Bread, Love and Promises (On going)

Chapter 15 Target

Liam Price

The first rays of sunshine streamed from behind the buildings and bounced off surfaces in lights of gold.

Liam stood by the window looking outside while leisurely drinking his coffee. The scene before him did not captivate him as it might do most people. It had no peace or happiness neither did it rouse any motivational or inspirational significance. To Liam, it was nothing more than a mere sign that indicated the beginning of a new day.

A low rustle had him shift in his stand to the woman lying asleep in bed behind him. She was covered with nothing but the dark blue sheets that she kicked off her legs. Her honey-blonde head has turned to the other side, nestling into the pillow and she slept on.

Just like the scene outside – she stirred nothing in him.

Charlotte was still positive of her capability of finding him a match and Liam would indulge her efforts. He would invite them out, show them a good time, buy them gifts, and then he let them down gently. It did not always turn physical resulting with a girl in his bed, but nonetheless, Liam has ended every single one of those 'dates' before they turned into a relationship.

The unshaken certainty that had Charlotte believing that there was someone made for him could not uproot his steadfast certitude that he was not made for love. The old detachment toward the things in his life has never parted him; it was stitched to his soul. The prodigious name he made for himself in the business world in a short time, his accomplishments and successes, the partnership with Elijah, the women that Charlotte introduced to him - none of that filled the emptiness.

Liam put a halt to those meaningless thoughts with unyielding strictness and redirected his mind to listing out his back to back meetings scheduled for the day, before his dinner at the Houghtons. He might have moved out long time ago, but still kept to his word to Charlotte.

********

Dinners held a different atmosphere recently. Noah became fed up with Andrew's lacking sense of responsibility and work liability that he shipped him to France to follow up on a business transaction. It was a done deal; all Andrew has to do was to supervise and sign.

And with Andrew ten hours away from home and not picking up her calls, concern ate away at Charlotte. Not a single dinner time has passed without her gaze falling on her son's empty seat.

On the other side of the table, and ever since the night when Sarah came on to Liam, she had a wavering charge against him that quieted momentarily under her constant desire to possess him; but bitterly flared every time she failed to pull him into her web. She mended her wounded pride with late night parties, guys and getting wasted.

Despite all that, conversations ran their regular courses of events, business and family.

After dinner, Charlotte was pulled away for a phone call; and Liam joined Noah at the parlor for an after dinner drink.

"How is relocating the head quarter going?" Noah asked as he accepted the glass the Liam poured. Cognac with a clear ball of ice tittering around.

Liam sat down with a similar glass in hand. "Very well. The company that Charlotte recommended is almost done with the last floors. Employees will start moving in within a week."

"Good... good," Noah nodded. He took a sup of his glass and hissed out the burn the drink left before he continued, "Moving the head quarters was a smart move. A company with growing reputation needs to project an affluent front. Especially with the growing number of businesses and companies you're attracting."

Liam agreed. The rate the company was expanding into and the increasing number of hires, their old head quarters was bustling. Not to mention the condition the old building was in. It was the same building O'Connor bought decades ago. Might not be crumbling to the ground just yet, but it did reflect that it would probably give up any minute. Relocating was exactly what the company needed and so did the employees.