CHAPTER 4: THE DEAL

OLIVIA’S P.O.V

“I would invest 40 million Euros in your business, Mr. Nightingale” Mr. Hunter offered my father an amount which was three times what we needed. “40 million Euros? That’s a very big amount Mr.Hunter and I am very grateful for your gratitude but what percentage of the profits would you take if you are willing to invest 40 million euros, Mr.Hunter?” my father’s face lit up with hope but he was still very wary. Something seemed wrong and I knew that my father sensed it too. “Oh no, Mr. Nightingale, have enough money to buy the entire world if I want to, but what fun would that be? Mr. Nightingale, in return for this 40 million I would take something much more valuable from you” he said, looking at me with his piercing Egyptian blue eyes. I know that I shouldn’t be but I couldn’t help but feel more attracted to him. “And what would that be?” my father asked a lump of fear in this throat. “Your daughter!” he said, my father and I both looked at each other with our pale expressions, while Mr. Hunter leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, his face held a cynical expression as he watched us squirm at his demand. “Are you asking me to sell my daughter to you?” My father asked when he finally found his voice to talk after getting over the shock. “No Mr. Nightingale. I would never insult you in that way. I want your daughter to come and work for me, for a period of 40 years… think of this 40 million euros as her salary of 1 million per year” he said…he was smart. “40 years? She is only 21 years old, that would take up her whole lifetime” my father thought to himself. “What would her position be?” my father asked. “My secretary” he simply answered. “Your personal assistant?” my father was a bit confused. “No, I already have a personal assistant, your daughter will be below that. She will just answer the phone and open the doors” he said. “I’m afraid that I cannot accept these terms Mr.Nightingale, my daughter has a Law degree from Harvard and a science degree from Yale…I cannot do such injustice to her” my father denied the offer. “Then I’m afraid that this deal is off,” Hunter said, waking up to leave.

“Wait, I’ll do it. I’ll be your secretary if you invest your money” I stood up and grabbed his attention. Stopping in his tracks, he slowly turned around with a smile on his face. “What? What are you saying Liv?” my father gasped in shock. “I’ll have my driver pick you up tomorrow evening at 6 pm, he will bring you to the airport, where we will be taking our flight back to Europe. Pack your bags and say goodbye to New York” he said, before walking away. “Liv, what have you done? You can sacrifice yourself like this! I wouldn’t allow it! You are not going!” my father demanded. “Sorry Dad, but the deal is already done!” I said, looking into his worried eyes.

……..

“What were you thinking Olivia?” My dad asked me, using my full name which meant that he was really, really upset. “I was thinking about you, I was thinking about me, I was thinking about OUR family name, I was thinking about OUR heritage, I was thinking about how hard Grandpa worked to build this company, I was thinking about all the sacrifices that both you and him made and I decided that now it’s my turn…it’s my turn to make a sacrifice for our family,” I said. We were in our Mercedes, both of us in the back seat as our chauffeur drove us home, I was looking out the window at the New York that I grew up in, the city I loved so much and will be leaving tomorrow. “Liv, there are things that you do not know about the Hunters! Liv, you shouldn’t have made that deal! It was my decision now yours! You are so stubborn sometimes…you just don’t listen…” my father went on and on, reprimanding me because he felt bad about the decision that I made. I don’t blame him for being so worried though, if my mum was alive she would have probably locked me in my room, or even worse, she would have tied me to the bed until that plane leaves. My mum was the stricter parent but her love was deep and did not go unfelt. My dad has become even more lenient since she passed, so I had all the freedom in the world since I was 12 years old. He never got mad at me…he isn’t even mad at me now, he probably just feeling a wave of negative emotions such as guilt, frustration, sadness, etc. But deep down he knows that I made the right decision and I know that he is also proud of me for making the decision that he was too afraid to make. My father is normally a very brave man but his fear is well understood and not underrated…

We have already been warned of the Hunters, the word in the business world is that they are the most wealthiest family but if you cross their path and get into one of their bad books, they won’t just come and cut your throat while you sleep but will torture you and your entire family until each one of you wished that you all were dead. However, that’s just the rumor without any proof, the scary thing is that these rumors were created due to their enemies disappearing along with their entire family. Some say that they have them kept in the North tower of ‘Stermyertina ’, a house so big that it consists of 6 properties put together, situated in a town named ‘Stermyer’. Others claim that they rip their enemies apart and feed the remains to their dogs. I don’t believe the first rumor and definitely not the second… their surnames are Hunter but they aren’t some kind of animal or beast like in the romantic stories that I read about in the books…they are humans and the Hunter that made us this deal is very, very attractive.

I am proud of the decision that I had made. Although I feel a little bit guilty for leaving my father alone, at least I know that he will survive, but if our company went down and had to be liquidized to the point of us losing all of our wealth with our family name being tarnished, that would have been the death of him! It’s not all that bad, I mean, who earns 1 million Euros a year for just being a secretary? Some Entrepreneurs don’t even earn that amount…I think that it was a pretty good deal.

Besides, I will get to spend more time with Mr. Arrogant… it’s not that I am desperate for him but I can’t help but feel more and more drawn to him every time that we meet, I have never felt this way before for anyone…it’s unexplainable.

“It’s a win-win situation, Dad. You get to save the company, I get to save your life by answering calls the entire day while getting paid that much is not bad at all. I’m happy to do this dad and I want you to be happy too because after that 40 years I am coming back for my company which I will inherit from you, so you better take really good care of it” I said, calming my father down. “You know, sometimes I wonder what I have done to be blessed with an angel instead of a daughter” my father smiled at me, finally accepting my decision.