Leah Miller is currently sitting in her father's office helping him to fill out paperwork. Her father is the CEO of his company - The Miller Contractors, a construction company which he had, single-handedly, built from the ground up thirty years ago. He was a young, determined man at the age of twenty-two. He started by helping the local residents with erecting sheds and moved his way up to building houses. And now, thirty years later, he is fixing blueprints and using his own construction teams to build shopping malls and tall office buildings. Teaching his daughter the ropes of the business so she can take over when he's ready to retire.
Watching the slight crinkles around his eyes and the deep lines form on his forehead, Leah couldn't help but feel like something was deeply disturbing Peter Miller, her father. Maybe it's because I'll be taking over and he wants everything to go right, she thought to herself. She is twenty-two years old but her dad still sees her as his baby girl and maybe that is what is troubling him. She is growing up.
Usually, the firstborn son takes over their parents' companies, which would make Leah's brother, Jordan, at the age of twenty-five, the new CEO of the company, but Jordan, just like his father, is also a young, smart and determined man who started a company two years ago and is already thriving. With his company still being relatively new, he wouldn't get a chance to keep his eye on The Miller Contractors.
Peter had asked Leah to join him in his office, where they were currently arranging paperwork and documents for their upcoming meetings with some new associates, planning to build a twenty-story apartment building on the east side of the city. Leah is currently Peter's personal assistant, helping him with photocopying, arranging documents and accompanying him to his meetings with suppliers and new business deals. She has worked under her father, learning, for the past four months, since graduating from the University of London with her business degree.
"Leah, could you take a look at this file, please?" Peter asked her, handing her a beige-coloured manilla folder. She glanced at his face, and she could see the worry lines on his forehead, deepening. Wondering why he was so worried about her reading the file, she took the documents out, scanning them with her forest-green eyes. It was a small file about the current CEO of Roberts Corp, Martin Roberts, who is also good friends with her dad.
Leah has met Martin a handful of times, during business dinners or meetings between himself and her father. Martin is one of their most valued suppliers and also helps with the construction of some of the biggest builds they have constructed over the years. He lost his wife, Hannah, twelve years ago, to a car accident. It was believed that she had died on impact. After her passing, Martin pushed himself into his business, becoming a workaholic, and hardly spent any time with their three sons.
Martin has been training his eldest son, Jace, for the past two and a half years to take over Roberts Corp as CEO. Martin is ready to relax and enjoy his retirement by playing golf with her father and going on cruises, which was always mentioned at the dinners Leah attended.
While Leah was reading, her eyebrows suddenly lifted in shock.
"For Jace Roberts to become CEO, he must first find himself a wife."
She couldn't help but feel sympathetic towards his future wife. Jace was known as a sought-after bachelor that many women, and even men, go crazy for. He is very handsome, with his dark brown, almost black hair, always styled to perfection whether it was a 'just got out of bed' look or styled in his favourite quiff haircut. His strong, sharp jaw that you could cut your finger on, and a straight nose. With his handsome, good looks, he is always spotted by the press with a different woman on his arm most nights. Whether he was stepping out of a five-star restaurant or a high-end nightclub, there was always a woman hanging on his arm.
"It's kinda sad for Jace to have to marry before he can take over his dad's business. Does he even have a girlfriend?" She wondered aloud, while she was still looking over the few remaining pages of the file.
She noticed in her peripheral, that Peter had straightened up and became slightly rigid, with a torn look on his features. She watched him momentarily with concern, but he couldn't make eye contact with her and she couldn't fathom why.
"Dad, is everything okay?" She asked him, worry coating her voice, not understanding why her dad reacted that way.
"Of course, sweetheart, did you check over the file?" Peter said, changing the subject quickly. Hmm, that was strange.
"Yes, all checked. We have the meeting in two hours with Martin Roberts. Would you like me to get the conference room set up?" She asked whilst getting up from her seat across from Peter's desk.
"Yes please, sweetheart. Altogether, there will only be four people to set up for, you, me, Martin and Jace," he explained. She had no idea why Jace was joining this meeting, but she didn't ask. Instead, she nodded, leaving her dad's office and headed towards the large conference room that sat in the corner of her father's floor and got to work setting up the room with pens and paper and placing small glasses ready to fill them up with water just before the meeting started.
Once that was all arranged, which took only twenty minutes, she returned to her office for the remainder of the time to reply to emails to schedule new meetings.
Ten minutes before the meeting with Martin and Jace Roberts, Leah filled the glasses with water in the conference room and headed back to her father's office to wait for them to arrive. She had her notepad and pen ready to scribble down any notes that Peter needed.
Right on time, Peter's office phone rang. Jenna, his secretary, informed them that the gentlemen were in the conference room waiting for them. They headed over and opened the door, and were greeted by Martin Roberts as he stood and gave Peter a firm but friendly handshake.
"Peter, it's good to see you again," Martin said with a friendly smile before turning to Leah, and wrapping his arms around her, giving her a loving, fatherly hug. "Leah, you look more beautiful every time I see you," he stated, giving her a warm, toothy grin, to which she returned the gesture.
"Thank you, Mr Roberts, it's so good to see you, too," Leah replied. He glanced at Peter and they shared a knowing look, before returning their gaze to her.
"Please, Leah, how many times have I said it, please, call me Martin. You remember my eldest son, Jace?" He asked, pointing over to the other man in the room. How could she forget such a handsome face?
"Of course, Martin. Hello, Jace, it's lovely to see you again," she gave a pleasant smile, before stepping over in his direction with her hand held out, ready to give a firm handshake. He smirked whilst gazing at her beautiful features, before lifting his own hand. Instead of going in for the handshake, he brought Leah's hand to his lips and left a gentle kiss on the back, all while keeping eye contact. She snapped her face away to stop him from seeing her pale face heating up with the blush which, of course, was already travelling up from her slender neck.
"Hello Leah, the pleasure is all mine," Jace stated, still with that sexy grin on his beautiful face. How can anyone be so gorgeous?
With one last smile, Leah sat in the seat to her father's left, with Martin across from him and Jace to his right, across from Leah. The older men retrieved their files, ready to discuss the reason for their meeting. Leah could feel eyes burning into her body, and as she lifted her head from readying her notepad and pen, she caught a pair of beautiful dark brown eyes staring right back. For the second time, in a matter of minutes, heat began to travel up from her neck, coating her cheeks in a deep red. Damn, these ginger traits!
"So, to begin with, I want to thank you both for organising this meeting. Peter, as you know, we already have a signed contract between the two of us, to go forward in the plans we have set." Martin stated before looking over between Jace and me. "But we now need you both to sign and we can start preparing for the event, and begin the positive change for both our companies' future."
That statement caused a churning inside Leah's stomach, something just felt off, but she couldn't begin to imagine what the changes could be. It didn't help when both fathers turned to their children and gave them both a small, nervous smile.
Not wanting to prolong this any further, Jace reached for the file from his dad to read.
"You two are getting married."
YOU ARE READING
Who Knows: They might actually fall in love
Romance**Published on Amazon** This is only a sample with the first 10 chapters Leah Miller had always been a bright and bubbly girl ever since she was young. She was always intrigued and wanted to know more about her father's company which led her to stud...
