Chapter 3

Sam threw the thin paper onto the desk and looked up at the elderly man. “Daniel, as of now, Jeremy will be taking charge of this project.”

Daniel sighed in relief. Though, to be honest, he was hoping it was Sam himself who would take charge. Sam was the kind of rare man who had that special gift, the ability to naturally lead and wield great influence. His mere presence commanded authority that not only inspired people to want to work damn hard for him, but made them want to please him, especially the female staff, because, really, Sam Harrington was a damn good-looking man.

Dark hair, brown eyes, tanned skin, and over six feet tall with a lean, toned body—women wanted him. The female employees flirted with him shamelessly at the office, though Daniel knew Sam paid no heed to them. As a single parent, his attention was exclusively for his beloved six-year-old daughter Lilly and, of course, his business.

On second thought, though, Jeremy was very good at negotiating deals as well, in his own way. Daniel was pretty certain things would turn out all right.

Sam said, “Inform your staff, Daniel. I will be coming into the office tomorrow to see the full report.”

“Of course.” Daniel nodded, and after collecting the folders from Sam’s desk, he left the tastefully decorated office and then drove away from the three-story mansion.

It was a few minutes later when Sam voiced his suspicions to Jeremy. “Very unlike you to offer to do deals such as these.”

Jeremy laughed, his deep voice rumbling all the way from within his chest. “You got me, Sam. You got me. All right. All right.” He sighed and continued happily. “I heard stories, see, of three pretty girls of number six from New Zealand.”

Sam eyed his cousin intensely and knew what Jeremy was up to. “Make the deal, Jeremy, and do the dating on your own time. Preferably after the contract is signed.”

“I got you, Sam. Don’t worry your handsome head over it,” Jeremy said as he got up. “Now then, I’m off to see that little rat of yours to kiss her bye-bye.”

“Good luck for tomorrow,” Sam said as Jeremy walked out the door.

“Thanks, but no thanks. I make my own luck,” Jeremy said in the corridor, and his merry laughter followed.

Sam had to admit Jeremy would never change. Good old Jeremy with his happy-go-lucky personality. He had no doubt whatever deal Jeremy proposed, he would succeed. This was partly due to his friendly and easygoing disposition. Not to mention women tended to fall for him the moment they laid eyes on him.

Sam wasn’t surprised. Jeremy had the looks of a Scandinavian male model, with his sandy-blond hair, hazel eyes, and boyish smile. He was very sure the three girls would fall for his cousin in an instant, like most women, and agree to their offer without a second thought. So Sam decided he had nothing to worry about.

Relaxing, he picked up the mug of black coffee and took a sip as he gazed out across his spacious office to the massive glass window that overlooked the blue sea beyond. The sun was in the west, just about to set in another hour or so. It gave off a distinctive beautiful orange glow across the mass expansion.

The scenery took Sam’s breath for a second. Again, he felt that contentment within him, the appreciation that he had succeeded and gained so much in his thirty-three years. He counted himself as one of the lucky few and felt it only right he give back by helping those in need, those who wanted help to better their lives.

And yet… Yet at times he felt as if something was missing, especially during the lonely nights when he’d just lay there, staring into the void, feeling empty and cold inside.  

A knock sounded at the door, drawing Sam’s attention. A second later, Jim Mane, Sam’s personal assistant, appeared.

Jim, a man in his forties with brown hair and gray eyes, came into the office with his tablet in hand, ready as usual for instructions. “I heard the project isn’t going too well. Just saw Daniel. What time will you be going in to see him and his staff tomorrow?”

Sam glanced at his watch and noted it was just after five thirty in the evening. He didn’t forget he’d made a promise to take his darling daughter Lilly to the Pacific Fair shopping center for the evening, since it would be open late on a Thursday. She’d been asking him to take her to buy new books to read.

“Make it nine,” he said to Jim as he got up. “That will be all for today. See you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow,” Jim replied as he watched his boss head out the door.

Sam walked through the maze of corridors and then went down via the stairs to the ground floor of the house. He walked toward the east wing and then went in through a door. He saw Lilly reading her favorite children’s book, the Sacred Sword series by Anna Chan.

“Hey,” he said.

Lilly lifted her head, a smile plastered on her cute face. Noting him, she threw the book to one side, rushed off the sofa, and raced into his wide-open arms.

“Daddy!” she called out delightfully. “Are we going to the bookstore now? Are we?”

Sam chuckled and kissed his daughter fondly. “Of course. I made a promise, didn’t I?”

Lilly smiled brightly and nodded her head. “Yeah, you did. You never break promises. I love you, Daddy. Can we go now?”

“Of course, sweetheart.” Sam lifted his daughter and tossed her high, to which Lilly squealed excitedly.

Some two hours later, with shopping done, Sam found himself with his daughter at the night market along the beach, exploring since they had time to kill. The place was busy and crowded, full of energy and entertainment. After popping in and out of a few stalls, Lilly finally found one she was excited about. It was a stand that sold posters of cartoons, anime, and manga. The little girl was enthusiastically browsing through posters of Pokémon. Sam was behind her, curious and wondering if these were related to some of the cartoons currently on TV that his daughter loved to watch.

“This is Pikachu, Daddy.” Lilly pointed out. “He’s an electric type. I love him. He’s the cutest. He’s so smart, too. Oh, and he can do a lot of stuff like thunderbolt.”

Sam laughed. “Do you like any of the posters?”

Lilly cocked her head to one side and thought about it for a moment. Then she browsed through more of the other posters.

It was then a group of Asian tourists shuffled amongst the crowd, and Sam felt a petite body shoved against him. Thanks to his quick reflexes, he turned and caught her on time, embracing her in his arms before she had the chance to fall to the ground. Instantly, a spring scent greeted him seductively, lingering about his nose with a promise.

She felt warm and so damn soft in his arms, Sam simply wanted to continue holding on to her for a bit longer.

She murmured, “Sorry,” straightened herself, and then, without looking at him, started heading away, leaving Sam a little more than bewildered.

He watched her, fascinated at the slim body as she walked. Sam was interested. He wondered if she was one of the tourists as she lifted her camera and started taking photos.

“I don’t like any of them,” Lilly said finally, drawing Sam’s attention. He reluctantly flicked his gaze from the beauty to his daughter.

“Come on, then,” he said, nudging Lilly away from the stall and heading after the young woman.