Luna
Business consultant?
"This won't be hard, since you know each other too well." Barry said with a grin, "Your siblings got married, so you're like family, in a way."
Family? Never.
I was feeling all sorts of things, but mostly angry.
"Sorry, but we can't." I shook my head at Barry and said to Colton, "Mr. Smith told me your company is swamped with work... and the fees, they're just too pricey. We can't afford it."
"Sweetheart, what are you talking about?" Barry laughed. "Colton and I made it official with a contract. He's down to work with us and handle it himself."
"Seriously? Why am I just finding out about this now? You can't sign a contract without me knowing about it."
"I did you a favor, by coming up with a solution to our problem. It's a crisis. We need to sort out our company problems before it tanks."
Colton cleared his throat, stood up, and straightened his tie.
"Seems like there's a problem with making decisions here. Now, I get where the root of the problem came from."
My eyes grew big upon hearing what he said. The nerve of this guy.
I walked up to him and gave him a piece of my mind.
"Excuse me? Are you implying that it's all my fault our company is going under?"
His lips twisted nastily, making me even more pissed off. "You know your company is failing, but you're not doing anything. I offered you my help on a silver platter, but you're still saying no because of your pride."
"My pride?"
"Yeah. Your pride, Luna. You are rejecting my help because you harbor unfavorable opinions towards me."
I gave him a look, crossing my arms together.
"Look who's talking. You feel the same way towards me. We can't stand each other, much more work together."
"Luna! Calm down." Barry pulled me away from Colton. "What are you doing?"
"Well, Barry," Colton pressed his lips together, then said, "I was hoping Luna and I could work professionally and set aside our personal conflicts. Let's just forget about the contract. I won't work in a place where I'm not wanted."
"No, please. We desperately need your help." Barry was agitated. "I apologized, Colton. Luna and I will talk about it first."
Colton nodded. "You know where to reach me."
The men shook hands. Then Colton gave me a nod and took off.
The moment the door closed, Barry exploded.
"What the heck is going on in your head? You said no to the guy and totally embarrassed him! I'm so disappointed in you, you were not acting your usual self. Where's your professionalism?"
"I can't stand the guy. I hate him. Do you understand me?"
"I don't like him either, and any of those fucking billionaires in the business world. But I gotta be nice to them, 'cause I need them to help me succeed. He's the only savior for our company and you messed it up. Fuck!" He let out a big breath and said, "Now. Do you understand what I mean?"
Something he said bothered me. Meaning, he also hated the entire men in my family who are billionaires.
I started to see in him what Mom told me from the very start. Be careful of him, Luna. He might use you and our family to get to the top.
I fiddled with the engagement ring on my finger and let out a big sigh.
"It's not that easy, Barry." I said calmly. "I can't work with him."
"Why not? What did he do to you? Is there something that I need to know, huh?" He got really pissed off, and his eyes bulged out. "Tell me!"
I was totally terrified by his expression. It was like seeing a whole new person. Barry is not the sweet and caring guy I used to know.
"Nothing. I...I just don't like him."
"Fuck! Stop acting like a rich, spoiled princess!" He ran his fingers through his blond hair, then balled up his fist. "You embarrassed me in front of him. You just showed that I can't make any decisions in this company - I have to depend on you for everything. You made him think I'm a wimp."
"That wasn't my intention, Barry."
"Oh really? Huh!" He slammed his hand on the table, making me jump. "Our company is screwed because of what you did. I'm pretty sure Mr. Oishi will hear about this mess in our company and decide to withdraw in our agreement. Now, it's over."
He angrily stormed out of his office, slamming the door. I was left alone, pondering my actions.
Oh no, what did I do? I should've acted professional, kept an open mind, and not let things get to me in those situations.
Barry had every right to be mad at me. I screwed up and let our company suffer because of my ego.
What am I going to do now?
I was super busy for the rest of the day. With Barry gone, I had to do two things. Doing my own thing, and doing his too. Even the meeting he has scheduled. I had to sacrifice mine for his.
In the afternoon, things go haywire in some department, causing even more chaos in the organization. We couldn't find some materials, and no one knew where they were. The production head was super pissed. We couldn't find a few keys for the machines. The purchaser got the order totally wrong and a bunch of other stuff too.
By the end of the day, I had a terrible headache. We're freaking out and need a business consultant ASAP to save us.
I went to see Barry's personal secretary, Lydia, who's in her fifties.
"Do you know where he is? He's ignoring my calls and texts."
"He's not answering my calls and text either. I think he's really upset, Miss Luna."
"Yeah, he is." My shoulders slumped. It was super frustrating. We just got engaged, and this happened. We haven't fought like this since we were together, and it was my fault.
"Just give him space. He loves the company. I'm sure he won't stay away for long."
"I hope you're right."
She was right, though. Barry appeared two days later.
"Barry, I'm so sorry." I went to hug him right away. "You're right. I was being so childish. I shouldn't have done that."
"I'm sorry too, for saying those things to you. I just got so upset yesterday, you know." He gave me a tight hug in return. "I realized, that the company and everything, don't mean anything. What's important is us. You and me, together forever. I love you so much, Luna, you're my world. Who cares if our company fails?"
"Oh Barry, I love you so much, too." We kissed and hugged each other as we made up. "Listen, I won't let our company fail. We put in so much effort on it, we can't let it go to waste."
He took a deep breath, then said. "If you truly want to save the company, then prove yourself. You should speak to Colton directly. He canceled the contract yesterday, and I signed it. I'm not going to ask anymore. I've done my share."
I never expected anything worse than that. But I got to prove to Barry that I really care about him and the company, so I need to own up to my mistake and talk to Colton directly.
"Sure, I will."
I reached out to Colton's executive secretary, Albert Ong, and set up a meeting.
Unfortunately, Colton's all booked up for the rest of his stay in New York. He's gonna take off in L.A. in the upcoming week.
"I can book you an appointment on Monday. But in L.A." Mr. Ong said.
"I can't fly to L.A. just for a meeting. Is there a chance I could speak to him over the phone?" I asked.
"Sorry, ma'am, but that ain't possible. He only accepts personal calls from his family."
Oh, no. Sebastian and Sweet are my only hope, but they took off to Dubai this morning.
"I'm family as well. My brother married his sister." I said, and it took him a while to answer.
Did I seriously just say Colton is my family?
I was desperate. Okay?
But it seemed to do the trick. Because Mr. Ong was happy to help me out.
"I'll see when he's available for a meeting with you, Miss Stavrakos. I'll get back to you later." He answered.
I let out a sigh, feeling really hopeful. I held back from telling Barry. I wanted to surprise him when I'd get Colton to agree to work with us.
I heard back from Mr. Ong after three hours.
"Mr. Treble agreed to see you, Miss Stavrakos." He said over the phone.
I felt a huge weight off my shoulders knowing he'd see me.
"Mr. Treble is leaving for L.A. on Saturday morning. He's only free for dinner on Friday at seven in his penthouse." He informed me. "Confirm quickly if you can make it, or I might give your spot to someone else."
"Sure, I'll show up." I said right away. "It's confirmed."
"Okay. Friday's schedule has been officially confirmed. You will have dinner with Mr. Treble at seven o'clock in his penthouse." He enumerated the details of my appointment. "Do you have any more questions?"
"Nope. I got it. Thank you."
I let out a sigh of relief and felt the tension disappear. Mission complete. I'll be able to talk with Colton on Friday.
But eventually, I realized what had happened. We're going to have dinner together. Just the two of us.
I felt really uncomfortable about the idea of having dinner with him.
What's wrong with me? What's the big deal about it? It's just a business meeting. No need to stress.