Is this destiny?

~ Chicago, K Industries HQ building ~

2:41 PM

Young woman, in her mid-twenties, is wearing a dark red pencil skirt and walking down the hallway in her stiletto heeled shoes toward the CEO\'s office. Her name is Lilian Cavadini. Lilian is level 1 secretary in the company and she does not have a permanent boss. She is available to all directors as a help or as a substitute when their permanent secretary is out of office. It a special position which Jasper\'s father created for her four years ago.

Lilian is carrying a stack of documents in her hands, tightly pressed against her chest.

When she approached the desk of CEO\'s secretary and saw that no one is there, smile bloomed on her face.

She adjusted her skirt and blouse before knocking on the black French doors which have in white letters:

\'Chief Executive Officer

Jasper Kiani\'

No one answered and she frowned.

\'He should not have meetings until 3 PM.\'

Lilian knows this because as a secretary of the highest level in the company, she can see Jasper\'s schedule. However, she is not his secretary so she can\'t see the details. But she can see when his time is blocked.

After a second of hesitation she opened the door and entered.

At that time, inside CEO\'s office…

Jasper is in the bathroom which is attached to his office. He took a shower and is checking himself in the mirror. Pants are OK, shirt is perfect… he is excited. His last meeting is from 3 to 3:30 PM, and after that he will go to pick up Ellie. Ride should be just under half an hour if he does not hit the afternoon traffic, so he is all set. He adjusted his hair with hands, pushing few unruly strands in place, and gave himself a satisfied wink in the mirror before stepping out of the bathroom into his office.

He frowned when he saw who is visually inspecting his desk.

"Lilian…", he called.

Lilian was startled.

She does not like that he calls her by her full name. Everyone else in the office is calling her \'Lily\'.

Why is he distancing himself from her?

Lilian was about to remind him for the hundredth time to call her \'Lily\', but she got distracted when she noticed that his hair is damp. "Did you take a shower? How unusual…"

Jasper never takes shower during work hours, at least not how much she noticed. And she is spending quite some time noticing what Jasper does.

A bit of history...

Lilian\'s father and Jasper\'s are friends for a long time, from their college days. They usually meet on weekends at least once, and that includes dinners as well. Four years ago, during one of those dinners, Jasper and Lilian were present as well, and Jasper\'s father mentioned how she is a great match for Jasper. His father even said that she will be a good daughter-in-law and offered her to come and work at K Industries as a secretary, close to his son. She always thought that Jasper is handsome, and since his father planted that seed that he will accept her… it\'s sprouting.

However, other than one steamy night more than three years ago, Jasper doesn\'t pay attention to her. He gave her a lame story how it was a mistake and how he does not want to be romantically involved at work because he wants to focus on being a CEO. She thought of quitting her job, so that he does not have an excuse of a work to avoid her, but she realized that she gets a chance to see him only at office.

He is keeping his distance from her, but she is watching… and waiting... confident that her time will come.

Lily is making sure to be available whenever any of the directors needs something delivered to the CEO, and one of those opportunities is right now.

Back to present...

"Why are you here?" Jasper does not like that she got into his office without permission, and his cold reception is not hiding his displeasure with the current situation.

Lily can tell that Jasper is aggrevated, but she found his icy-blue eyes to be simply irresistible.

"I\'m here to drop off these documents." Lily innocently pointed at the documents she kept on his desk previously. "Director Stanley said it\'s important, so I didn\'t want to leave them unattended. Faith is not at her desk, so I let myself in."

She scrutinized him and noticed that he looks sharp. "Anyone special?"

"None of your concern.", Jasper pushed a button on his desk.

Few seconds later, his secretary, Faith entered CEO\'s office.

Lily frowned. What does that mean: \'none of my concern\'? Did he find himself a girl worth showering and dressing up for?

"Miss Cavadini brought some documents inside my office. Personally.", Jasper told Faith dryly.

Faith saw Lily standing next to Jasper\'s desk and fell into panic. "I apologize CEO Kiani. I stepped away only for a minute to go to the restroom."

Jasper\'s cell was ringing, and he saw that it\'s a call from his father.

"Miss Cavadini, next time make sure to leave documents with Faith. If she is not there, wait for her outside my office.", he waved gesturing to two women to get out without looking at them and answered the call. "Yes, father…"

"Mr. Korhonen is here after a long time, and I hear that you rejected meeting him today?", Jasper\'s father was not happy.

Jasper made a face. Why would he meet with some old geezer when he already agreed to meet with Ellie? "It was a last minute meeting invitation, and I have a conflict."

"Last minute? The request for the meeting at four o\'clock was sent around noon. That gives you four hours to rearrange your schedule. Whatever your conflict is, make it disappear. What kind of a CEO are you if you can\'t meet with one of our biggest partners during regular work hours?"

Jasper pinched roof of his nose while his father continued: "You know that there are still people who suspect that I gave you this position too soon. You can\'t allow yourself to slip now. You are almost there. Establish yourself properly and then you can…"

"Yes. Yes… Fine." Jaspers squeezed through his teeth and took a deep breath. He should not snap at his father. "Send me the details. But I will meet him in the building and no dinner plans."

Jasper hanged up and exhaled.

He agreed to meet with Ellie at four. And he was looking forward to it. Now what?

---

If you are not reading this at \'W e b n o v e l .. c o m\', then the content you\'re reading is stolen! Please support the author by reading this novel from the original source.