Apart

Paul

I found out it was Sally who took Daisy drinking that night, one part of my brain was relieved that she was with Sally and celebrating her move-in day with her friends but the other half was devasted that I was not with her on her special day. I don't think I have been neglecting her but there were things happening for the both of us that took most of our time. After she moved in I have been staying at her place every damn night but I haven't officially moved in with her and when I met her mother everything was nice and easy, she also gave me the signal to move in with her daughter but I still don't know why I waited so for long to pack my bags and settle in with her. Still when I heard the words coming out of her mother mouth I felt pride that a mother would straightforwardly ask me to do that I guess I can say I was waiting for her approval. "So, it is a done deal then" I snapped back to reality, I was in a meeting and my assistant Brad was presenting why the Collins should invest in us for their financial growth "I'll send you the paper" I replied but my mind is elsewhere, I have started my business but it is not going as I hoped it would be I knew there are many reputed competitors out there and I am a new fish in the ocean but with Leo's name attached to mine people are coming on their own to my office and asking for professional help. I have made seventy hundred thousand dollars yet and most of it because people need security and full-time bodyguards are expensive and the other came from my side of the business. I wonder if I hadn't signed the deal with Leo my business must have been slower than a turtle, am I not trustworthy enough? Am I not good enough? Am I even capable of running a business? These are the thoughts that have been consuming my mind on a daily basis, I do consider myself lucky enough to crack a deal with Leo where I am only seeing profit on my side financially and physically too and I just have to divide the money in amount and send it to Leo and repay my depth to Enzo; I have to make myself memorable to earn a place of respect I hear people saying things behind my back like "Oh this guy? Yeah he is the who was chosen by Leo" till now everybody in my industry knows me because of Leo although he told me that he would be a silent partner yet the word is out somehow I don't want to be a chosen one I want to be the one. 

Leo comes to my office and thanks to his generous gesture I own a whole building which I have given out for rent and using the place that we actually need and not occupy it fully (it would be a waste at this point of time) he usually comes by once or twice a week to see how things are running, he has become my mentor without exchanging any words but he helps me a lot even though he is not in the same field as I am but he manages to makes some calls and understand the process himself then teach me I do not need to learn the process I have a business degree for that but you know as they say "Customer always comes first" I have dealt with some customer with most mind-numbing questions and some stubborn as hell so he has been guiding me how to win customer's heart and trust in one meeting itself and his tips are very helpful. "Hey, how are things? I heard you were in a meeting. How did that go?" he asks as he enters my office, I have not decorated it with extravaganza things but I have kept it classic and elegant with the warmth of sunshine touch "It went well, I have another client I am just drawing the papers" I said to him as he walks and pour a glass of whiskey and sit in front of me "I see you are to your million here" he is stating the obvious here and who the hell drink in the morning "Yes, thanks to you and your name my business started smoothly" I am grateful for what he is doing for me but I do not want him to forget who is in charge here "Yes, Of course I came here to invite you for a dinner" that is out of the blue, any meeting that has some making connection time I am told beforehand by his secretary "Dinner?" I ask him I want to confirm what this is about "The two of us? Perhaps you can invite your lady too" Now that's something I have wanting Daisy to meet him when I told her about the deal she couldn't understand why would Leo invest in me but I haven't told her the whole truth "Before that I would request you to keep certain things between us and not tell her" I have to make sure she doesn't know the truth "Don't worry about that" he said with a smile on his face, he got up and left.