Chapter 3

{Nicholae's POV}

Five minutes after the short inauguration ceremony, Ck and I rushed to my office to put on some clothes. Already looked shit and ridiculous with my nipples freely exposed wearing boxer shorts and walking through the hallways.

The management was already taking care of and negotiating with those reporters and attendees who took photos and videos of the terrible incident. And they're not allowing anyone to get past the exit without getting checked. Even so, one leak of the video might put me and the company into trouble.

Damn! That woman did not even apologize to me after what happened. I waited for her to hear her side of the story since I know it happened accidentally but instead, I saw her with my own eyes rushing away from the session hall as though she was chased by wolves.

I was supposed to be blazing in fury because of that fucking embarrassing experience already. However, my wolf doesn't know how, it seems there is something about that woman. The feeling was like my wolf owed her something in the past. I just can't figure out when or where.

"Are you all right, Nikko?" Ck asked, partly upsetting, right before he pulled the door of my office for me. Then, he cleared out his throat and added, "I mean, what she did is a valid ground to file a lawsuit against her."

"A lawsuit? Can we really do that?" A bunch of things immediately popped out of my brain. One to mention seeking justice I truly deserved.

"Yes, we can certainly do that, Nikko. She ruined not just the event but your reputation as well. You are the president of this company and perhaps she was just a mere employee."

"You know her?" I curiously asked.

"It's not necessary for you to know her, Nikko. All you need to know is which company she's working on. Then give her a death wish she deserves. That's how we do things here." Vladimir preceded Ck's words as we stepped into the office. He was sitting on the couch while watching his favourite television show.

Ck and I slid closer and extended our greetings by clapping his shoulders. "I need to talk to her, first, gramps. And it would be inappropriate to fire her in just a blink of an eye. The company might look more ridiculous compared to getting naked in front of everyone."

"Whatever, son. Just do it quickly while the scandal is still fresh." Vladimir reached for the television remote and switched it off. "Anyway, is Danilo bothering you again?"

I quickly sharpened my eyes at Vladimir, thinking he might slip off something when Ck was still unaware of my hidden identity. The only human who knows about it was Vladimir fifty years ago and those sixty before him but they were all dead because of ages.

It was I who proposed and adopted Vladimir to be my legal grandfather in the human eyes to help me with everything necessary to achieve what I have right now in exchange for his service. Similar to Ck, Vladimir was also in his worst shape when I met him in one of the resto-bars in New York.

He was thirty years old at that time, spending his entire well-being for liquors, casinos, and women because of his unbearable problems.

The kind of situation where they thought it was already the end of their lives. But I believed there's more to Earth that is worth living for. So, I took them. Make them part of my family so I will not feel alone anymore. Give them everything they need. Home, education, and a family to cherish.

The only difference is that Vladimir knows about my wolf side but Ck doesn't. And I'll keep it that way as much as possible. But I know Ck is already suspecting.

"No. It has been three days since the incident on the golf course. Perhaps they were already hiding for their lives. Anyway, what are you doing here, gramps? Aren't you supposed to be resting?" I changed the topic.

Danilo and his minions are my problems. Involving Ck and Vladimir are not part of the plan. They were both humans and are too valuable to me while Danilo and his minions were all monsters. And their claws and fangs pity no one.

"How about the woman who helped you? Did you get any information about her?" Vladimir insisted.

Yeah. That woman should be acknowledged and deserved an award for her heroism. But I almost forgot about her. Who could not be? The only thing my wolf had from her was the scent of her perfume. And I'm not even sure if I could find her with that.

"Apology, Mr Chairman, but we haven't gotten any information about the woman. The golf course was supposed to have its CCTVs but since it will be used exclusively, the man in charge that day forgot to switch them on because we reserved it for Nikko's arrival." Ck defensively said back on my behalf.

"Don't change the topic, gramps. Ck and I will be out in a few minutes. Get back to rest as what the doctors advised you."

"Nah. Rest made me bored, Nikko. And because I got bored, my brilliant brain came up with a solution to your problem. It's a new business that I want you to focus your undivided attention on from now on." Vladimir grabbed the book from the couch and tossed it to me.

Sounds interesting when all these years, Vladimir and I did was to make businesses, spreading our names all over the world. If there's business, money followed. And if a person had enough money, they can do a lot of things. That's how human settings work.

My identity differed from that of humans. A lone wolf to be specific. So, I must strive in order to survive. Who could have thought that because of my commitment and perseverance, I become an indestructible billionaire?

"A List of Women to Date?" Could not help but breathe out the title of the book and dragged my annoyed gaze to Ck who scoffed shortly.

"Yes. You are about to turn twenty-seven in two days, Nikko. That was the perfect age to get married and start building a family. Don't laugh at him, Ck. It applies to you too. Unless the two of you are hiding something from me. Are you two dating?" Vladimir asked upfront.

"I'm a hundred and one percent straight, gramps. I don't know about Nikko. But even if I am, Nikko is not my type." Ck expressed his defense with a smile on his face.

"What? Am I really that ugly?" I quickly frisked my face and stared my face at the screen of my phone. "Don't fool me, dude. A lot of women were interested in this face. And you know that." Then I chuckled back.

"Whatever, Nikko. Tonight at seven in Bangs Korean Restaurant. Don't be late. Her name is Malia Garfield, 25. Ck will give you all the information you needed about this blind date." I suddenly caught Vladimir blinking at Ck.

"You know about this?" I heaved a sigh in disbelief. Why on earth would they arrange me into this kind of useless stuff when I don't need to have a girlfriend or a wife to survive?

Ck cleared out his throat and defensively responded, "apology, Nikko. My hands are tied on that day gramps proposed the idea. He was the Chairman at that moment. So, I was obliged to follow his command."

"Don't take it out to Ck, Nikko. I'm already old enough if you noticed that. One of these days, I'd be gone for good. And you can do nothing about it. But before that happens, I need to make sure you are in good hands. A family can do that..."

As Vladimir kept on talking, there was a tiny pinch in my heart that caused me from having a hard time accepting the idea. He was already blessed to reach eighty years old in the human world. Most humans died at a young age. Lucky if they could reach their sixties.

But he was right. Im not even sure if my bite could turn him into a wolf since most of my werewolf abilities were already beyond my reach. Maybe I should have done that since the day we first met. Vladimir is one-of-a-kind. Out of the sixty years of humanitarian friendship, he always aligned his vision and mission with mine.

"Fine. But if this blind date thing will not work out, I want you two to drop this, okay?" I left no choice. At the end of the day, Vladimir is doing this for my sake.

Three hours later, I was solemnly walking down the aisle heading to the table where Ck booked for me and Malia Garfield. Her name is somehow music to my ears if I mentioned it. Im not sure it does the same if the others would say her name.

And there she is. Keeping her feet flat on the ground while maintaining a small gap between the back of the knees and the chair. Her shoulders were relaxed.

"Malia Garfield?" Again, there were these chills that crawled throughout my core when I breathed out her name.

When she turned her face at me, her neck stiffened for a few seconds while staring into my sharp eyes. Could not blame her for that. Who could not fall in love with me at first sight? I am gorgeously tall, hot, charismatic, and rich that all women ever dreamed of.

"Yes, that's me." Her expression changed and immediately disarrange her long golden hair. Afterwards, she puts her sunglasses on.

"Are you all right?" I asked her, partly confused. It'll be rude or inappropriate if I'm gonna sit next to her so I seated across from her at the table.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Umm... Just order food and drinks if you want, okay? My treat." She said back in a rush, starting to feel uncomfortable, I can tell.

What confused me the most was when she kept her head to the ground since I grabbed my seat across from her as though she was avoiding me. Undeniably, her beauty hit my nerves when I looked at her but why is she covering her face with her hair now? Let alone her sunglasses.

"Can I go to the toilet for a sec?" she added, still without looking at me. She did wait for my response when she grabbed her purse and rushed to the toilet room.

"Okay?" I muttered to myself.

While waiting for her to come back, I ordered us food and drinks while digging into the deepest part of my brain about her. There was something about her that seems familiar to my senses. Two instances to be exact.

Could it be possible?

"Oh. You're back." I smiled at her. "I already ordered us food and drinks, please take a seat."

"Umm... I'm so sorry, Mr Fisher. You're undeniably handsome, rich, and a great man. Well. I can tell it from the way you dress and act. But I think this blind date is not gonna work. My friends and family only forced me to do this. And we can't force our hearts to fall in love with someone we barely know, right? I hope you understand that. I'm so sorry again."

Those were the words that came out of her mouth before she finally disappeared from the restaurant. And yeah. She just talked a lot all of a sudden. While thinking about what I did to change her mind, I suddenly noticed she left her blazers.

As I was about to follow her outside, the smell of the aromatic and incandescent perfume smashed into my nose which caused my feet to glue to the floor. Is there by chance, she was the woman who helped me back on the golf course? But I thought she was the same woman who embarrassed me at my inauguration.

As soon as I reached outside, the phone in my chest pocket suddenly buzzed. I didn't get the chance to see it when my eyes were busy searching for Malia.

"I bet someone was having a good time, huh?" I shortly removed the phone from my ears when I expected the call was from Malia or Ck. But it's from Danilo. "Looking for your girl?"

"If you think I could get affected if you do something about her, it's a waste of time, Danilo. You're just good at talking. Haven't you forgotten you threatened me three days ago?"

"Well. Sadly, I know one secret about this woman you might get interested in. See that third white cab on your left?" Out of curiosity, I followed the point of my eyes to what he said. Indeed she was there. "Say, bye-bye to the woman who helped you on the golf course."

I dropped the phone to the ground when my feet voluntarily sprinted on their own heading in Malia's direction. Halfway through, a boisterous car explosion surprised everyone around, including me. Pieces of the cab were scattered all over the place. Part of me wanted to get closer to the cab but the blazing fire scared the hell out of my wolf.