Thomas Hank, thirty years old CEO of I-Global group and the most eligible bachelor in the city of Ludus, sat behind his office desk looking through some documents which were on his desk.
Although his name was well known, his face was unknown to the public since he was known to avoid the media like a plague. Even most of his employees in the company had no idea of his true identity, apart from the senior directors and shareholders.
He had a habit of following his private elevator and staircase to his office on the few occasions he decided to show up at the office, and he didn't need to worry about the company's welfare since Harry, his best friend and right-hand man, always acted in his stead. So while he was the brain behind the company, Harry was the face.
As handsome as he was, so also was his intelligence on a genius level. Of course, that was the only way he had been able to build such a large conglomerate with major subsidiaries that dealt for themselves, such as I-Global towers and real estate, I-Global hotels, resorts, motors, healthcare, and pharmaceuticals, I-G clothing line as well as the newly launched subsidiary I-G airline.
He looked down at his phone when it started ringing and sighed when he noticed it was a call from Anita. "Oh, baby! I'm so sorry about last night," Anita gushed immediately after he accepted her call. Tom said nothing and just sat back in his seat, listening to her as he waited for her to give him one of her excuses as usual.
"I was so exhausted when I returned from work last night, and then I found out Snow was suffering from food poisoning, and I had to call the vet..."
"I thought Snow died two weeks ago?" Tom cut in before she could finish, making her pause to think about that.
"Did he? I told you that?" She asked with a confused frown. Her tone made Tom question what he ever saw in her to have put up with her for the past couple of months.
"Anita, let's both do ourselves some good. It's over between us," Tom said flatly. This made her blink in surprise, and then she started laughing.
"You're kidding, right? Of course, there's no way you mean that. Right?" She asked doubtfully when he didn't join in her laughter.
"I'm not. You're obviously not interested in me, and I can't even begin to imagine why you agreed to be in a relationship with me in the first place. I'm done with this, so feel free to live your best life now," Tom said before returning his attention to the documents he had been busy with before her call came in.
"But..."
"Anita... Why don't you save the drama for someone else? We both know you don't care about me, so please be mature about this. I have to return to work. I hate being disturbed when I'm working," Tom said dismissively. He knew the only reason she had been taking him for granted was that, like most people, she didn't know his true identity.
Anita opened her mouth to say something but snapped it shut when she heard the coldness in his voice, "Oh well! Good riddance then!" She let out as she hung up the call.
The door opened, and Tom raised his head as Harry Jonas walked in. "I was just informed you canceled the meeting that was slated for this morning with the directors?" He asked as he walked in and took the seat opposite Tom.
"Yeah, I did," He said, and Harry raised a questioning brow.
"Why? You're not the type to just change plans on such short notice. Are you feeling sick?"
"No, I'm not. I'm going to be needing a break for some time, so I will need you to step in and take care of things here at the office. Especially in meeting with the directors," Tom said, making Harry raise a brow.
"Haven't I been doing that this whole time? Half the staff in the company already thinks I'm the CEO. I wonder why you bother to be so rich if you're not even going to flaunt it," Harry said, making Tom chuckle.
"The new director who was supposed to resume today at the fashion unit, has she arrived at her office yet?" Tom asked, making Harry give him a questioning look.
"Why are you so interested in her? I can't believe you woke me from sleep last night just to confirm the name of the director. Did something happen? Or perhaps you know her from somewhere?" Harry asked curiously.
Tom thought about it for a moment and decided there was no harm in confiding in Harry.
"Yeah. I met her at the club last night," Tom said, making Harry's eyes widen in disbelief.
"Club? Miss Lucinda Perry? I don't think so. From all I was told about her, she is a workaholic with zero social life," Harry said, making Tom smile.
"I don't doubt that. Yesterday was her birthday, so I guess that was why she ventured out. She did seem like a fish walking on dry land. And I find her intriguing," Tom said with an amused expression.
"You find her intriguing already? And what about Anita?" Harry asked curiously.
"I broke up with her just before you walked in," Tom said disinterestedly.
"You did? Why? Because of Miss Perry?"
"I was going to do that last night, but then she stood me up once again."
"You didn't happen to talk to Miss Perry, did you?" Harry asked, making Tom grin as he remembered last night. He hadn't wanted to deflower her, so he had taken his time to take a long walk outside, and by the time he had returned, she had dozed off as he had known she would.
He had helped her take off her contact lenses, even though it hadn't been very easy getting her to cooperate with him, and then he had dressed her up.
"I even danced with her," Tom said, leaving out every other detail he knew might embarrass Lucy.
"You danced with her?" Harry asked in surprise.
"Yep! She has no idea who I am, and I intend to keep it that way. So you have to help me keep an eye on her."
"Does this mean you canceled the meeting because you knew she was going to be late? Wait! Don't tell me you spent the night with her!" Harry asked in alarm.
"Don't be ridiculous! She had a lot to drink last night, and I figured since it was her first time going that wild, she might find it difficult getting out of bed. So can you not give her a hard time over it? Scold her for being late, but don't be too hard on her," Tom requested, and Harry looked at him with narrowed eyes. He nodded his head even though he couldn't believe what Tom had just said.