The Promise (SAMPLE ONLY)

Chapter 1

San Francisco, United States

"Time doesn't wait for anyone. This should've been done yesterday without my presence being required."

Vikram Saaho's firmly uttered words made the silence in the room even more deafening. There were twenty people in the room, seated in comfortable chairs that were made particularly for long hours of conference. And yet, the people fidgeted within ten minutes of the meeting because of the deep, commanding voice and the cutting gaze of the man leading the meeting.

The meeting was taking place inside a high-rise luxury hotel building overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge in the City of San Francisco. It was past dinner time, but half of the people present were used to working around the clock when required.

"Mr. Saaho, I understand your concern. But we are talking about half-a-billion dollars and two thousand employees from my hotel chains."

Vikram Saaho's ruthless gaze intensified on the man seated across the table, making the older man fidget even more. "I perfectly remember all the numbers, Mr. Belmont," Vikram replied. "Considering, I was the one to offer this deal to you." He deliberately used the word 'offer' instead of 'negotiate'. Because just like his grandfather who was the founder of the Saaho Group, Vikram didn't negotiate, he only made offers. And he would be damned if he backed down and be known to cut some slack when reputation was everything in their cutthroat industry.

The older man tried to reason. "The hotel chains have been run by my family for over eighty years. They're one of the most—"

"I already know the history, Mr. Belmont. And we've discussed this before. My legal and financial teams have been working with yours for the past month to alleviate any possible concerns."

The older man fell silent. The Saaho Group was one of the biggest corporations which was well-reputed to acquire failing companies and turn them into profitable businesses in record time. They were also known to offer limited time to accept the deals. And very recently, they had begun to venture out into the hotel industry. So far, the three luxury hotel chains they had acquired in the last three years were thriving quite well.

Taking a deep breath and with slightly trembling hands, Steve Belmont signed the papers. "Done," he said.

"Thank you, Mr. Belmont." Vikram got up and shook the older man's hands. "My team will continue to work with yours during the transition." With those words, he strode out of the meeting room.

Pooja, who was Vikram's executive assistant, joined him inside the elevator. "Vikram, I just received a call. The flight is going to be delayed by a couple of hours due to the unexpected weather conditions. I've already notified the New York office of the delay and to postpone the nine o'clock meeting if required—"

"Not required. I can sleep during the flight." Vikram checked the messages on his phone while the elevator took them down. Most of them were work related, and he promptly replied with his decisions. Only two messages were on his personal account, and they were from his mother.

He clicked on the first message. A picture of a beautiful woman filled the screen. According to the bio-data attached, she was a model. Without pausing for a second, Vikram deleted the entire message. The next message also came in with a picture of another woman. This one was beautiful too, but barely appeared to be out of her teens. She was the daughter of a known industrialist. Vikram deleted this message, too, clearing up his personal inbox.

"Vikram..." Pooja began in a tentative voice. "While you were in the meeting, your mother called me and also sent me messages to let you know that Trisha Seni is in New York right now."