Chapter 10

To be honest, William was amazed at Paula who managed to negotiate with his parents. As he expected. Paula’s negotiation skills could conquer his parents. Although not a surprise, his admiration for her was still unstoppable.

The man remembers a few months ago when Paula convinced him to have sex even though there was no love linking their hearts. All of Paula’s words seemed logical. Starting from reminding him that it was an obligation and consequence of marriage, to its secrecy-no one would know if he didn’t say it, because he was a man.

William shook his head. He didn’t know whether to be grateful or not because he was betrothed to Paula. However, what William realized now was that he had no regrets at all about having met and known Paula. Paula’s presence in his life gave a new color that could not be ignored.

Carried by the atmosphere, William’s face approached and kissed Paula’s forehead, who was still fast asleep. Surprisingly, he did not immediately end the kiss. The man inhaled her signature scent and closed his eyes, allowing his limbs to move on their own accord.

At first, it was just for fun, just holding Paula’s sweet lips. But over time, William’s hand was getting wilder to touch his wife.

During his fun, suddenly, the alarm ringing startled William, and also Paula. “What are you doing, William? This is no time to play around. You have a meeting with Mr. Martin this morning!” Paula snapped nervously and rushed to the bathroom.

However, she soon came out again and pulled William to follow her to the bathroom. “Hurry up! Don’t be late! He’s known as a strict guy!”

.....

William, who was still gawking, didn’t argue in the slightest. He was still thinking about what he had just done to Paula. William’s feelings were pounding erratically. He didn’t understand what had just popped into his mind.

***

“Sorry, sir! I can’t come in today. I have a headache. My stomach hurts ...” William’s secretary asked for sudden leave that morning. William didn’t expect something to happen because the two of them were planning to meet Mr. Martin.

“Oh, Danica! Are you kidding?” William groaned. How could his luck turn out to be this bad?

“I’m sorry, Mr. William! I can’t even walk!” Danica’s moans let William know that his secretary was really in pain.

William stared at Paula with a look of disappointment. He didn’t want their efforts over the past few days to go to waste. However, he also didn’t know what else to do.

“Tell her to send us all the files we need right away! If she can’t even do that, just fire her!” said Paula later. Sounded cruel, but it worked to scare Danica and immediately send all the soft files needed for today’s meeting.

“There’s no time, William! You have to leave now. I’ll fix the file later. You bring all the hard copies!” Paula said in a flat tone, forcing William to be as calm as possible. “Remember. Don’t be nervous. It’s not a big deal, okay? You can do it.”

William grabbed his laptop and some hard copies that he had in hand even though they were incomplete. He would buy some time so Mr. Martin wouldn’t ask for too much detail at the beginning.

The awaited moment had arrived. William came to the venue fifteen minutes before the meeting started. Ideal. Paula wouldn’t scold him for being late.

That man immediately set up the laptop and his presentation files. All preparations were completed before nine o’clock. Exactly three minutes to nine, Mr. Martin and his secretary entered the room with impeccably groomed appearances. Unlike William who was coming alone.

However, Mr. Martin had nothing to say about William’s shortcomings. The young businessman warmly greeted William and thanked him for the invitation.

William’s heart was touched. He did not expect that Mr. Martin turned out to be a very low-profile person. That morning, the presentation went smoothly without a hitch. He answered all the questions well. However, William wasn’t too sure whether Mr. Martin was interested or not. According to William, the man’s expression was hard to predict. He didn’t know what he was hiding behind his sweet smile.

After discussing further Paradise Hotel, Mr. Martin finally asked about one thing that William did not have in hand. He requested the company’s financial statements for the last five years.

William’s cold sweat started pouring down. Why hadn’t Paula come yet? However, even if Paula came, it seemed that they only prepared the financial statement files for the last two years.

A few seconds later, there was a knock on the meeting room door. Paula then entered with an elegant and very presentable appearance. Looks very smart and professional.

However, more than that, William did not expect, Paula did not only bring financial reports for the last two years. She brought financial statements for the last five years. Happy and surprised at the same time, William handed the report to Mr. Martin proudly.

“Wow, this is a very easy-to-read report.” Mr. Martin commented on the presentation of the chart that Paula brought at the beginning along with the detailed reference to the data in the appendix. He smiled contentedly.

“You have a great assistant. How lucky,” Mr. Martin praised, looking sincerely. “Then I think I can quickly study the financial statements of the last ten years. Do you have them now?”

The smile that was plastered on Paula’s face gradually diminished. As it turned out to be like this, the rumor about how difficult it was for the man to agree on an MOU was not mere gossip. Even her hard work this morning to collect financial data for the last five years seemed to be in vain.

William’s chest rumbled. It seemed this time they have high expectations of their abilities. Mr. Martin would test their patience to the last point.

William turned to Paula. What would Paula say now?

“Sorry, sir. We don’t have any at the moment. However, we will be happy to prepare it for you. Especially if we know that the report we make later will be beneficial for us as well,” said Paula with a wide smile. She regained her composure already.

Mr. Martin felt cornered by what Paula was asking at this time. The woman asked for certainty about what benefits he would provide if William’s side fulfilled his request.

“Hahaha, you can. Of course, I will spare more time to discuss this further if you are willing to put in more effort as well,” Mr. Martin answered with an unpleasant laugh.

William then chimed in, “However, you are planning to fly to Tokyo tomorrow morning, right? That means ....”

“That means, I need it for tonight, Mr. Montgomery,” said Mr. Martin quickly.

“All right,” said Paula desperately. “Maybe we were just unlucky because we got the opportunity on the last day when you were still here.”

“Paula! Don’t be reckless!” William whispered.

Paula glanced at the watch. There were still a few hours to complete the work. Then, Paula asked, “What time is it convenient for you for the second meeting?”

“I am available until midnight. Besides, I’m staying at a hotel not far from here tonight, right? You can reach me anytime,” Mr. Martin smiled, igniting Paula’s ego. She was sure that the financial statements of the last five years had been quite good. However, what could she do if she had to try harder to please him?

“Okay. Please wait.”