📖This will be a (very) short-story 📖
Athena met her new business partner. And that man is a business himself: handsome, tall, beautiful eyes, funny and charming. He checks everything Athena is looking for in a man.
They both have only one rule in...
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Respect.Oxford Languages describes it as a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements. And that's exactly what everyone around Athena feel for her. She's the COO of a fast rising IT company. She's intelligent, discrete and hardworking, her beauty is just an extra. Athena worked her whole life to get to this position. But there's one thing she's still looking after: becoming the CEO. Athena is so close, that she can already smell it.
Everything in her life has worked out as she planned it. Until she met THAT man.
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"We'll be happy to work with your company.", the man across Athena Burnell says, stands up and reaches out his hand to her.
Athena smiles. "Thank you, Mister Collins.", she says as she stands up and shakes his hand.
"Please, call me Nathan.", he says smirking.
"I'll stick with Mister Collins, thank you.", she says calm and let his hand loose.
"You can loosen up now. I already told you we'll be partners.", Nathan says and sits down on the table next to the contract.
No one else is in the conference room. Nathan only does one-on-one conferences. He hates it when one of his people talks between or into the presentations. With only him and the one who's representing their company, he has all the time and the attention.
"We'll be partners when you sign those papers.", Athena says and points on them.
"You're right.", he says, took a pen out of the inner pocket of his suit jacket and signs the contract. He did it so fast, Athena wasn't even able to say something.
"You haven't even read it yet."
"I trust you. You showed me that you know what you're doing. I'm looking forward to work with you.", he says looking up from the paper and smiles.
"Thank you for your trust, Mister Collins. We're looking forward to work with you too.", she says as Nathan slids the contract to her. She wants to take a pen out of her briefcase, when Nathan holds out his pen.
"Take mine."
"Thank you.", she says, takes it and signs the contract.
"So now that we're partners. Don't you think that's a reason to celebrate? How about we're going out for a drink this evening?"
"My flight will be early in the morning. I have to pass.", Athena says as she takes the contract. "I'll send a copy to you as soon as I'm back in the office."
"Oh, come on. It's just one drink.", Nathan says and lifts up his right index finger.
"I don't drink.", she says and bends down to take her briefcase.
