One: Meeting

Louella

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Just like every other day, New York city was busy.

Honking cars suspended on the road, deafening music intoxicating the environment which was meant to be peaceful, the ambulance or police siren crying for the road users to make way for their passage, high schoolers walking by the road side, journalists hanging around companies to get one information or the other. 

I heaved a deep sigh, looking up at the Cirrus sky of the evening. What a beautiful view of the sky. Beautiful enough to make me feel blessed. 

Still staring up at the sky, a memory from ten years ago crawled into my head. It didn't just crawl into my head, it brought little tears to my eyes. And, not wanting to think about those sad times, I blinked to keep the tears, resuming being overwhelmed by the coolness around me. 

I sighed. I was glad. Glad to the extreme. Who would have known that that little, wretched girl from ten years ago, would be the one standing on the balcony of the ninth floor of this ten storey building? Who would have known she would be the owner of this very big, reputable, one of the most cherished companies? To wrap it all, who would have known that tiny beggar would end up being this respected billionaire?

Unable to contain my emotion, a tear left my eye. Indeed, I was proud of myself. I was the woman I wanted to be. I was the true daughter of Lesa Warren, Louella Warren. 

"Ms. Warren," a tiny voice called from behind me. 

Wiping off my tears, wearing the usual stern look, I turned around to see who was behind me. 

"Oh, Rachel." I smiled at my twenty-one year old secretary. A secretary who was more like a sister. "You're back? That's kind of… quick."

She returned my smile. "Yes, ma'am. Thanks to Ms. Parker."

I gasped. Erin? So that crazy-honey had gone with Rachel? This was the reason I would ever say my best friend was crazy. She had told me she was off to France, so how in the world did she go on an errand with Rachel?

I rolled my eyes, and grumbled at myself. Rachel raised an eyebrow at me, giving me that have-you-gone-crazy look. Noticing she was overly confused, I dismissed her by only flapping a hand in the air. And soon, she was out of the balcony. 

Ready to scold my best friend, I pulled a playful glare, stormed into my office. 

"Where are you, bitch?!" I cried as soon as I stepped in. 

She stared at the magazine she had in her hands, while seated on the L-shaped black leather couch at the middle of my large office. As soon as she heard me voice, she winced, snapped her neck around to catch my gaze. 

After staring at me for a while, she burst out laughing. "Damn, I fooled you," she confessed. 

"So annoying." I grabbed a mug from the little bar in here, got some cappuccino from the coffee maker. "I was thinking of how I would survive without having you around, but then, I was being pranked."

"Aw…" she batted her eyelashes at me. Gross. Batting eyelashes was one thing I found very unattractive. 

I sauntered to her, sat beside her. Taking another deep sigh, I nursed my coffee. "So…" I started a proper conversation. It was time to get back to business. If I had no name, business would probably be my name. "What's up? Did the meeting get postponed again?"

She smirked, those grey eyes expressing something I didn't understand. What was she doing now?

"Guess what?" She finally spoke. 

I narrowed my eyes at her. "You know I hate guesses."

She chuckled. "Your company's been qualified for the meeting!"

She was probably expecting me to squeal, but all I did was to give her a small smile. And yes, that smile was a forced one. I could tell she was disappointed by my reaction, but well, by now, she ought to know the type of person I was. Icy, boring, very apathetic to everything around me. That was Louella Warren for anyone who cared to know her. Oh, know me. 

"You're annoying!" She hissed, resumed concentrating on the magazine. 

I shrugged. "You should know that by now. Duh."

Standing up, I dropped my mug on the glass table in front of us, cleared my throat. Swallowing hard, trying as hard as possible to ensure my fear wasn't obvious, I turned around to get ready for my long awaited meeting. 

"You're sure you aren't nervous? That meeting's your biggest one ever, huh?" Erin queried.

Of course, she sounded worried. I was worried and nervous as well, but I tried to ignore that feeling. It was a normal thing to feel nervous to attend a meeting with the chairman of Green Stars Field company. That was one of the biggest companies over here, and any company who worked with them was ever going to stand out. 

I ought to be glad that I had finally gotten a chance to attend a meeting with the chairman, but my personality wouldn't permit me to get excited over a mere meeting. Life had been harsh enough to teach me that nothing was worth being excited for. Being excited wouldn't change the outcome of the meeting. So, what was the point in wasting my emotion?

I nodded at Erin, walked to my table. Grabbing my purse, I headed straight to the door. About to step out, she called out my name. And grumbling a little, I turned around to spot her.  

"What?" I demanded, so indifferent to whatever she would say or do. 

She squinted her eyes at me, pulled her tiny lips into a pout. "Hun, drop every freaking ego you've got, okay?"

I shot her a glare. "Tell that to your boyfriend. This babe isn't dropping any ego."

She shook her head. Noticing she was about to elongate this unnecessary discussion, I said a quick “goodbye” to her, stepped out immediately. 

Only taking a step into the hallway, heading to the elevator, Neo and Leo, my personal bouncers, walked behind me. As well, about fifteen of my dudes followed. Rachel and two other guys stood by the elevator I was going to step into. And reaching the elevator door, I snapped my fingers to signal they should open up the door. 

Rachel walked in with me, and we headed to the last floor of this building. In a jiffy, we were at our destination. As soon as all available workers on the floor spotted me coming, they stood up, bowed their heads to show some respect. They made way for me to pass, and soon, I made my way out of the building. 

As usual, journalists surrounded me, begging for my attention. But clearly, why would I pay attention to them when I had a big offer waiting out there for me?

They were always a great inconvenience to my life, but well, was there anything better than being a billionaire? Of course not. Whenever the journalists felt the need to attack me with questions, my bouncers were always there to guard me out of their proximity. 

Soon, we reached my car. I hopped into the backseat, fastened my seat belt. Another good thing about being a billionaire was you never had to talk. Gesturing with the eyes, snapping the fingers, clearing the throat, would do the trick. And right now, a snap of my fingers got my driver to start the car. 

We were on the road in a short while. All I did was to lean my head against the headrest, take in a deep sigh. It was time to face the greatest victory of my life. Yes, I would admit, a whole Louella was nervous to attend that meeting. 

God help me.

***

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