Conflict of Heart

Chapter 1

"Mandy, I need those files for the Wayson Project on my desk in five minutes, please."

"Will do, Miss Walker."

Isabella sighed as she leaned back in her office chair, fingers pressed to her temples in an attempt to soothe the threatening headache. Year-end was always the worst, especially when you ran a multi-billion dollar company.

She straightened in her seat and proceeded to twist her spine left and right, hoping to alleviate the stiffness and aching tension in her vertebrae. When that didn't help, she stood and turned to look through the sheer glass wall that overlooked Manhattan city-life, stretching her obliques to either side and twisting her back until she heard a few snaps before finally relaxing her shoulders and taking a deep breath.

Isabella Walker was the eldest daughter of Nathan Walker, who was quite easily considered the wealthiest man in the world. While there were some obvious benefits to that statement, there were also many responsibilities. For instance, the countless lives that depended on her for their livelihood.

The young woman brushed her midnight black hair away from her face as her deep dark chocolate eyes looked down at the world below her executive office. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people scurried about on the sidewalks, rushing from destination to destination.

It was mind-numbing to think that each one of those little specks was a person living their own life and battling their own problems; each life completely different from the next. All of them unique. If everyone wrote a journal of their life, Isabella was certain that the world would be out of trees in a week, and not one of the journals would be even close to a carbon copy of another.

A knock came at the door, and she slowly turned around before a smile came to her lips when she recognized the face of the man who entered.

"Hi, Dad," she greeted as the man closed the door behind him, taking a moment to look at the changes she had done to his office.

When she was fifteen, she had started working for her father by doing simple tasks like taking the minutes of his meetings and fetching coffee. As she grew older, he gradually added more to her plate until she was finally ready to take over the position of CEO of Walker Inc. ten years later, and her father found himself being a business angel to new ventures that kept him busy enough in his retirement.

"Hey, sweetheart. Got a minute to have lunch with your old man?" Nathan asked with a grin, his sapphire eyes alight with humour as he revealed the bag of food he held in his hand.

Isabella's smile dropped. "I wish I could, but I have to get everything sorted for the meeting tomorrow, and–"

"Sweetheart, you've been working nonstop this whole week. I know the meeting is a big deal, but you have to take a break too. I feel like I hardly ever see my eldest daughter anymore, and yet you still live under my roof," he said, a small frown forming on his face.

Isabella sighed when her stomach grumbled in protest. "Okay, fine."

Her father beamed as he covered the last few strides across the room and groaned as he settled in the chair opposite her desk. "I'm getting old," he muttered, and Isabella couldn't help but laugh at the look on his face.

"You're not old, Dad. You're not even fifty," she chuckled as she pushed some of the papers on her desk aside to enable a clear area for the containers of food before taking a seat in her leather chair once more.

Yes, her father did have the odd grey streak in his black hair, but he was fit and in shape. For a middle-aged man, he was still very handsome.

"Don't remind me. I'm almost fifty and none of my daughters are married yet!" he cried and immediately tucked into his hamburger, hoping to drown his sorrows in its comforting qualities.