His Hope [Zayn][Completed]

Chapter 17- The Snake

It was a beautiful winter morning, the sky clear azure, with the sun's rays providing a promise of calm weather despite the cold. Zayn stood in his fourth floor office which offered a panoramic view beyond the tinted glass exterior. The London eye overlooking the Big Ben with the river Thame flowing through central London. The view was postcard material and a point of interest to many camera-wielding tourists.

There's a knock at the door, and Daniel, his assistant, appears.

"You have a call on line two, Mr. St. James."

Zayn glances at his watch and turns away from the view.

"Thanks Daniel, it's getting late, you're free to go home."

Daniel nods. "Have a nice evening, Mr. St. James."

It had been a week since Hope had been working at the office with him and Daniel. To his surprise, Hope was a quick learner. She was navigating her way easily, arranging meetings, taking notes for him, preparing his day-by-day schedule, and organizing client files that'd been accumulating in a corner of a storage room. She did it all without repeated instruction.

He was so proud of her. She had come such a long way. Plus having her in his company and offering ideas–allowing her the freedom to express herself had helped her immensely.

Everyday that passed Zayn learned about her. More and more of the hidden, bold personality she held back was surfacing. She was highly intelligent with a quick mind and strong work ethic. In addition, she was highly intuitive. When she was sure about something she was sure.

Zayn wondered if that strong intuition is what kept her alive on the streets for so long. Her appearance may show that of a young, innocent young woman, but deep down beneath the surface was an essence of strength that ran thicker than her blood.

She had a survivor's will and a determination to match.

No matter how many times or how hard she'd been beaten down by life, she kept dusting herself off and getting right back up. She may not know anything about her past but every day Zayn witnessed who she was by her actions.

And she was meant for greater things.

The office phone reminded him of a waiting call with its insistent beeping. With a small degree of reluctance Zayn turned back to his desk, the private line flashing, and reached for the receiver taking a seat at his desk.

What he didn't expect was his mothers voice.

"Zayn." The soft, yet strong, feminine sound was Angelica St. James.

Zayn smiled. "Mother." He acknowledged, his spirits lifting.

"How are you, my love?"

His smile stretched. His mother always checked up regularly–with all his siblings quite often. She was fiercely protective yet indulgent in her attention. She was fair, authoritative in her own right and always said the right words when needed.

He, Jasmine, and Camelia always counted themselves incredibly fortunate.

"Well, how are you and father?"

"We miss you dearly, Zayn, you've been gone for far too long. Care to explain what's kept you from visiting? And please don't say it's work. I can feel there's more than what you've been updating lately."

Zayn has always been private about his personal life. Girls always came and were gone shortly afterwards. He'd never bothered to share his adventures, they already knew that part of his life. There wasn't anyone he cared to share his life with or bothered to care for so deeply as he did Hope.