Chapter 5 TAKEOVER STRATEGY

Reid didn't have many friends growing up with the strict parenting he had and it stuck with him. The only person he could call a friend was Colton and gone were those days they spent their free time together visiting various bars and clubs.

His mother being absent was one of the main reasons his father was hard on him. The iron fist training he had as a child molded him into the man he had become.

For a child, he was too busy to make friends or hang out with his friends. He was either dealing with academics, athletics, or art. Mr. Martakis believed in versatility and gave his son the option to do whatever he wanted as long as he was the best at it. Fortunately, his son followed in his path.

Colton who was like his brother and only friend had become such a bore that getting him to tag along to the club was a struggle. He was either running home to meet his wife or choosing to stay home.

Reid thought of how nice it must be to have someone waiting at home. Someone waiting on you after a stressful day at work. It was a foreign feeling to Reid.

With Colton no longer available, his evenings became pretty uneventful. Reid's evening routine began with him coming home to an empty large apartment, workout in his private gym, then he'd take a shower before getting dinner, and he'd call it a day.

His routine became quite an addiction that going to the gym morning and night was a necessity. It took the void of not having friends to talk to as it helped clear his mind.

Exercises were therapeutic to him and he cherished those moments. One could say he was obsessed with the vigorous exercises he did day and night and It had become a part of him.

Colton warned he'd pop a muscle one day with the strenuous exercises. Perhaps having someone like Colton would ease his excess exercise routine.

Saturdays were pretty bleak like his evenings but as he got out of bed that morning he had this strange feeling it was going to be better. He had little work to do for his father which he cleared up after a healthy amount of time at the gym before heading over to Colton's house.

He sent a text to Colton to inform him that he was on his way and Colton replied that he too was on his way home.

Reid could have stayed home to watch the football game but it wouldn't be as pleasant as watching it with Colton. It was a thing between them that had been going since the time they understood football.

It was also an opportunity to see his brother who he hardly saw these days. It took about 20 to 25 minutes to get to Colton's estate from his penthouse.

As he parked his car, his phone rang out which he picked up from his dashboard. Seeing his secretary's name put a frown on his face. He made it clear to his employees that work calls shouldn't be made on weekends and if his secretary could break that rule, there must be a problem.

"Work calls shouldn't be made on weekends, Kate." His secretary, Kate was quite the workaholic who still made numerous work calls on weekends with the excuse of not having much to do.

"I know, sir. I'm sorry." Her voice resonated through the car's speaker. "I'm calling because of something very important that you might want to hear."

Reid sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "What is it?"

"Despite my efforts in raising our offer to acquire the La'buena restaurant, they vehemently refused. I went over last night to meet the owner and he made it clear he was no longer interested in selling."

"How much did you raise the offer to?"

"Fifty percent to the original amount."

Out of anger and frustration, Reid punched his steering wheel and groaned loudly. He concluded that his enemies were after how his plans to start a new business venture kept flopping.

The food business had been one he'd always wanted to get into but had no idea how which was why the best option he had was to acquire an established restaurant with good clientele and he could do whatever he wanted with the restaurant.

He had the idea a few years back after he graduated from college. His father was present alongside his uncle, Colton, and some other family members. He looked at his family and looked at others. There was something odd. Something missing that he had never questioned because of fear.

He knew his mother died trying to give birth to him but he had never asked questions about her character or even how she looked. Things were kept away from him until he got into high school then he began to get bits of information about why his mother wasn't around.

It took time to digest it all but couldn't bring himself to ask for pictures or ask his father to tell him personal stories cause he felt guilty. He knew his father loved her wholeheartedly and it must have to keep all her pictures and memories locked away.

He finally summoned up the courage to know everything about his mother. His father was passive in divulging information about her and took him to a room in the Manor that was always locked. There he found all the answers to his questions. So many pictures that featured her bright smile and pearly eyes. A diary of hers and a journal from his father about all their memories together.

An entire day seemed too small to dissect every part of the room to put her in his memory. During his search, he found something that was now gold to him. He found a cookbook filled with recipes written by his mother. She was a chef who wanted to open her restaurant after the birth of her child.

This information made Reid feel so much worse. He accused himself of robbing the beautiful woman of her dreams. He thought long and hard till he came up with the idea of fulfilling her dream. It was the least he could do as it would make him feel better and closer to his mother. The only people who knew of his plan were Colton and his workers helping him to make his dreams come through.

"What about our plan B?" He asked Kate who had been waiting patiently on the phone.

"The plan our strategy team created was a success but I haven't gotten detailed feedback."

"Do that and report to me on Monday," He ordered and ended the call.

He sighed for the fifth time, suddenly feeling choked and in need of fresh air. A knock on his car window snapped him out of his thoughts as he glanced at Colton.

He picked up his phone as he killed his car engine and stepped out.

"You look like someone pissed in your food," Colton said as he looked at him from head to toe. "What's up?"

"Not much, just work. The restaurant I wanted to buy pulled out of the market." Reid realized he must have been in deep thought cause he didn't notice Colton drive-in.

"Ahh, I'm sorry man. Just have faith, you'll get one sooner than you think." He patted him on the back and led Reid to the front door.

"Do you reckon Man United beating Man City?" Reid asked as he pushed the door open.

Colton chuckled lightly. "They better, I made a bet with my assistant."

"You just might lose a grand, bro."

Athina came out from the corner of the kitchen to greet her husband with a kiss and hug before whispering something in his ear. Colton's attention shifted to a female figure standing a few feet away. Reid took his time to assess her while her attention was on Colton.

She looked different from the last time they saw her. He wondered if she was still uptight like he knew her to be and the tight bun on her head confirmed it.

A notification ping came from his phone in his hands that made the ladies notice him. The message was from his secretary and his eyes narrowed at the PDF files and links that he didn't understand what they were meant for. He quickly texted Kate back that he was going to block her number if she tried reaching him again until Monday.

He locked his phone and put it in his pocket before his eyes landed on Maria. Her lips were in a tight smile with her eyes directly on his chest. Reid remembered how she'd always avoid eye contact with him and only did occasionally when she wanted to put him in place.

He was unimpressed she hadn't gotten over it realizing how uptight and annoying she could be. She looked at him in the eye for a little while and caught the glare he was giving her and she mirrored his expression.

Reid leaped for joy internally at being successful to get a rise out of her without even saying a word. It was nice to see that fiery that haunted his dreams once in a while again.

"Hey, Reid. Didn't know you were coming over today." Athina's voice took his mind off his thoughts as he turned to her.

"It's the start of football season and you know how I and Colton are at that time," He said in a soft voice and a smile.

"Besides, I figured you'd need help with teasing this big head," he added pointing at Colton, who grumbled at his words making Athina laugh.

"Hey, remember Maria yeah?" Athina asked as she pulled Maria to her side.

"Your maid of honor, yes I do," Reid replied, his gaze not moving to her to get a rise out of her.

"She's going to stay for a while here. At least I have a partner now," Athina said with a grin on her face.

"Welcome," Reid curtly replied as he glanced at her.

"We'll head over to the game room now, see you in an hour babe," Colton said and pecked his wife on the cheek.

"Okay, I'll get started with dinner and have someone bring you guys snacks and drinks."

Colton thanked her and greeted Maria goodbye with a feel-at-home statement.

"You're the best," Reid said to Athina and kissed her on the cheek too before following Colton up the stairs.