“Ms. Mitchell, please meet Mr. Reid,” introduced Stella awkwardly, looking from one to the other as both of them hardly acknowledged her presence in the room. She quietly left the room and waited outside for further instructions. 

Genelia couldn’t look away from his hypnotic gaze that seemed to draw her unconsciously towards him. She tried to find her Brandon in those beautiful eyes that once used to look at her tenderly, but found hatred instead, as the hard, unblinking eyes stared back at her. She blinked and broke the spell, only to inspect every inch of the gorgeous creature in front of her, looking for similarities with her Brandon. Although his ruthless aura seemed intimidating and his square set of jaws more determined to dominate her and harass her, Genelia was astounded. She had to know if it was a mere coincidence or was Zander Reid really her Brandon? Did her dad lie to her? Apart from his eyes that watched her silently like a hawk, nothing seemed to resemble Brandon’s. The man in front of her had darker hair that was slicked and combed neatly, exuding an aura of understated elegance, unlike Brandon’s careless, laid-back hairstyle. Zander Reid looked lethal and all muscular, while Brandon was jovial and easy-going and too lazy to work out. In fact, Zander Reid looked exactly the opposite of Brandon Davis.

“Are you going to stand and stare all day?” growled the man, bringing her out of her reverie. Gia blinked hard to bring herself back to reality. Hearing him speak erased all her doubts, and she knew that she still remembered that voice. She heard it every night in her dreams. It was Brandon’s!

“Ms. Genelia Mitchell?” Genelia glanced up helplessly into those gray orbs, searching them for a tiny spark of recognition, only to find nothing! His eyes were expressionless, cold and disinterested, as if he was impatient to get this done as quickly as possible and leave. 

“I’m sorry, Mr. Reid. You reminded me of someone I used to know,” she breathed, calming herself considerably, as she had a task at hand and couldn’t afford to get carried away. Zander Reid might resemble Brandon, but he wasn’t her Brandon and the sooner she realized that, the better it would be for her.

“I’m a busy man and I don’t have time for this shit. Have you gone through the investment agreement?” He pulled a chair and sat down in front of his laptop without even bothering to introduce himself formally. It was a weird start to a formal meeting, but she didn’t have any other choice than to continue. Deciding to deal with it bravely, she occupied the seat opposite him and nodded. 

“Yes, I have, but I need to clarify a few things before we sign the document,” she specified, making him raise an eyebrow and glance at her with annoyance. 

“You still haven’t signed it? I’m not entitled to give you any clarification, Ms. Mitchell. I think the agreement is self-explanatory, so if you don’t sign, I’m sorry, I won’t be able to save your business. Good luck in finding some other investor.” He closed his laptop and got up to leave, causing Genelia to panic and rise from her seat, her eyes wide and nervous. Where would she get another investor if he left?

“Please don’t take offense, Mr. Reid. I was just referring to...,” she started, but he interrupted her harshly. 

“Read the agreement and sign it. I don’t have time for explanations.”

“I’ve read it. Can we discuss it, please? I won’t take much of your time.” She noted the look of disgust on his face and wondered why he agreed to it in the first place if he didn’t have the time to discuss!

“Look, Ms. Mitchell. I have to reach the airport in an hour, so either you sign the document and we start immediately or you need to wait for three months. I’m about to sign an important contract and wouldn’t be able to give much attention to this.”

“Oh, but I can’t pull till three months. With you so busy, even if I sign, you won’t be able to give it much attention, right?” He seemed to consider her question for a brief second. 

“If you sign now, I’ll cancel my flight, my appointment and give your business the attention instead.” His smouldering eyes gazed back at her, holding her gaze, daring her to disobey while Genelia gaped at him, her eyes widening further with incredulity. Would he cancel his important contract for her? Why would he do that? Whatever the reason, it seemed unbelievable. Should she grab this opportunity and sign the agreement? It was just an investment agreement, after all. 

“Okay, I’ll sign it,” she agreed, picking up a pen and signing the agreement without a second thought. She didn’t have a choice, did she? In her haste, she missed the victorious smirk on Zander Reid’s face as he watched his dream come true. 

“There, done.” She looked up into his eyes that gleamed with fury and much more, causing her to wonder what had made him so angry! She signed the agreement without even asking him to clarify the clauses he had mentioned. What could the clauses mean? What could be his conditions? Maybe he wanted more power over the company! 

He snatched the agreement and inspected her signature as if he hadn’t just witnessed her signing it. “Good!” he said, deep in thought, as if contemplating upon his next course of action. “I’ll see what I can do,” he muttered, picking up his bag and striding out of the conference room in a hurry, leaving her gaping after him. The moment he left, Stella bustled in, looking confused as ever. 

“What happened? Didn’t he agree to invest in our company?”

“I’m clueless, Stella. I signed the agreement, but he just walked out on me and I don’t know where all this is leading to. He didn’t even consider it necessary to discuss a plan of action with me and our department heads or want to see our Annual Report.” Genelia walked out of the conference room, flailing her arms with distress. Zander Reid’s behaviour had her so worked up that she couldn’t concentrate on anything the whole day. A pair of stormy and tumultuous gray eyes had robbed her of her peace of mind, and she had no way of knowing whether she did the right thing by signing the papers. She sighed and closed her eyes, wishing her grandfather would have been there beside her to guide her! She wondered why her grandfather wanted her to contact such a ruthless monster when he had no wish to help her out at all! 

It was late when she emerged from the office to go home and all the employees had left to return to their loved ones except her. She didn’t have anyone to return to. It had been nearly a week, and the police had no information about her grandfather’s whereabouts. He had switched off his mobile phone as if not wishing to be located. Gia drove home to her humble two-bedroom apartment in a peaceful neighbourhood of LA. There was a time when she used to live life king-size with all the luxuries fit for a princess with a family that spoiled her rotten. Their enormous mansion was the most sought-after property in the whole of Brentwood Park, but she had to sell it four years ago to save the business and pay off all the debts. Rafael had destroyed everything they had held dear, even the business for his selfish reasons. 

Unlocking the door, she went inside and looked around to see that it was just the way she had left it in the morning, which only meant that her grandfather hadn’t returned. The nagging worry again hit her and she felt close to tears. Where could her grandpa go? Was he in some kind of trouble? Freshening up, she wore a pair of shorts and a cotton top and walked into the kitchen to fix herself a quick dinner. A quick Pasta Carbonara was all she had the energy to cook up. Sitting with it, she gobbled it up and straight away hit the bed, not having the energy to do anything else. 

Thoughts of Brandon flashed across her mind. There never passed a single night when she didn’t think of Brandon. Even after ten long years, she hadn’t been able to forget him, or move on from him. Therefore, at twenty-six, she still hadn’t been able to forget the first and only passionate kiss she had shared with Brandon. Although ten years have passed by, she was still stuck with memories of him. She hadn’t believed her dad when he announced the news of Brandon’s death to her and had hoped to see him again! Now, even after a decade, she still waited every day for him, knowing he didn’t love her! It was an unrequited love, and she knew she had to live it all her life. 

She picked up her phone and checked the picture gallery for the single photograph of Brandon she had taken eleven years ago. She had saved it all these years. Gazing at the picture, she sighed as a few teardrops fell from her eyes. She knew her senses could never be wrong, her heart couldn’t be mistaken and could recognize Brandon’s eyes and voice even in her sleep.

“Are you Zander Reid?” she whispered, her voice choked with emotions. 

Suddenly, her phone buzzed with a message from an unknown number. Wiping her eyes, she checked curiously. Who could message her so late in the night? 

Tomorrow, be ready by 8 o’clock in the morning.