Sailing With Destiny

Summit

Mitchell's POV

I sipped on coffee as I glanced over the agenda for day two of the summit. The first day was a lot simpler and I didn't do much, instead, heads of each department attended and presented at their designated meetings. I only overlooked everything and offered my opinion when needed. However, day two was set for high-level executives and since I represented Dad, I had to attend. 

"Mr. Clarke," Brenda, my assistant spoke. "I'm sorry to interrupt your breakfast but Mr. Clarke is on the phone for you."

I looked away from the itinerary and tapped my pockets. In a rush, I must've forgotten my phone in my suite. Without a glance at Brenda, I extended my hand and she handed me the phone. "Dad?" 

"Where've you been?" I might've been wrong but Dad sounded a little pissed. "I've been trying to get hold of you for the last hour."

If I had to calculate how I spent my hours recently, seventy percent of my time was at the office, fifteen in the home office, and the rest asleep. In other words, I was fucking exhausted and only got about four hours of sleep the previous night. 

"I'm sorry, I left in a rush this morning and forgot my phone in the suite," I dryly responded. "I need to get going in another five minutes, is there anything important you wanted to discuss?"

"If you don't have your phone, it must mean you haven't read my email. I sent over a full agenda of things that need to be covered and –"

"Dad, breathe," I cut him off. "I got your email; I'm working from my iPad and I've got everything I need. You trusted me with this, I won't let you down."

He audibly let out a breath of relief. "Consult with James if you're unsure about anything."

James was Dad's right-hand man, he worked for the company even before Dad joined but I had no idea he was present. With a frown, I questioned, "James is here?"

"He flew out this morning," Dad paused to cough. "Seeing as it's your first summit, I sent him to supervise when needed."

"When or if needed?" I grew a little agitated by his lack of confidence in me. 

Dad took a moment to reply. "I have full confidence you'll pull this off but –"

"Then trust me and focus on getting better, I got this," I calmly spoke. 

"Alright, call me if you need anything."

"I'll consult with James if needed, the doctor's orders were for you to rest and only focus on getting better."

"It's just a cold, your mother is exaggerating," Dad mumbled. 

"Mom knows best," I chuckled. "Take care of yourself. I'll talk to you later."

I was ready to finish my breakfast when I was once again interrupted by Brenda. "Mr. Clarke, we should get going in five minutes."

I dropped the fork on my plate, ran a hand over my face, and took in a breath. "Let's go."

The entire morning and afternoon went by very quickly, I was stuck in two different two-hour seminars, one focused on ways to help the environment and how companies, especially in hospitality could contribute to the sustainability of natural recourses for current and future generations. The next seminar was more on the boring side and dealt with leadership and attracting future investors into a company. 

A short hiatus was taken for lunch and it was only during that time, I remembered I didn't have my phone. It was after one and I hadn't reached out to Mila since the previous night, I assumed she understood how busy I was but it was still shitty of me not to even text her in the morning.