" Liam said and stood up.

"Just sit down. We can talk---"

"Bullshit." He said and walked away.

Gritting my teeth in anger, I turned my head to my good for nothing secretary who was silently sipping his coffee, as if he had not ruined a huge deal for us.

"What the hell did you just do?" I barked at him.

"We both know he is the one who needs this deal more than us. Then why are we even listening to his demands?" Stav asked.

"That's not your headache." I said.

"It's just an opinion." He said.

"You are not paid to present your opinion on these matters." I snarled.

"On the contrary, I think it's my job to---"

"Your job is to do what I ask you to do. You are still a nobody in the world of business." I said and stood up angrily. "Do you understand?" By now, almost everybody in the restaurant was staring at us. Stav's cheeks were flushed with embarrassment and his head was lowered to the ground.

"I---"

"Do you understand, Stav?" I asked, glaring deep into his eyes. "Yes or no?"

His jaw clenched, frustration coated his expressions and finally he whispered, "Yes."