When Sweet Meets Sour

Chapter - 2

Zachary's POV

Standing at the balcony of my luxurious office, I couldn't help but ask myself, "I'm living a life that hundreds, maybe thousands dream of. But why wasn't I happy? Why didn't I feel content?"

I'm Zachary Wilhelm D'Arcy, the CEO of Cybex group of Companies. My grandfather was an ambitious person. He started a company called Sapphire which specialized in making wrist watches. Slowly he started expanding his company into various fields like electronics, stock markets, mechanical tools, etc. Later, this group of companies were called Cybex.

My father was the former CEO but he retired from his post, a year before. He isn't a man of many words. Before he retired, most of his time was spent signing papers, reading documents and all that jazz. I don't have a single memory of my father taking us to picnics or resorts. We never had breakfast, lunches and dinners together as a family. The ones we had were mostly business meets or parties.

My opinion of my father changed when I was sixteen. We were attending a party arranged for the newly inaugurated Cybex Machines. At first I didn't notice people watching us. When I did notice I saw that they were watching my father with longing and jealous gazes. When I looked up to my dad, I saw that he held himself with so much pride that it was covetable. He wasn't the father that my sister and I wanted but he was a successful business man. That day I realized that, to be something great you have to give up certain things and in his case he had to give up his quality time with his family. The same day I had set my goal. I wanted to be like my father, I wanted to be that man who got those longing and jealous stares.
I studied hard for it and here I am, the most coveted man of 2015 in the business world but something tells me that it's not enough, that I need to push harder. Even after reaching at such a great height and accomplishing my dreams, I feel empty, incomplete.

A knock on the door interrupts my reminiscent thoughts.
"Come in."
"Sir, Gabrielle wants to talk to you." My personal assistant Claire informed me.
"Tell her to meet me at 1:00pm at Per Se. And Claire please call and make a reservation at Per Se for two."
"Yes, sir."With that she left.
It's already 12 so i decided to work for thirty minutes. After thirty minutes, I grab my coat and leave for the meeting.

I reached the restaurant at 12:55 pm. Not bad, huh? I told my name to the person at the reception. Soon I was guided to my seat. Gabrielle was already seated. She stood up to give me a welcoming hug.

Gabrielle was my sister, Zoey's best friend of ten years. When I said I wanted to open an art gallery, my sister recomended her. I already knew that Gabrielle had a knack for organizing and supervising the art pieces. At that time she was working as an assistant for some art director. So when I called her about the job opening, she was more than happy to accept.

Back to the present time, we sat down. I ordered red wine for us both and then got down to talk business. She told me that she found a replacement for the artist that withdrew at the last moment. He actually didn't withdraw but he went missing the day after we hired him. We couldn't track him down so Gabrielle suggested that we look for an artist for the time being.

"There's a problem with the replacement, Zach." Gabrielle said looking doubtful.

"What is it?" I asked looking at her impatiently.

"She doesn't have any experience. But let's see what we can do. I've called her for an interview tomorrow at the gallery tomorrow at 9am. Do you want me to conduct the interview or are you coming?" she asked.

"No, I can't come. I have a meeting at 9. Either way why do I have to come? Isn't this what I hired you for?" I asked as I started texting my personal assistant asking about my schedule for the day.

"Yes. Among many other reasons." She replied.

"Well, I better get going. I have have a meeting scheduled at 2:30pm. Tell me how the interview goes." I told her as I got up to leave.

"I will. And listen, Zach. Make time for yourself, fall in love, enjoy your life. You look as though you'll start greying soon." Gabrielle said, in a motherly tone.

"I don't have time for this, Gabrielle. 'Bye. I'll talk to you later." I told her, feeling infuriated.

Who the heck has time for love?

*********
Phew... I'm done with another chappie. Its so hard to write from a male's point of view. Dang.. So please correct me if I'm wrong anywhere..

And don't forget to comment and vote!!!!!!!

Love
Sharon.