Meet Stephen Gray

“No Hun, my flight was late so I wouldn’t be home till tomorrow.” Stephen announced through the phone as he stared blankly at his watch; he had worn that particular piece for three years now, not because it was worth half a million dollars, which was its worth by the way, but because of the sentiments attached to it.

“Oh Noo...Jenny whined from the other end of the phone, the disappointment in her voice was very audible but Stephen turned deaf ears to them. “But I made preparations to welcome you today, you should have just booked a private aircraft.” She grumbled.

“I know, babe… I promise I will make it up to you when I come back tomorrow.” Stephen insisted.

She grumbled and mumbled a few more words and then she sighed. “Fine, I will see you tomorrow.” She uttered sadly.

“Thank you babe, I love you…” he teased with a warm smile on his face. He was naturally a handsome young man, with just the right amount of melanin that people at times mistake him to be mixed, but he was completely a white dude.

“Yeah, whatever.” Jenny grumbled and hung up on him.

Stephen smiled and shook his head, he knew she was disappointed but he had to do it. Now of course he had lied, as a matter of fact he was standing in a discreet hotel right now in Las Vegas, his flight had landed about thirty minutes ago and he ditched the driver sent to pick him up.

Being the City’s most eligible bachelor came with its advantages and of course disadvantages; right now the latter was weighing on him. He had a very rough flight and didn’t want another noisy evening which was to be expected at home.

People might think being from such a wealthy family came with peace and comfort but not the Grey family, they were definitely more noisy than your average middle class family. After a week of strenuous meetings and office work, the CEO of Grey enterprises had returned to his hometown and just wanted a night of peace to himself. He wanted to be alone and get some rest before returning to his family tomorrow.

Those people wouldn’t care that he had been on a flight for eighteen hours; they would still go ahead and trouble him for the rest of the night. So knowing them too well, especially his fiancée Jenny, Stephen thought it was best to drop in at a hotel tonight, and then return to the Calvary tomorrow. Without doubt, he knew they would throw him a welcome party. By God, he had only been gone for a week, so why the drama?

Stephen stared out to the moon as it slowly hid its face in the darkness, escaping into the clouds. It was a beautiful evening and he had no regrets for wanting to spend it alone. He had just checked into the hotel with a decoy card which was in a way legal, it was just a means to hide his identity for people who didn’t know him but the receptionist and the young lady who had shown him to his room seemed to have easily recognized him.

Stephen went ahead to switch off his phone and then walked to the bed as he waited patiently for his whiskey. He had requested something strong even though it meant a hangover tomorrow, but he planned to get drunk tonight and sleep till it was the next day. Getting drunk overnight helps him concentrate the following day.

** ** ** ** **

Anastasia finally found Rachel at the hotel private bar downstairs; she had searched half of the building for her. As the red haired pretty young lady got closer, she noticed that her coworker was in a good mood today. Well, Rachel was always grumbling about something, it was like she was being forced to do the job, but today was different. As she stood in front of the counter, waiting on the bar man to deliver her orders, a grin was plastered on her face.

“What is the happy face all about?” Ana asked with a smile as she gently brushed shoulders with Rachel and placed her elbows on the counter to support the weight of her body.

Rachel chuckled and turned to face her. “I didn’t see you there, why asking? You don’t like to see me happy or what?” she joked.

Ana laughed softly. “Of course not mate; I am just not used to seeing you not wearing a frown, you must be in high spirits tonight. Let me in on the secret.” She teasingly requested.

“Don’t be silly, I only grumble when I am made to do work. Wait, that isn’t why you are here, is it?” she asked with furrowed eyebrows, a look of suspicion and scrutiny.

“Ugh!” Ana groaned while clicking her teeth together in hesitance. “Yeah, the boss wants to see you.” she finally announced.

“I knew it, that bastard wouldn’t give me a minute without some dirty work. He wouldn’t get to boss me around for long anyway,” she retorted.

“Wow… Calm down girl, you are not resigning, are you?” Ana asked with a scrutinizing look, not like she cared what Rachel did with her life, but if Rachel resigned, it just meant more work for poor Anastasia.

“It depends on how this night goes,” Rachel said with a little giggle. She quickly looked around to see if anyone was watching and then she turned back to Ana and whispered. “Did you see that guy who just lodged in a VIP room?”

Ana looked around in confusion not knowing why she was whispering and then she turned back. “Yeah, who is he?” she queried.

“Keep your voice low,” Rachel whispered and quickly checked to see if the barman was listening to them, but the grumpy dude was busy sorting out drinks. “That guy is the City’s most eligible bachelor, the industrious son of the Grey Family.” she announced.

“Um… I haven’t heard of him,” Ana replied honestly.

“Ugh!” Rachel mumbled with a look of disappointment. “You are so boring; do you even have a social life? Never mind, that guy is my ticket out of poverty; that is all I can tell you for now. Wait for the full gist tomorrow, and inform your silly boss that I will be with him shortly, I need to deliver this fifteen thousand dollars whiskey to my client,” she giggled and cat-walked off with a bottle and a tray with a wine cup.

Ana stood there feeling even more confused than ever, she sighed and shook her head; just then her eyes awkwardly met with that of the barman, he smiled at her and she nervously smiled back, then she walked away. She wondered what was so special about this guest and why she thought he was her ticket out of poverty; come to think of it, that dude didn’t even look friendly from the little grasp of view she had caught of him.

She decided to ignore whatever Rachel was up to and focus on her job. As much as she didn’t want Rachel to quit the job, she didn’t want to lose hers either; her family heavily depends on it.

To be continued!!