Chapter 3 The hand shake

Dante

Working on a presentation and reflecting on my recent argument with my father, I had been up since four in the morning.

Instead of forcing his company vision on me, he should have made an effort to understand my viewpoint.

My mind returned to the girl I had screamed at as I reclined in my chair.

Wanda? Vanya? ...Vivienne?

I could swear I had never met her before, but for some reason, she looked familiar.

I generally do fairly well with faces.

My secretary, Arabella, knocked on the door and said, "Good evening, sir! You are being visited by Mr. Conner.

"Send him in," I informed him.

Today, at least, things were improving.

Conner, Bryan.

On the first day of middle school, I sat next to him, and we began a conversation that led to our friendship.

We even attended the same college, and because he was such a genius, he was the first to get hired here at Ashford & Co., where he was currently serving as a project manager. However, I took a very different path to get to where I am now.

"Someone has a grievance against him. "Difficult day?" As he approached my table, he requested while stroking his untidy, honey-blond hair.

"Just worked up."

He sagged in the chair in front of me and arched an eyebrow, asking, "Just that?"

"Yes. "Why?"

"Because you yelled at the girl who came for the meeting."

"She was late."

"I know, but saying that the presentation was bad without even looking at it and then threatening to talk to Mr. Drake, too harsh, don't you think?"

"If she were my employee, I would fire her, so it's nothing."

"You mean fire? You and your father got into an argument."

"Wha-! When I'm angry, I don't always fire people.

"And I don't work here," he said, grinning wryly at me.

"All right. We got into a fight. I gave in to his customary attempts to force me to do what he believed was best. "Forget it."

"You both need to sit down and talk, but knowing you both, it's never going to happen," he said. "Anyways, where were you last night?"

"Arabella," with a sly smile.

"The secretary? This month's fifth girl?

"Fourth," he was told.

"You need to slow down."

"Of course you'd say that. When was the last time you were with a girl?"

"If your stupid blue eyes stop acting like magnets, I'll get one too," he rolled his eyes.

"Oh! Hurry up. What are you? 5"11. You look good with brown eyes and blond hair. "Skill is what you lack," I grinned.

"What ability? You only ever send the sexiest woman in a bar a drink and give her a smug, "I'm too good for you" grin, and she's yours."

"Perfecting that so-called self-obsessed smirk requires work, okay?"

"Yeah, you must stand in front of the mirror and practice it every morning, right?"

"Don't you have work?" I laughed.

"Yes, boss, I do. Bryan gave a false salute and departed to return to his cabin, saying, "See you later."

Returning my attention to the presentation, I grinned.

By this point, Bryan was more than simply a friend-he was family.

Later that night, I heard a knock on my door.

I raised my head from my laptop and said, "Come in."

Twirling a lock of hair around her finger, Arabella came in and said, "Um... I was curious if you had anything planned for the evening because..."

"We can't tonight."

She blushed and laughed, saying, "Don't be dumb, Dante. You said you would take me out tomorrow.

"I did?"

"Yes, when we were...last night, remember."

"Oh? All right. Right now, what do you want?

"Mr.Ashford wants you to return home early today."

Did he continue to shout at me?

"And why does he want me to do that?"

"He mentioned that there would be visitors. I will have to sit through a meal, acting as though I don't care what the guests have to say, and my dad and I are virtually hot bonded together, as if today wasn't exhausting enough.

Immediately after, I headed home. I recognized William Drake as I walked in. He was a friend of my dad's from college and a highly powerful figure in the IT sector.

The first person to notice me was Mom. "There you are, Dante," she said with a smile, lifting her gaze from the girl she was talking to. Meet our visitors. This is Elara, William's daughter, whom you have already met.

I froze in my tracks as the brunette turned to face me.

The female from today's meeting was the identical one!

She looked familiar for that reason. She is a prospective candidate for Drake Enterprises' CEO post and is William's daughter.

When she saw my look of amazement, a cunning smirk sprang on her face.

She approached me and extended her hand, saying, "Elara Juliet Drake."

I rapidly got better and reached for her hand, but she withdrew it before we could shake hands.

"It seems like you are regretting cutting my introduction short," she said with a sly smile.