CONNOR
Her hair was tied up in a ponytail. I wondered if anyone had ever told her she was prettier with her hair down. My hands itched to set them free.
Portia came into my office with a glass of water, handed it over to the jumpy Grace who stared at the glass like she didn’t know what to do with it, until she realized I was watching her and she proceeded to gulp the glass’ content at a go.
She wiped the back of her hand against her soft, vulnerable-looking lips in a manner that made me crave to suckle them, before handing the glass over to Portia, mouthing a “thank you” to the secretary as she turned and left.
“Are you ready?” she asked once more and placed the recorder on the table with a long white sheet of paper and note pad on her laps.
I was ready, as long as she would let us talk.
She was trying quite hard to act distant, her way of pushing me farther off from her.
“Sure, Grace.” I smiled, but she didn’t smile back. She simply turned on the recorder and concentrated on the white sheet of paper on her over-covered laps.
“So, Mr. Shelby,” she started in a business-like voice, sitting upright and staring straight at me with a distant expression on her face. “As a one of the youngest billionaires in England, what would you say is the secret to making it this big just at the age of thirty-five?”
“I’ve always been asked that question and what my answer has always been is… hard-work. Nothing more. Nothing less.” I paused and leaned back on the couch. “And then of course, working smartly.”
“How would you describe your perception of working smartly?” she asked, sounding so formal. I wondered how she did that.
“Taking advantage of things that works in my favor? Learning the ropes of a particular business before venturing into it. Also, I treat my employees with respect, with dignity, so they end up taking my business as theirs. They don’t think twice before delivering their best.”
“Some people would call you lucky.” she glanced down the sheets and glanced back up. “How lucky do you think you are?”
“Everyone’s lucky. For instance, you’re lucky to be alive, to be seated here right now. I am lucky to have a brain to think and good health to run my businesses. Everyone alive has something going on for the, even if they choose to ignore it. But the question remains, what do you do with your luck? When luck is on your side, Grace, it is not the time to be timid. It is the time to be bold, to exploit this luck as much as you can, with your blood and sweat and tenacity. This is what makes the difference.”
I wished this interview would end already, I wanted to have more personal time with her.
“Let’s move on to your relationship life, Mr. Shelby,” she said flipping the pages on her laps. “As you know, people are curious of the women in your life. Lately there’s been a lot of speculations as to whether or not there’s someone you’re romantically involved with.”
Well, I saw this coming. No surprises here. This was the crux of the interview, their main curiosity about my life. Questions about work were mere smokescreens they had to talk about first.
“Well, there nothing much to know there, Ms. Grace,” I replied dryly, watching her successfully evade my gaze.
Other reporters would die for the opportunity she’d to probe further, going heads over heels and coming up with subliminal tactics to make me spill my guts.
But Grace was cold and distant, making it obvious she absolutely needed to leave my presence this instant.
“There was a recent buzz around of you being caught on camera with a woman.” she stopped reading and swallowed hard. “We would love to know who she is and who she is to you.”
“She’s here.” I said and she looked up at me with aghast as if she wished to disappear at that very moment.