Never ending stars

I Look into the mirror and make sure my appearance is appealing for the meeting I am about to have with one of the most important clients, who may change everything. This meeting will decide the fate of my company—the company that means everything to me. I have worked a lot to sustain this place, to make my father proud and to make sure people here are satisfied with working conditions.

I check my dark blazer, look at it from every angle to see if it has any stain. My personal assistant, Trinity called the washing company yesterday and demanded the blazer and the rest of the garments to be perfectly cleaned. Today, I stand, wearing them, hoping that they are as good as new.

This blazer is the one I had worn at my graduation, the day which is one of the most memorable to me. The day, when I made my father proud for the first time ever. You can’t make someone like him proud that easily, which is one of the reasons why I felt happy for myself.

Trinity comes into my office, holding a folder and a cup. She is a big time coffee drinker, which is fine, but I prefer tea. It calms me down more. Trinity is wearing a black skirt with white buttoned shirt. Her braids are up in a ponytail, which makes her facial features stand out. I have known her my entire life. I can safely say that she is one of the very few people I truly care about in this world. She has been there for me during my toughest moments and I can never forget that.

“Sire, the meeting is about to begin, your father requests you.” My assistant says as she takes a sip of her drink.

“Did we not agree to not call me that?” I chuckle a bit and fix my tie.

“We are working now so it would be unprofessional of me to call you by your first name, sire.” She comes, puts her stuff on my table and helps me fix the tie.

“There is also no one else but us, which is basically the same thing as doing a school project.” I look down at her. We have this really strong bond which is difficult to break. She fake-laughs and grabs her things.

“Be quick, your father is expecting you.” She is about to leave the room, but I stop her.

“A very special friend of mine, who you already know is also going to attend the meeting. Did you know that?” I tease her.

“Wait,” she turns around. “Is Ryan going to be here?” Her face lights up. Ryan is my best friend. He and I used to spend summers together until his family decided it was time for them to move away for business stuff. I haven’t seen him for ten years now. Trinity knows him from me. She always had the biggest crush on him but was always too shy to make a move. I am not sure where Ryan’s heart was, but I think it is safe to say that he was intimidated by her.

“Actually, he is the son of the client.” I reply to her.

“Wait, the Clarke family is the client?” She looks at me like she has seen a ghost.

“You didn’t know?” I smile.

“How would I know? You tell me little to no things lately.” She rolls her eyes.

“In that case, yes Ryan’s father is the client, which is one of the reasons why I need to impress him. So basically, if he agrees to work with us, then they are staying here and Ryan is going to become my partner. You know what that means.”

“But will he not have some kind of a soft heart because you know his son?” Trinity leans on the door.

“Soft hearts? In business? I seriously doubt that.” I reply and turn towards the grand window, overlooking the city.

The meeting is about to begin in less than a minute. I am standing near the entrance, walking around, waiting for my father to come. He is the type of a person to arrive to important things exactly when they are supposed to begin. Harrison, my father is dressed in all blues when he arrives and I look at him. He checks his watch and motions for me to follow. As soon as I see him, something happenes. I can’t make it out but I want to be the best version of myself today.

I enter the meeting area and gaze at the people present. There are so many investors from the Clarke company. The owner himself, Charles sits in the middle. He has the best view of the room. His son, Ryan sits to his right. I remember him very clearly. It is hard to forget those brown eyes. To his left is my father, who nods as a small encouragement and I suddenly forget how to speak. Nothing is working anymore. My body gives up and I almost fall to the ground, but then I see Trinity, looking at us from the window. Her smile is enough to encourage me. I swallow hard and smile at the audience.

“Today, we come here together to hear about the opportunities, that can help us grow these businesses, to aid us in helping people in need. As you all know, the Blackwood company is based on making sure everybody in this city feels safe. We produce security cameras, hire bodyguards and aim to protect our citizens.” I take a deep breath and look at my father for any kind of emotion, but I see none. I must try harder. “For now, this company only exists in our country, but in the future, we hope to expand it internationally. That is where you, the Clarke company join. You guys have the chance to take part in advancing worldwide security by partnering with us.” I swallow hard and wait to see if anyone has any questions.

“How will that benefit us?” I hear a lady, a middle-aged woman say.

“Good question.” I note. “It is well known that you are the shipping company. As you help us ship all these cameras and security objects, you will gain fame, hence more people will put trust in you. The more people that trust, the better it is for your company to function. We are not just creating money making mechanism like this,” I don’t know how appropriate it is to say this part, but I can’t leave this meeting without doing so. “We are working together to improve the world, to make people feel safer. To protect them.”

“And how do you plan on protecting people from other countries?” Charles Clarke looks at me. Gosh, his gaze is scaring me.

“Well,” I start to speak but I have no answer to that. I think this is a catchy question. Stupid me for not rehearsing for a question like this. I glance at Ryan, who watches me with a happy expression. “We also plan on expanding our companies too, like for example if we decide to ship to France, we are going to open a headquarter there.” This is the idea I thought of right now. I don’t care what anyone else thinks, as long as my father likes the idea.

“Well, very well. I think we have ourselves a deal.” Charles says and I start breathing again; I never realized I stopped. I want to smile, to show any type of emotion but my dad always says to keep it together. That showing emotions in front of the clients and other people is weakness. That I need to act mature and strong.

The meeting ends and everybody is on their way. Usually, my father does all the paperwork needed so I don’t think I should stay. As I grab my laptop and father grips my arm.

“Good job,” is all he says and then vanishes with Charles. I want to smile even now, but I’m holding myself back.

“Well, does that mean we are partners now?” I hear Ryan say behind me.

“Yeah.” I say. I am glad he remembers me.

“Cool, awesome. I am going to speak with William, he must be nervous.” He bumps into my shoulder and runs off, probably to meet some people. He was always the chatty one. William is his brother, the heir of the Clarke family. He has always been more into these type of businesses but for some reason, it is always Ryan who accompanies Charles.