Kyle rented an office in the city centre. It was a small single room in an old renovated building, and the rent was cheap. He figured he could afford the rent for six months with his savings. He registered the company Kyle Grant Design Consultants, and made a website. He advertised in trade magazines and put the word out in local business associations. It wasn't long before there was a knock at the door, and the man he had been expecting to see walked through it.
Kyle opened the door and looked at Ruby's father, Steve. "Can I help you?" he inquired.
"What do you think you're doing?" sneered Steve.
"Starting my own business."
Steve looked up at the old building with distaste. "You're wasting your time."
"Any why is that?" Kyle leaned on the wall as if he were bored with the conversation. Steve didn't take this lack of respect too well.
"I told you before. You'll never work in this city again."
"I know. And you made sure I was unemployable. I get that. So I'm starting my own business. You can't touch it."
Steve sneered again.
"Oh no?" he said, raising his eyebrows.
"No," said Kyle calmly. "I've already instructed my lawyer to start legal proceedings against you if I so much as get a sniff of you trying to damage my business. And don't think I'm bluffing. Because I'm not. I will do everything I can to protect my business. Try and wreck it, and my lawyer will be after you."
Steve stared at Kyle. "Who do you think you are, threatening me?" he barked.
"I could say the same to you. Who do you think you are threatening to ruin my business? Look, things didn't work out with your daughter. I'm sorry about that. But I think we both know that it was for the best. You were good to me. You gave me a job, gave me opportunities, taught me about the industry, and for that, I am grateful. What you did afterwards was despicable. And you know it. But you are not going to get away with doing anything like that again. Consider us competitors. And any attempt to play dirty will be dealt with by my lawyer. Now, if you don't mind, I have things to do and clients to see."
"You already have clients?" Steve looked at him in disbelief.
Kyle nodded. "I do. So if you don't mind..."
Steve stared at him for a few seconds and then walked away. Kyle watched him go then shut the door. He smiled to himself as he walked back up the stairs to his office. "If only he knew who my new client was."
One of Kyle's ex clients, whom he worked for while at Ruby's father's office, had seen an advertisement in a magazine and got in touch. He had liked working with Kyle, and was the first person to call. He wanted to move all his business over to Kyle's and Kyle was only too happy to oblige. The client also informed him that no one believed the stories Ruby's father had told about Kyle, and his attempts to discredit Kyle made him look unprofessional and untrustworthy. Kyle could expect a few more clients like him to move across.
At 4pm Kyle locked up the office and walked to the bar. Now that he knew he was only working there short-term, he didn't mind the job. It was keeping him afloat as he set himself up. He was hoping to be out of there within six months though.
At 5:30pm, Jessica went to the office and let herselfin. She switched on the lights and the computer and sat down to get to work.She was creating a few more advertisements to go into magazine and on the web.There was a note on the computer. It contained just three words. "I love you."She smiled and got to work.