Chapter Three

Leena.

“Oh no worries,” I said to her. “I’ll just be on my way now,” I said awkwardly and stepped forward. “Mr…George was it? Please, don’t forget to talk to Scott. Have a nice day.”

I walked straight to my car without looking back, and told the driver to head straight to my company. I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding and yawned as the car rolled out of the school premises.

My phone buzzed as I tried to organize my thoughts. “Genna?” I said as I answered.

“Where are you? The meeting starts in twenty minutes. Surely you wouldn’t want to leave a bad impression on these mergers would you?” she said in a rush.

I instinctively glanced at the clock and cursed under my breath. I was fifteen minutes late. “Kendrick, speed up a bit please,” I said to my driver. He glanced at me worriedly through the rearview mirror, but my sharp look was enough to force him to look at the road.

“I’m so sorry Genna. I’ll be there as fast as I can. Are the representatives there yet?” I huffed, checking my appearance on the windscreen. Asides how fast my brain was working through my presentation, there was no sign of panic.

“No, they said their boss himself is coming. You wouldn’t want him to get here without you now huh,” I could practically see her signature scolding stance, with her hands on her waist and a look that screamed ‘I’m going to throw you out of a window’. She was a very sweet girl, despite her witch traits.

“I’m coming, I’m coming. Just get everything prepared.”

She hung up after a loud huff.

Working three separate jobs as a single mother was hard. When I woke up from my accident–induced coma to see that I had a three month old child, I nearly went back into the coma. I thought life for me would be hell, and I would end up homeless on the streets begging for alms.

But Genna made sure that it just remained a thought. She picked me up from my lowest, introduced me to the right people, was my support system, and became a very important part of my success. I didn’t even know I was good at modelling until she pushed me to try.

“We’re here ma’am,” Kendrick’s clipped voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

“Oh shoot,” I hurriedly got down from the car, limping slightly as I walked through the revolving doors of K Associates, my construction company.

Everyone bowed their heads as I rushed past into the elevator, and I waved back at them, trying to be polite. I was always trying to be polite.

“Miss K,” my secretary Anna called as I raced to the conference room. “They’ve just arrived. You got here in time.”

“Phew,” I sighed in relief as she handed me her tablet that contained all the necessary information. My heart would hate me after this much work, but I didn’t have a choice. “And HR?”

“They have all the analysis charts ready. The collaboration should go smoothly, Miss.” She said with enthusiasm. I nodded, passing her my bag as we headed into the conference room.

The entire committee was seated, all waiting for my arrival. I spotted Genna pacing behind my seat, but the second she saw me, her expression turned to relief. I nodded at everyone, shooting her a wink as I got into my seat.

“They’re coming up the elevators now,” Anna said, standing beside me with her tablet in hand.

I nodded and took a deep breath. The moment the doors swung open, everyone in the room stood up as a formal way of greeting. Except me.

Why?

Because the man walking into my conference room had a striking resemblance to the same man I met this morning. Scott’s father. I sat there confused for a second, until Genna kicked at my seat.  I flinched back to reality and got up immediately, pushing the thought that this could be the same man to the back of my mind.

But everything was the same. The light stubble on his chin, dark blue eyes, and a tattoo peeking out of his right arm. Was it right or left? I don't know. His presence made my brain cells fry.

When he got closer, his eyes landed on me and I caught a slight twitch of his mouth. This time, he stretched out his hand first. “Miss Kensington, we meet again,” he said, his velvety voice making my heart stutter.

I swallowed and shook his hand, convinced that this had to be some sort of cruel joke. Then again, I didn’t know this man, so I couldn’t just judge him.

“Mr George,” I cleared my throat, finally finding my voice. “Welcome. Please have a seat.”

He unbuttoned his suit and sat down, but his frame still seemed to swallow the space, and couldn’t just help but stare at him.

“Did you know him from somewhere?” Genna whispered harshly at me.

I shot her a glance and nodded slightly. “I’ll tell you later,” I mouthed back.

I took a deep breath, gathered my thoughts, and gestured to the head of HR, Alex, to begin the presentation.

And even though I couldn’t tell fantasy from reality, I could feel George’s eyes on me. Like a suffocating prickle at the back of my neck, his gaze made me strangely self conscious.

“Get it together Leena.” I muttered under my breath, met his gaze, and smiled politely.

This was going to be one long meeting.