1 Cork's Bar
"I'm sorry Mr. Kristian but I'm afraid we are going to need to cancel your audition"
"Huh? What do you mean you need to cancel my audition?!"
"It is as I said sir, I do not know all the details but I do know this comes from somebody higher up, I apologize for any inconveniences and I wish you a happy day despite the circumstances"
*Beep*
*Sigh*
"He hung up the phone on me..." mumbled Kristian
Defeated Kristian sat back in his office chair and covered his deep blue eyes with his hands before sighing again and once again mumbling to himself.
"What should I do now..."
Kristian was a handsome 25-year-old actor, but unfortunately, no matter what he does he cannot get an acting job for an unknown reason, somebody keeps blocking him whenever possible.
All jobs he can get are dangerous stunt double roles but despite this Kristian still accepts them in hopes that his fortune will change.
Kristian belongs to a rich family called the Ardeat family, the family runs the Ardeat Entertainment Agency. They are one of the top entertainment agencies in the country.
Originally Kristian was supposed to be groomed as a future CEO for the company however as it turned out not long after his mother's death, his father had cheated on her years prior and fathered a child with another woman.
His father decided to bring the woman and their child into their home and marry her as his 2nd wife and soon after the pair had another child.
The eldest brother named James had been groomed as the CEO for the company since young due to him being older than Kristian by a couple of years.
Despite having different mothers the 3 brothers get along seemingly well, James going even as far as giving Kristian support within the company and constantly arranging auditions for Kristian despite all the failed attempts.
This made Kristian thankful that at the very least he is lucky enough that he can get along with his stepmother and brothers.
After some time Kristian had decided he will go out for a drink. Taking out his phone he looked through his contacts before landing on one with the name "Cork" and pressing the call button.
After a couple of rings, the call was picked up and the voice of a young man could be heard "Hey, it's rare for you to call out of the blue like this, what's up?" Said the man on the phone as soon as the call connected.
"Ha, straight to the point as always..."
"Heh, You know me. I don't like wasting time, at least not when it comes to important matters and you know I consider anything related to my friends important" chuckled the man
"Chatty as always too..." replied Kristian sounding tired.
Having picked up on this Cork responded "Alright, alright I get it, just tell me what's up"
"I'm coming down for a drink, prepare me a room," said Kristian bluntly.
"Alright, lucky you've called otherwise it might have been troublesome today"
"I can have a room ready for you within an hour"
"Alright, see you in an hour," Kristian said before hanging up the phone.
---------------------
An hour later Kristian was standing before a bar called "Cork's Bar" a privately owned bar that only select individuals can come to visit, it is the perfect place if you'd like a private secret meeting over a couple of drinks.
The establishment is known for its discretion and bartenders here are renowned for their ability to keep their mouths shut.
It is owned and run by a man who goes by Cork. Cork and Kristian had been friends since childhood and whenever Kristian is feeling down he will come to visit Cork and opens up a bit over drinks.
Kristian walked towards the door and pushed it open. He was currently wearing a face mask and hat, a grey hoodie, and a plain black t-shirt. A thin silver chain could be seen hanging from his neck. He was wearing dark blue jeans and a pair of trainers.
Despite coming from a rich family Kristian had never been bought expensive clothing by his family, his stepmother and father would state that they need to focus on his elder brother and that he has no need for expensive branded clothes.
After walking in and walking down a flight of stairs Kristian arrived at another door before walking through it, as he walked through it a man called out to him.
"You're right on time!" A man who looked to be around 30 years old called out. He had short blond hair and green eyes. He was wearing a black shirt with his sleeves rolled up and had an expensive silver watch on his left wrist.
"Shouldn't I?" Kristian replied bluntly.
"Hahaha, you're right you should be on time" Having come from an impressive background too, the man known as 'Cork' dislikes tardiness and Kristian is never late.
"Let's go into the room and you can tell me what's going on" The man nudged Kristian with his head to follow him before turning around and walking towards one of the many private rooms.
They walked into a VVIP room in which Cork personally entertains guests.
The room had a minimalistic modern design with bar stools by the bar and a sitting area around a coffee table if you want to sit back and relax.
The room could easily fit more than 20 people however most times it will have 5-10. A single hour in a room here could range from a couple thousand to hundreds of thousands. The VVIP room itself is priceless and only very specific individuals can receive this treatment.
Kristian proceeded to sit down on the center bar stool while Cork walked around the bar and grabbed a pair of glasses to pour them some drinks.
Cork poured them each a glass of top-shelf Whiskey and placed them down with a thud.
"So, tell me what happened?"
"Do you really not know?" Kristian downed the glass in one before placing the glass by Cork as a sign for him to pour him another.
*Sigh*
Shaking his head Cork smiled while pouring Kristian another drink.
"So you've gotten kicked from another audition…" This wasn't the first time Kristian had come to Cork after being declined the opportunity to audition.
Despite their age difference, Cork cared about Kristian like a younger brother so whenever Kristian was feeling down he made sure to be there for him in fear that he'd do something stupid.
Growing up Kristian was a small boy causing him to get bullied quite a lot, at around the age of 16 is when he met Cork.
Cork saw a younger him within Kristian so he decided to take care of him like a sibling, he helped him work out to improve his physical health and also trained him in various martial arts.
These skills have helped Kristian at the very least get some stunt double roles. They were dangerous and potentially deadly and the pay wasn't that amazing however Kristian needed work so he took what he could get.
"Yeah" Kristian chuckled dejectedly before taking another drink.
"I see, well no need to dwell on it…" before Cork could finish his thought he received a phone call.
Quickly glancing at his phone Cork's eyes grew slightly before turning to Kristian "wait a minute, I have to take this"
Cork accepted the call and started talking. Kristian could only clearly hear what Cork was saying however he could faintly hear the voice of a woman coming through from the other side of the phone from time to time.
"What's up?"
"Aha, aha, I see. Unfortunately, it's taken right now"
"I can't do that, as the one occupying it is a close friend of mine, but if you don't mind I can ask him if he'd like to share the room?"
Having heard this Kristian got curious and looked up at Cork
"Alright give me a second" Cork took his phone away from his ear and spoke towards Kristian
"Somebody I know is also having an off day and they'd like to drink here as they usually use the VVIP room but you are here currently, do you mind sharing?" Asked Cork with a hint of pleading in his voice.
Seeing the nervous look on Cork's face Kristian's otherwise expressionless and cold face showed a slight smile "If they make you nervous, how could I possibly say no?"
"W-what? Shut up before I stop pouring you drinks…"
Cork brought the phone back to his ear and told the other person on the phone the good news before hanging up.
"They will be here in around 20 minutes, just please don't cause any trouble. They aren't somebody I can afford to offend"
"Since when have I ever caused trouble?" Frowned Kristian
"Well maybe you haven't but the person coming is an out of this world goddess, I just don't want you to hit on her and make her uncomfortable"
*Cough*
This comment caused Kristian to slightly choke on his drink.
"What are you talking about" Kristian frowned while wiping his mouth
"You know that I have no interest in dating right now…"
"Right, you have no interest in dating…" Winked Cork and clicked his mouth.
Despite being handsome and young Kristian has never dated. During his childhood, he was bullied tremendously causing his self-esteem to falter and resulting in his shy personality.
As he grew up and started working on himself he started attracting the attention of numerous beautiful women.
Unfortunately for them Kristian had zero dating experience and rarely had a clue if a woman was flirting with him despite some of them making it quite obvious.
Although even if he did realize their intentions he would still behave the same as always and mostly be indifferent to their advances due to his lack of dating knowledge and anxiety.
—-----------------
Simultaneously inside an expensive-looking black car.
A young woman could be seen in the back seat talking on the phone.
"Mom, I told you I don't want to" A young woman was talking on the phone, she was agitated but despite this, she managed to keep her voice and expression calm.
"I know you have sweetie, but you're already at that age where you should think about starting a family"
"I don't have time for a family right now, I need to take care of our business" She responded
"That's why you need to get married to a good and responsible man who can take over the business as you look after your family at home"
Frowning at what she said the young woman replied "I'm sorry mom but I'm busy I need to hang up the call"
*Beep*
*Sigh*
She sighed as she disconnected the call "ahh I need a drink"
She scrolled down through her contacts before picking one with the name Cork's Bar and calling it.
"What's up?"
"I could really use a drink right now, my mom is houding me again about yet another blind date, is the room available?" she asked
"Aha, aha, I see. Unfortunately, it's taken right now"
"Can't you just kick them out? I'll compensate you well. I desperately need a drink" she frowned upset at the idea of not being able to relax with a nice drink.
"I can't do that, as the one occupying it is a close friend of mine, but if you don't mind I can ask him if he'd like to share the room?"
This was the first time Cork had suggested something like this so she had to think about it for a second "Hmm, alright if you trust him then I don't mind"
"Alright give me a second" Responded Cork before moving the phone away from his face to talk to his friend.
"Somebody I know is also having an off day and they'd like to drink here as they usually use the VVIP room but you are here currently, do you mind sharing?"
"W-what? Shut up before I stop pouring you drinks…"
She could only hear one side of the conversation however she couldn't help but chuckle at what Cork just said, it seemed like it was going to be a better evening than expected.
"He said that you're more than welcome to join us"
"Great, I'll see you in 20 minutes"
—-----------------
20 minutes later Cork received a phone call from the front desk saying a guest has arrived.
Cork left to receive the guest and came back 2 minutes later. He walked into the room and held the door for a beautiful young woman.
She had snow-white hair with beautiful purple eyes that sparkled like a pair of expensive gems.
She was wearing a black business suit that made her look like a very serious person.
She sat down beside Kristian before Cork spoke up. "This is my very good friend Kristian, I like to think of him like a younger brother." He gestured towards Kristian as he poured everyone a fresh drink.
As he finished he said "And this is Violet, she is also a good friend of mine so make sure to behave Kristian" before winking at him.
Kristian wasn't paying attention to what was going on however when he heard a sweet and lovely voice come out from the person beside him he couldn't help but glance towards them.
"It's lovely to meet you, Kristian, I'd like to thank you for letting me join you here, I needed a drink and this is the only place I trust with my drinks"
"It's fine" Kristian replied before taking another sip of his drink.
"So are you also having a rough day?" she asked with a smile on her face
"You could say that"
"Not very talkative are you?" She giggled as she took a sip of her drink too.
"I can see why you get along with Cork"
"Oh? why is that?" She asked out of curiosity.
"You both talk a lot" he scoffed
"Oh." the smile from her face disappeared. "I'm sorry I will just let you drink in peace if that's bothering you…"
She looked away from Kristian before taking another sip of her drink.
Kristian glanced at her from the side, seeing the smile gone from her face made him feel upset for some reason as if he did something unforgivable.
*Sigh*
He sighed before speaking out to her quietly
"I don't mind…" Violet barely heard him and turned around towards him slightly in disbelief before noticing the glass in front of her signaling he wanted to toast and have a drink together.
She smiled once again and said "Let's forget our worries together"
*Clink* They clinked their glasses before drinking their entire drinks at once.
Cork couldn't believe what was happening, he had never seen Kristian speak so much to a woman so he couldn't help but chuckle to himself and decide to stay silent and let the pair talk as much as they can throughout the night.
—--------------
A/N First time writing a romance novel, I posted this a minute ago but decided to try and repost under female lead although there are both a ML and FL so it doesn't really matter but I thought it would be better for a romance novel.
This is my take on a CEO novel except this time around the roles are flipped.
There will be R18 scenes but I want to build up the relationship between the main characters before we get to those so you will have to stay patient if that's what you're looking for.
