Alexander Arlan Ainsley POV

"Do Dylan and Brandon know about Arletta yet?" asked Francois, seriously.

I was still at the office of one of the friends I used to hang out with. It was a good thing I did not interrupt his busy schedule too much. I very rarely came to my best friend's office for personal feelings and this action could also be done after checking the schedule with Thomas.

"Nope. I have only told you," I replied, calmly.

Francois was wide-eyed for a moment, but I did not care because that was exactly what happened. "You are crazy, man!" he said, shaking his head.

"It does not matter. I need the opinion of an experienced person. You are one of them."

Francois scratched his head, then shook his head twice. I was used to getting a lot of opinions about how strange I was. I did not care about that, because the most important thing was that I knew what to do to approach Arletta. She was one of those women who had a loyal nature because that girl firmly said that she already had a lover. Other women might not be so honest about their status.

"You should introduce Arletta to Dylan and Brandon too. They should know about your girlfriend." Francois seemed to be afraid that I would not bring my girl to the other two friends. Well, that was a stupid opinion.

"Of course. I will introduce my girl to all of you. Before that, I must make Arletta mine." I emphasized without any hesitation. My plan was clear; as soon as possible she must break up with her boyfriend so I could bring her to my friends and my parents. I would do anything to do it!

"She really is a great girl, for making you like this."

Francois picked up the cup of coffee on the table. It was already half full. I have not made any comments yet because my mind still remembers how Arletta and I first met. That moment was so sweet. I had never even thought that I would meet such a special girl.

"I never expected to meet her either. I came to Rayner's office just to meet about business with him."

If only the electricity power had not gone out at that moment, then the incident in the elevator would never have happened. Arletta and I would have remained two strangers as we should have been.

"I have heard from Mom that if a man or woman takes care of himself or herself or does not carelessly associate with the opposite sex, then when he or she gets a partner, then...." Francois did not continue his sentence, which only made me curious.

"So? So what?" I asked with a suspicious look. Was Francois going to lie and deliberately bring up his mom's name to make me believe him?

"Then his struggle will not be easy." He smiled instead, which raised my suspicions.

"I can't believe that your mom said that." I refused to believe his nonsensical words.

"It is up to you. I think Mom has a point, especially since the girl you like already has a boyfriend. You will have to fight hard to win her heart."

Damn! It hit me hard. I could not deny that fact, but that did not mean I could be giving up! Arletta would be mine and I would never let her go! I did not care about her boyfriend because he was not a tough opponent for me!

"I will definitely win Arletta's heart easily. She will definitely fall in love with me."

Francois burst out laughing, causing me to raise one eyebrow. My friend had finished his coffee and put his cup back on the table. I just let Frans laugh as much as he wanted because it was useless to do that.

I felt the phone vibrate with a ring. I immediately picked it up and ignored Frans who was still laughing. When I got the device, I saw a name on the screen and, without hesitation, picked up the call. Me: "Hello. What is going on?"

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Did something urgent happen at work, so Thomas called me? I hoped it was not. I did not hear Francois' laughter anymore; maybe he realized that I was receiving a phone call, so he chose to be quiet. Great, that means I could concentrate on the conversation at hand.

Thomas Glekston: "Hello, sir. Sorry to interrupt. I was asked by Brody, the Relationship Manager. Would you like to have a meeting with him next week?"

Meeting? What kind of meeting should I attend? I would have better asked my assistant first because there was no way I would have gone somewhere if it had not been clear what the purpose was.Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

Me: "What kind of meeting should I attend? Explain it to me."

Hopefully, the meeting would require my presence or at least Brody would ask for my help in negotiating with the CEO of the company he was going to, so as not to waste unnecessary time.

Thomas Glekston: "Brody said that the CEO of Zavana & co. wants to talk about a loan to our company."

Hmm... it was weird. I had never heard that the jewelry company needed a financial loan. I had not read any documents from Brody about it either.

Me: "Did Brody ever give you the documents about Zavana & co.? Why am I only hearing about the company now?"

My business radar was activated without further ado. I did not want to go to a company without knowing anything about our client, let alone about a loan. Did Brody not give me the document yet or maybe he forgot?

Thomas Glekston: "Mr. Brody said that the CEO of the company specifically requested to meet with you. The documents he just gave me have been placed on your desk, sir."

What? The CEO of Zavana & co. asked Brody to meet with me, but I was not sure why. If I was not mistaken, the CEO was a woman, and neither she nor I knew each other. How suspicious!

Me: "Tell Brody. I do not want to meet with the CEO of Zavana & co. unless there is a logical reason. A special meeting without any clear discussion is a waste of my time. Time is money."

I glanced at Francois, and he, indeed, listened to my conversation with Thomas. It was not surprising, since I had been in his office the whole time, so Frans must have been eavesdropping. Thomas Glekston: "Yes, sir."

I returned my attention to the conversation with my assistant.

Me: "Do you have anything else to say?"

Thomas Glekston: "That's all, sir."

Me: "Good. I will be at the office tomorrow. Do not forget all the important documents on my desk as usual. I will study Zavana & co's documents. Tell Brody or any Relationship Manager, next time a client wants to meet without a reasonable excuse, it will be rejected."

Thomas Glekston: "Noted, sir."

I ended the call and put the phone back where it had been. I turned to Francois who had not commented at all. "So, where were we talking?"

***