Harriet walked into her office at exactly 10am and, as expected, she got a lot of judgmental stares from some of the workers who interpreted her lateness as a privilege she got for being the chairman’s daughter.
Harriet kept her shoulders straight and her chin up, and she walked through the lobby, making her way to the elevator. Just as the doors were about to close, a hand stopped it and, to her surprise, it was Alexa. Releasing a soft breath, Harriet prepared herself for what was to come.
“Miss Edward! I see that you have finally decided to show up. For a moment, I thought you would be taking the day off despite staying away from the company for two weeks.” Alexa smiled pretentiously.
“I didn’t expect you to worry about me so much, Alexa. I am really touched.” Harriet replied with a matching smile, keeping her head high. She was not going to look like a weakling before Alexa.
“Believe me, Harriet, I wasn’t…”
“Save it, Alexa. I don’t have the time to exchange words with you today. As you have already noticed, I am extremely late.” Harriet said without looking at her and immediately, the elevator dinged and the doors opened. Without sparing her a second glance, Harriet walked out of the elevator.
“Thank goodness you made it on time. I was just about giving you a call.” Collin stood up and rushed to her side the second he saw her.
“Oh God! What is it this time?” She placed her purse on his table and folded her lips.
“Okay so, there’s good news and there’s terrible news. Which would you like to hear first?” Collin rubbed his palms together nervously.
“Let’s go with the good news first.” She replied and crossed her arms, waiting eagerly to hear what he had to say. Collin nodded and scrolled through his tablet before turning the screen to her.
“The Japanese team we have been trying to reach out to for weeks, finally returned our mail today, and they have agreed to meet with us.” He revealed and Harriet clamped her hand on her mouth to muffle her scream.
The Gtech team were the best in the electronics market and were extremely picky with the people they worked with. It didn’t matter how much money was on the table. If they don’t see any prospects with your company, they wouldn’t work with you.
Harriet had been crazed about bringing them in because it would shut all her haters up and prove to the world that she was skilled enough. Hearing that they had finally agreed to meet with her meant that they saw something they liked in her proposal.
“I suddenly don’t care about the bad news, Collin. This is great news!” She beamed, dancing around his office happily.
“I think you should hear what the bad news is first though.” He chuckled nervously and Harriet settled down, giving him a listening ear.
“Because they are currently in New York on business, they decided to have the meeting today…11am to be precise.” Collin rapped with his eyes closed. When he opened them, he was met with a defeated look from Harriet.
“I am doomed, Collin. Doomed!” She laughed hysterically, and her face immediately twisted into a frown.
“You can still make it. It’s only 9:13 right now. If you start preparing the needed documents and your speech, we might still be able to impress them.” He said and pushed her into her office.
An hour later, she was ready for the meeting which was to take place at a restaurant of their choosing.
Two hours later, the Japanese team was completely impressed with her proposal and immediately signed the contract with JE Holdings.
“We look forward to working with you, Miss Edward. You are incredible.” The female among them, who was the only English-speaking one, said, complimenting Harriet.
“The pleasure is mine. Thank you once again.” Harriet shook their hands firmly and bid them farewell. Just as she was about doing a victory dance with Collin, who accompanied her, a call came in from Tony.
“Are you free? I really need to see you.” He said as soon as she picked up the call.
“I am, right now. But, I am not at the office though. I had a business meeting at a restaurant.” She said.
“I’ll meet you there then. Where is it?” He asked, and she directed him to the seven-star restaurant,
Ten minutes later, he arrived at the VIP room she had booked for her meeting.
“Tony.” Harriet stood to greet him, opening her arms for a friendly hug just like they used to but, he brought his hands out for a handshake, keeping distance between them.
Harriet felt a pang of guilt at his withdrawal, but she couldn’t complain as she had ruined their friendship in the first place.
“Do you uh… would you like to drink something? Coffee? Water? Wine?” She asked, rubbing her now sweaty palm on her thighs.
“No, thank you. I won’t take too much of your time. I know you’re a busy woman,” He said as he took a seat. The pain on his face was tormenting Harriet, but all she could do was listen to what he had to say.
“Are you still friends with Adrian?” He asked, and her brows creased, wondering why he was suddenly being inquisitive about her relationship with Adrian.
“We talk. I can’t say we’re friends anymore.” Harriet said, referring to what Damien told her about Adrian wanting to kick him out of the company.
“I see.” Tony nodded.
“I haven’t told you this before but, I lived in New York up until ten years ago,” Tony said, and Harriet’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Wait, what?!” She exclaimed, not able to believe that she had been lied to for four whole years.
“I have always been scared to tell you because I knew you would be upset about me lying to you, but, recent events have made me realize that if you can lie and be secretive about things, then I can too. So, I have no apologies, Harriet.” Tony said with a stern look. He was tired of chasing her around and even though he still loved her very much, he wasn’t going to ruin himself trying to get her when it was obvious that she was in love with her ex-husband.
He came to this conclusion on his journey to the hotel after giving it a lot of thought.
“I…” Harriet tried to speak but was unable to form the right words and tears welled up in her eyes. She didn’t need him to tell her what lies he was accusing her of because she already knew.
“Don’t bother, Harriet. Our friendship was doomed from the moment you stepped into New York.” He chuckled sadly.
“So, like I was saying. I had to flee New York for my own safety. A girl named Bethany was obsessed with me and when I rejected her, she sought to kill me. She almost succeeded as I was on the brink of death but, a miracle happened and.. here I am. I fled to Paris out of fear, but she also left New York because she was placed on a wanted list.” He explained while Harriet listened keenly.
“Bethany is Evelyn James.” He revealed and Harriet’s face instantly became pale and chills went up her spine. But, Tony wasn’t done.
“I didn’t realize this earlier because I didn’t take my time to think and investigate but, Adrian Daniels was Bethany’s boyfriend ten years ago. My guess is that they are still working together.”