"IT WAS COMPLETELY unprofessional." Nyla said, stretching out her legs from under the table. George was seated across from her listening to what she was saying. "They said the site had already been purchased. You are sure that I went to the correct site?"

George looked a bit offended at Nyla's questions. "Yes of course."

"I just wanted to check all of my bases." Nyla explained. "I still don't understand how someone else swooped up the site before us."

"Nyla, it wasn't just anyone."

Nyla sat up straighter. "Don't tell me, was it G-Health? I'm going to fucking kill him."

George looked alarmed at her outburst. "No, it wasn't. It was one of our competitors. A subdivision of L'Oréal, Aveda."

Nyla frowned. "Never heard of them."

"They are a company focusing on natural products, but they mostly produce shampoos, and other oils for hair and nails." George explained.

Nyla sighed. She now knew why they'd lost the bid. If L'Oréal was bidding for something, it was more likely to go to them. Especially since they were the bigger company. Renne was growing but didn't have the same capital as the others.

"Are we not going to talk about the fact that the first though that came to your head was to accuse the CEO of G-Health?"

Nyla's face warmed. She'd hoped that George and forgotten the point of her outburst. "It was a mistake on my part."

"Is it normally to distrust someone this much, especially since they are your partners in a new venture?" George asked casually.

Nyla knew what he was saying underneath it all. If she didn't trust Darius, why had she gone into business with him. But the truth was, she did trust him, just not at the level she trusted George or other employees of her organization. Trust was something that took time to be built, and she and Darius hadn't really spent much time together in order to develop it.

"It's normally to distrust everyone." Nyla said quietly. "I made an assumption, and I was wrong."

George nodded his head but accepted her answer. Nyla looked up at her screen as another message popped into her mail box. She read it quickly and turned the screen towards George.

"We got rejected for another site."

George read the email. "They haven't indicated why."

Nyla leaned back in her chair. It didn't make sense. This was the third site in which she had been in deep in negotiation before something just blew the deal off.

"Is there a politician we might have upset, perhaps some governor?"

George shook his head. "No, for the most part, we stay out of politics. Besides of course your involvement with the New York senator regarding education for women in business."

Things weren't lining up for Nyla. She'd kept most of the site locations a secret from the staff with only upper management knowing about her plans.

"Do you think it's someone on the board trying to make my life more difficult?"

The lines on George's forehead wrinkled. "It's possible—although I don't know why they would be trying to do that. The line can help them increase the change in their pockets."

"Trust me, those board members don't think like the rest of us do. If they think they might be about to lose money because we were reinvesting in the business, they might actually sabotage plans. It's a possibility." Nyla clicked the pen a couple of times. "I'm going to have to make a few phone calls it seems."

George nodded and stood up. I'll be in my office overlooking the performance evaluations. If you need me, just stop by. Nyla nodded. "Can you call Hyeon on your way out please."

"Yeah sure."

Hyeon appeared in Nyla's office moments later wearing a simple skirt and blouse with her signature glasses placed on her nose.

"You called?"

"Yes, I need you to get me the list of board members, so I can give them a call."

Hyeon nodded. "I'll be back in a couple of minutes."

"Thank you." Nyla said before returning to her work.

Sure enough, Hyeon returned with the list minutes later. Charity's name glared at her from the top of the list so that is where Nyla began her search.

Two hours later, she was frustrated. She had called all the board members and after much prodding and civility, she didn't have any leads. Either the board members were lying to her directly or they had no involvement in trying to have the sites they bid on sold to other individuals. She knew that her gut feeling was correct. Something wasn't right in the situation, but she didn't know who was pulling the strings and why.

"Any luck?" Hyeon asked a plate full of food in her hands.

Nyla shook her head. "No, they know absolutely nothing!"

Hyeon passed the container towards Nyla. "Maybe you should take a break and bid on a site that you have no intention on purchasing. Maybe that way, you can find out if someone is really after you."

Nyla took a bite of the Russian salad and pointed her fork towards Hyeon. "That's actually not a bad idea, I might actually do that."

Her assistant smiled.

"Is there anything else you needed?" Nyla asked, aware that Hyeon hadn't left for her own break.

"Did you forget already?"

"Forget what?"

Hyeon sighed. "The Philharmonics are performing tonight."

"Shit," Nyla swore. "Is that really tonight?"

Hyeon nodded. "I could always send someone else if you're busy—"

"No," Nyla said firmly. "I just forgot about it for a second. What time does it start?"

"Eight."

"Should I pick you up?" Nyla asked.

"If you still have work to do, Anthony could pick me up and then we could just get you and go straight to the theater."

Nyla looked at the calendar on her screen. "Yes, I think that would work." Her toned turned softer. "Thank you for reminding me, honestly I've been so stressed it will be wonderful to get my mind of things here."

"That's what I'm here for." Hyeon said with a soft smile before leaving her office.

Nyla couldn't believe that's she'd forgotten the orchestra performance. It was something she and Hyeon did together at least once a year. Nyla loved the orchestra and when she had time, she visited the theater herself but once every fiscal year, the two of them would go together and enjoy the night. It allowed them to bond and Nyla knew Hyeon looked forward to it every year. She couldn't believe she'd forgotten.

Shaking her head, Nyla returned back to her work. If she wanted to leave the office early, she really needed to make sure everything was done for the night.

When Nyla left the office, she wasn't surprised to see Hyeon's desk empty. She'd informed her that she would be leaving earlier to get ready.

Her phone pinged, and Nyla glanced at the message.

Hyeon: Are you getting ready?

Nyla left the message unread and she caught the elevator. Hyeon was asking her if she was ready but she hadn't even left the office yet. She knew her secretary would be mad, so she decided not to reply. It wasn't her fault. Nyla had lost track of time after she'd been going over and finalizing the documents for the new project. If everything went according to plan, the team would begin on Monday. She needed to make sure that all the employees were of the best caliber and they knew the expectations of the company—and her.

When she exited the building, Anthony was leaving across the town car.

"What are you doing here?"

Anthony held the door open for her and she slipped inside. "Hyeon thought you might be leaving the office late, so she requested me to drop you off before picking her up."

Nyla felt a bit guilty but then again Hyeon knew her well. She saw Anthony texting on his phone.

"Hey, don't send that!" She cried.

"Too late." he said chuckling.

"It's not funny that Hyeon asked you to keep an eye on me." Nyla said a bit moodily.

"She's just making sure that you're in the right hands and not kidnapped in some warehouse."

"Who would want to kidnap me?"

Anthony snorted. "If I knew how to execute it, I'd kidnap you myself and demand a handsome ransom. I could probably buy an island with that much money."

"It's wonderful to know where your loyalties lie." Nyla said sweetly.

She knew Anthony was joking. Prior to being Nyla's driver, he had been Raymond's personal chauffeur for over a decade. The man was like family, and Raymond's death had hit him quite hard. Anthony had transformed all his energy into making sure that Nyla was kept safe and she got what she wanted. It was as if after Raymond's death, Anthony had transferred his loyalties to Nyla.

"On a more serious note, you should consider getting a bodyguard."

"We've been over this," Nyla said patiently. "I don't need a six-foot tattooed man following me around everywhere. That would be bad for business—and I like business."

"We could always get you a female bodyguard."

"Anthony," she said warily. "I don't need one. Besides I go to boxing and I can defend myself pretty well."

"You haven't been going the last two weeks."

Nyla met his eye's in the mirror. "Have you been keeping tabs on me?"

Anthony merely shrugged his shoulders. "It's my job."

Nyla saw the skyscraper out of the corner of her eye. They had arrived at her condo. Anthony opened the door for her. "Fine Dad, I'll go back to the gym next week if it bothers you that much."

Anthony smiled at his victory. "I'm going to pick up Hyeon now. Don't be late!"

"I never am!" Nyla shouted in mock ignition, but Anthony had slipped back into the car. Sighing, Nyla entered the building. She needed to get ready, and fast.

♠♠♠♠♠♠

The two of them exited the car and Nyla brushed her white silky dress to ensure there were no creases. It was a beautiful material that glistened in the light. A black strap went across one shoulder making it appear a bit more different then the traditional dress. As soon as Nyla had seen it in her closest, she knew it was the one.

She'd pair the look with crimson lips and casual black studs. She'd wanted to keep the star of the show her dress—and nothing else.

"It seems like a full house tonight." Hyeon said from beside her.

Her assistant was dressed in a stunning pale pink gown that accentuated her curves. Hyeon had ditched the glasses for contacts.

"We should head inside." Nyla said.

The pair of them walked inside the David Geffen Hall. Even after coming here for so many years, Nyla still found the theater outstanding. The building had opened in 1962 and held so much history. It was home to the oldest symphony orchestra, the New York Philharmonics. There were comfortable seats on the main floor and private suites on the sides.

Hyeon led the way and Nyla followed. The two of them always sat in the same spot in the upper balcony of the first tier. It gave them a good viewpoint of the orchestra but also the guest. Often times Nyla would bring along potential business partners in order to sweeten the pot a bit for them. They were always impressed by the seating.

They both sat in their seats and Nyla took the moment to look around. The orchestra was preparing in the front while most of the other guest were settling in.

Nyla turned towards Hyeon. "Do you know what they are playing tonight?"

"Beethoven and Rachmaninoff." Hyeon replied. "It's supposed to be the most romantical program."

Nyla rolled her eyes at the last bit. "I have no doubt it's going to be stunning, but romantic, I'm not sure."

"That's what the reviews said." Hyeon smiled. "You should have brought someone else here tonight."

Nyla was taken aback. "Why would I? We always do this together, it's a tradition."

"It is, but something tells me that a certain CEO would have enjoyed being here tonight—"

"Shut up." Nyla said. "We are acquaintances."

"You to have serious chemistry, it lights up the room."

Nyla pointily ignored Hyeon's comments. She certainly did not spend time thinking about a certain CEO's eyes—she had better things to do than that, like run a business. Nyla was vaguely aware of a young woman sitting down beside her.

When she turned around, she was surprised to see the man flaking her other side. Their eyes met, and Nyla was surprised to see Darius in the same box that her and Nyla were in. He smiled before giving her a small wink. Nyla immediately turned back towards Hyeon, but she was talking to the elderly man beside her.

With no choice, Nyla fixed her gaze on the orchestra itself. Hopefully it would start soon so she didn't have to engage in a conversation with Darius and his date.

Unfortunately, the universe wasn't listening to her because the blond beside her stuck out a hand towards Nyla. "Hi, I'm Olivia."

"Nyla Malhotra." She replied and shook her hand.

Olivia's eyes went wide, and she quickly looked up towards Darius who didn't say anything.

There was a moment of silence before Hyeon smoothly stepped in. "It's nice to meet you both." She emphasized the last word and throwing a stare towards Darius.

Darius took her cue smoothly. "Ladies, this is my assistant. Olivia, you know Nyla and that is her assistant."

They all exchanged awkward smiles and thankfully the program began. Nyla listening to the music, the different instruments and how they came to create a feeling in the hearts of the listener. There was a crescendo but then the music would fall to a slow lull. Both affected her differently. The former made her heart beat widely, while the later settled it down to a feeling contentment.

And then, the music ended with an abruptness that Nyla had not expected. There was a short intermission and many of the guest left the hall to use the bathroom. Nyla took the time to stretch out. The days behind her desk were really starting to get to her.

"You really love the music, don't you?"

Nyla turned around to see Darius standing beside her clad in a black tuxedo.

"What's not to love?"

There was a small smile on Darius face. "No, I mean you really love it. I can see it in your expression, the way that you close your eyes but, yet you follow the musicians and the beat. It's the way that someone who's listened to thousands of pieces would do."

"I come here quite often," Nyla admitted.

"As do I."

Nyla looked in his clear blue eyes in surprise. 

"Yes, I often accompany Sona to the orchestra but because she isn't back, I decided to take my assistant."

At the mention of his assistant, Nyla turned around to see Olivia and Hyeon in a deep conversation. They looked polite enough but there was a coldness that Nyla didn't expect from the two of them. After all, they dealt with the most frustrating people on a daily basis.

Following Nyla's gaze, Darius spoke. "They do not like one another. Although that might be in part because of me."

Nyla glared at him.

Darius winced. "I complimented Hyeon in front of her once and now all she wants to know if she's a better assistant than Hyeon."

Nyla rolled her eyes. "Of course, women don't want to be compared to one another."

"It was an honest mistake!"

The intermission was almost up, and Nyla returned to her seat only to have Darius sit beside her.

"What are you doing?" She whispered.

"Watching the orchestra." He replied.

"Why did you switch seats?"

Darius ignored her. The music started so she couldn't say anything else. The rest of her night was spent tense, and much less enjoyable—all because of a certain CEO. 

--------------

So Darius makes another appearance. What are your opinions on him? Comment below.