DEVON
I checked the time to see my phone screen showing five-fifty in the morning. I was already done with my workout and had already taken the bath.
Yet I still had half an hour before I needed to leave to pick up Christine. I had to wake up at Four thirty to call that sloth bear so that she could select the perfect dress and matching shoes to pair with it.
"God! Sometimes I wonder if she is my PA or I am hers!" I mumbled before getting up from the bed.
I decided to go for a white V-neck t-shirt and paired it with a mustard colour simple jacket. I was ready after styling my hair. I ran my hand over the light stubble that looked almost golden yellow in colour and thought of going for the clean-shaven look for some days.
Maybe tomorrow! I told myself before heading to the kitchen.
The positive aspect of living a bachelor's life alone in the penthouse is you don't get disturbed and can do things at your own pace and liking, but the negative one is you have to cook your own food!
It was not like I didn't have household help, but how could I ask her to come and prepare breakfast for me so early in the morning?
I was too lazy to actually cook anything by myself, so I decided to go with cold milk and cereal. My bowl was almost empty when my phone buzzed.
"Good morning, Boss! The car is ready."
"Alright, get here to carry the luggage." I cut the call and then send a message to Christine telling her I was already halfway to her place or else the woman would waste an extra hour of my time.
I reached Christine's place- a lavish apartment building where she lived with her mother, who happened to be my high school teacher. And thus Christine's connection of landing such a high profile job at the Sanders!
I kept dialling her number, but that woman didn't answer any of my calls. So I had to call her mother instead, who was the only person to push her down from the twenty-second floor.
Mrs Mill picked up the call on the third ring and instantly greeted me in her familiar soft, warm voice.
"Good morning, Mr Sanders!"
I tsked, shaking my head though she couldn't see me through the phone. "How many times I have told you to call me Devon, Mrs Mill?"
"Devon is my student, Mr Sanders. Right now you are my daughter's cooperative and lenient Boss who doesn't mind his personal assistant wasting her time in choosing the matching earrings for her outfit."
"MOM!!!"
My face cringed at that shrieking scream.
"Tell your daughter that if she is not in the car in the next ten minutes, I will wait for her resignation in the afternoon."
"Sure, Mr Sanders! Have a safe journey!"
I began counting the minutes, and exactly after nine minutes and fifteen seconds, I saw a woman running toward the car, mercilessly pulling the bag behind her.
My driver took it from her, and she jumped into the car panting as if she had run a marathon.
"Congratulations! You have just saved your job!"
"Arrogant!"
"Did you say something, Christine?" I asked though I had heard her clearly.
Putting up a fake plastic smile, she said, "No, Boss! I just wanted to wish you a good morning! And say thank you for waiting for me!"
"Never mind! I am a kind hearted man."
The driver hit the accelerator while Christine burst into fake coughing.
About an hour later, when I began to doze off, I decided to take out my phone and opened the first icon that was on the screen.
And just within a minute, I heard a scoff from beside me, that made me purse my lips into a thin line.
"Who would believe that Devon Sanders still plays his teenage video games!"
"Shut up, Christine!"
Five minutes passed in silence before she again opened her mouth.
"Boss"
I ignored. I was at the last task in the game before I could advance to the next level.
"Boss! Stop ignoring me!"
"Yessss!" I fist pumped in the air, overjoyed at my victory.
But this world is a selfish place where people don't participate in others' happiness.
"BOSS!!!" Christine shook my arm like an annoying kid.
"WHAT?" I snapped at her in irritation, but that was what I liked about her the most.
No matter how much I lashed out at her, she never took it to heart. She always understood that my anger was just a temporary thing unless she made me lose my hard-earned money!
"I am hungry!" She pouted her rosy pink-coloured lips, batting her long curled lashes innocently.
"Didn't your mother feed you breakfast?"
"I was late! I couldn't eat breakfast because my boss threatened to fire me from the job. Now it is his responsibility to solve my problem."
I sighed annoyingly before instructing the driver to halt at a drive-through. I ordered a burger for myself while Christine ordered enough food that would keep her mouth busy until we reached Swindon.
I paid the bill before grumbling. "Remind me to cut this bill from your salary."
We were again on the road, and the city limits fell far behind. The road was clear without much traffic. That was why I decided to leave early in the morning.
I went to Swindon last year to finalise the site for the construction of this fertilizer factory. Sanders was involved in pretty much every sector of the economy except fertilisers.
And that was why this project was important for my father and thus, the Sanders Group.
Only I knew how much begging and pleading I had to do to get this project before it fell in Mason's mouth. And now this stupid CEO of this non-sensical organisation- 'The Greenchase Foundations'.
I was trying to contact this mysterious woman who was leading this protest against the factory, as the headquarters of this organisation was in Swindon itself.
She was a big name in her field, and the things I knew about her made me conclude that she was made for business and not for saving trees and rivers.
A honking of the horn from behind broke my chain of thoughts. I looked behind to see a black car approaching us at an alarming speed.
My driver must have noticed it because he turned the wheel to the left to let him pass by.
"Some people are in such a hurry as if even a second of time would make them a billionaire!"
I heard Christine grumbling with distaste. She raised her burger to her mouth when my car jolted violently as the driver hit the brakes hard.
Christine hit her head on the headrest of the passenger seat, but I managed to save mine on time. The black car that was behind us overtake us.
"You Bastard!" My driver cursed furiously, and I could still hear the wild beatings of my heart.
But what happened next made it freeze in shock.
It happened so fast that for a moment, I thought I was watching this horrifying dream as a truck came from the right and hit that car.
My driver was beyond just shocked as all blood drained from his face. We watched that car flying in the air before it rolled down thrice on the road. The loud noise and that terrifying scene hit me in the guts but not more than the fact that if that car hadn't overtaken us, then it would have been our car instead of it.
The truck didn't stop and drove away in hurry. I tried to note down the number, but it had none.
As a few seconds passed, I realised that I could not only hear one heart but two more which were beating as fast as mine.
The ringing of my phone brought me back to my senses, and I reached for it with shaky hands. I received the call without looking at the caller ID.
"Hello Devon!"
"Mr Ortiz" My voice came out breathy.
"I just got to know that you have left for Swindon?" He asked in his usual calm voice.
Even an earthquake couldn't create even a slight tremble in that man's voice.
"Y-yes!"
Did he not pick up on the shock in my voice, or was he deliberately ignoring to acknowledge it? I didn't know!
"You should have not left without informing me."
I gulped, sensing the seriousness in his words.
"I... It was a sudden plan." I managed to say.
My eyes hadn't yet left the smashed car and my driver and Christine were yet to recover from that shock.
"Mr Ortiz?" I called his name when he didn't say anything for a long moment.
"Well... take care! Inform me once you reach there... safely!"
What was wrong with him?
"Will do!"
And then he cut the call.
I stared at my phone for a long minute, trying to figure out what just happened, but then I heard the door of the driver's side open before he stepped out of the car, followed by Christine.
I put my phone back in my pocket and got out of the car. As I neared it, I noticed how severe that crash was. I was hesitant in going too close and held Christine's arm before she did so.
The driver went to the driver's side in the hope to find someone inside and hopefully alive. But as soon as he peeked inside the car through the broken window, his eyes widened in shock.
"Boss! There is no one in the car!"