Chapter 2 Introduction of Asher

Asher Rodriguez is a reputed businessman and a billionaire who owns varieties of clubs and casinos in the city along with being a cotton textile mogul. He is the cold, unemotional and an insensitive boss who is a tyrant to his employees. He had no human values and he could go to any extent by even making them piss in their pants if the targets are not met.

"What's that commotion that I see in my CCTV?" Asher summoned for his secretary who was there before his desk in a minute.

"A woman sir. She wants to take a photo with you." The secretary replied with an attention position like a robot.

Asher rubbed his stubble jaw in irritation. "For heaven's sake why don't these people understand that I am not a damn celebrity but a business tycoon, a thirty year old guy who got a daughter two year old."

Mary was silent. After her experience of working six years with the CEO who was strict, cold and unemotional she knew when to keep her lips sealed.

Seven years ago when Asher newly took over his father's business and fell in love with a top notch model in one of the business meetings he attended.

He dated Frankie for three years and married her. The initial two years of their married life was a bliss. But then Frankie became pregnant with their first child. She wanted to abort the child because pregnancy would damage the beauty of her body.

Asher was against it. He insisted on his wife to keep the baby. Asher told her he was earning enough to keep his family happy and Frankie doesn't have to work. She can enjoy the riches of her new life and bring up the child being a devoted mother.

Frankie did not like the decision of Asher. She did not want to bid adieu to her modeling career just yet. However she couldn't deny Asher either. He was a billionaire, very powerful and who couldn't be messed with.

As a result, during the night when everybody was sleeping, she left the child on the bassinet of the hospital and fled from the place.

Asher turned the country upside down in search of her. Six months later his private investigator contacted him and sent him clips and proof that Frankie was living in Australia. However when he went to meet her, she was seen dead in one of the bathrooms of the executive suit she owned. It was a sensation and one of the most mysterious deaths which looked more like a planned murder than an attempt to suicide. The case went on for a few more months and shut down.

For a while Frankie's death was top news in all the newspapers but slowly gone with the wind. Frankie was an ended chapter in his life either way. So Asher did not probe anything more about the case. But with his wife's death, the one and only love of his life was lost along with the essence of living.

However Asher had a child to take care of. There was pressure from his family to re-marry not only for himself but for the child too but Asher was not interested in marriage anymore. He could not tell the truth to his parents that he cannot remove Frankie from his heart because his mother would be upset. She was already very anxious about him.

******

By the time he finished the work in his office on the day, it had passed seven. It was his mother's birthday and he had already received her calls twice. Generally he would have taken a chopper to avoid traffic but he wanted to make his mom happy for it was her special day.

He hurried his driver Joel to drive fast while he sent replies to urgent mails sitting in the back seat of the car. Emerald was in a cranky mood since it was her sleeping time but luckily there was not much traffic to waste his time.

On the way to his parents home he dropped by the usual bouquet shop where he would buy his mom's favorite flowers. Much to his surprise, instead of the old woman there was a young girl who was sitting at the counter. "Get me the bouquet?" He ordered while he got a call on his phone.

"Which one, sir?" The girl looked innocently at him and started petting Emerald who was placed on the counter by Asher. Much to the astonishment of Asher, all the irritable mood of Emerald was gone, replaced by a lot of fun while playing with Phoenix.

Asher found it strange but welcoming. Both of them were like mom and daughter with the best interaction. It seemed like Phoenix knew everything that Emerald wanted though the baby couldn't speak much but his erstwhile cheer was gone from the speaker on the other end. "Sir, I am sorry, Gabriel doesn't have anything to pay. He drank and played poker and owe us a debt of two millions. But he has an offer to make to us. He says he is ready to marry off his daughter in lieu of debt and she is a virgin."

"What the fuck! He wants to marry his daughter to me in place of the money he owes?" Asher felt pity for the girl. But he was running a business not a charity home and he needed to extract his dues one way or the other.

"Which bouquet do you want, sir?" Phoenix asked again when Asher did not reply and went busy on the phone.

He did not like incompetent individuals at any level of work either in his business or outside. First it was his casino manager. He allowed the scoundrel to drink like a cow and now the man doesn't have a penny with him to pay. The girl in front was grating his nerves. "The usual." Asher yelled.

The girl tested his wits and Phoenix hated Asher equally for his misbehavior towards a woman.