Chương 9: The wildest night

As soon as she reached her office the following morning, she learned that Mr. Jenkins was in a meeting and had strict instruction not to be disturb. She quickly walked towards his office to snoop around, wondering about the early visitor.

"Who's in there? I need to talk to him." She asked Jacky as soon as she saw her in her sight. She quickly bypassed her without waiting for her response and moved towards her boss' office door.

Jacky quickly jumped out of her seat and blocked her way, even before she reached the door. Jacky snatched her arm and pulled her back to her table.

"No, Dani. You can't go in there. Howard specifically instructed that they should not be bothered. It was strictly a private meeting." Jacky slightly chastised her, shoving her in the seat in front of her desk.

Jacky was Mr. Jenkins's secretary and her very dear friend. She usually got away with that stunt, but this time, Jacky was serious not to let her pass. Whoever was inside must be very important to be given special treatment.

"Jacky." She looked at her seriously. "Who's the boss with?" She asked inquisitively. She knew Jacky would spill the bean if she played her cards right. Her friend could never resist her especially when she knew her weakness.

"I was told not to tell, but just between the two of us, the boss is with Mr. Hotty," Jacky uttered dreamily. That was easy, she thought. She had not even given her any incentive yet. Maybe this man in question was very hot to make Jacky this talkative.

"Hey, snap out of it. Who are you talking about?" She said exasperated at the way her friend was acting. All the suspense was killing her. She needed a name.

Jacky composed herself and pouted to show some form of protest for interrupting her daydreaming. "You're no fun." She returned to her seat and pretended to go back to her work.

"Okay. Stop with the face." She spoke sharply. She had no time for Jacky's antics. She knew her too well. This was her being overdramatic.

"Fine. What's eating you? You look like ants are crawling up your ass." Jacky tapped her nails on the keyboard, making a show that she was busy typing, ignoring her.

"Come on Jacky, I'm sorry if I snap at you." She begged her, needing her cooperation if she would uncover the mystery behind the closed door.

After a few more seconds of persuasion, Jacky finally looked up to her. Taking her fingers off the keyboard, she finally turned to face her. She looked around to see if they were alone.

"His name is Alexander Princeton. The new hotshot CEO of the Welsh Group of Companies." She whispered conspiratorially, making sure that no one would hear her.

"What are you talking about?" She was confused since she just finished reading about the Welsh Group and the CEO mentioned in the file was not Alexander Princeton. There must be some kind of a mistake with Jacky's information.

"Listen first." She shushed her before continuing. "Based on the news, he took over just a month ago when he bought the entire company." Jacky narrated. When you want information, Jacky was a great source. She had a way of finding the juicy details.

That slightly made sense, since the file she had read must be more than a month old. So, they had a new CEO, she thought. This was news to her. She badly needed additional funding for an assistant who could help her dig up information about her case and update her for new developments like this.

"I had no idea that Welsh was for sale." She questioned since she believed that the company was doing great, being one of the leading companies in the shipping business.

She knew a lot about the company since she was handling a lawsuit against it. One of her clients was a worker there who was wrongfully discriminated against and terminated.

"It was a great shock in the business world since many tried to buy or merge with them. But the owner usually declined the offers." Jacky related what she probably read on the internet. "They find it strange that a newcomer easily acquired the company overnight."

"Why strange?" She gathered that there was more to the story, but Jacky was trying to kill her with her suspense. She was starting to lose her patience.

"Well, it appeared that Mr. Hotty found a way to buy the company under everyone's noses. Nobody knew it coming." Jacky explained further. "There were speculations that he was not just anybody, but someone with a tremendous connection. But nobody could dig much dirt on him."

Jacky could care less about all of the information she gathered, the only thing that mattered to her was his delectable features. She was a sucker for hot man.

"Hey, Jacky. Please stop daydreaming. I need you to focus." She tapped her fingers on Jacky's table, trying to get her attention back.

"What do you need?" Jacky again turned to her, raising her brows at her.

"Ok. Perhaps he had something more precious to offer, making the owner reconsider. It happens." She mumbled more to herself. Not particularly asking a question.

She was aware of underhand tactics to get away with many things in the business world. She had suffered and fight through red tapes too just to get a case going. So, this was no news to her.

"Anyway, why is he here? What is the purpose of the meeting?" She asked Jacky who could only shrug her shoulders.

It was puzzling to her the reason for the meeting, but she might have an idea of what they could be talking about. If her suspicion was correct, she might not like the outcome of that meeting.

"Call me when the meeting is over. I'll just be in my office." She turned on her heels and walked directly to her office, which was just three doors away from Mr. Jenkins.

Whatever that was, she would find out later. Now, she just wanted a little peace. This day started great, then slowly went to a downward slope. She could only hope to salvage what was left of her day.

She buried herself with her paper works. Thinking of a way to help her clients and win her cases. One of the reasons why she needed to speak with Mr. Jenkins. There was no way they could win their cases without enough funding.

A buzzed on her phone disrupted her work. "I think the meeting is about to end," Jacky informed her as she whispered on the other line.

"Why are you whispering?" She asked, completely amazed at her friend's action.

"Because I'm eavesdropping just outside the door. I just brought some papers inside." She whispered again. "Have to go." Then, the line was abruptly cut.

All she could do was shake her head at her friend. She gathered her things and cleaned her table before heading out the door. She could not wait to inquire about the said meeting and to discuss her current predicament with Mr. Jenkins.

As she stepped out of her door, she heard the door of Mr. Jenkins open. Her boss walked out first. Then followed by two men. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Princeton. I hope that we could settle this matter immediately."

Something about the other man, made her stopped in her tracks. She only got a glimpse of his face but recognition hit her. She tried to get a better view of him to be sure but the other man with him was blocking her view. Then, she dismissed her thoughts. It was impossible.

When she saw the outline of the body of Mr. Hotty, she completely understood what Jacky meant. His body was sculptured by the Gods as his expensive suit fitted him perfectly.

A few seconds later, Mr. Princeton, or Mr. Hotty as Jacky branded him, stepped out completely and away from the man blocking him from her sight.

Then, he finally shifted his position showing the side of his face. A face that made her eyes enlarge in size. Recognition hit her when her mind like a lightning lit up her brain and told her who he was.

"Oh my." She almost yelped when she saw his face. "What is he doing here?" She covered her mouth to stop herself from making any further noise.

She quickly ducked on the big filing cabinet at the corner just outside her office, thankful for the cover. She made a quick peek again just to be sure that her eyes were not deceiving her, unfortunately, she was not mistaken, no doubt about it.

"Thank you for having us." She heard him say to her boss. The timbre of his voice did sound familiar to her. Although she was not that sure, since it had been long enough since she heard his voice. But his face was something she would never forget.

Finally, she heard them walking towards the elevator, away from Mr. Jenkins's office. She began to breathe easily again. She waited for a few more minutes just to make sure that they were already gone before she started moving again.

However, when she stole a look in the direction of the elevator, she did not expect to make eye contact with the man who had given her the wildest night of her life. She could only gaze at those piercing gray eyes as the door closed on him.