His standards

Seeing that both the husband and daughter had no plans of coaxing her once more, Margaret felt annoyed and decided to ignore them. The lunch went by silently and the food felt tasteless to them. The food was no doubt impeccable as the restaurant was a five-star Michelin. Rather, it was the atmosphere that caused them to lose their appetite. 

After the desserts were served, Dana suddenly remembered something. 

"Father, I heard that Azenith Group is planning to launch a project in Asia. They said in a press conference that the bidding would be on the twelfth of next month. I thought, since you've been quite interested in Property Stocks, it would be the best opportunity to venture our business into the Real Estate Industry. What do you think father?"

Albert, whose interest was aroused by hearing about real estate, excitedly drank his wine before replying to his daughter in an ecstatic voice. "Yes, Azenith has a reputation for having never been associated with scandals over the past ten years. True, it would be a great expansion for business. Then I'll let you in-charge of the proposal."

Hearing his husband giving more work to their daughter, Margaret, who plans to ignore them couldn't help but complain. 

"Aren't you a bit too much? She still has to clean up Jace's mess in France, even overlooking the launching of another branch, and now you're dumping her on another project?"

Dana smiled at her mother and explained thoroughly. "Mom, since I am going to France this week, all of my other projects were assigned to the planning director. Also, I really wanted to be in this project. Don't worry Mom, I won't abuse my body. I'll eat on time and take good care of my health."

"What more can I say? Since you've made your decision, I'll wish you luck. Just do take good care of your body, understood?" Her mother just sighed and surrendered, knowing that there was no convincing her daughter to refuse the project.

Dana just nodded and smiled at her mother. Her mother may seem cold sometimes, but she is very caring about the well-being of her children. 

"By the way, Father, since it may take a week or two for me to be in France, can you approve the transfer of my executive team? I felt much more at ease working with them, especially this bidding proposal."

"Okay, I'll have Martin give you the signed consent form. Well, since we've done eating and I still have a meeting with a client, I'll go first, you two continue with the chatting." Father then kissed Mother on the cheeks before nodding at me. I smiled back in response as he walked towards the door and disappeared. I turned to look at my mother who was busy on savoring the slice of cake in front of her. 

"Mom, Since I'll be in off to another country tomorrow, what if we go shopping today?" I smiled.

"Sure. It's a great idea. I'll buy you things you might need in France." my mom then nodded while chewing. I was about to reply that I don't need to buy things, but when I notice the sadness in her eyes for my departure, I've just closed my mouth.

After exiting the building, Mother insisted on using the family car rather than driving on my own. So, I gave the keys to one of Mom's bodyguards and asked to be parked in the penthouse. 

We went to Regent Complex. The ride to the complex wasn't exciting or boring. It was purely mom talking topics to topics and me nodding and commenting every now and then. 

On the other hand…

Alexei, who had been up until 1 am, grouchily woke up to the knocking of the office door. He looked at the time on his phone. It was 7 am. He didn't have the time to go back to his own loft because of the things happening. He opened the door to find his assistant pacing up and down, restless.

"What is it this time?"

"Sir, the new law signed by the President of France greatly affects our distributors and partners. The current stock prices for the jewels are less than 20% than the previous. Also, the team from France are calling non-stop and the executives want to have a meeting." the assistant reported anxiously.

Alexei sighed and ordered his assistant to arrange a meeting in the afternoon. He went back to the bedroom in his office and lay on the bed. He wasn't sleepy anymore.

He was still coming in terms of his new life as the CEO. It's not like he wasn't up for the task, he felt like all his time and the way things were, have changed. 

'Isn't change a companion of every person?'  

He was never a sentimental person, but for some reason, he felt like he was missing something. 

Deciding to abandon his thoughts, he went to the bathroom to take a quick shower and get ready for work. He still has mountainous papers and documents to sign. A never-ending task. He then remembers that his friend just come back from his honeymoon, so he called him up. It took three rings before the phone was picked up.

"Oh… Alex, what's up?" the other person seemed to be outside as the background noise was bustling and full of life. 

"Are the both of you still in Switzerland?"

"Nope, We're at the airport. Just got down from the plane. Why? missed me?" Charles, Alexei's friend, asked in a playful tone.

"Tsk. I just want a drink. 8 pm. Call?"

"Fine, the usual place?"

"Yep. Gotta go." after hanging up the call. He went towards his desk and started his day. 

After some time, his assistant came with a takeaway. He placed it on the coffee table and spread the dishes. In a neutral tone, he called his boss.

"Sir, it's already 9 am and you still haven't had breakfast, so I bought you some food. please eat."

The aromatic smell of food filled Alexei's nostrils, and he felt his stomach churning, so he decided to abandon his work and went to the sofa. He could see a bowl of pasta and some fried meat. He grabbed the utensils and started eating. He thanked his assistant and asked him if he wanted to join him.

"Have you eaten breakfast, Michael?" 

"I have, Sir." Michael, the assistant shakes his head in return. He sat in front of Alexei and decided to help him with his workload. He did his work silently while Alexei ate his brunch. After a few minutes, looking at the empty takeaway box, he started to clean up but was stopped by Alexei. 

"Let the others clean it up. Help me with the presentation later. By the way, Charles and Caroline came back from Switzerland just today. I invited him for a drink, wanna come?"

"It's been a while since we friends have gathered together. Fine. I'll be there. The usual place?" Michael enthusiastically replied.

"Yeah." 

Alexei and Charles then proceeded to continue their work. The tapping sound from the keyboard and the occasional comments to each other rang through the room. Time flew by and it was only when lunchtime came that both men stopped what they'd been doing. 

"Even though we are swamped with heavy workload, we still need to take care of ourselves. Let's stop for now and have lunch." Michael reminded Alexei.

"Ever since you and Leah got together, you have changed into a different man. Must be fun having someone to remind you to eat." Alexei smiled teasingly.

"Then why don't you look for someone to accompany you? You're 27 already. Isn't it time for you to settle down? How about you date the one recommended by your father?" Michael retorted with a hint of concern and a tease.

Alexei rolled his eyes after hearing what Michael said. He admits that he was a little envious of his friends getting married and all. But the thought of those girls whom he had a blind date, he was exasperated. He would rather remain a bachelor than date some beauty with no brain who is superficial and useless to him.

"Tsk! That woman is so annoying. She keeps on rumbling about nonsense things and her voice is so irritating to the ears." Alexei complained as he drank his water.

"What do you look for in a woman?" Michael asked with interest.

"Must be stunningly beautiful, Intelligent, Capable, and not a weakling." Alexei contemplated for a while before he answered.

"Your bar is too high! There is only one person I could think that would meet all criteria. Sadly, she's not for you." Michael sighed at the thought.

Alexei was confused. "What do you mean 'she's not for you'? Who is she?"

"Do you really want to know?" Michael asked seriously. 

"Yeah. Would I be asking you if I was not serious?" Alexei responded with a blank face.

"Fine." Michael straightened up his body and looked at Alexei in a serious manner.

"The woman who meets all of your criteria… is none other than …" Michael paused.

"None other than?" Alexei was very interested. 

"Dana De Grantaine." Michael sighed.