Chapter 5; A lineup of dinner dates.

“What did you say?” Lorenzo bellowed at his assistant on the phone. His face turned ugly due to the information just given to him.

“She left in a private jet around 5 am, sir. The airport is refusing to release any more details." Dean replied with a trembling voice. He was scared out of his wits because this was the first time his usually calm and collected boss would be losing his shit this early in the morning.

“I don't care how you go about it. By the end of my 10 am meeting, I want Aria Queen's location on my desk!” Lorenzo poked the top of the dining table with his index finger as if he wanted to pierce through it.

“Yes, sir.” Dean quickly responded. He heaved heavily once Lorenzo disconnected the call.

Dean normally can't quit until Lorenzo quits. Last night, they left the office around 11 pm, only for Lorenzo to wake him up and have him running around before 6 in the morning. Waking up to make breakfast for his two kids was about all he ever does as a father. Realizing that he was going to miss that precious time today created a lump in his throat. Even though this wasn't a constant occurrence, with the way he was treated unfairly by Lorenzo, Dean started considering quitting the job. Left to his wife, he would have resigned two years ago. After all, they had great savings, and he had promised her that he would retire early and take her around the world, vlogging.

Dean started making some calls as he made his way out of the airport. It wasn't that finding Aria Queens was that hard. It's just that, unlike his boss, he feels uncomfortable disturbing others early in the morning. Especially when they are underworld hackers. One wouldn't even know how and why they died after offending these people.

“What should I do with all these invites, Aria? If you go through with them, we might be able to bag some good contracts, but it will also mean your holiday is over.” Robin announced with one hand holding a silver iPad and the other holding its ball pen.

One thing about Hawaii beaches; they are all government properties. Therefore, you can meet anybody there. Aria arrived three days ago and has been spending all her days at the beach. Within the first 48 hours of her arrival, she already had an impressive line-up of coffee and dinner dates.

Presently, Aria was in a two-piece swimsuit that had both males and females on the crowded beach whistling when she first arrived. She was lounging behind a rock with a ledge that granted her some sort of privacy but did nothing for the noise all around her.

Robin, who was previously playing in the water, had interrupted her nap to inform her that she would need to get ready for a dinner date she had agreed to last night. As If he didn't notice the annoyance on her face, he went on to recount all the ten names on the list of young CEOs Aria had met and agreed to either have coffee or dinner with.

Grunting, Aria struggled to sit up. She used one finger to swipe the big sunglasses she was wearing over her head.

“Why didn't you stop me when I was accepting these invitations?” She pouted without looking at Robin. “This is all your fault, so sort it out. I am not going anywhere.” Aria stood up, grabbed her now warm drink, and threw it into her mouth in one go. When the warmth hit her throat, Aria cringed and immediately spurted the drink out. “Ewwh, that tastes weird!” She exclaimed before walking off as if Robin didn't exist.

Used to Aria's spoiled kid attitude, Robin, a lean, but sturdy young man in his mid-twenties, ran after Aria. When Aria behaves like this with him, which is almost all the time, — it makes Robbin happy.

To outsiders, Aria is always cold and distant. Aria's circle is limited to three people. Her father, her friend Teddy and Robin, her assistant lives with her and follows her everywhere. Even with her exes, she was never this relaxed and free. Therefore, Robin feels special and worships the very ground Aria walks on.

The beach that Aria chose for her two-month holiday has condos for rent. She rented a three-bedroom condo with an ocean view. Her bedroom has a sliding window that opens directly to the sea and since her arrival, she spends the night and her mornings gazing at the sea. Aria had already taken several pictures she was itching to post online, —by this window, but because her father had begged her not to trigger the media, Aria was posting the pictures and putting the posts on private mode.

When Aria got to the room, she saw that Robin had laid out four different dinner gowns for her to pick from. When she saw the dresses, she snorted and carelessly used one hand to drag them off her bed to the carpeted floor. She then sat like a monk and stared at the oceans through her window.

Robin, who was right behind her, couldn't help but twitch his nose. He took a picture of the dresses on the floor and sent them to Teddy, Aria's best friend, and her designer.

Wondering why Robin was so quiet, Aria turned to him. Seeing him tapping away on his phone made her suspicious. “What are you doing?” She slit her eyes at him.

“Texting Teddy.” Robin clicked his tongue.

“Why?”

“Just showing her how good her dresses are on the floor. They look way better here than on your body.” Robin rolled his eyes at her before bending down to pick up the dresses.

“Just forget about your bonus for the next three months.” Aria shrugged and turned back to watch the ocean.

Not bothered, Robin finished picking up the dresses and walked over to the walk-in closet in the room.

Just as he disappeared into the closet, Aria's phone rang. Seeing the caller ID, she hissed before picking up.

“What? What? What?” She snapped into the phone.

“Taaar! You want to bully me like you bullied my designs, right? No way! Just go and look for someone else to design your next outfit. You ungrateful brat!” Teddy screamed back into Aria's ears.

“As if.” Aria rolled her eyes and changed the subject. “What is the latest on your winter show? I am yet to receive the budget.” She started sounding as if she was in a boardroom,

“I am on holiday, boss.” Teddy quickly replied and disconnected the call. Aria tossed the phone on the bed while chuckling.

Aria and Teddy are not just best friends, they are also business partners. Aria and Teddy have a cloth and accessories line that Teddy manages. She was once a model, but after an accident that made it hard for her to wear heels for a long time, Teddy went back to school to study fashion design. After she graduated, she and Aria pooled their resources together and started a fashion line called 'Pluie'; a French word that means 'Rain' in English. While Teddy practically oversees every part of the business, she must still run things by Aria before flagging any ship. Especially when it comes to budgeting.

For Teddy, hanging around a free Aria is more tasking than hanging with a busy Aria. That is why she always makes sure to take her breaks at the same time with Aria and most times, she would rather not go on holidays with her because they will end up working all through the holiday. So, what's the essence?

While Aria was smiling about how Teddy had ended the call at the mention of work, Robin came out of the closet with an entirely new dinner gown resting on his shoulder and his phone by his ears.

“She is presently on vacation…” He said into the phone. His tone had also taken on a serious edge.

“Yes, we are…”

Aria noticed the sudden pitch in Robin's voice and turned to face him. She wondered who was calling. Robin widened his eyes at her in excited shock but kept speaking into the phone. “Okay, let me get back to you then.”

Robin disconnected the call and gasped in shock as he ran over to the bed and abruptly stopped in front of the now-alarmed Aria.

“What is it? Why are you always so dramatic, Robin? What happened?”

“It's…it's Mackenzie's assistant, Aria.”

“Mackenzie? Who is that” Aria was confused.

“How many Mackenzie do you know?” Robin pouted, disappointed at Aria's lack of interest.

“Macke...ken… MACKENZIE?” Aria jumped out of bed, looking wild in the eyes. Her reaction pleased Robin to the bone.

In the business world, companies like the Mackenzies are the rulers. They have their hands in everything, and they are so busy that they have to auction out their projects to smaller companies. A call from the heir of such a company is a big deal. A mind-blowing one for Aria Queens.

“What does he want? What did he say?” Aria asked excitedly.

“He somehow knows you are holidaying here and wants to have dinner with you,” Robin replied. “You have to go!” He commanded.

“When is the dinner?” Aria shared Robin's excitement and didn't mind his tone.

“8 pm.”

“When?”

“Tonight.”

“Get me a dinner dress, Robin. There is no time to waste!”