Chapter 1

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Fred had been worried about Drey since his father passed away six months ago, and the trip to the UK had been scheduled to end all the bullshit Adley had been dragging out. Drey had been on top of the Adley project and Fred was glad when he had decided to hand it to him to spend their time there to get his mojo back.

So, with Drey off the Adley's, he was on one-hundred percent. The Adley project was their first one in the UK and according to Drey; if they got it, it would be nice. But according to him; when they get it, it would be whatever. This deal would be the first of many and he was sure of it.

Drey and Fred started AFTech from nothing and now it was one of the top five Engineering companies in the US. They would make it no matter who they got into business with and Adley would be a damned lucky son of a gun to be in business with them. He knew it and so did Adley.

Since the arrived in the UK yesterday, Fred had been working on last minutes additions to the presentation he was giving Adley. Drey had handed the project to him last minute and even though he knew nearly everything that was in the presentation, he always liked to add a few bits and pieces to it.

He had left the hotel early to get an early start on the day. The presentation had gone well as expected and he left the Adley company building like he wasn't a hundred percent sure they were getting Adley signed before the end of the day. He had driven to the nearest coffee place and got out of his shiny grey Bentley GT and shut the door as people who walked past him gave him the looks. The looks he knew all too well. The I-want-to-be-him look guys gave him and the I-wish-he-was-mine the ladies gave him. He was used to it and over it. He had gotten burned because of that look.

Fred stepped onto the sidewalk and walked straight into the almost full café. One step inside and the smell of coffee engulfed him snapping him out of his lack of coffee state he had been in. He should have grabbed one before the meeting but he wanted to take his time with it and not rush it. Coffee was to be savored.

He walked to the counter ignoring the looks he was getting and headed straight for the counter with the shortest queue. He got there just as the second person walked away with a full coffee holder in her hand giving him a sexy smile that made him look away. He took out his phone and got busy with it trying to avoid any direct looks.

"Here you go." The girl behind the counter said to the person in front of him.

"Thank you." Fred looked up from his phone when he heard that soft breathy almost angelic voice.

The woman in front of him turned around and he frowned. The woman's gaze caught him and he saw the recognition in her eyes but the small smile she gave him before she walked past him was what made his frown deepen. He turned around and caught her arm before she got away.

"Hey." He said

She looked at him then at his hand on her arm which made him pull away. She looked up at him again and gave that same polite smile.
"Hi."

He was confused. She seemed to recognize him and she was acting like they were strangers. Yeah, they had just met the previous night and weren't well acquainted but they knew things about each other. Her attitude towards him was supposed to be more welcoming.

"Hello?" She waved her free hand in front of him.

"You're Josie's friend." He said, "Mia, right?"
He knew damn well her name was Mia.

"Yea." She said

"You remember me, right?" He asked just to be sure "We met last night at..."

"I remember you." She said when he tried to provide more information.

Well, she remembers him. Now what? What did he expect?

For her to see him and be all over him like people who knew him for less than a second did. Or strangers on the street giving him the looks. Did he want her to give him the same look?

"I'm..."

"Fred." She said with a new smile, a much familiar one "Frederick Zahn. You and Andre Leon are friends with Josie. I know the story."

His brow quirked.

Looks like Josie hadn't just talked to them about her friends. She had also told her friends about them. And that meant she knew him more than he thought she did.

Her eyes left his and went to the counter behind him and back to him.
"You should get your coffee before someone takes your spot." She said before she walked away to a table at the end of the café.

He turned and ordered giving Mia glances while he waited. Once he got his coffee, he made a beeline to her table and sat down on the chair opposite hers.

Mia looked up the brim of the Styrofoam coffee cup as she took a sip. His eyes held hers till she dropped the cup on the table near the open file in front of her and the stack in the middle of the table.

"Hi again." He said with a smile that made her smile.

"Hi." She said and looked back down at the file in front of her.

"You know it's rude to ignore a pretty face." He said

"And it's rude to disturb someone who's trying to work." She kept reading through the case.

Fred studied her as he sat back and sipped on his coffee. She looked different from the night before. Her hair had been let loose and she had more makeup on. Let's not get started on her provocative clothes, he shifted in his seat just thinking about it.

He looked at the stack of files on the table and the one she studied so closely.
"What are you working on?"

"A case."

Josie had mentioned she was working at a law firm and would be taking the bar exams soon.

"Where do you work?" He asked

"Cross & Cross." She looked up at him and closed the file. She wasn't going to get anything done with his company.

"You like the job?"

She shrugged

"It's not what I really want but it's close enough."

He studied her
"What is it you want?"

"Have my own firm." She smiled but then it fell when she gave a sigh and looked out the floor to ceiling window beside them "I know that seems farfetched when I haven't even taken the bar exam."

"You'll get there."

She looked at him and he was rewarded with her beautiful smile.
"Yeah. I hope so."

Silence filled the space between them as the chatter in the café continued.

"Josie mentioned you were here on business." She said, "Mind if I ask what it is you do?"

"Drey and I own a Tech company." He said "We make new and advanced technology of what everyone needs in their everyday life or in the business world. Anything really. There are people with an idea of a new tech they want to bring to life who don't have the resources. We collaborate with them. Help them build on the idea and have our resources at their disposal with a team to help them. These are ordinary people who have difficulty with things in their daily life. They think of ways to fix these problems and that's where their ideas come from."

"So, let me get this straight." Mia sat forward and placed her arms on the edge of the table "You own a company that does charity work?"

He scoffed a laugh
"That's not charity work." He said "We're just helping people. It's business. We gain and so do they."

"Okay, maybe not charity work." She said with a smile "That sounds amazing. Helping."

The tone in her voice made him wonder about the meaning behind it. 


Hey, please take a moment to connect with me on my other social platforms. I would love to share other aspects of my life outside of writing with you guys. I post vlogs and other fun content I'm sure you'd enjoy. (Direct links --->)

Love,
Jane Lanett ❤


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