Chapter 1 After five years

Nathalie looks at her reflection in the mirror. Today is her chance to meet the famous investor who helps people who want to venture into business.

She needs his help for the expansion of her business. She builds a pharmaceutical company that focuses on making different vaccines with good quality and affordable prices. She did this because she can't forget the time when her...

"Mommy!" a boy called.

She turned around and smiled, catching her in her arms. "Wow! You look so beautiful in this dress. Where were you going?" her son asks.

He's the reason why she crawled her ass out and built Golden Gem Pharmaceuticals. She smiled and kissed his cheek. "You should kiss your mom good luck because I need it today. I'll be meeting with an investor, hoping that he can help us with our business," she explains.

Her son showered her with kisses, which made her laugh. "You can do it, Mommy! I know you can!" He even raises his arms, cheering her up. She chuckled.

"Thank you, son. Don't worry. Mommy will do her best, I promise. You have school today, remember? Get changed, and your nanny will send you to school," she says.

Her son smiled and kissed her once more, then left the room. Nathalie grabs her things and leaves the house. On the road, she can't stop herself from getting nervous.

She still remembers how she struggles to pay for the expensive vaccines that her son needs. That's why, even though she graduated with education as her bachelor's degree, she blindly chooses to venture into this business.

She struggled a lot for the first two years until her business took off. Nathalie arrives in the huge building of the Gonzales group of companies.

Livius Gonzales was one of the most famous businessmen in all of Europe. He is worth billions. She searches online, and it says that his net worth is 257 billion euros.

That's a huge sum of money. As soon as the elevator door opens on the highest floor of this building, she breathes deeply. She approaches the front desk and speaks.

"Hi, good morning. I'm Nathalie Marquez. I'm here for an early appointment with Mr. Gonzales."

She looks at the computer and smiles. "You can get in her office, Ms. Marquez. He's waiting for you," she remarks. She simply smiled and headed to his office. She knocks thrice and speaks. "Hello, sir. It's me, Ms. Marquez."

"Come in," Mr. Gonzales says.

She gulps. What a baritone and sexy voice he had. It was deep and alluring at the same time. She finally understands why girls are swooning around him.

She confidently enters and sees a stunning man standing on the glass wall, facing the skyscrapers within the city. He turns around.

Those dashing onyx eyes had caught her attention first. He has a well-built body, toned and muscular. She can see that even if he's wearing a suit.

"Good morning, Mr. Gonzales," she greeted once again. He looks at her from head to toe. She might be wearing a dress, but it's not revealing or showcasing her curves. She's here for business and not to give him a bad impression.

"Take your seat, Ms. Marquez," he offers, pointing to the couch.

"Thank you, sir," she says.

He seated himself on the single-seated couch and crossed his legs. Well, that's how rich people do, dominating the room, especially when you are here to close a deal with them.

"Let's not waste our time. You may speak and convince me," he stated.

She placed a folder on the table when she accidentally saw the tattoo on her ring finger with the initials L.G. Mr. Gonzales took the paper and checked its content.

"So, your business is aligned with the medical field. If I remember it right, you graduated with a different degree-education, if I remember it right. What pushed you to enter this business?" he questions.

She was surprised because his question was a little off for her. "It's a personal experience wherein I struggle with thousands of debts because of paying for such expensive vaccines for my loved one."

She halts and opens her iPad, opening the file for her presentation. "That's why I did my research. I even attended seminars or forums to learn about vaccines and things I need to know about starting a pharmaceutical business," she added.

"Loved one, huh?" he mutters. She frowns but hides it right away. His tone was a bit sharp, as if he was irritated.

'I think I just misheard the tone. There's no way he's mad.'

"You started your company three years ago, but it finally takes off after a year. Your company receives several recognitions for the quality and cheaper price of your vaccines for rabies, anthrax, measles, pneumonia, and flu."

He flips the pages. Wow! He reads the hard copy of her presentation pretty fast. He raises his palm and uses the tip of his middle finger to adjust his eyeglasses.

"What makes you unique compared to other companies?" he asks. Their eyes meet. Her heart stops and races so fast. She looks away.

All of a sudden, a memory flashes behind her head. It was the blazing night she shared with a stranger five years ago. Her gaze shifted to Mr. Gonzales.

"Are you going to answer or what?" he asks. She shakes her head and forgets that memory.

'What am I thinking? It was just a coincidence that the timbre of their voice was the same. My gosh!'

"My company didn't only offer cheaper vaccines in the market but also hired experts that dedicated their passion to making a good quality product."

She focused on her goal and stopped noticing this man's physique. "At the same time, our facilities follow the rules and standards to make sure that our product is safe in every age. We also make sure that the safety of our workers is top priority. We are also aiming for less to no side effects, especially for infants and school-age children to adults and seniors," she added.

"This year, my company was planning to culture antidotes from poisonous plants and animals, expanding our company's venture in the medical field."

She continued to speak and make sure that she was explaining everything with confidence and truthfulness at the same time. She answered his questions and made sure that she wasn't promising too much.

What she learned in convincing investors was to give them truthful results and not overstate promises. He closed the folder and looked at her intently.

Her heart skipped a bit again. She's been talking to him for almost an hour. His voice, his eyes-they're giving her a déjà vu, and it's strange.