Being busy all year long, Iris always took a short holiday at the end of the year to take some time to rest and ease her mind. But before that, she always held one last meeting to receive a year-end report from each branch representative on what the company had accomplished during the year.
Everyone present was stressed because it was time to show the boss how efficient and profitable, they had been during the year. It was always a moment of pressure because standing in front of Iris sitting at the end of the table, holding her chin up while she listened, felt like being in court in front of a judge pleading your cause.
But that day, Iris was a little different. Her posture was a bit careless, different from her usual stern and meticulous demeanor; she also seemed a bit distracted and in a good mood even smiling from time to time. Some of the directors looked at her several times with curious eyes, but they didn't comment on her behavior. After all, because of her smile, the atmosphere of the meeting was a bit lightened. Nobody in the room could guess that the reason behind those smiles was a young, man.
Another project was being reported when there was a sudden knock on the door to the meeting room and the sound of an argument coming through it.
"I know Iris is in there! Get the hell out of my way! I am her mother; how can she not see me? Believe it or not, if you stop me one more time, I'll throw you out on your ass!" The arrogant threat made everyone in the conference room look at each other.
Iris seemed to come to her senses as the heel of her shoe landed on the floor with a soft click and the room went silent. Her secretary immediately got up to deal with this unexpected incident as the door to the conference room was pushed open.
"Iris, I have been waiting for you in the office for half a day and they still dare to prevent me from seeing you by claiming that you are busy? Are you that busy? So busy that you do not even have time to see your mother?"
Iris gestured for the secretary to stay still before slowly saying, "I am indeed very busy, so get to the point..."
The meeting was adjourned, and the senior board members at headquarters were fine, knowing a little about the turmoil in the Harper family. While the delegates from all over the world looked at each other curiously, but did not dare to say anything.
Emily, Iris' mother, could not stand her attitude, but she knew that if she wanted to get what she had come for, she would have to bow to it, so she held back her anger and said, "Why did you block the cards?" After the question was asked, Emily felt a sense of shame as people's eyes fell on her.
It was clear that she was Iris' mother, she should be the one giving her child money, not the other way around. But she was just a woman who knew how to spend her husband's money, staying at home without doing anything. Unfortunately for her, her husband's business was not going well, so she could only count on Iris's money for the time being. Besides, it was the end of the year, she was in desperate need of money, she had a lot of parties to attend, and she couldn't wear a dress she had already worn!
Iris responded indifferently to her questions, tapping her fingertips on the tabletop as she calmly said, "I canceled my card, what does that have to do with you?" Her attitude gave the impression that Emily was not even someone she knew, but an ignorant woman who was here to beg for money.
Emily had come here to ask for money after the card she had stolen from Iris had been canceled a few days ago. She had not had a chance to take full advantage of the card yet, and it was already blocked. She could not believe how stingy Iris could be when she had so much money for herself!
"Wow, you are so bad and stingy!! Just for that little bit of money, you blocked the card so I can embarrass myself in a shop?" Emily cried out feeling even more enraged!
"You should be ashamed of yourself first, stealing other people's cards! Unless you have something important to tell me, please go back!" Iris didn't even bother to listen to the end of her defense, giving her a deadly stare.
Emily froze in place, not expecting Iris to expose her like that. When she realized more eyes were on her, her cheeks turned red, but she held her anger in her heart as she said, "Iris, I am your mother!"
"And that is the only reason you can stand here before me and not be convicted of theft!" Iris was not impressed by her loud cry and her expression remained cold. Soon Emily was pulled away by the secretary and left the room in a rage.
After that, the atmosphere in the boardroom became a bit more somber. Everyone in the company knew what was going on in the Harper family, everyone knew that Iris did not have a good relationship with her parents, and everyone was on her side because they knew how shameless they could be.
She ran her business alone. You could not say she had built it herself because at first, it was a small business that her grandfather had given her for her eighteenth birthday, but she had worked her ass off to make it what it was now. As she struggled, her family had always made fun of her, she was the outcast of her family, and even her own parents neglected her, except for her grandfather. Her mother had never loved her, which she could not blame her for, because she was just a stepdaughter, and her father felt nothing for her because he accused her of being responsible for the death of his first wife who died giving birth to her.
But since she had become a millionaire, they would shamelessly show up at her door claiming they owned some of that money! Unfortunately, Iris was not someone to be messed with, and since her youth, she had clearly cut all ties with them, even more so after her grandfather's death.
Some people secretly said that she only had money in her eyes and no family ties whatsoever, but she did not care. Others say that she benevolently raised a bunch of vampires trying to suck her money in the name of the family.
The meeting ended rather early, as Iris knew that the various delegates would be taking their flights home for the new year.
By the time night fell, all the company employees who were scheduled to go home were almost gone. Iris leaned back in her office chair and looked out the floor-to-ceiling window down at the brightly lit city. She could see people on the street, couples, and families hurrying by on the side of the road, holding hands and smiling. The sight of them made her feel quite lonely, she was all alone now, she thought as she looked at the picture of her grandfather on her desk. She missed him, even more in this happy time.
The last person in the office was her secretary. The man had been with Iris from the beginning and knew how sad she had always been on New Year's holidays after her grandfather's death. Sometimes he wanted to comfort her, but he felt unable to do so.
Besides, Iris strictly separated her public and private affairs and was also very shy about anyone prying into her private life.
When the last sound of leather shoes on the floor faded away. Iris sat for a while before quietly leaving the office. Going home did not seem like the best idea to her at that moment. The encounter with her mother, or stepmother if she should be clear, had put her in a foul mood and made her realize once again that she had no one but herself, that her life was empty and lonely, and what was waiting for her at home was only white walls!
At first, she decided to stop at her favorite park to at least be around people. But with the winter breeze turning into a thick spike of ice as it penetrated through the seams of her clothes, she thought maybe that was not the best idea. Not knowing where to go, she headed toward the small coffee shop where she had first seen Joshua.