taking my final breath of nostalgia and planning (3)

Time floated by, and it was 4 pm. Annabelle sat on a comfy couch inside James' office, her dark hair resting on her ears. She always kept a pixie cut, but her hair had grown longer recently, so she had to tuck some behind her ears. She was a very carefree person, so she wasn't at all nervous to meet with her uncle. Though she called him 'Grumpy', she truly respected him for being able to make the company as incredible as it was right now, he was truly an amazing man. She didn't enjoy his treatment of Alisha, no one did, especially Eliza, but he never listened to them.

At 4:05 pm, James strutted into his office, his sombre expression turned delighted upon seeing his prodigal niece. "Annabelle! What a pleasure to see you. Let's talk at my desk." They both made their way to their respective seats before James continued, "My stepdaughter Alisha asked me to have you as my adviser, but knowing you, the suggestion was completely her own. Seeing as you are here, I assume you're interested in the job?"

"Yes. I think the experience would benefit me greatly and some of my decisions and suggestions can benefit the company too." Another skill that Annabelle had acquired was her unchanging poker face. Regardless of the situation, if she chose to, her face wouldn't change its expression. It was also how she had earned a lot of money. Annabelle Montez, the famous gambler, someone who had never left a casino without at least tripled the amount she came in with. But before the conversation could continue, Annabelle wouldn't let James get away with his words. "What do you mean stepdaughter? Alisha is as much my cousin as Eliza is. At least around me, call her your daughter."

James sighed, he should have been more aware, it was just a habit he had now. He had always just told people she was a stepdaughter, or adopted, he didn't want them to think of her as is his real daughter. But no one believed him, the resemblance between the two was too prominent, she looked like him as a woman, which was surprisingly attractive. He decided to ignore her comment and continued, "I think you should start immediately, so does... Alisha, we should negotiate pay now. I don't want you to work for free, I was thinking around 100 per year for now, and we can increase later on depending on how you feel."

"I agree, but only for a month. After one month I expect a 20% raise. And by the end of next year I should be making 200. By then, I expect the company would have a 60% increase in profits, and that's based on the current information I have. First, we should stop investing in large scale productions..." her proposal was long, but all her points were valid, most of them even James hadn't thought of. Upon hearing he realised how obvious they seemed as for as decisions went.

He grinned at his niece as she spoke, he was someone who was always open to suggestions, which was why his business had grown to such an extent. Some businessmen thought of themselves to be superior to those around them and never accepted advice or criticism. Not just businessmen but anyone with an inflated ego, but life had taught James to never look down on others. But that's a story for another time.

At 5 pm, their meeting ended. Annabelle immediately called Alisha to ask where they would meet, and Alisha told her the details. If it were just Annabelle and Alisha, they might have gone someplace ordinary, but since everyone was meeting they decided to go to another hotspot for the elite, Lilies and Spices, a nature themed establishment that the elites went to. Lilies and Spices was a brand only the tip of the iceberg knew of, any of their hotels, restaurants, even rental properties were state of the art. But that didn't take away from the feeling of home that they gave, a warm feeling that would usually come from a family restaurant. How? They had taken over many family run businesses and made them safer, they took 20% of the profits from all of the family's but let them run their own businesses. The families had to sign an NDA about anything they hear, and their prices would skyrocket, as would their profits after that. If you were scouted by Lilies and Spices, guaranteed success would be the result.

Something Bryan never knew, something Alisha only found out because of Eliza's will, was that James was the owner of Lilies and Spices, which was unsurprising except that he never stepped into any of the Lilies and Spices establishments. Eliza became chairman of Lilies and Spices, secret from the world, when she turned eighteen. When she was killed, Lilies and Spices went to Alisha, but she made her lawyer give to her in secrecy. She knew that anyone knowing her identity would place them in danger.

Why? Because Lilies and Spices was also a criminal organisation, why couldn't it be? It was the perfect cover for a criminal organisation, a play area for the rich, a safe place, but perhaps it was a safe place for more than the rich. Assassins, mafia, politicians, no one was allowed to commit any crimes on the grounds of Lilies and Spices, enemies had to respect each other. If someone broke any of the rules, a ransom to have them killed would be placed, and the price would increase with every day.

Alisha sighed and leaned back on her seat, her head beating with pain. It had been a while since she had had to think so much about anything. At least her degree wasn't difficult for her anymore, she would go as far as calling it easy, simple revision. Though, it had only been 2 days. She got ready wearing a sundress, her hair in a simple ponytail, sandals and a watch. She had to pick up Richard and Annabelle, Fred and Eliza were already with her.

"Eliza! Fred! Hurry up!" Tapping her foot, Alisha tried waiting patiently for three seconds before she called for them again. Fred waltzed down the stairs, his hair so gelled it wouldn't change even in a stage 5 tornado. He wore a deep purple suit, a white shirt with silver buttons, and matching purple pants, he looked fashionable with a charming feminine vibe.

"Sorry! I couldn't help myself, your dad's cuff-link collection is just divine! Eliza is almost ready, she's having trouble with earrings. You know how she is. Can you be the DD? I wanna get wasted!"

Alisha nodded and smiled warmly when she saw Eliza make her way down the stairs, perfect as usual. She had donned an off-shoulder long-sleeved dress that reached mid-thigh, her earrings were the same colour as her dress, sapphire blue, she looked like a Goddess to Alisha. They all jumped into Alisha's Maserati, she was driving that night as per her own request to Mr Thompson. He allowed it happily, he was still getting paid.

They arrived in front of Richard's father's mansion, and after two minutes he was in the car donning a classic black suite and bow tie with silver cuff-links and a cute grin. Then Annabelle hopped in next to Richard, and stated, "We'll meet Jacob at the restaurant." which of course made everyone except Alisha ask who he was. Her response, "Future Mr Montez hopefully!" which made Richard freeze up, he looked at Alisha from her car mirror. She nodded, and gave him a 'we'll talk about it soon' look.

Upon arriving at Lilies and Spices' Fontana Restaurante, they were immediately recognised, but they needed to hand in a specialised coin with an encryption in it that could identify them and allow them entrance. Inside they were greeted by hostesses who led them to Room 001, where they were greeted with not the expected one person, but three unexpected people stared at them.

Alisha froze, her breath choked up, George waved at her and Bryan nodded at her. She felt cold and angry, she turned to Eliza who was talking about how she had invited George and Bryan wanted to come too. Alisha grabbed Richard and said, "I just need to have a one on one with Richard, we'll be right back!" For some reason Bryan felt a pang when he saw her holding Richard's hand. He felt that it was too intimate, it made him want to push Richard away and burn him in a fire. He was shocked at his thoughts, but he felt annoyed once again when he saw how close they were he felt it flare up in him again.

Outside the room, Richard was in a daze, as was Alisha, but she had to deal with the matter at hand. "BellaAnna has a boyfriend. She loves him. Calm down. Collect yourself. You can cry now." And he did, after hearing Alisha Richard realised it was real, his first love was in love with someone else.

"Why couldn't she ever see me? Alisha, am I not good enough for her?" He sobbed and spoke incoherently, mostly in mumbles. Oh Richard, Alisha thought as she pat his head, which rested on her shoulder as he sobbed.

"Richard, some things aren't meant to be and that's okay. You'll find someone beautiful and special, and you'll be happy one day too. I promise." She kissed his hair and hugged him, cooing him. Bryan peeked outside with the excuse of using the bathroom, he saw this scene and felt more jealousy flare up within him, not just jealousy, anger. He wanted to lock her in a cell and keep the world away from her, he wanted to burn the head leaning on her shoulder, cut off the hand holding hers, he wanted to obliterate them. His face was ugly as he stared at them, his thoughts reflected in his expression. But he changed his expression and approached them. But before he could say anything he received a glare from Alisha as well as her middle finger. He forced himself to turn and leave, but her cute expression had lightened his load slightly.

After Richard calmed down, he turned to Alisha, he looked like a mess, so she sent him to the restroom to fix himself up. Bryan was leaving and caught Alisha waiting outside the men's restroom, he decided to talk to her. "Alisha, is your... boyfriend (?) okay?"

"Richard? He's fine." Was he her boyfriend?

"Richard, like your last name!"

"Congratulations?"

"Thanks."

"..."

"Did you want a drink?"

"No, I'm Designated Driver (DD) tonight."

"Oh. What about your driver?"

"I let him have a night off."

"Oh."

"..."

She had her arms folded together, she was rubbing her bicep area, feeling cold even though the air was warm. She was small, so small he could completely engulf her in a hug, yet her gaze scared even him. It burned with hate, hate he couldn't comprehend a reason for her hatred. It made him feel terrible, he hated being despised. Why couldn't she be like other women? Why couldn't she throw herself at him? Why couldn't she be like Diana?

"Bryan, is there anything else."

He shook his head and left her, his head a mess.

Alisha sighed in relief, he was truly a pain. She waited for Richard, who came out ten minutes later, a bit more refreshed. He went home after, she drove him, she told them that he was feeling sick, which was true.

"Hey guys, I'm back. Let's get the party started!"