Matteo drove the car while Lena and Asher sat in the backseat.
They made sure to keep a good distance from themselves as their bodies were touching the car doors
Lena breathed in the scent of pineapple and vanilla. It smelt so natural in the car that his stomach began to rumble. She had never felt so comfortable sitting down in a car before, the seats were like soft pillows. She wanted to thank Matteo for the low music he played over the drive, but she was very much still angry at him.
The luxurious car almost made her forget her motive for being inside till Asher spoke, looking at her, and holding a smirk.
Well, it was hard not to get amused by her.
" Are we going to get over this or what?" He snapped her out of her trance.
Lena looked at him quickly, her soft gaze hardened instantly.
She looked down at the mini briefcase on her lap and searched for the paper with interview questions written on it.
She thought it fair to add her questions since she was the one conducting the interview.
" How many questions are there?"
" Quite a number, but it won't take more than the appointed time for this interview if you try answering the questions without adding sarcasm to it."
That was hard for him to do but he'd try.
Lena activated the audio recorder on her phone and held it near to his mouth.
" It's July 2022, I'm Lena Duke Gabby and I'm here with the owner of the Josh's enterprise in the Midtown Manhattan district in New York—"
" Is this really necessary?."
" I like to do things with precision," Lena answered quickly. " Now, let's get to the questions. First, I'll start with business-related questions.
What inspired you to start your business?"
Asher's scowl had returned to his face as he gazed out the window. As a child, I used to enjoy watching business shows where great entrepreneurs shared their experiences and strategies for success. I can say that's what inspired me."
What child would enjoy watching business shows when there was SpongeBob and Mickey Mouse? Lena thought idly.
" Is that the majority reason why or it's because your generations had a line in the same business, so you decided to follow suit?"
Asher's fingers folded into a fist. " I have told you my answers. If you insist on your own beliefs, then I don't understand why we are having this interview."
" It was a question, Mister Josh; I didn't insist on anything." Lena forced herself to be calm. " Next question. Can you walk me through your career journey?"
"As I already stated, I saw a lot of successful people's movies. I also read a lot of books and attended business classes for two years after graduating from high school. I went along to Yale and studied business and finance. By the time I was done studying, I had a diverse knowledge about the business world."
" Normally, it'd take years after graduating to be firm in the business world or at least to secure so many contracts as you've gotten over your three years of graduating from college. Doesn't your rich family background play a major role in your career journey then?"
Asher looked at her with furrowed brows. " Yes but—"
" So you agree one has to have a wealthy family to make it big in such a short period? You must also agree wealth isn't built in a day since you spent so many years learning how to be ' wealthy.' If that's the case, no one is actually poor unless they are lazy and do not want to be successful."
Asher couldn't say anything to object her. Although thinking it through, she wasn't wrong, he didn't want to believe she was right either.
She was using this interview to her advantage! She wanted him to disgrace him again. No matter what she'd said, nothing would take the prejudice he had for poor people away from him.
Lena's eyes held a bit of tenderness as she looked away from him and back at the paper. If only she could knock some senses into affluent people she would.
" I agree," Asher said, solely because the recording would go global.
A fake smile tugged the corner of Lena's lips. " That has answered most of the questions here, so I'd move to the personal questions."
" What motivates you to keep pushing forward?"
" Personal growth."
" How do you balance your business life with your personal life?"
" I've always been a meticulous planner. Every night before I go to bed, I plan out my following day.
Lena raised a brow quite impressed by his answer. She also loved planning her following day before she went to bed.
" How do you handle stress from your personal life not meddling with your professional life?" Now Lena was looking at him straight in the eyes.
Asher didn't see the storm she was brewing and replied ignorantly, " I engage in meditation every day before I leave for work."
"I am sure there were days when you skipped mediation; how did you manage it then?"
Asher looked at her with squinting eyes, suspecting she was up to something but seeing the neutrality of her look, he opted to answer the question.
" I'm not sure how to reply to that but I can say I simply leave my stress behind before going to work."
"So you are claiming you have never vented your rage on your employees because someone outside your workplace made you upset?" Lena bobbed her brow.
Matteo gave Lena a short nonplussed glance, with his mouth hanging open. He was surprised to hear her ask that question. He did not think she was asking questions for the interview anymore, but he wanted to hear his boss's response.
" I won't answer that question Miss Dubby—"
" Why? Are you afraid of letting others know how unfair you can become to your employees because someone trashed your name in public?!" She challenged, slightly appalled by the name he called her.
Bristled, Asher ground his teeth and snatched her phone away from her, then turned the audio recorder off.
" Have you gone mad?" Asher snarled, staring her squarely in the eyes.
" No, I haven't; you are the one that has gone mad!"
Matteo pressed the gas a little too hard at Lena's outburst. He didn't know if to stop the car and throw her out or to let Asher do it himself. She had a large mouth for someone so petite.
He hadn't even dared speak in a higher tone than Asher before, and this woman just raised her voice to him!
Asher sucked a breath and opened his mouth to speak but she cut in brusquely.
" How dare you send the cops to arrest my brother? You have no right to put him in jail because of what I did to you. I would not hesitate to let the whole world know of your cruelty if he gets put behind bars!"
" Are you done talking?" Asher hissed. " I sent the cops after your brother because he is a fugitive and a fraud. I will make sure he rots in jail for the rest of his life when I get my hands on him—"
" If you—"
" Just keep quiet and let me speak!" Asher barked, pointing at her while sending daggers with his eyes. " You have insulted me enough, and you should count yourself lucky I haven't made you regret it, but if you push me, I'll make sure not only you but your family suffers for your mistakes."
Lena released a soft gasp and her eyes went wide in shock. Anytime she heard the word 'family,' she couldn't help but think of her father, who could die from any slight shock.
" In case you haven't realized, your brother stole from me. He hijacked my two ships full of electronics and sold it off to a foreigner. I'm sure he must have left out that detail." Asher shot a look at Matteo's back. " Stop the car."
Matteo stopped the car at Asher's order.
Asher looked at Lena and said, " Now get out. You've had your revenge; there is no need for us to ever see each other again, so I advise you to stay clear of my path."
Lena got out of the car. She turned to Asher as she held the door, " Have a nice day."
With all the energy she could muster, she slammed the door shut so loudly the car began to honk on its own accord.
Asher held his ear and muttered multiple curse words under his breath. He glared at her as she walked away.
She is lucky he didn't want to have anything to do with her again, or else he'd be strangling her with his bare hands in the car!