Love is Lost | Reloaded

3 - Casual Day On The Job

Lucio

The ticking clock got me through the sparring match happening in my conference room. My associates have been going back and forth with one another for the past half hour, and I found myself drawn to the tick-tock of the clock instead of them.

The garnet stone in my ring took some of my attention too, twinkling in the sunlight with every small movement I made. Even now, I can't help but reel from its meaning to me.

It was morning and these men had the energy of the rooster, arguing constantly over my next million-dollar project. It was hard getting to this point in my life with such high wealth and status, but things like this make it harder as I sit here uninterested through the bickering.

My brain was still on autopilot until one of them said something that piqued my interest again.

"I sent one of my workers the other day to Central Park just to put in a good word for me, which I'm sure he did. Right, sir?"

The man to my left reminded me of the event, reminded me of the girl I met.

It's been nearly a week since I met her. In a matter of ten minutes, Naya graced me with a presence I didn't know I was looking for in my empty life. She put me in my place and no one had ever dared to do that. She was...different.

There I was at Central Park, listening to the employee spew nonsense. I turned away from him only to notice her after she walked past, confused as to where she disappeared to through leaves. I excused myself from the man and followed her path in a stalkerish way that probably would've gotten me on Dateline.

Too bad I'm too rich for that.

The sight before me made do a double-take. The place was the epitome of nature from the trees and flowers to the small pond. It felt like I escaped into another world with bees and butterflies flying past me like I were Snow White. Then I saw her, sitting on a bench with her back towards me. I decided to approach the woman I just tracked.

When I saw her, I paused at what I was seeing, questioning if she were real. She had very curly, dark brown hair that reminded me of a lioness. Her chocolate brown eyes were warm and they would sparkle every now and then without her noticing. She wore clothes that mimicked the surprisingly warm weather, clothes that resembled her refreshing personality. She was flat out beautiful, no doubt about it.

I smiled at the memory where she schooled me on manners. Truth be told, I hadn't realized I ordered her to do anything at first, the lifestyle of being a boss being second nature to me. It's something I don't think I could help after one talk, but her words resonated with me. She put me in my place. If anyone else did that, my men would dig their grave, but with her, I was intrigued.

I should know better, but in a matter of ten minutes, Naya was able to make more of an impression than any of the men sitting here had in thirty.

"He made a fool himself," I glanced at the man who made the query. "And you have the audacity to think his intrusion will make me think highly of you."

The man's features grew paler at my response. He stammered about with wobbling lips before finally sinking back into his chair. I redirected my attention forward, everyone's eyes diverting from him to me. Then they took it as an opportunity to be at each other's throats again.

"Alright!" I barked, killing the debate entirely and finally settling on which man I would pick. It was more of a raffle than a deliberate choice, but my head is pounding and I can't deal with another minute of this. Besides, if he fails, I could always hire someone else to get the job done. These men weren't the only ones lining up to be hired, they were just lucky enough to land a meeting.