The long ride was slow and as well as a quiet one too. Ryan sighed for the umpteenth times, unable to fathom the reason behind his never-ending sigh. Of course, he had many reasons for his continuous sigh, but he could not pinpoint which one of it was gnawing at him.
Though his mind and thoughts seemed to be in fuzzy, he managed to force his focus on the wheels -he couldn't repeat the same mistakes twice and this time, he might not be lucky enough and might lose his life. Ryan did not want that to happen to him once again, he dreaded the thought of it. He had almost seen death once -he won't face it this time.
He's currently facing a lot, but losing his life shouldn't be the thought on his mind. His mother -he had stressed her enough with his continuous and never seems to end escapades lately, should he add more to it? No, right?
In times like this, Ryan wished he could turn the hand of time and go back to those days -particular the day he started to go astray; the day he started turning deaf ears to his mother's warnings and teaching. Maybe to the day he first met with Ciara, his biggest mistakes started to take place from there.
He would have preferred the time when he met with Anne, but in as much as he tried to lie to himself, he couldn't deny his early years with Anne were the best years of his life.
Those feelings made him he had really seen the person he'll have to spend the rest of his days on the earth's surface with; he cherished those days and wanted to keep the memories created with him -if not forever, then for as long as he can.
If he can't have Ciara to himself, which he wasn't sure if he'll, he should be able to keep the memories of the good times with Anne with him. Right!
*******
"Welcome, Ms..."Miriam's smile wasn't that broad and wide, but it was that of a professional and attractive as well. "I assumed you're here for a business deal."
The lady's face was strange, and she hadn't seen her around since she's been working in the company. She didn't look like a client to Miriam, she knows when she sees one -her appearance and aura; it was far from that of a client.
"Yeah, I could say..."The lady nodded in affirmation knowingly, reciprocating the Miriam's smile. "It's a business, after all, so you are right."
The lady stared around her, awestruck by the interior decors. The few staff around are busy with their work, not minding or having chance for any distraction. With the aura, she could tell Mr. Ryan got everything in order -this was what she imagined it to be or maybe more to it.
"This way, Ms..."Miriam cited simply as she gestured forward, leading the way, with the lady following her trail. "Sorry, I did not introduce myself earlier. I'm Miriam, Mr. Ryan's personal assistant and one of the board directors, too. You are?"
"Oh! I'm Sheila, it's cool, I'm my boss's personal assistant too." Sheila replied, returning the same vibe as Miriam. "It's nice meeting you, I could say."
"Yeah ..." Miriam nodded slowly with a small smile as she unlocked the door, creaking it open widely enough to contain the entrance of the both of them. "Come in." Sheila did as told as Miriam closed the door behind, offering her a seat.
"-and Mr. Ryan?"
"Mr. Ryan is yet to resume for the day, you can wait on his arrival, Ms." Miriam told her in reply.
Sheila checked her time, before replying. "I assumed he'll be here anytime soon, I need to speak to him directly. You understand what I mean?"
"Yeah. Very well." Miriam cited simply. She wanted to ask the guest to relay her message to her, but with her choice of words, Miriam decided not to push it-they should both wait until her boss returns.
******
"It's a good thing you are here on time, Sir." Miriam told him, closing the door behind. "We have a guest around, not a client though, I guess -she's been here for a couple of minutes but not that long."
"Any thing about her?" Ryan asked in response. "Something I should know of before meeting with her?" "Nothing at all, she insisted on seeing you before saying anything about her visit." Miriam doped out. "But the lady here is not the boss, she is the assistant."
"Oh, I see..."Ryan mouthed slowly. "It's been ages since we had an assistant instead of the boss -the company's value had really gone down the drain more than I could ever imagine.
Miriam felt the trepidation in her boss's tone, but she brushed it off, she didn't even know how best to reply to such a phrase -she'll just let this slide.
"There she is..."Miriam whispered, but audible enough to Ryan's hearing, who only nodded without a reply as she strode towards Sheila. They both exchanged pleasantries before he had his seat opposite her.
Without much further ado, Sheila cleared her throat, deciding to go straight to the point. "I supposed you are yet to find a shareholder yet, or have you?" She doped out, hoping for a negative answer in response.
"I wouldn't say yes as at now." Ryan cited in a flat tone. "Can I see your company's proposal to mine? It'll determine whether I have seen one or not."
"Here is my company's proposal to yours." Sheila uttered as she presented a file before Ryan. "You can go through it, it holds all you felt you might want to know."
Ryan shrugged his shoulders lightly before opening the file and slowly, he went through it. His facial expression was blank, giving no thoughts to what he was thinking as he digs more into the file's content -he definitely did not expect what he was reading.
"Is this what your company refers to as a fair price, huh?" He asked her, his brows raised slowly causing creased lines on his forehead...