The Price Of A Billion Dollars Deal

I've never felt so excited and relieved the way I was that day. It was as if a large weight had been lifted off my shoulders. There are some situations we find ourselves and we start wondering how we got in and all we want to do is walk out. I've been dating Jake Reagan for a month now and I didn't know how to end things with him. I do love him but my family always placed our business first before any other thing.

Jake was the son of Elon Reagan, CEO of a billionaire conglomerate. Jake was a rich spoiled brat who engaged in all forms of social abnormalities. He always slept around with women and always at one club or another; sometimes I wonder how I fell for such a man. I guess love is truly blind for I was blinded by love. At first I didn't read any meaning into his actions but I felt detached from the relationship so I had to take a slow step back.

Luckily for me, my dad got involved and I was able to end things with him. Well, everything we had came to an end and I could suddenly breathe in fresh relief. I stood up from my bed stretching as I walked towards the bathroom. My brother Nathan had traveled out of the country for a business meeting and I was made to attend an event in the heart of the city.

It was a gala, an event where I was supposed to meet a potential investor who was willing to invest over a billion dollars in our family business.

“Urghhhh!”

I groaned. I hated attending such events where I had to talk old men into signing a contract with us or investing into our family business. My experience with events and old men in this situation has been bitter sweet. Most times I encounter bald old men who want nothing but to sleep with me. I'm not even angry about their age or appearance. I'm more pissed off about the fact that they think I'm that cheap to want to sleep with them just because I needed them to sign paperwork or invest in our family business.

I was not ready for another epistle of such for the upcoming event, at least not again. Nathan was the one who usually attended such events but ever since he traveled abroad I've been made to handle the family business in regards to local investors. I so much hated local investors. I had quickly showered, drying myself with my towel as I got dressed, getting ready to leave for the gala. With one turn and a glance at the mirror I left for the event with little or no expectations of the outcome

I had arrived at the event centre with my black Rolls-Royce Phantom. My driver had pulled up at the entrance. I could feel the shift of the atmosphere as my car pulled up into the event. Series of cars had pulled up at the entrance with influential figures in the society stepping out as they made their way through the red carpet to the entrance of the event as cameras clicking sounds filled the air but my arrival felt different.

I could see through the tilted windows, photographers who had been scattered across the red carpet turned in unison, adjusting their lenses. It seems like they were preparing for the moment they had been waiting for. My chauffeur had stepped out of the car first, he was dressed in a crisp black suit, moving flawlessly as he made his way to the back of the car. I could feel the sudden thickness of excitement as the whispers within the crowd started.

Then, the door opened

I was nervous at first although this isn't my first social appearance. I slowly stepped out of the car revealing my slender figure covered in a soft glow of silver. The fabric of my gown spread around my leg like liquid moonlight. I couldn't hear my thoughts as it was occupied with the hysterical clicking sounds of cameras.

“This never gets old!”

I muttered to myself.

I had to jog myself back to reality. I walked down the carpet wearing my usual commercial smile. The diamond necklace I had worn earlier today sparkled against my collarbone. The calls of journalists and reporters filled the air as they tried to get new to turn towards their direction giving them the perfect angle.

"Miss Vanguard! Over here!"

"Sofia! One look this way!"

"How does it feel to take the reins of Vanguard Corporation?"

Immediately I stepped into the grand hall where the gala event was being held, the crowd of guests paused in their conversations and their attention was stolen by my appearance. It felt like I wasn’t just attending the event but I was the event.

Then, the silence was shattered—

A deep, hearty laugh cut through the air.

"Ah! If it isn’t the future of the Vanguard empire!"

Dr. Kent Farrow, an old friend of my father’s. A business titan in his own right, and one of the few who spoke without hesitation in a room full of predators. I never liked him, I saw him as every other old man who had tried to have their way with me.

I curved my lips ever so slightly. "Dr. Farrow," I greeted smoothly with my voice carrying a quiet strength.

With that, the tension broke, and the noise returned and whispers slowly weaving into conversations with the event shifting back into motion. But even as I moved deeper into the grand hall, I could still feel it; the lingering stares, the weight of unspoken words, the eyes that followed my every step.

“You look more elegant in person. Your father never told me he had a daughter this beautiful,” Dr Kent said with a light laugh almost as if trying to crack a joke.

“Thank you very much. You flatter me.” I said in return, forcing a smile on my face. “My father had told me a lot about you, indeed I believe you're truly what he described—a man with dignity,” I said in turn trying to create a formal ground between us.

“Indeed I am. Well I've prepared the document. Why don't we go to the conference room to discuss the further process.” Dr Kent said gesturing towards a path that leads to an elevator.

I was hesitating at first but then I decided to follow him. It would not take more than half an hour to get this done.

I followed him into the elevator. It was a quiet ride with only the whirring sound of the elevator moving upstairs being heard.

The elevator came to a halt as the whirring sound faded away. The doors swung apart with a soft whoosh revealing a small, poorly lighted corridor  ahead. I was the first to walk out with my heels tapping softly on the floor and echoing down the hallway. We walked in silence before it was broken by Dr. Kent's voice.

“You know, I’ve been meaning to tell you something, Sofia. Your presence here today is quite refreshing. You’ve got this grace about you, a kind of power. Not many women have that, you know? Most people get swallowed up by the weight of their family name. But not you.”

“Thank you, Dr. Farrow," I said in turn. When old men start complimenting you in a setting like this it only means one thing. "But I’ve always believed that people should be judged on their work, not their last name.” I said.

Dr. Kent chuckled softly, with his gaze fixed on me. “Ah, but it’s the people around you who often define you, don’t you think? Take your father, for example. A man who is willing to give in return of wealth. You're very much like him and I believe you'll do anything to keep the family business afloat,” Dr Kent said. With this being said I already knew where he was heading to. I had ignored him and continued working at a quick pace but I knew this was going to end like every other naughty old man I had spoken with.