The reception downstairs was devoid of noise, exactly the way Zayn liked it. But that didn’t stop his employees from staring at him through partially closed doors and stairway landings as he walked past, one hand in his pocket, and his head staring straight ahead. Zayn walked with the confidence of ten people, exuding a powerful aura that no one could beat.
He hadn’t earned his reputation by lounging around doing nothing, so when he exercised his powers, people trembled underneath them. And Zayn Graham didn’t care about whoever got hurt in the process. As much as he tried to avoid casualties, he wouldn’t force anyone to get out of his way.
They ought to know better than that.
It was the reason Zayn was giving Joel as many chances as he could afford. Ignorance was a thing where Zayn was concerned, and as much as he wanted to rip that veil off, he knew Rina wouldn’t like it. He was going to give it time, staying patient even if patience wasn’t one of his few virtues. At this rate, he was going out of his way for Rina, and he hoped she knew that.
William appeared in front of him, pushing the glass doors open as Zayn stepped through. He was the only one Zayn had established a relationship with where Rina was concerned. The fewer people knew about her with him, the better it would be for everyone. Zayn really didn’t mind, but he understood where Rina was coming from.
His new assistant stepped out after him, waiting for Zayn to get into the car before going around to sit beside the driver. But as William made to open the door, Zayn shook his head subtly, stopping him.
“I need you to go the dealer. I ordered something.”
William didn’t need to ask questions to understand what Zayn meant. He’d been working for him for so long that they understood each other without saying a word. Nodding, William signaled one of Zayn’s men over from the car behind to drive them instead. He was a burly guy as well, but not as big as William. He opened the door for Zayn, before getting behind the wheel.
The ride was a quiet one, the fifteen minutes spent going over the proposal his assistant had sent over. She was meticulous at her job, and even though Zayn had never had an assistant spend more than two years with him, he was positive about this one. She looked like someone who knew how to mind her business.
They arrived in front of the building, and Zayn got out first with his assistant, leaving his man to go park the car before assembling back with the rest of his men who had been following closely behind. Instructing them to remain on the first floor, he took only one of them with him, along with his secretary into the reception.
A young woman at the desk, dressed in a colorful two-piece sat up the moment she saw the group walk in, her eyes widening in their socket. Her lips fell open and snapped shut, as she struggled with organizing her thought process. She was screaming inside, at a loss for what to do. For half of her life, she had only seen Zayn on the internet or on her television, exuding so much confidence and sexiness that she never imagined she would ever run into him. They walked in distinct circles whose paths were never meant to cross.
And for the umpteenth time, the woman was glad she had applied for that job when she did.
The group stopped in front of the desk, waiting for her to get her mouth open, while Zayn’s eyes roamed around the interior, with a bored disposition. He thought the wall art could be better, and the flowers not exquisite enough. And what material was the life made of? Couldn’t it have been done any better?
Zayn’s eyes fell on Joel as he hurried out of the elevator, and a scowl appeared easily on his face. Joel bowed in respect and held his hands out to Zayn, but he didn’t even bother removing his hands from his pocket, causally nodding at Joel. That was the most he could do. He still didn’t think that Joel was worth his time.
Joel flinched but didn’t allow it to stay too long on his face. He withdrew his hands at once. “Welcome to O. S. N fashion house! I hope you didn’t have any trouble locating it?”
There was silence at first, with Zayn still searching his face, a bored and dissatisfied expression stretched across his features. When his assistant saw no one was going to reply, she chuckled awkwardly to dissipate the odd silence.
“I guess it was not much of a struggle,” she said, looking at everyone. “I can’t say much because I wasn’t the one who drove but… I’m rambling, aren’t I?”
Joel laughed but stopped when he saw he was the only one who found it funny. He didn’t know why Zayn looked at him like he was displeased about something, but Joel didn’t allow it to bother him. He was just glad that Graham Conglomerate was doing this with him.
Leading the way, they got into the elevator that took them to the conference room on the fifth floor, the ding of the opening doors signaling them that they had arrived. They sauntered through the rugged floor, the smell of new wood in the air.
“You didn’t have to come all the way here,” Joel was saying as he pushed the doors to the conference room open, ushering them in. “My team would have been more than happy to come over to your company instead for this meeting. This must have been a lot of stress for you.”
“You’re right,” Zayn murmured. “It was a lot of stress. How can you make up for it?”
“What?” Joel definitely wasn’t expecting that.
“Can we start this meeting? I have a lot of important places to get to.”