Chapter 2

"Another done deal for the ever so persuasive Annette Riviera, I presume?" Zach stood at the door commending her work, looking as handsome as ever. She knew for a fact that he was genuinely happy with her work because of the numerous occasions he’d mentioned a thing or two about it to her. Handsome and appreciative, he truly was a force to reckon with. She shook her head to get rid of those dangerous thoughts and focused on her work.

"Do you not have some work that needs to be attended, Zach?" She said without looking up from the files that she was reviewing. She could not let the fleeting emotions of her heart rule her mind.

"Then again, they would be foolish not to take a deal from the 'Queen of deals' herself." Zach answered his own question, paying no heed to hers. He had the ability to deflect the chills of her icy attitude towards him way too effortlessly.

"Mr Rodriguez, I am a little preoccupied. Is there something of importance that you need me to do?" She said, hiding her impatience rather poorly at this point. She hated being disturbed when she was working, add to that, this man who made her feel things she swore never to feel and her fiery temper surely did spell out the recipe for disaster.

"Wow. Are we pulling the last name card, now?" He asked pretending to be surprised.

Annette shot him a look that shut him up. He was her boss by all means but she really did hate being disturbed during her work time. Moreover, being so close to her age, he was almost like a friend who enjoyed getting on her very last nerve. Have no doubt that she held the man in the highest respect and never spoke ill of him though they did partake in playful banter from time to time but it never crossed the line.

She knew that he wished to be more as he was rather upfront in his approach but friendship all she had to give him. Plus, a workplace relationship is contagious to both the work as well as the emotions involved.

"Calm down there frosty, I actually came because I had something to tell you. We have been summoned to the thirteenth floor at ten thirty by dad. He has something to tell us." He informed.

Mr Ivan Rodriguez, is the other CEO and Zacharian Rodriguez’s father. Mr Rodriguez still owned most of the shares in the company and had the final say in the important matters of the company. His office was situated two floors above theirs though he rarely interfered in the matters of the eleventh floor.

He rarely came down to their office even for inspections as he knew that Zach was more than able to take the business decisions and trusted his judgement. The only thing stopping him from handing over the company completely was the fact that Zach was still single and living the ideal life of a rich American bachelor.

'A wife will change your life' he’d often said to his son in hopes of encouraging him to get serious and get married. But Zach wouldn't commit. Though, Zach wasn’t much of a womanizer, he did have a lot of women falling at his feet but he didn’t reciprocate most of their advances unless he was really interested.

"Natty?" Zach calling her by the horrible pet name that he had given her. God how she detested it.

"Can you not? I've told you time and again not to call me that. And you could have sent your PA to tell me that." She huffed and rolled her eyes at the expense of looking like a bratty child.

"And missed this chance to annoy you? Never!" He winked.

God, he can be so childish at times. She thought but smiled at his antics.

"Come on Romeo, let's go." She said dryly as they made their way towards the elevator.

"Good morning, Margaret." Annette wished the middle-aged woman who greeted them at the elevator.

"Good morning Mr Rodriguez, Miss Riviera. He is expecting you." Mr Rodriguez's PA informed them.

"Annette and Zacharian! Just the people who I wanted to see. I need to talk to you about something very important." Mr Rodriguez gestured for them to sit down.

He insisted on calling Zach by his full name, much to the latter's dismay. Annette studied his wrinkled face for any signs of trouble or impending bad news.

Mr Rodriguez was much shorter than Zach but one could clearly see the likeness between them. Mr Rodriguez's green eyes held years of experience that showed in his grey hair. He stood proud and tall; his stature showed every bit of his elite upbringing much like Zach’s.

"What is it, Sir?" Zach asked addressing Mr Rodriguez formally.

This was something that Annette really appreciated. Both Zach and Mr Rodriguez treated each other as co-workers and not father and son. Mr Rodriguez liked to maintain a very strict office decorum and that's what Annette liked about the old man.

Zach had to start from the grassroot level and prove himself in order to get promoted to being the CEO. Nothing was served to him on a silver platter even though he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and he never complained. Annette admired that about Zach.

Seldom could anyone find a boss who was admired for his ability to gel with his employees and lead them without making them think that they worked for him. According to Zach, they were all employees of Rodriguez & Co. and he was just their mentor.

This worked well for everyone in the company. Initially, it had been a challenge for Annette to get accustomed to this culture as she came from an organization where the boss just dictated terms and the employees followed.

"Well. I was thinking of moving our office to a larger complex. This building isn't big enough to house our growing employee base and functions." Mr Rodriguez stated.

"I think it's a wonderful idea, but with all due respect, we are based off of one of the prime locations in the city and moving away would make us lose face value." Annette said.

"I have taken it into consideration, Annette. There is a twenty-floor building in the Grayson Complex that is up for sale. It's quite the catch don't you think?" He asked. The Grayson Complex was indeed a sought-after property, it was one of the best office complexes in New York and getting an office there was every company's dream.

"But Sir, I’ve heard that they have a rather long waiting list. Aren’t we a bit too late to be taken into consideration?" It was Zach who spoke up this time.

"That is true but we are their top priority as our company was one of the companies involved in building the complex so, we automatically get the first preference." Mr Rodriguez's smirk was so similar to Zach's.

"Well then by all means, let's do it." Annette nodded.

"I want you two to go to the site post lunch and scout the place. While the layout is to our liking, we’d require the interiors to be redone before we move in. I will be sending in an interior designer for you to talk to." Mr Rodriguez instructed. They left soon after their talk with him.

"Natty are you ready for our date?" Zach started off with his usual flirting with her as soon as they left the office.

Annette huffed and focused on staring at the elevator doors the elevator until they opened on their floor. He knew how to push her buttons and the crazy thing was that she didn't mind. Not the slightest bit.

She had grown quite fond of him in the span of this past year. This was a new record for her as she had not let anyone get close it her in the past four years. Her former colleagues could vouch for her love for solitude and aversion towards men in general.

She didn’t have any friends since she didn’t have the time or the inclination to make small talk with people. Her work was her priority at all times as it was probably the only thing that won’t deceive her or hurt her, she thought bitterly.

She replied to the e-mails till lunch and at exactly one o'clock her PA walked in with her lunch which consisted of whatever the cafeteria downstairs served. Annette wasn’t a picky eater; she was usually too busy to bother about such trivial things. She prided herself in never taking a lunch off. It was her rule and she stuck to it.

"Annette, it's time to go." Zach knocked at around three in the afternoon.

"Two minutes." She said as she quickly closed her laptop, grabbed her blazer and strode out with him.

The Grayson Complex was modern and chic in its appearance. It consisted of three almost identical buildings; each twenty stories high with glass windows covering each side. The interiors were very well maintained so their interior designer would just need to touch up a little here and there.

Lisa McHay had worked on the interiors of the company's current office and her work was quite good to say the least. With her platinum blonde hair, blue eyes, petit figure and impeccable taste in fashion, Annette knew that she had caught Zach's attention.

Annette was glad to have had some respite from his incessant flirting though there was a little part of her that was disappointed not that she'd ever admit it. Annette walked out to look around the common area which was in the middle of the three buildings. It consisted of a huge fountain and walkways.

She was walking toward the next building when a sleek black Jaguar pulled up in front of it. She peeped to see the occupant out of curiosity and now fully understood the weight behind the phrase - 'Curiosity killed the cat'.

For standing about thirty feet away was the man she had sworn to forget.