3. IZZY
The elevator doors slid open with a soft “ding,” and I stepped out onto a polished marble floor.
“This is it,” I whispered nervously, smoothing down my blazer and skirt. “A chance to score the last deal. The most important investor of all.”
The grandeur of the reception area instantly took my breath away. As I stood in the opulent office reception area, my excitement and anticipation surged. Tanya had been insistent that my sustainable fashion business needed a substantial investor to truly take off, and she had teased me about a potential “surprise.” Today, I was finally going to learn what she had in store for me.
The reception area exuded an air of sophistication, with its gleaming marble, plush velvet chairs, and modern art adorning the walls. I couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe and wonder at the sheer magnitude of the place. It was worlds apart from my modest beginnings.
“Psst! Izzy!” I saw Tanya approaching me with a huge smile on her face.
“So, who are we going to meet?” I insisted on knowing.
“You’ll find out in a short while,” she answered with a secretive grin.
I gave her a friendly slap on the shoulder. “Well, at least tell me if the man owns this place!” I couldn’t find any company name, though, to give me a clue.
She nodded eagerly. “He owns the entire building, and so much more.”
I grew ecstatic. If I could get this person to invest in my business, then all will be set for my launch.
Tanya pulled me over to the reception desk where a nice-looking lady sat with a warm smile.
“Hi,” Tanya greeted her. “My name is Tanya Pembroke, and this is my friend Isabelle Turner. We’re here for a meeting with your owner?”
“Just a moment.” The receptionist checked her computer. The suspense was definitely killing me. Then she smiled at us and stood up, leading us toward an elegant but still empty conference room.
The past month had been a whirlwind of preparations and meetings. I had poured my heart and soul into the presentation I was about to give, hoping to secure the support I needed to bring my vision of eco-friendly fashion to life.
Suddenly, the door swung open. To my utmost astonishment, I found myself gazing at a very familiar hunk with wavy sandy hair and intense brown eyes. His gruff handsome appearance was accentuated by a growing moustache and beard. I couldn’t take my eyes off his broad shoulders as he towered above us, my heart racing insanely.
Fuck. Don’t tell me…
“Dan!” Tanya said enthusiastically, shaking his hand. “Thanks so much for agreeing to meet us and giving us this opportunity. I promise you it’s going to be worth your time and money.”
Daniel Hale had his eyes stuck on mine. Was there some meaning there? Did he even remember me from the party?
“Daniel Hale, meet my best friend, Isabelle Turner—Izzy for short. I told you all about EcoChic Couture over the phone, right?”
“Of course,” Dan said in a deep but perky voice. He certainly did not sound like the grumpy, arrogant man I’d argued with at Tanya’s party.
And had sex with, a voice in my head added.
“It’s very nice to meet you, Izzy.” He extended a hand to me, and I just stared at it stupidly for a while before coming to my senses. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
In my head, I could picture him kissing my whole body and giving me the most unforgettable orgasms of my life.
But now, as we shook hands, I couldn’t help but notice that there was no connection. No electricity like before. Perhaps it was because we’d already shared an intimate moment, and there was really nothing else there.
“Nice to meet you too,” I managed to utter.
Tanya was very chatty, giving him a lot of other information about my business and thanking him again for this opportunity.
“Yeah, sounds amazing,” Dan replied, smiling at both of us. He was being quite friendly, the opposite of how he’d been to me before we had kissed. “Seems like something I’d love to promote on my vlog…”
I wondered if he knew it was me. Perhaps he’s had plenty of one-night stands after that party. Hence, he wouldn’t remember me. The thought calmed me down for just a few seconds before I became rattled again.
“But honestly, I’m not really the person to decide on the investment matters…” he was saying to Tanya. “That will be my more serious, more boring, but definitely more business-savvy twin brother—Nicholas Hale, the billionaire investor.”
“Ohhh! I didn’t realize you had a twin brother!” Tanya exclaimed in surprise. “I haven’t heard of him, though.”
“Yeah, he prefers to stay low-key. Unlike me.”
Wait. Twin brother?! As in identical twins?!
“I’m sorry, I have to go now,” Dan told us. “But I’m really glad to meet you, Izzy. Maybe we can catch up another time.”
“Uh, yeah, sure,” I answered automatically. My head was still reeling from the news of his twin brother. At that moment, I didn’t care if my long-time crush, Daniel Hale, was paying me attention. I was focused on the mention of the supposedly more serious brother who looked exactly like him.
“Don’t worry, Tanya. Nick’s coming. He just has a meeting downstairs, but he’ll be here any minute now.”
“Okay, thanks again!”
Dan gave each of us a quick peck on the cheek. I sort of felt disappointed that I couldn’t feel anything for him. There was no spark, no anything.
But Tanya was almost jumping up and down, looking like a cross between wanting to pee and wanting to squeal. I couldn’t help but laugh.
“So, you finally met!” she exclaimed. “So sorry it took a long time, and I didn’t get to introduce you at the party. He had to leave all of a sudden, and you had disappeared too.”
Oh. My. God.
“Dan left your party early?” I asked with a nervous gulp.
“Yes, you know how celebrities can be so busy. So, I was trying to look for you and at least introduce you guys before he left. But I couldn’t find you! Where’d you go after dinner, anyway? You didn’t pass out somewhere, did you?!”
“No, I wasn’t drunk.”
I was fucking someone whom I thought was Daniel Hale. A complete stranger whom I had a fight with.
“I just…I had a headache, and I didn’t want to disturb you…so, I decided to go home. You did get my message after that, right?”
Tanya nodded.
Just then, the door was thrust open. I gasped when I saw an exact replica of Daniel Hale enter the conference room. His presence was commanding, and he was barking orders over the phone as he strode toward where we were standing.
I immediately noticed the steely look in his deep brown eyes and the way his eyebrows furrowed in the center. He didn’t have a rugged look but was rather clean-cut as compared to Daniel. At that party, I just couldn’t tell the difference. I did remember noticing the different sets of clothes, but I hadn’t thought much about it, assuming that celebrity influencers like Daniel Hale did that all the time.
“Yes, Catherine,” he was saying in a deep, booming voice that sounded very familiar to me. “Yeah, you need to get to it fast. We can’t waste any more time.”
He gave us a quick glance and seemed to do a double take when he saw me. “I’ll call you again in a few.” He immediately put the phone down as he approached us, his eyes seemingly burning a hole in mine as we stared intensely at each other.
My heart hammered like crazy. Instantly, I knew that this was the one. On the surface, I was smiling as Tanya nudged me. But inside, I was panicking.
And slowly dying.
“Hi, Mr. Nicholas Hale?” Tanya was the first to greet him, extending her manicured hand for a handshake. “My name is Tanya Pembroke, and this is my friend Izzy…”
“Yeah, Dan told me about you,” he interrupted. “I’m Nick Hale.”
That made me frown. He was rather rude. Even Tanya, who was usually quite good-natured, looked flustered and bewildered.
“Sorry, but I can only spare a few minutes.”
“Of course,” Tanya answered, regaining her composure. “My friend, Isabelle Turner here, is spearheading this passion project, a sustainable fashion business that I myself had invested in. She’s a very talented fashion designer—”
He raised a hand, signaling for her to stop. Then he turned toward me, which made my heart beat even faster. “Can’t you speak for yourself, Miss Turner?”
“Uh, yes, of course.”
“Forgive me,” Tanya butt in. “I’m just too excited.”
“It’s fine, but I think Miss Turner is quite capable of introducing herself and telling me about this business concept. You can wait outside, Miss Pembroke.” He didn’t even attempt to smile.
Tanya’s mouth dropped open. No one had ever spoken to her in that way before, and I could tell that she was offended and wanted to snap back. But she bit her lower lip, probably for my sake, and gracefully exited, giving me a little wave. “Let me grab a coffee outside, Izzy. Call me when you’re done.”
I nodded and then anxiously turned on my laptop. I turned the screen toward Nick, who’d taken a seat right beside me and was drumming his fingers on the table.
Fuck. He sure knows how to make someone feel worse.
I took a deep breath and began my presentation awkwardly. As I spoke and he continued to drum his fingers, I couldn’t help picturing them flitting across my skin, pinching my nipples, pressing into my clit.
Focus, Izzy. You can do this.
But do I even want to work with the only person I’d had a one-night stand with? Someone I didn’t know and had mistaken for someone else.
“Relax, Miss Turner,” he suddenly said. “I won’t bite.”
He said it like a joke, but he wasn’t smiling. I took another deep breath before continuing, forcing myself to relax and concentrate on what I was saying. I knew this by heart. It should not be a problem, even if I was feeling stressed.
But this is different!
I was glad that he didn’t say anything to interrupt me, so eventually I did a pretty good job of explaining the other parts. However, his silence was nerve-racking. I didn’t know what to make of it. He wasn’t even nodding or shaking his head or making any remarks or facial expressions. Nothing at all.
When I was done, he actually gave a sarcastic chuckle. “Well, now I understand why you were so offended about that environmental bit you heard from my end of the phone conversation.”
I felt irked when he mentioned it. I could sense that he was teasing me about it somehow, or perhaps downplaying its importance. But more than these feelings, the impact of knowing that he remembered me from the party and that he recalled our argument—and probably everything else that followed after that—was getting to me.
His intense dark brown eyes were locked on mine, and I couldn’t decipher the thoughts swirling behind them.
Then, as if a switch had been flipped, he began to question me, and the atmosphere in the room grew even more tense—if that was even possible.