14. Will
I sat in the owners’ section of the car as my driver drove me home. Throughout the day, all I could think of was Elizabeth and the words that Charles had spoken to me the other night.
“Elizabeth—she is a rare gem. You should hold on to her tightly.”
But how could I lose something I never had?
Was that even possible? I sighed, rubbing my forehead. The thought of keeping Elizabeth for real was scary and, at the same time, pleasing. It was like a part of me was willing to open up and actually let her into my life.
But then there was the part of me that had been hurt in the past; it constantly reminded me of the last time I got burned, all in the name of “love.”
Letting out another breath, I checked the time, and it was roughly a few minutes past five. At least I still had a few minutes to freshen up before her arrival.
The moment we reached my humble home, as Charles would say, I went straight to freshening up right after giving instructions on how sparkling clean I wanted the house to be.
Elizabeth was coming over; everywhere needed to be spotless.
I thought of the various food options to have the chefs prepare, but it wasn’t until I was unable to come up with anything that I realized I barely knew the lady I called my fiancée.
With an inability to decide on what the menu was going to be like, I decided it would be best decided by her.
It wasn’t until I heard the doorbell ring that it occurred to me that it was already past 6:00 p.m.
Rushing over to the door, I took a deep breath and composed myself before opening it.
“Hi.”
“Hey! Oh my god, Will, your house is way bigger than I expected!”
I watched the look of shock and surprise on her face. It was just like the one she had on back at Charles’s home, and it was pleasing to see.
“Come on, come in!”
As she walked in carefully, I couldn’t help but remember the words Charles had said to me once again!
To not let her go.
Pushing it to the back of my mind, I led her further into the main living room.
She was here for business, and that’s where our focus would be—not me thinking about Charles and my relationship with Liz.
“So what would you like to have? I would have asked my chef to prepare something ahead, but I have no idea what you would prefer or like to eat.”
“Oh no, that’s fine. I’m totally okay for now.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I am, thank you very much.”
“All right, let’s get straight to business now, shall we?” I asked rhetorically as I brought out a document from a folder I had placed on the center table.
The document was basically a summary of Elizabeth’s business and the steps the business had taken from its inception.
From reading through its summary, I could already pinpoint a few errors, including some major ones.
Call me a magician, a guru, or whatever, but building a business is what I was built and made for. I had lost count of the number of failing businesses I acquired, only to transform them into multimillion-dollar enterprises.
“I see,” I said, observing her keen interest and focused attention on everything I was saying or about to say.
“What . . . what are you seeing?”
As I flipped through the pages in my hands, I found where I was going to start—the foundation she had laid for her business.
“Why fashion?”
I watched as she let out a breath before beginning to answer me. “My mom was a fashion designer. She loved fashion and longed to make it a bigger business than the one she had then, but I guess luck was never on her side. She died even before she got to fulfill the purpose.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” I said immediately before going back to the document at hand.
From the story she had just laid out, she was starting the business based on emotions.
Although, at times, emotions have a way of positively impacting our business strategies, they are also the worst foundation upon which to build a business.
Emotions could give the motivation needed, but if not paired with logical reasoning and strategies, the business was bound to crumble in the long run.
That meant that we needed to take more logical steps.
“It’s okay. I mean, it’s been a long time ago.”
“Hmmm,” I said as I flipped through the rest of the pages, already knowing what to do.
“I would like for you to set up a meeting with everyone who has a place of decision-making in your business. It is time for us to make more strategic decisions, analyzing your target market, where they are located, how to reach them, and the like.”
“Well, umm . . . for now, I’m the only one making the decisions around here.”
I watched her say softly, and for reasons unknown to me, I felt my heart skip a beat.
“Oh, umm . . . that’s fine then. You have me now.”
I could see the surprise on her face despite her hurried attempt to hide it.
“Thank you very much,” she said.
“My pleasure.”
We remained silent for a few seconds before she broke the silence, “Have you always been like this?”
“Like how?” I asked, confused as to what she meant.
“Good at business? Word has it that any business you touch turns to gold.”
I chuckled a bit at her latter statement. Wasn’t gold a bit too much?
“Well, umm . . . to an extent, yes. Although at first, I began burying myself in work to . . . umm . . .” I paused as I realized I was about to share a part of myself that I had yet to share with anyone.
“To do what?”
I looked at Elizabeth, and at that moment, I knew I could tell her. “To get away from family drama.”
“Oh . . .”
“Yeah, it all started when I turned eighteen. Lydia was still quite young, just entering her teenage years. You remember that phase,” I said.
“Oh yes, I remember it all so well. We were both obsessed with K-pop boy groups.” Elizabeth chuckled as she recalled those days when all they ever thought of was good food, fun, and boys.
“And worried that a guy didn’t like you,” I said, chuckling slightly as I recalled one of those times when I overheard them crying and comforting each other because they didn’t have boyfriends. “Well, you all barely knew what was happening. Our parents were at their necks at that period, and it was the period that then led to their divorce. At first, I began working just to learn the scope of the business as my dad wanted, so I took it seriously. Gradually, as I realized how good I was at what I did, I decided to face it even more. I worked while attending school, took courses, and gained the necessary certifications.”
I paused as I looked at her paying attention to each word I uttered.
“Gradually, what started as a distraction began to pour in money. So, I set up my own business and began to pay more attention to it. Today, I have what you all see.”
“Wow, who would have thought?” she remarked.
“Right, no one,” I said as it occurred to me that I had just opened up a part of me that I had never shared with anyone before. Not that I had close friends anyway, but this was a huge step for me.
“But it’s all right. I mean, it all ended up for the good, right?” she asked.
“Right,” I replied.
Looking at her again, with our gaze fixed on each other, I felt my heart doing it again—skipping beats and racing even faster, with my hands getting tensed up. I could barely explain what it was that I was feeling.
“Umm, let me get you something to drink. You must be parched by now.” I quickly rose from the couch, not so much for the drink but to distract myself from whatever was happening to me.
The moment I got into the kitchen, the first thing I did was pour myself a cold glass of water. I needed my insides to cool down from whatever heat it was experiencing. Once I was certain my body had returned to normal, I brought her a glass of orange juice.
“Here you go.”
“Thank you very much,” Elizabeth said as she took the glass from me, taking a sip before putting the glass down.
“You know, now that you explained all this to me, I think I understand why you’re the way you are, and to be honest, it is fair that you are proud. I mean, look at how much you have been able to attain at this young age of yours.”
“Well, all I can say is I’m grateful.”
“Well, you should be. Not everyone is opportune like you are. But if you don’t mind me asking, do you still talk to her?”
“My mom?”
“Yes. I mean, I know they are divorced, but she is your mom still, right? I know Lydia never talks about her, but sometimes she misses her, even though she never says it or shows it.”
I bowed my head slightly as I thought through Elizabeth’s words. “She hurt every one of us, Elizabeth, and I can’t even begin to talk about how much hurt her actions brought. And no, we have lost touch ever since the divorce. But of course, I, too, wish things were different, but that’s how life is, I guess. You can never have it all.”
“Right.”
“Okay, enough of the sappy moments. What would you like to do, watch, or eat?” I asked, ready to zone out of this emotional moment of vulnerability.
I could not even remember the last time I was this open to anyone at all, but with Elizabeth, for reasons unknown to me, I just felt at ease. I was at peace to tell her parts of myself that I have hidden.
What’s going on, Will? What is this thing you feel? I asked myself as I kept my gaze fixed on her. I wasn’t sure what it was, but a part of me liked it.