Beep Beep ~ Beep Beep ~

Ciara was woken up by the alarm clock. She stretched her hand from under the blanket to turn off the alarm clock.

After a while she lazily sat on the bed.

" Urgh " she grunted and stood up. She walked to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

Once she was done she headed to her room and took her phone. She scrolled through her contact log and called a certain person. After a while the call connected.

" What is it Ciara. I just came back from a conference. I'm extremely tired right now" Adrian complained as he laid on his bed

" You think I'm not tired. Why on earth did you arrange the conference for 7am." Ciara complained as she took her clothes from the walk in closet.

" It's not my fault." Adrian said tiredly. " Please can you let me sleep it's 2am over here"

"Urgh fine .But you better get your *** back here. I'm tired of being in control of your company " Ciara said

" What a lazy partner" Adrian chuckled through the phone causing Ciara to smile.

" Miss Ciara can I sleep now.i promise to compensate you when I come back" Adrian said exhausted.

" Fine . I'll call you later " Ciara said before hanging up. She walked to the bathroom and freshened up.

Ciara and Adrian were friends from highschool alongside Bethany, Ciara's best friend. Ciara developed feelings for Adrian during their college days. He was very good looking, quite muscular, tall and flirty though he always respected girls.

Adrian made his company and Ciara became his business partner though she never envisioned herself doing business she did it to get close to Adrian leaving behind her dream to become an actress.

After a while . She walked out and wore her clothes. She wore a light blue long sleeved shirt tucked in a black pencil skirt that stopped above her knee. She wore a black high heel making her seem taller. She packed her long deep brown hair in a ponytail making her facial features more obvious. She checked the time and saw that she had 30 minutes more. She quickly picked up her bag and dashed downstairs.

" Good morning Miss Ciara" She was greeted by her two maids once she got downstairs.

" Good morning girls" she said as she quickly walked out. She got to her car and her driver drove her to the company.

Ciara was born to a rich family. She lived alone in the house her dad built for her.

She wasn't quite comfortable leaving with her stepmom so her father built a house and made sure all her needs were met.

After some minutes she arrived at the company. She walked in to see some workers chatting. They immediately greeted her and dispersed when they saw her.

She entered the elevator and went to the top floor. She walked to her office to see her assistant was waiting for her outside the office.

" Miss Ciara Good morning. " Suzy said

"Good morning"

" The conference is starting in 5 minutes"

" Alright do you have the documents I asked you to prepare" Ciara asked as she walked into her office.

" Yes "

" ok, let's go" Ciara said after taking a file of documents.

They headed to the conference room and saw the directors, assistants and CEOs of each company was present.since this was a major conference. The conference included four companies meaning a total of twelve people were going to be present aside the other members of this company.

"Good day everyone" Ciara said as she looked at the people present in the conference

" Miss Ciara we can't start now. There's a company missing" Suzy whispered.

Ciara didn't notice initially but now that she was told she became agitated.

She ignored Suzy and continued " I'm Ciara Shen and I'm going to be replacing Mr Adrian. So we..."

Ciara was interrupted when the door was suddenly opened two bodyguard stood in front and a man who was looking at his phone walked in with a older man and a woman behind him . The man in front was undeniably handsome. He looked young yet he had an imposing aura. His hair was well combed and.neat. His suit was deep blue and without a single crease. He had a sharp jaw and a pointed nose. His lips were pink and thin and his eyes were deep blue. He was very tall about 1.8m tall or more and he was quite muscular.

Immediately when he walked in the other people sitting stood up and greeted him causing Ciara to become more agitated. He walked to the other end of the table facing Ciara directly and he sat still typing his phone before the other people sat.

"You really were going to start without us. What audacity" The other man who walked in with him said causing Ciara to glare at him

" Well ,Sir the meeting was scheduled for 7am and from what I see you are late by exactly 3 minutes" Ciara said." I don't see what I did wrong by starting without you"

" Well as a major sponsor of this project I believe you should at least respect the CEO's presence" The man said as he gritted his teeth.

" Uhh...Miss Ciara I don't think you should argue with them. please just let us start" Suzy pleaded but it fell on deaf ears.

" Punctuality is a major attribute of a responsible person and from what I see you lack it " Ciara said causing the other people to hold their breath as they silently pitied Ciara.

" Do you have any idea who we are . " The man said

" I don't care..." Ciara said and was interrupted by the young man who was now staring at Ciara in astonishment.

"Enough" He said causing total silence.

" Let's start now. I'll start the introduction" The woman said

" I'm Sarah the personal assistant of Mr Vanison , the CEO of Terracon companies. And this is Mr Jeremy the Director of the company" the woman whose name was Sarah said.

Brandon didn't notice that Adrian wasn't the one presenting since he was looking at his phone when he walked in but once he heard her voice he immediately looked up. She was very beautiful. What caught his attention was her eyes. They were brown but looked slightly red making it look special.

Ciara had a very bad impression of this company so she literally ignored them during the meeting.

What annoyed her the most was that the Brandon guy didn't say a word, only his assistant and the director spoke occasionally.

Once the meeting was done , Terracon companies left first before any other company.

Once they all left, only Ciara and Suzy were left.

" They're so cocky. They even brought lots of bodyguards for show of. tsk " Ciara said with clear hate and disgust.

" Miss Ciara. You really shouldn't have spoken back at them. They might get angry and stop sponsoring out project" Suzy said

" Of course. They'll only prove how irrelevant they are . Come on we have work to do. " Ciara said and walked out causing Suzy to sigh and follow her

OUTSIDE THE COMPANY

"That girl, she's so rude. How dare she insult us. She didn't even ask for our opinion throughout the meeting" Jeremy kept fuming in anger causing Brandon to get irritated.

" That's enough" Brandon said with evident annoyance. He got into his car and the driver drove him back to his company.

Sarah and Jeremy entered the company vehicle alongside the bodyguards.

Once they got to the company, Brandon took the VIP elevator to his office.

He went to the big glass wall and stood there as he looked at the busy road below him.

" Hey baby" Brandon heard and felt someone hugging him from behind. " Did you miss me" Helen asked in a sweet voice as she pressed her face against his muscled back.

"Hm" Brandon gave a short reply causing Helen to pout. Helen always knew that Brandon didn't have feelings for her but she was satisfied that she could be by his side. He only planned to marry her so she can give birth to his heir.

" Brandon I'm hungry. Let's go out" Helen suggested .

" Alright" Brandon said as he turned causing Helen to place her arms around his neck and swiftly kiss his lips.

" Let's go" Helen said as she held his hand and walked out.

...

Through out the trip to the restaurant, Brandon kept typing on his laptop giving Helen zero attention but she couldn't care less.

They got to the restaurant after a while and once they were done Brandon paid the bills. They went to the car and headed back to the company.

- - - Inside the car

Helen was staring at Brandon who kept typing on his laptop.

" Brandon it's been a long time since we talked properly. how about now" Helen said as she leaned on him .

Brandon didn't look up. He kept on typing. She was about to speak again when Brandon started a video conference. He appeared to be speaking in French fluently.

There was now silence in the car and only Brandon's charmingly deep voice was heard.

When they got back to the company, Brandon had just finished his conference. He looked at Helen who was angry and patted her head. He kissed her hair before he looked at the driver.

" Take her home"

Without looking back, he entered the elevator and went to his office.

IN ADRIAN'S COMPANY (PSC)

It was already 6pm and Ciara was exhausted. She really wanted Adrian to come and retrieve his position.

Just as Ciara was regretting ever accepting this position, Bethany's call came in. Bethany was Ciara's best friend. They knew each other since they were 7 years old. They were the same age but Bethany was older than her with 2 months.

Ciara immediately answered the call.

" Hey b" Bethany said in her charming voice

"Hey what's up" Ciara said

" So.. I was very bored at home so Ive decided to move into your house"

" Really you were bored" Ciara said in disbelief. She knew Bethany wouldn't move in just because of boredom.

" Ok you got me. Mum and dad has been pressuring me to get married and I'm sure I've been to up to a hundred blind dates already" Bethany complained

" Oh really" Ciara couldn't help but chuckle.

" Soooo... can I stay in your house".

" Sure, you can"

" Thank you so much. I love you" Bethany said and squealed causing Ciara to laugh.

_____

It was already getting late and Ciara was really exhausted. She sat back on the office chair and called Adrian.

" Hey " Ciara said

" I was just about to call you" Adrian said

"Adrian, I'm really tired when are you coming back"

" I was about to call you to talk you that"

" Tell me what" Ciara said

" I'm at the airport, you can come to pick me up "

" Okay I'm on my way" Ciara said with excitement.

" You can bring Bethany along"

" Alright" Ciara said before she hung up. She packed up her bag before leaving. She got into her car and told the driver to drive to Bethany's work place before she called Bethany.

" Hey what's up" Bethany said

" Adrian is at the airport do I was thinking we could go and get him together"

" oh, Adrian is back. Sure I'll come along" Bethany said

" Meet me outside your company in about 5 minutes" Ciara said

"ok "

About 5 minutes later, Ciara's car was parked outside the company where Brandon worked.

Ciara got out of the car and saw Bethany coming out of the main door of the company. Bethany was a very beautiful young lady with great fashion sense.

Her eyelashes were long . Her nose was small and rounded. Her eyes were hazel coloured. Her lips were full and peach in colour. She wore a white long sleeved shirt, a black pencil skirt and tied a black scarf around her neck.

Bethany quickly walked to Ciara and hugged her.

"Wow, Ciara, you look even more beautiful" Bethany said with a smile.

" Yeah right. Where is your luggage"

Bethany was confused" My luggage?"

" You said you were moving into my house" Ciara said.

"Oh I already sent someone to get it for me" Bethany said

" Alright let's get going so we won't delay Adrian"

They both got into the car and after a while they arrived at the airport.

They immediately spotted Adrian dressed in a white t-shirt and a black jean.

He was leaning his back on his black Range Rover. Beside him were his personal assistant and the managing director of the company.

He was typing his phone with one of his hands in his hands in his pocket and his legs crossed.

He looked captivating.

He looked up and stood straight as Ciara and Bethany approached him.He smiled at them causing Ciara's heart to skip a beat.

Ciara and Adrian knew each other for 10years and he was her first love. However much of a.flirt Adrian was, he was still disciplined. He never touched a girl inappropriately which made Ciara like him a lot.

" Hey girls. Did you miss me " Adrian said with a smile.

" Nope" Bethany answered

Ciara only stared at the beautiful portrait in front of her.

Adrian turned to find Ciara staring at him. He smiled and said " What, is there something on my face"

Ciara laughed awkwardly" No I was just..."

"Just what" Adrian asked still smiling

Bethany saw that Adrian wasn't going to let Ciara off so she spoke

" It's getting late, where are we heading to"

" We can go to my house" Adrian said

With that Ciara and Bethany got into Ciara's car while Adrian got into his car.

About 30 minutes later, they arrived at Adrian's house.

They entered and we're greeted by some maids. One of the maid quickly collected Adrian's bag and took it to his room.

" Do you guys want drinks.or something" Adrian asked

" Since when did you become a gentleman" Bethany rolled her eyes

" Aren't I a gentleman"

" Of course not"

Ciara watched as the two of them bickered so she coughed to get their attention.

" Are you two going to keep fighting all night"

They both stopped and glared at each other causing Ciara to smile at their childish behavior.

" Adrian, I think I have I have to go now . I have to get Bethany's luggage" Ciara said

" Oh I'll come along" Bethany quickly said.

" So you guys are running away from me" Adrian said amusingly.

" No we aren't" Ciara said

" Yes we are " Bethany said causing Ciara to glare at her.

" We can meet tomorrow right" Adrian asked

" Sure" Ciara smiled and said before she walked out with Bethany.

They got to Ciara's house and saw Bethany's luggage outside the house. They walked in and the maids collected the luggage that Bethany was carrying.

The maids prepared a room for Bethany as Bethany walked to Ciara's room.

Ciara went to shower and change into her nightgown. when she was done dressing she came out of the closet and saw Bethany on her bed browsing on her phone.

" So were all your dates ugly that you had to leave" Ciara said as she sat on the bed.

"Ah ah ah very funny. You are meant to be consoling me not teasing me."

------

In Brandon's house

Brandon was finding it hard to sleep. It seemed like his insomnia had crept up again.

He was tired but unable to sleep and he hadn't slept for three days already.

He got annoyed and punched the wall.

He walked out of his room and went to the balcony He was getting extremely frustrated.

" Call Jake now " He told a maid as he held the railing and looked downstairs.

Brandon's eyes were red as he was trembling. When the call got connected , the maid immediately gave the phone to Brandon.

Jake's voice immediately rang through the phone.

" Hey what's up"

" Come over now" Brandon said without beating around the bush.

Jake already understood what was going on so he hung up.

The maids were terrified with the look on Brandon's face. He looked fatigued but had the same time dangerous.

He couldn't sleep for three days and couldn't call Jake because Jake wasn't around for.the past three days.

Jake was his personal doctor and best friend. They knew each other since they were 10. They did everything together since their parents were family friends.

The maids were getting worried and called Brandon's mother, Parmella.

" Hello madam, Sir Vanison's insomnia is getting worse. He hasn't slept for three days already but he warned us not to tell you. Ma'am he looks devastated now" The maid.said worriedly

Parmella heard and stiffened in fear.

" Ok I'm coming"

" No ma'am" The maid immediately responded " Please don't come or I'll be in big trouble and besides Mr Jake is on his way already"

Parmella sighed and hesitantly said" Ok keep informing me about his actions"

"ok ma'am " The maid said and Parmella hung up.

Jake was taken to the balcony by one of the maids and he saw Brandon holding the railing tightly.

Jake went over to Brandon and told him to sit. He took Brandon's pulse and saw that his heart was beating very fast. His temperature was also very high but it didn't show in Brandon's expression.

Jake reached into his bag and tore out a new injection and took a small bottle containing a strong sedative.

Brandon was already used to this. in a short while, Jake had injected the drug into the vein in Brandon's wrist. Brandon remained expressionless and didn't show any sign of pain.

Jake told the maid that was present to get a pillow for Brandon.

The drug he injected into Brandon was very strong that he might not be able to stand for a while.

Brandon confusedly looked at Jake" Why" he asked

" The drug in you now is strong, you might not be able to walk properly" Jake said.

Without saying anything, Brandon stood up and walked to his room though he felt dizzy.

He laid on his bed and slept off.

Parmella was getting worried so she called the maid.

" How is Brandon"

" Sir is asleep now " The maid said causing Parmella to sigh in relief

" inform me if anything is wrong" Parmella said

"ok ma'am " The maid said.

After hearing this, Parmella hung up and went to sleep

_______

The next morning, Ciara woke up to find Bethany dressed up. She got downstairs and rubbed her eyes.childishly.

Bethany was making coffee when she saw Ciara

" Oh you're finally awake"

" I was too exhausted yesterday so I had to rest. I sincerely don't understand how Adrian copes with so much documents and conferences" Ciara complained

Bethany chuckled" That's why he's the boss" . Ciara nodded and smiled.

Bethany drank the coffee and headed out" I'll be leaving now" she said and waved at Ciara.

Ciara's phone started ringing and she saw that it was Adrian.

Her eyes lightened up as she picked the call.

"Hey Ciara are you coming it's 8am already" Adrian said

" Well I just woke up" Ciara said slightly embarrassed

" If I were a regular boss what do you think your situation will be" Adrian teased causing Ciara to feel more embarrassed.

"Please don't make me feel worse than I already do" Ciara said

" How out we go out. You can treat me to a meal. " Adrian said.

" Uhh... shouldn't you be treating me to a meal" Ciara said

" Well you're late for work " Adrian teased again.

" Alright I'll treat you to a meal" Ciara said quickly.

" ok then I'll meet you when you arrive"

" Wait when are we going for the meal" Ciara asked.

" When do you think we can go" Adrian asked

"Maybe during lunch"

"ok then lunch it is. I have to go now" Adrian said before hanging up.

Ciara was so happy. She was actually going to have lunch with Adrian alone.

She quickly went upstairs to freshen up. She wore her normal office uniform of a long sleeved shirt and a black pencil skirt. She did her hair in a casual updo style and she went downstairs.

She ate a few pancakes with syrup before leaving for work

______

Brandon who woke.up very early by 5: 30am was in his company.

He looked more refreshed than the other days though he still had bags under his eyes like he didn't have enough sleep.

He got.to the company and all the employees immediately stood up and greeted him.

Even in his own company, about 3 bodyguards followed him. He walked into the elevator as his female employees admired his face.

" Sir look extremely charming today " one of the female employees whispered

" Yes he looks gorgeous" another one said.

_____

Ciara already got to the company. She went to her office to get some documents before heading to Adrian's office.

When she got to his office he was typing on his laptop. She coughed lightly to get his attention.

Adrian looked up and saw Ciara standing in front of his desk. He stood up and walked to Ciara.

" Oh sorry I didn't see you there. Do you need something"

Ciara almost got lost just by looking at him. She could feel herself blushing.

"uh.. no . I just .. uh .. came.. just came"

Adrian looked at her confusedly and almost bursted into laughter

" Ciara are you fine, you face is pink"

Ciara immediately touched face and felt sweat on her forehead.

" I'm fine. I came.to give you these documents". She quickly handed him the documents and turned to leave.

" Remember we're having lunch together" Ciara heard and nodded before walking out of the office.

When she got out of the office she sighed and smiled foolishly to herself. After calming down she went back to her office and continued her work.

Once it was lunch time Ciara quickly headed to Adrian's office.

he saw and said' I was just going to your office but since you're here let's go"

Ciara smiled and nodded. She walked ahead and Adrian followed her from behind. They both got into his car and he drove to a restaurant.

Ciara felt like the silence was awkward so she spoke " So where are we having lunch'

Adrian remained silent like he thinking before he spot" Maybe a random restaurant and you'll be paying my bills"

Ciara looked at him " Didn't you say you were a gentleman. "

" Oh yes I am" Adrian said and they kept talking till they got to the restaurant.

They entered the restaurant and got some attention. Some people were commenting on their looks and their relationship causing Ciara to blush but Adrian didn't care.

They got a seat and ordered their food . Adrian was about to eat when his phone started to ring. it was Kate. Adrian smiled and answered the call.

" Hey babe what's up" . Ciara who was eating immediately stopped once she saw the caller id talk less of the way he addressed her.

" How are you" Kate asked

"I'm good. what's up"

" I'm in the airport now. You can come pick me" Kate said

" What you're back " Adrian said with surprise and happiness.

" Yes it was meant to be a surprise" Kate said.

" Alright then I'm on my way. I won't take long" Adrian said and hung up.

He hurriedly stood up and said to Ciara" Ciara I'm sorry. I have to go and get Kate . Maybe we can do this another time"

Ciara nodded and looked sad and slightly uncomfortable. She didn't have an appetite anymore.

Adrian noticed her expression " Let me make it up to you" He called the waiter and paid the bills before he went out and drove to the airport.

Ciara was now alone at the table as she looked plainly at the food. She felt sad seeing her crush chasing after her stepsister. She took a cab and headed back to the company.

____

Adrian was very excited to see Kate. After about 20 minutes, he arrived at the airport. He hurriedly got out of his car and spotted Kate. She was wearing a black face mask because she was an actress and often attracted attention.

She was wearing a crop top and a baggy jeans. her hair was dyed deep purple . Her face was round and small making her look cute. Adrian quickly got to her and hugged her tightly. She was about 1.73m but she was short compared to Adrian who was 1.82 m tall.

She looked at him like she longed to be with him causing him to kiss her forehead.