Lia’s POV:
The sound of my mobile penetrated my ears. I tried to snooze, but my mobile acted as if it had its idea to bug me. I tried to open my eyes only to find that I was getting a call and not an alarm. I groaned myself. Who in the Earth was calling at this early hour? I suddenly became awake to see that it was Max from my office. Max was the chief design architect in our company. He was a complete brainer and recently had come up with some exciting designs for future technology.
"Morning, Max. What is the emergency to call me at this morning?" mumbled between my yawns.
"Good morning Lia. We have a meeting with my boys on the new gearbox designs, remember? We need to finalize this by this week."
"Oh, Crap. I forgot that. My car broke down yesterday, and I don't have transport. I cannot hitch a ride with dad as he and Jax have to go to the warehouse." How could you be so reckless Lia, I mentally face palmed myself.
"Don't worry, Lia. I will pick you up. I will wait for you in the diner down your street in 30 minutes. Will it be fine for you?"
"Oh, Max. You are a lifesaver. I will be there in 30."
"Lia, Since we are going to work site, come in comfortable clothing. Bye"
I chuckled at Max's request. Comfortable means 'Come in a dress by which his boys would not get distracted.' At times he is overprotective than my dad and Jax. He is such a sweetheart who sees me as his younger sister he never had. I am so lucky to get such a family and friends.
I mentally knocked the wood so as not to jinx myself. I rushed to my bathroom to start the day.
When I reached downstairs, I already heard my family's voice in the kitchen. "Good morning, sweetheart" I smiled at my father's greeting with a 'good morning.'
"Good morning Jax" I greeted my brother Jaxon while getting seated on island chairs.
"Greet me properly, sister, like Good morning, my handsome most and smartest brother in the whole world" I smacked at the back of his head but could not stop laughing.
"Hey, don't spoil my hairstyle."
"You asked for it. Also, I did not"
"Did too"
"Did not"
"Did too"
"Jax, Lia, stop fighting and have your breakfast." My mom came into the kitchen.
"Morning, Mom. Where have you been?"
"Morning, Lia darling. Shelly called to check on today's lunch in the club. Do you want to join us?"
"No, Mom. I have a meeting today morning. I don't know the course of events today. I will join next time."
"Shelly's niece has come back from Canada. He is joining us for lunch. If you could join us for 30 minutes at least...."
I interrupted my mom with a laugh "No, mom. I know what you are up to. So a big no." Since I completed my graduation, my mom was trying with this match-making business.
"Come on, Lia. I am not getting younger every day. I want to see my grandkids soon." she said with a pout.
"Leave her be, Susie. Our princess will get her prince charming someday."
"Oh, Dad. You are equally bad as Mom" I rolled my eyes towards him when he chuckled back at me.
"I am getting late for my meeting. See you in Office Dad and Jax." I kissed mom Goodbye and left to meet Max.
I reached the diner precisely 28 minutes later. Well done, myself, you made it on time. I looked out for Max's car. Even if he was nearby, he could not reach here in the next 10 minutes. I can see the truck had blocked the entire way for all the vehicles behind, and I could hear the irritated horns at the back. I decided to get a cup of coffee in the meantime.
I could see the truck moved away when I emerged out, but Mac got stuck behind a black Acura TLX. The driver was unaware of the honking at the back. I waited for a couple of minutes and saw Max signaling me to join him as the driver in front was not going to move the car, and we were already late for the meeting.
I passed the blocking car, and I got into the vehicle with Max.
"Hey, beautiful," Max greeted me with a smile, and I laughed back. "Hi yourself."
I was surprised to feel the same pull I suddenly felt the day before. Why was I feeling like this often? Was I feeling sick? I shook my thoughts to concentrate for the day.*****
"So, what do you think, Lia?" Max questioned me after the demo cum presentation.
"The ideas are good max. But the specifications look more for a smaller air vehicle." Max beamed at my question.
"Exactly my point too. We need to expand our business apart from larger air crafts. I heard our prime customer, Alastair Corporation, is getting into helicopters. We can try with them."
My face fell on Max's answer. "Oh, Max! We are currently in danger of losing our existing contracts. I heard the new CEO wants to check in new suppliers."
Max's eyes widened in surprise. "But why? We are supplying without any hitch till now. Why they want to go for a new company suddenly?"
I rubbed my temples in frustration. "I don't know, Max. I am trying to catch the CEO for the past week but couldn't get an appointment. If I can get 10 minutes of his time, I can convince him to continue the business with us."
"Are you sure you can convince him? Not the other way around?" I frowned at his stupid question.
"What are you blabbering at?"
"Come on, Lia. Have you not seen him? All females will fall for him in one look."
I snorted at him. "Do I look like all other females?"
Max's eyes widened, seeing my reaction. "No... I... You..."
I laughed as I sensed his nervousness. "Chill out. Not all guys who are good looking at screens are not real handsome in real life."
"Not all?" Mike laughed, catching the weak link in my statement.
"I know who you are trying to hint. So don't." I threatened, raising a finger.
"You and Als are the same. I still don't understand what you see in that guy." He shook his head while mumbling at me.
Alyssa was her girlfriend who worked in Mandarin. She is a sweet girl but loved gossips. We have similar interests starting from books to movies.
"Hello, Earth to Lia." Max waved his hand in front of my eyes. I smiled at him back. "Sorry, zoned out."
"What are you doing today evening?"
"Nothing Max. I am planning to complete 'Ship of the Dead.' It's long-pending." Max laughed at my answer.
"Are you still a kid?"
"How dare you? Don't you dare comment on my choice of books? You first read the books before commenting on my choices." I snapped at him. Max lifts his hands in surrender.
"Cool. Cool. I want to know if you are free. Can you join Als and me for dinner?"
"I would love to. It's almost a month since I met Als. What time?"
"You don't have a car, remember? Why don't we leave straight from my office? We are going only to my home. No need to dress up. I will drop you back home later."
"I forgot about my car again. You are such a sweetheart Max."
"I know that." He laughed when I rolled my eyes at his comment.
"When will your car get ready?"
"I checked with my mechanic. No luck. I will be getting at the earliest only on Saturday." I shook my head in clearly in annoyance.
"I need to check on the discussion pointers we came up with within today's meeting. See you at 5." Max left with a smile.
I turned back to check on my day's work. After some time, I closed the laptop with a sigh. Words got out that Alastair corporation is looking for new manufacturers. This affected our existing contracts too. We need to win the contract somehow. I turned to look at the window at a larger horizon without actually looking at it.
Lia’s POV: "Honey, we are home," Max called Alyssa while we entered the living room. Max and Alyssa live in a two-bedroom apartment in central park. I loved their home and spent time with them as much as possible. So Als made the guest bedroom as mine, and I had my spare clothes here if I had to crash on any night. I am so thankful to get such friends. Oh, God! Thinking alike for the second time today. I was so going to jinx me. I then realized max had settled comfortably on the couch. When I decided to move to the kitchen to help, I saw Als standing at the kitchen door with both hands on her hips. Her eyes narrowed at Max. "How many times I have to tell you to keep the keys and coat on the place, mister?" Als asked in a dry tone. "Great. I got an OCD girlfriend." He muttered but immediately got up
Lia’s POV I tried and failed not to tap my foot impatiently as I was not alone in the lift. The old couple looked back at me and muttered. I could not catch it but heard words like 'Young People' and 'No Patience.' God! It was taking forever to reach the floor. Finally, after what seemed to be like hours, I entered the floor. There was no difficulty in finding the Suite as it was the only room on the entire floor. I took a deep breath and pressed the calling button before I chicken out. And I did not expect the person when the door opened. Whoa! If this is Lucian Alastair, then the film and magazines have not done any justice at all. I saw a fine specimen of almost 6 feet. His hair was black and sticking up attractively, and so his dark eyes. God! Girls would die to get such eyelashes. And did I miss out on the perfect jawline and the lips? The black Khaki and white butto
Lia’s POVI tensed, hearing the doorbell. And immediately felt a hand over mine to calm me down. I turned to see Alyssa looking at me with concern-filled eyes. I felt Max moving to check the door, and the smell of pizza made me realize that the food had arrived.I could not help recalling the evening and a fresh set of tears started flowing down my cheeks. Alyssa embraced me and whispered at me to calm down. But the words gave a reverse effect. I shuddered at the thoughts. What if he had not got a call? I knew his demeanor changed after the phone call. What if he had not attended the phone call? What if he had not cooled down? And so many what-ifs haunted me.I was not able to recall what happened once he opened the door. I saw some flash, and Alastair was blocking me from those lights. I also heard
Luc’s POV A tap on my shoulder made me look at the source. James nod that we have reached the destination. "I will wait for you here." James made a move to settle in an upholstery near the window comfortably. "Oh no, buddy. The invite is for both of us." I smirked back at him, and I let out a chuckle when James suddenly looked as if he had swallowed a lemon. "But why should I be invited for tea with your Mom?" "Since when they have treated you an outsider?" I raised an eyebrow at him. James smiled softly, expressing his love towards my family. But now, my mom had not invited me to a lovely family union. So the invite for today's morning tea was mainly due to today's news on me. I got a big round of advice from Hal. He stated that the damage control would be challenging
Lia's POV I entered a vast lobby. Despite my nervousness, I could not help but admire the infrastructure. Unfortunately, I did not remember how long I stood admiring the area when I felt a tap on my shoulder. "May I help you, ma'am? You had not responded when I called you,"
Lia's POV I entered the lift and let out the breath I was holding subconsciously. I knew it was a big mistake to let out such a statement. But who did he think himself off? That arrogant, self-centered, egoistic, handsome, eye-catching... What? Get a grip, Lia. Please don't say that you fell for him. You were not one of his lapdogs.
Lia’s POV I gaze at the figure in front of me. Is that me? Wearing cream suit with simple pearl choker and bracelet. It is not a dress I will choose for a love knot, but others will not doubt it on the intention of marriage. The diamond ring glitters on my finger, which is admired by our parents, friends, and family. Speaking of friends and family, where are Alyssa and Mitch? As if they get their cue, they enter the room. This room is in Lucian’s parents’ villa where our marriage is about to happen next hour. The room belongs to Lucian, but I am occupying it for the past two days. Thankfully he went on a business trip and has returned only this morning. “Are you ready, Lia?” Alyssa looks at me from top to toe. “Are you sure, Lia?” Mitch asks in a worrisome face. She still does not thi
Lia's POV Frustrated.. Angered.. Isolated.. Bored.. These are my current feelings. If not for Maria and Thomas, the couple who takes care of the villa, I am sure that I would have been lost in a vast villa and Island. I love beaches. I surely do. But after four full days of spending time on the beach, I had enough beach time for the near future. Once we had reached the villa, Luc introduced me to Thomas and Maria. Apart from two other housekeepers who come three times a day, Maria takes care of the cooking and cleaning. Thomas takes care of the garden and acts as a chauffeur. After the introduction, Lucian retired himself to his study and was busy with his work till now. Unfortunately, I have not brought my laptop with me to spend on my work. Apart from me working in my dad's concern,