Chapter 43: Chapter 43

Meeting the rival

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Sophie’s pov

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Since after the party, I’ve been feeling woozy and sick and for the life of me, I can’t explain why. I hardly get sick and at first, I thought it was the flu but the symptoms I’m having, state otherwise.

I would have called in sick today, but I can’t. I have a meeting with the head of sales of Delacroix enterprise and I have to be on my best behavior, that’s if I intend to get more business deals from them.

I quickly shower and try to moisturize my skin, but the smell of the lotion makes me sick and I rush to the toilet and puke out the little breakfast I had this morning. I splash some water on my face and walk back into my room; I keep back the lotion as I could not bear the scent anymore and go for a mild oil I rarely use. Then I apply just a little on my legs and arms and light makeup. I carefully put my hair in a bun and ignored the few strands that escaped. I had no strength for perfection today. Putting on a simple gown that accentuated my curves and a low-heeled shoe, I was ready to take over the business world, if this sickness I was feeling would let me.

I usually liked to drive myself to work, however today I would be using the service of our driver, Jack. He was loyal to my parents, and I needed every one of my dealings with Delacroix to be known within my circle of trusted friends and family.

We rode to the company in silence, and when we arrived; I alighted at the entrance door while Jack went to the parking lot to park the car and wait till my meeting was over.

The building stood in all its majesty, as usual. Even though it was not my first time here, I was always in awe of the size and elegance. It was their head office, and the building was a skyscraper and stood at almost 1716.5 feet, its sides made of mostly glass. The lounge and reception area were well aligned with golden marbles and huge flower pots in designated areas.

I made my way to the fourth elevator at the end by my left side. Once in, I pushed the only button that would take me to the executive floor, where my meeting would be held. I had not met the head of sales before since according to them the person just joined them. I hoped he or she was a pleasant person and would be easy to work with.

“Welcome, Ms. Sophie.” Brad, the company’s chief operating officer, said to me immediately as I stepped onto the floor. “I had been waiting for you for the past twenty minutes.”

“I’m sorry about that. I was a bit under the weather,” I replied. I hated making excuses.

“It’s okay. I know you to be always on time. I hope you are feeling better now.” Brad had a worried look on his face when he spoke. He reminded me of my father from the way he looked at me.

“Yes, I feel better now, thanks for asking.” Although I appreciated his show of concern, I hated being pitied, weird isn’t it?

“Can we begin with the meeting, and sorry once again for being late.” the earlier we concluded the better as my stomach was beginning to churn inside me.

“This way please, the meeting is just between you and the head of sales.”

“Oh, okay.” I had thought it was a board meeting, however the smaller the better. Everything around me seemed to smell awful. Even Brad’s perfume was putting me off. If I survived today I would throw a party literally speaking, I mused to myself.

We walked a little distance and cornered to the right. After we passed four office doors we stopped at a door with a small sign attached to it which read, HEAD OF SALES. I mentally organize my thoughts since first impressions matter a lot to me. Brad knocked and when the female voice asked him to come in I was shocked. I thought it was a male since the last meeting I had with them it was only men that had been in attendance.

We walked into the very spacious office, the ambiance was welcoming and a smile was plastered on the face of the only lady in the room before we came in.

“Meet Angela,’’ Brad said and she stretched out her hands towards me.

“This is Sophie.” he continued and we both shook hands.

My hands were sweating more than I wanted and at first, I was lost for words. Angela was able to break the awkward silence and made small remarks about being pleased to meet me. She however left out the fact that it was not the first time we were meeting.

“Pleased to meet you too” I replied, even though I wanted to say I wasn’t too pleased to meet you again.

“I will leave you both to get started, I have other work to attend to,” Brad said and left.

Here goes my support, I thought to myself.

“I was at your party the other day, Caleb introduced us,” Angela said

I didn’t know why I was spiteful but I pretended not to remember. “There were so many people at the party, I can’t seem to remember.”

“It’s all good. I have heard only good reviews about you and am glad to be working with you one on one.” she smiled broadly and her smile was so infectious. The reasonable side of me wanted to be friendly with this gorgeous lady before me, however, the other part of me refused.

“Thank you, for your kind words. We have already procured the goods and they will be arriving from China in two days. My personal assistant would give you all the details once the shipment arrives and we start dispatching.`` I had planned to work directly with the head of sales, but I wasn’t expecting her to be Caleb’s date and I can’t pretend to be fine with it.

She must have noticed that I was not in the mood for pleasantries as her demeanor changed and she became more professional and less friendly. I did not mind though, I did not want to be friends with my husband’s mistress. Sorry, I meant contract husband.

The meeting ended on a good note, though I did not want to work near Angela, I tried my best to be professional after my earlier bluff as the jealous wife.

“Nice meeting you.” Angela stood once the meeting was over. This time she did not offer her hands for a handshake though I noticed her eyes dance with laughter and wondered why.

We both made arrangements for our next meeting and I made a mental note to go with my personal assistant and our chief procurement officer next time. It was sad that we could have been good friends the circumstances we found ourselves in were different

I left the building and went straight to the car as I had called the driver when the meeting ended. I asked him to take me to the beach because I knew it would be empty as it was a Monday and most people would be at work and schools were not on holiday. I needed to clear my head and come to terms with my emotions. I hated that I was acting like a jealous wife to someone who probably didn’t feel much for me, as I strolled along the shore, memories flooded my mind both good and bad, from the past to the present, and along with it came the thought my last brawl with Caleb and what we probably did and I could not remember afterward.

My period was late was the last thought that crossed my mind and I froze in place.