Zayn kept Rina in his line of vision all evening, as he spoke about business with a prospective investor. He didn’t want to do that there, leaving Rina all to herself. But she’d told him she would be fine, going to sit at George’s table, together with Isaiah and Ginny to put his mind at ease. Still, every now and then, he found his eyes wandering to her, stunned at how hot she looked. No one rivaled her in the room, not even the bride. But beyond her looks, Zayn was filled with the compelling urge to protect her no matter what happened, to always keep her away from harm with all the power at his disposal. It wasn’t something that could be bargained, as he had tried to give her a little space since the engagement. But on those days, he’d been worried sick about her, unable to focus seamlessly on any other thing.
“How about the returns?” the investor questioned, causing Zayn to pull his gaze away from Rina, albeit reluctantly, back to this table. She’d been laughing about something George sad, her hair tumbling in waves all around her as her shoulders bobbed and her eyes shone. It was the radiance that got him awe-struck. Zayn couldn’t understand it how someone could have gone through so much yet have that light in them, undimmed. It took a strong-willed person not to get broken, and that was Rina.
“Although, I can tell you all the details here,” Zayn answered, his language easily changing into Cantonese. “You can also talk to my market survey manager and my investment officer, Ms. Graham. For the sake of making it official, why don’t you come into the office on Monday so we can discuss this plan further with her? Although she is in the Hong Kong branch, I can get her to fly in today since that is the branch you are looking to invest in. Our next chain of expansion is going to be jewelry and I am sure you are already looking forward to that.”
“Yes, of course,” the man answered, not bothering to hide his excitement. Even if he was a huge fan of jewelry, Zayn knew it wasn’t the real reason he was investing. Only Zayn Graham could carry the company on his own, but because of the laws, he needed to get investors who would in turn be shareholders. And even though only the top people in the country could afford the shares, with a few average earners, the return rate is always so high that people don’t mind putting all their money into it. Since Zayn had made a name for himself, he never ran into a loss in business. His profits wavered from year to year, depending on how great the year was. But he was searching for more methods to bring in stability and a particular percentage of growth yearly.
“You can call in Ms. Graham,” he continued. “Although I still have plans of returning to Hong Kong, I don’t want to do it now since I have some unfinished business here.”
“I understand,” Zayn said, nodding. “I’m certain she will not mind flying over. It is the reason we exist as a company, especially when things like this arise. How about we…”
There was a sudden interruption as William pushed himself to stand in front of Zayn, appearing from the shadows. He held Finn’s shoulders, stopping him from going any further. “I just want to talk to Mr. Graham real quick! Finn whined, trying to push William away. But that was practically impossible given William’s size, imposing and stronger than Finn’s. Funnily, Finn looked like a baby dolphin in front of the burly William, who didn’t waste time in flexing his build to anyone who felt they stood a chance against him.
“This is a wedding, Mr. Smith. I would suggest you book an appointment at the office and carry whatever it is you have to say there. Mr. Graham might attend to you if he deems your request a worthy one, but you can’t do this here.”
“I can do whatever I want to do, wherever I want to do it!” Finn uttered in a low tone, taking a step closer to William, a step that was supposed to be borderline frightening and dangerous. But anyone watching thought Finn was like a little child overstepping his bounds.
“Leave him, William,” Zayn said, walking to meet them. “I think I need to get this thrashed out once and for all. I don’t like pests when they return over and over again.”
Finn was offended for being called a pest, but he knew better than to say or do anything there. Zayn was influential, the most powerful person in the country. All it took was one snap of his finger and Finn would be toast. But he was banking on Kayla’s family’s wealth. He knew he would have that at his disposal if he just played this according to the books.
“I need to talk to you,” he murmured, bringing his voice to a low whisper.
“You are going to have to speak out if you want me to listen,” Zayn spoke to him like he was a child because he didn’t see any need to do otherwise.
He cleared his throat and continued. “Mr. Graham, I know this might come off as strong, but we both know you don’t need Rina with you.”
“What?”
“You have all the affluence in the world, the fame, the money…You can get any woman at all in the world and they would happily jump into your arms and stay there for the rest of their lives. But Rina…Rina is special. She is different. I know I have made a lot of mistakes, but Rina loves me too as much as I love her. I know it. We both do.”
“So?”
“She wouldn’t leave you unless you tell her to, because she looks up to you right now.”
“You’ve still not made a request?”
“Ask Rina to come back to me.”