Invest In Me

Chapter 3

“Now please tell me the issue here,” Mr. Hall said, tenting his fingers. He had come almost twenty minutes after. Such a nonchalant behavior. Bella despised him already.

She inhaled and exhaled, running the well-rehearsed monologue in her head one last time. “You see, my mother has died and a lawyer came to me. He told me that her property, including the house we lived in and some fields, are tied up with your company. Many years ago, she had invested all she had in a startup which turns out is your company.”

“Okay…” he said, staring at the glass walls. She could almost see the gears turning in his head as he was calculating his actions. “So what do you want now?”

“What do I want?” Bella was irritated to the core. “What I want is to get my house back. I don’t know how you will do it, but I want my mother’s property back into the hands of the one who deserves it. It is the only home I have, sir. Please.”

“Calm down, miss. I will right the problem now, and I will send it in to the financial department. They will work with the law department, and we will have a solution to this problem. We want the best for you, believe me.”

Bella felt something twist and churn in her stomach. This man was treating her like a mere bug on his path to success. The company profited billions every day and understandably her problem was just a small pebble no one wanted to deal with.

“When will all of this resolve? How will I know that it will be, hmm?” she asked roughly.

“We won’t let you down, I promise. And besides there is nothing I can do here. Thank you for coming and we will notify you for any updates. Can you please leave now? I have some very urgent matters to work on here, please. I hope that you understand.”

This was outrageous. Bella stood up and exited his office without saying her goodbye. He was so sterile toward her and behaved exactly like she thought he would. A typical billionaire who looked at everyone from high ground. She was so furious that she didn’t even see where she was walking. Until she bumped into someone.

All she could look at was a man’s torso and she felt pain in her forehead from the impact.

“Oh my God, I am so sorry,” Bella blurted out, putting her hands on the man’s chest to steady herself. She was still feeling a bit dizzy.

“No, it is my fault,” he said in a low bass. He was dressed in a perfectly-tailored, expensive suit. He placed his huge hands on her shoulders. “Are you okay?”

It was then that she raised her eyes to see a tall, gorgeous gentleman with broad shoulders, a great body, and a brown skin. “Yes, I am okay, thanks for asking. I was angry and I didn’t see you. I am sorry again,” she said and started to go toward the elevator.

“Wait a minute!” he said and she turned. “You look familiar to me!”

And now Bella was utterly confused. Was it her or just New York? “I don’t think I know you, sir. I really don’t know how –“

“Bella!” he exclaimed. “Bella Drew, right?”

The blood froze in her body. “How do you know my name, sir? You know, this is getting a bit awkward.” She smiled nervously. Was this guy a stalker or someone she had studied with? She didn’t recall studying with this heartthrob in front of her.

“Please come into my office, so that I can explain everything to you.” He saw her reluctant look and uttered, “Please. It is connected to your mother.”

A green light appeared before her black eyes. Perhaps her mother from above had put this guy on her path. Maybe this guy was the one who would help her untie her property from the company.

“Okay.” She smiled. The man led the way and they were in the elevator together taking it to the top floors. It let out a ‘bing,’ and after passing one young woman sitting at a table, they entered a spacious office. It was the most beautiful, most extravagant in the world, according to Bella.

“How do you know me and my mom?” she asked, sitting in another guest chair.

“First let me introduce myself. My name is Thomas Graves, CEO of the company we are in.”

Then it dawned on Bella. He was a billionaire and a real celebrity at that. Adrenaline kicked in again. It wasn’t every day that she met with rich CEOs.

“Very nice to meet you. I had no idea that I ran into the owner of the company. I apologize once again.”

Thomas chuckled. His voice was very sexy, but his chuckle even sexier. Bella sensed something weird in her body.

“It is totally fine. As you surely know, your mother invested in my once startup. And now we are here. That was how I recognized you. My father and she are great friends. How is she? What brings you here?”

Bella was suddenly sorry to break the moment of joy. “She passed away just weeks ago.”

The words hit Thomas hard and that could be seen from the misery reflected on his face. “My deepest condolences. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask. I will always be here for your family as your family has always been here for me.”

“Thank you. That means a lot to me,” she whispered, hating herself for bringing up the blackest of memories.

“My father speaks very highly of her. They were very good friends. A remarkable woman, he told me. I wanted to meet her so bad.” He sighed deeply.

Bella was unsure whether to tell Thomas about her problem but realized that the consultant would do absolutely nothing, so the head of the company would be her last chance. “Sir,” she began.

“Thomas, please,” he interrupted her.

“Okay. Thomas, as a matter of fact I have a huge problem that I would like to tell you about. I spoke to one of your consultants, but he was very cold toward me and left me utterly confused and bewildered. I hope that you can resolve all of this.”

“Yeah, sure, Bella. Anything. Do tell.”

Bella explained everything that had happened during the course of the previous week. How she had to leave her home, the tied up property, her homelessness…

“Wow, that is horrible. I had no idea that it could happen. But you know that these things don’t happen overnight. Several lawyers, a court of law, and a whole procedure must follow, but I promise you that I will see to it personally that you get what you deserve.”

“Thank you… Thomas.” Bella smiled at him. “I cannot thank you enough.”

“You can. Through dinner. Let me get you acquainted with the city and we can have a nice, relaxed chat. To get to know each other better,” he said.

Bella was a bit taken aback. It sounded rather odd and something she wouldn’t do ever in her life. She barely knew the guy and besides, he was a popular star. What if someone took pictures of her? On the other hand, his expression was like the one of a sad dog’s with his ears flipped down.

“Sounds like a great idea. Yeah,” she said and she felt butterflies in her stomach while saying those words.

“Amazing.” Thomas’ face lit up immediately. “Nine o’clock.” He told her the name of the restaurant.

“Okay. Thank you again for everything.” Bella started to get up and he did too. A man with manners. Thomas was a true gentleman in every meaning of the word.

“It is really the least I can do. See you tonight then.”

“See you,” she said and waved at him. He waved back.

*****

“Doll, you are amazing. I mean, you look amazing,” Sam said scanning Bella from head to toe.

“Thanks,” she replied, checking herself out in the only mirror in the apartment.

It had been seven o’clock since Bella had started preparing herself for the dinner with Thomas. She had checked twice the address of the restaurant on Google and had done her homework on Thomas Graves. It had been beyond herself and she couldn’t have resisted the temptation to enter his name in the search bar. She had admired his pictures and had been amazed at how he had looked great in every single one of them.