Brandon sighed and raked back his hair. He had been at the office since God knows when because he needed to get the job done. He wanted to make sure the deal went through with the investors because that would help get his company to another level.
Truly, he was a rich man, but that wouldn't stop him from wanting more, not for his benefits alone, but for his people, his workers, his family, and even his pack.
As they say, no amount of money was ever enough for a rich person, well that was true because he was already rich, but it didn't stop him from working more to have more. Maybe that was his excuse though, maybe it was just something he told himself just so that he could bury himself in work and forget about his dead mate.
Ashley had died in a fight that broke out from his pack two years ago, and ever since then, he had been trying so hard to make sure he gig his mind off it. He had loved her as he loved himself, with every fiber of his being, trying as much as he could to protect her, but she had somehow found death instead, which meant that he had failed.
He had failed to protect her, to keep her away from harm's way until the very end, and he would forever blame himself for it. No matter what happened, it had been his fault.
He had met Ashley when they were eighteen, right after she came to his school for the final year of high school. He knew quite well that they would end up together the moment their eyes met, that was all it took to know their mate as a werewolf. Their eyes were windows to their inner self where their wolf lies and they beckon at one another as if they had sought themselves out.
It didn't matter that she was from a poor background unlike him. She had loved him and nurtured her until they could mate and get married. They were barely six months married when she had died, and he had been thrown into great sorrow, but more importantly, he was always now moody and barking at the people around him. He had pulled himself away from the rest of the world, and as much as his parents, grandmother, and sister tried to get him to become his old self again, it wasn't working.
No one should blame him though, she was the center of his universe, and she had died. It was as if a great part of himself had gone with her, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get himself back. It was always going to be like that, he had accepted his fate and was moving on, as he should.
"What the hell is delaying this woman?" he asked, whispering, referring to his secretary whom he had asked to bring some files over from the filing cabinet that was in the storeroom on the floor directly under the floor his office was situated in.
Brandon owned the building, amongst three other buildings on the main street that was rented and used for office spaces. He also had one building that was used as housing apartments, and on the top of the building was his current apartment. He had left the mansion he lived with Ashley when they got married because he couldn't stay there any longer. He couldn't bare the pain that came with the memory of living without her and seeing her everywhere around the house. Of course, he wasn't there, but the illusion was driving her crazy.
He raked his hair again and groaned. If the woman took a minute longer, he was going to fire her and get someone else. If there was something Brandon hated, it was the tardiness of how people did their job, and how lazy others were. He had sent her to get the file about ten minutes ago or something. The files were arranged according to letters to the best of his knowledge, so it shouldn't take her the whole day to grab them. Why was she so slow getting what she was asked to?
He picked up the receiver of the phone on his table and died her number. She would definitely be with the device.
He had seen her around with the thing, always giggling around from something on it and talking to whoever it was almost every hour of the day, but the only reason why he didn't fire her was that he was trying out being a nice boss.
People called him cold, ruthless, and heartless, but he didn't really care. He hadn't cared much until his grandmother started to nag him about it.
She was the reason he was trying to make people start to see him in a new light so that when she heard the news, and she would be rest assured he wasn't going to die with no one around him.
When the call was answered, he asked. "What the hell is keeping you, Ella?" he asked.
"I'll be right there, sir." She said. "The file got missed up in another letter section." She explained.
He sighed and dropped the receiver. He pushed the current file in front of him away and stood up to walk to the large window in his office. His office was on the last floor which was the fifteenth floor of the building. He used only seven floors for his company; each floor occupying the various department that was made up of his company, while the other ten were partly a law firm, and an interior decorating company. The first floor was the lobby where anyone could wait, and also get an appointment made or get which floor they needed to go to.
From where he stood, he was able to see the whole busy bustling city below, and the view from here was amazing. It was not just amazing, but extremely beautiful at night with all the lights around the city.
Soon, the door of his office opened and he heard Ella's heels clinking as she walked towards him. "Sir, I'm sorry about the delay." She said.
"It's not rocket science, you know. It's just getting a file for me." He said, not bothering to turn to her. His hands were in his pocket and he didn't care how rude he seemed right now. Even though he was trying to be a nice boss for the sake of his grandmother, he was still the CEO of this company, and he had built it from the ground up, so he could do what he wanted when he wanted.
"I'm sorry, sir." She said.
"Just drop the file and get out." He said, his tone rising a notch.
He heard the ruffle of the papers in the file as she dropped it, and then he heard her receding footsteps, then she was gone.
"Rubbish!" he whispered and focused back on the city below. He wasn't sure how far he was staring down there for, but suddenly he heard the door open again, and he frowned. He had told Ella times and over never to come into his office without being summoned or having something important to say.
"What the hell do you want, Ella." He asked, still not turning to look at her. He didn't want her soiling his mood further, because he knew he was already at the brim of being angry.
"Well, it's not Ella, but you would know that if you turn to look at me." The person said, and he froze.
What the hell was she doing here for God's sake?