Chapter 3: Chocolate Cake is Nice
Xavier tuned his mother out whilst he ate at the long dining table that occupied two forth of the large dining room. For the umpteenth time, she nagged him about his cold attitude towards the ladies she makes an effort to introduce to him. In his mother's words, It is 'uncouth and ungentlemanly' of him to act so.
"Xavier Thomas Harris! Are you even listening to me?"
He grunted an answer his mother could barely make out, and continue to munch on his french toast alongside a sunny-side-up with his first cup of coffee of the day.
"...And so, I and your father decided on dinner this Friday with the Graham's. It'd be a great opportunity to meet their first daughter, Olivia," his mother finished, gleefully clapping her hands like she has nabbed the greatest strategy of hooking up single men with available spinsters.
Xavier grunted again and downed his second cup of coffee. The screen of his phone lit up. It was a reminder from his personal assistant, Peter, reminding him of his meeting with a potential investor for a new side business he was considering by 9 am this morning. Pushing his seat back, he stood up and straightened his already smooth suit jacket. No creases could be seen on his outfit, and one wonders what he was trying to straighten out.
"Mother, I must leave for the office now. I have a meeting and lots of paperwork to sort through." He came to where she sat at the other end and gave her a kiss on both cheeks cutting her off from her chattering.
"Wait, Xavier! You will be available on Friday evening, won't you?" his mother asked pleadingly, knowing that ordering or mandating Xavier never works in any way.
"Mother..." Xavier started, only to be interrupted by his mother.
"Please, no more excuses. Olivia is a nice girl and well mannered. I'm sure you'll love her. Both of you will make a good couple.
"Woh! Slow down there, mother. Chocolate cake is nice too but not everyone loves eating it. Please, don't go planning weddings with an imaginary groom, except you wish the bride to marry herself at the altar in the end. Now that will not be a happy ending, will it?"
"But son, I'm doing this for you," her mother complained helplessly.
"Yes, mother. I know you mean well. But I'm not that 4 years old child you go buying toys you thought was best for him. I'm 29 and knows what I want and at the right time.
"Precisely, you are 29 and may go bald soon like your father who by the way had you when he was just 21. I'm afraid no lady would want you then," Jennifer Harris scoffed and rolled her eyes.
"Now, wouldn't that be better. At least it'll save us the stress of having to chase off vain ladies by myself," Xavier chuckled that earned him a glare from his mother.
"Don't stress Mother. Everything will fall in line in good time." he kissed her again and headed for the front door. "I promise I'll be there at dinner on Friday, but please reign your horse. You'll don't wanna do what I don't wanna do too."
"Thank you, Xavier! You've made me a happy mother," she called behind him.
"I know mother. I always make you happy," he joked, shutting the front door behind him.
At Harris Conglomerate, the intercom on Xavier's table rang. He pushed a button. "Yes, Mary?" he asked.
"Sir, Mr Randolph has arrived."
Xavier frowned, glancing at his wristwatch. The man is twenty minutes earlier than scheduled. "Send him to the conference room and have him wait." He was about dropping the call when his secretary held him up.
"Wait, Sir! He is asking if he can have a personal chat with you before the business meeting."
"Tell him, I'm booked with work right now, and can't have personal chats. He'll have to wait till the scheduled time, and we'll see how it goes." He dropped the call without waiting for any more response from the other end.
Xavier is disciplined in everything, and even more so when it comes to working. He is a stickler for no pleasure with business. The two words should not be mixed in any way to avoid future complications. A business should remain business as it should be.
He went back to reading the files on his table, and when it was three minutes to 9 am, his reminder pinged. There was a complimentary knock on his office door at the same time, and his personal assistant walked in. Peter picked the necessary files alongside his iPad pro and stood to wait silently as he donned his suit which he has removed earlier and hung at the suit hanger behind his chair. Walking out, Peter followed him knowing no words were needed. In fact, that was why Xavier personally chose him out of 30 people that applied for the position as his personal assistant. He needed someone who doesn't need elaborate explanations to do what is required, and even more talk less. One of Xavier's strong aversion is chatterboxes.
The moment he walked into the conference room, he was taken aback. Mr Randolph sat elegantly with two females. One of the ladies was immaculately dressed in corporate attire and sitting one seat away from the man he was meeting, whilst the other lady was dressed to the nines as if it's disco night. She sat between Randolph and the other lady. Taking everything in at a glance, Xavier grimaced. Who dresses like that on a humid morning in July?
"Mr Randolph, a pleasure to meet you, " he said proffering his right hand for a handshake.
"Pleasure is all mine too." The man stood up to return the courtesy.
"Sorry, you had to wait. I had urgent matters that required my attention." Xavier added not feeling sorry in the least. He kept his word. The meeting was scheduled for 9 am. It is 9, and here he is, he reasoned in his head.
"No, no, no. No apologies. I understand how busy men like you could be," He laughed loudly. The sound reverberating through the conference room "I probably deserved it for trying to cut into your work time. This is my secretary, Lilian, and my lovely daughter, Sophia. Sophia is learning to take over from me. So you'll be meeting her often in the future in my place" he introduced without ceremony, whilst the said Sophia batted her eyes shyly at him. The father and daughter duo couldn't be more obvious. Well, it takes more than shyly batting a pair of delicate eyelids to catch Xavier Harris attention otherwise he wouldn't be where he is today. Chocolate cakes are nice, but this is a meeting room. Chocolate cakes should know their places - Kitchen, dining rooms and cafes.
"Alright then, let's get to it." He nodded politely to the ladies and waved Mr Randolph to his seat. Sophia's face fell.
"This is my personal assistant, Peter McCain. He'll be taking notes of our discussion and everything in between which he will send to your email as a frame of reference."
"That's okay. My secretary, Linda, will also do the same from my own end."
Taking a file from Peter, he slides it across to Mr Randolph. "The files contain everything I expect from my investors. Like I briefly explained in my first contact with you, I wish to diversify into the food processing business on a large scale. This will be a separate entity from Harris Conglomerate. As you know, the foundation of Harris Conglomerate is solidly stemmed in aircraft manufacturing and production with a recent launch into the technological industry. This, however, is an entirely new area I've nurtured a personal desire for years. I've done the necessary groundworks - manufacturing plants, equipment, suppliers, cost of manpower etc. All the information are in that file. I hope you can look through and give me your response, say in the next couple of days, then we can take it from there. Will that be okay with you?
"Yes, Yes. A couple of days sounds good. Today is Tuesday, Is it okay to give you my response over dinner on Thursday night?
Xavier studied the man's face for a second. He knows exactly what the man was trying to do. He's trying to get him to have dinner with him and not surprisingly, in the company of his daughter.
"I'm sure that can be arranged. You can reach my PA here with the details anytime before Thursday then," he acquiesced.
They discussed some more and the meeting ended shortly after.
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