FROM THEN ON

Chapter fifteen

It's been months since I became the owner and CEO of the company and things have been going great. I checked out the house Regina talked about and I loved it so I moved in. I also made some changes to the company and promoted some people I thought deserved to be promoted including Todd. Now, I had a driver, a house keeper, bodyguards and two personal assistants: Linda and Rita. I've been having business meetings all over the world and I've loved it. And for the jets, I made one my private jet and the other, the company jet. ''Mr. Stenson, your meeting with Mr. Brown starts in five minutes,'' Rita said. ''Right, thank you Rita,'' I said as I stood up and headed to the conference room for my meeting. ''Mr. Brown,'' I said when he finally arrived. ''Mr. Stenson,'' he said and shook my hand. ''Sit please,'' I said. ''Thank you,'' he said. ''So why did you want to meet me?'' I asked. ''I have a proposition for you,'' he said. ''Go on..'' I encouraged. ''As you know, I like to invest in a lot of businesses. Spa's, restaurants, anything that deems profitable to me,'' he said. ''So a few years ago, I invested in this restaurant in Washington,'' he said. When I heard the word Washington, I flinched. ''Everything okay?'' he asked. ''Yes please proceed,'' I replied. ''Anyway.....business was booming so a few months ago, I aided and invested in the opening of a new branch here in San Francisco. It's called Sabrina's place. You must've heard of it everyone's talking about that place,'' he said. When I heard Sabrina, I became uncomfortable and nervous. ''Nope. Never heard of it,'' I said. ''Well it's great. The only problem is, I'm falling short of money and I need your help. I'd like you to invest into the restaurant. I want you to take my place,'' he added. After I heard the words Washington and Sabrina, I lost interest in his proposition and said, ''Mr. Brown. I appreciate the offer but I'm the CEO of a broadcasting company not an investor,'' I said getting up to leave. ''Just think about it. Maybe if you taste their food, you'd change your mind. I'll tell the manager to reserve a table for you any day of this week. After you've tasted their food, give me a call and let me know your final decision,'' he said and left. Later that day, Linda entered my office and said, ''Sir, it's time for you to go for your meeting in Seattle. The jet is fuelled and the pilot is ready.'' ''Okay thank you,'' I said. As she turned around to leave, I called, ''Linda?'' ''Yes sir?'' she replied. ''Have you ever heard of Sabrina's place?'' I asked. ''Yes Sir. Their food is amazing,'' she replied. ''So I've heard,'' I said. ''Please fill in my schedule that on Wednesday evening, I'll be going there,'' I added. ''Right away Sir,'' she said and left. On Wednesday evening, I went there as planned. When I got there, they had a reservation for a potential investor. I told them it was me and they led me to a table. The place was amazing and when I tasted their food, It tasted just like one person's food: Sabrina's. ''Excuse me can I speak to your manager?''I asked. The waitress told the manager that I wanted to see him or her and came back saying, ''Right this way sir.'' She led me to a door at the back of the restaurant. I knocked on it before entering. Lo and behold, I opened the door to see Sabrina Welton sitting behind a desk. ''Robert?'' she asked shocked. ''Hello Sabrina,'' I said casually. ''May I sit?'' I asked politely. ''Yes of course,'' she said. When I finally sat down, she asked, ''So you're the potential investor?'' ''Yes,'' I said. ''Why is there a problem?'' I asked. ''No,'' she said quickly. ''No problem at all,'' she said. ''Good,'' I smiled. ''Can I ask you a question? and please be honest,'' she said. ''sure,'' I replied. ''Are you investing in the restaurant because I'm running it?'' she asked. ''What?'' I laughed. ''No. In fact up until Monday, I didn't even know that this place existed,'' I replied. ''Oh,'' she said with a tinge of disappointment in her voice. ''You seem disappointed,'' I smirked. ''Who me?'' she asked as her voice rose two octaves higher. ''No. In fact, I'm glad that is not the reason so that if you do invest, we can keep things professional,'' she said. ''Uhuh,'' I said. ''Well I gotta go now,'' I said getting up. ''It was nice to see you Sabrina,'' I said giving her a peck on her cheek and then I left. When I got home that day, all I could think about was my encounter with Sabrina. I hadn't seen her or talked to her in years yet when I saw her today, she looked more beautiful than before and I'm pretty sure I felt my heart skip a beat when I saw her. The next day, I called Mr. Brown. ''Hello Mr. Stenson,'' he said. ''Mr. Brown. I have thought about your offer and I have decided to accept,'' I said. ''You ate their food didn't you?'' he laughed. ''Yeah,'' I laughed back. ''Alright then. I'll come by your office and we'll discuss the details,'' he said. ''Alright. See you tomorrow then,'' I said. The next day, Mr. Brown came to my office alright but he did not come alone. He came with Sabrina. ''Welcome,'' I smiled when they entered the conference room. ''Mr. Stenson, this is Sabrina Welton. I'm sure you met her when you went to the restaurant,'' he introduced. ''Oh that's not the only place I've met her,'' I murmured. ''What?'' Mr. Brown asked. ''Nothing,'' I said. ''Hello Miss Welton,'' I said shaking Sabrina's hand. ''Hello Robert and it's just Sabrina,'' she said sternly. ''Am I missing something?'' Mr. Brown asked realizing the tension in the room. ''Robert and I....already know each other. We met a few years back,'' Sabrina explained. ''Oh...then this makes my work easier,'' Mr. Brown said. ''Let's proceed then,'' he added. We went through the contract together and while we were doing that, I stole glances at Sabrina every chance I got. I started drifting into thoughts. How long has she been living in San Francisco? Does she have a boyfriend? I wonder if she's still a Christian. Sabrina noticed I was staring at her and started feeling uncomfortable. Just then, Mr. Brown's phone rang. ''Excuse me. I have to take this,'' he said getting up and leaving the conference room. As soon as he left, Sabrina asked, ''Why do you keep staring at me?'' ''I don't know what you're talking about,'' I said still staring at her. ''Oh so I'm imagining things?'' she asked. ''Maybe,'' I said casually still staring at her. ''See..you're doing it right now,'' she said in frustration. I laughed and asked, ''How have you been?'' ''I've been good by God's grace. What about you?'' she asked. '' You are one of the richest guys in San Francisco so you must be doing great. Congrats by the way,'' she added. ''Thanks,'' I replied. ''But, I'm not doing so great. I mean I was, but now I'm not,'' I stated. ''Is something wrong?'' she asked. ''Yes....'' I trailed off. ''I never got to apologize to you. I'm truly sorry for what I did to you. You did not deserve it,'' I apologized sincerely. ''It's okay. It's in the past now,'' she said softly. ''Can we be friends?'' I asked. ''Robert....'' she complained. ''Please. Just friends. If we're going to be working together we should at least have a good relationship,'' I pleaded. ''Okay fine,'' she surrendered. Mr. Brown suddenly entered and the room became quiet again. We finished going through the contract and then I signed it, Sabrina signed it and Mr. Brown signed it. ''We should get going now,'' he said as he and Sabrina stood up to leave. ''Pleasure doing business with you,'' Mr. Brown said shaking hands with me. Then, Sabrina also shook my hand and I felt it. That electric feeling running through my fingers. I looked into her eyes and she looked into mine and I got lost in them. But it lasted for only a second before she turned away and left. That weekend, when I visited my parents. I asked my mum, ''Hey mum?'' ''Yes...'' she replied as she concentrated intently on the sweater she was knitting. ''Is it possible to still be in love with your ex?'' I asked. My mum stopped knitting and looked up at me. ''Why do you ask?'' she asked suspiciously. ''Have you seen Sabrina lately?'' she asked curiously. ''And don't lie. You know you're not very good at it,'' she added. ''No....'' I said as my voice rose. ''Where did you see her?'' she asked obviously knowing that I was lying. ''She's the manager of a restaurant I have invested in,'' I said. ''Really?'' she asked casually. ''Yeah,'' I said nervously. ''Tell me son. Did you happen to invest in this restaurant because she was the one running it?'' my mum asked suspiciously. ''What? No. I didn't even know she was the manager until I went there,'' I stated. ''Sure,'' my mum said. ''You still haven't answered my question mum,'' I stated. ''The truth is, yes. It is possible,'' she replied. ''Do you still have feelings for her?'' my mum asked me. ''No....yes? I don't know. I thought I didn't until I saw her,'' I replied. ''Well you've got to figure it out and don't do anything stupid until you're absolutely sure how you feel about her,'' my mum warned. ''I won't,'' I said. That Monday, one my way home from work, I said to my driver, ''Wilson?'' ''Yes....Sir?'' he asked. ''I told you to call me Robert,'' I said. ''I told you sir that I can't do that,'' he replied. ''Okay fine. Can you please drive to Sabrina's place?'' I asked. ''Sure Sir. I'll let the bodyguards in the other car know where we're heading,'' he replied. ''Thank you,'' I said. When we got to the restaurant, I entered and spotted Sabrina talking to one of the waitresses. As soon as she saw me, she approached me and asked, ''Robert? What are you doing here?'' ''Can't I pay my friend a visit?'' I asked. ''You can but not when your friend is working,'' she replied and pulled me out. When we got outside and she saw the cars parked, she asked amazed, ''Do you go everywhere like this?'' ''Yep,'' I laughed. ''Wow. Well you have to go and I have to get back to work,'' she said turning to leave. ''Sabrina wait,'' I called after her. She turned and asked, ''What?'' ''Can you come by my office tomorrow?'' I asked. ''Robert, I've got work to do,'' she said placing her hand on her hip. ''It is about work. I want to us to discuss new plans for the restaurant. Why else did you think I was asking you to come?'' I teased. ''Nothing. What time should I be there?'' she asked. ''My PA will get back to you on that,'' I smiled. Man it felt good to say that. ''Until then,'' I said and gave her a kiss on her hand. She just rolled her eyes smiling and walked back into the restaurant. Then, I headed home. When I got home, I called Rita and told her to put my meeting with Sabrina in any available space I had on my schedule. ''Okay so your schedule is free from 2 to 2:15pm,'' she said. ''What do I have at 2:15?'' I asked. ''Conference call with the Mayor, sir,'' she said. ''Oh right. Alright 2:00pm it is. And can you send a bouquet of roses to Sabrina Welton's office tomorrow morning? Oh and add a card to it. The card should say, ''Have a rosy day. From, your friend.'' I said. ''Alright sir,'' replied. ''Robert, Rita. Call me Robert,'' I said in frustration. ''Yes Robert,'' she said.