"Sir, your first meeting is with Mr. Whitmore—he'll be bringing his son," Theodore Whitmore said as Assistant Jason informing Liam about his schedule for the day.
"Wait, he's bringing his son?" Liam asked.
"Yes, sir. Looks like his son is now helping Mr. Whitmore with the business," Assistant Kai replied.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Assistant Kai walked over and answered it. After a brief exchange, he closed the door and turned to Liam.
"They're here, sir," he said.
Liam gave a small nod and stood, walking out with Kai toward the meeting room.
They walked into the room. Mr. Whitmore stood up with a warm smile, followed by a younger man beside him—his son, Theodore.
"Good morning," Kai greeted as they entered.
Mr. Whitmore stepped forward to shake Liam's hand. "It's been a while. You've really made this place your own."
Liam gave a small nod. "Still using some of the old tricks your generation left behind."
A light chuckle from Mr. Whitmore. "Hopefully, some of them still work."
Then came Theodore—clean-cut, sharp suit, and an expression that said he'd been waiting for this moment.
He shook Liam's hand with a firm grip. "Theodore Whitmore."
Mr. William Whitmore, Theodore's father, had known Liam's father for a long time. However, since Theodore spent most of his life overseas, he never had the chance to get to know Liam well, though he had met Liam's father once before. Now, for the first time, he was meeting Liam Lennox.
William deeply valued long-term relationships in business, just as he had with Liam's father. Now that his son was old enough to take on more responsibility, he wanted him to meet Liam—to give them a chance to connect. If things aligned, perhaps they could build the same kind of strong business partnership that William and Liam's father had maintained for years.
.
.
Liam folded the documents and looked up. "So, Theodore, what exactly are you hoping to achieve with this partnership?"
Theodore leaned forward, his expression focused. "Our company is aiming to expand into new markets, and we believe your expertise in operations and innovation can help us get there."
He glanced briefly at his father, who nodded approvingly but stayed quiet.
"We've been working on several projects overseas," Theodore continued, "but now it's time to bring that momentum home. We need a reliable partner."
Liam: "Expansion sounds promising, but it comes with risks. I'll need detailed financial projections, timelines, and contingency plans before committing."
Kai quietly placed a folder in front of Liam. "Here are some preliminary figures and forecasts from our side."
Theodore smiled slightly. "Transparency is key for us, Mr. Liam Lennox. We want this to be a partnership built on trust and clear communication."...
Assistant Kai, standing nearby, was already tapping notes into his tablet, carefully watching the conversation unfold.
The air between Liam and Theodore was charged, not with rivalry, but with mutual recognition.
.
.
The meeting was finally over. It took quite a long time, but Liam thought it was worth it.
He realized he had even skipped lunch today, even though he did attend meetings after that, but still had more meetings scheduled. As his assistant Kai was about to tell him about the next one, Liam stopped him.
"No more meetings for now. Jason, did you eat lunch today?"
"No, sir, not yet," Jason replied.
"Then skip the next meeting and go take a break."
"But—" Jason started, but Liam cut him off mid-sentence.
"I said cancel it."
Liam then went into his office and sank into his chair. Just then, his phone buzzed with a notification. He checked it and saw a message from Lily:"Sorry, big brother, but Alex says he's still busy and can't pick me up, so can you please?"
Liam thought about it. He couldn't ask Jason, who had been with him all day, so he got up to pick his sister himself.
"Phew, Lily said, he agreed to come." She looked at Dalia and said, "Now we can finally go home!"
"I'm sorry for bothering you like this, Lily," Dalia apologized. Her car wasn't working, and her driver had just informed her. She had called her parents to send another car, but Lily insisted on dropping her, even though Lily's own ride wasn't confirmed.
"But wait—did you tell your brother about me?" Dalia asked, raising a brow. As she expected, Lily didn't answer.
"You didn't, did you? You didn't ask your brother to drop me too?"
"Lily!" Dalia scolded, nudging her shoulder.
"I'm sorry! I'll tell him when he gets here, okay?"
A few minutes later, a sleek, luxurious car rolled to a stop in front of the college gate. Without a second thought, Lily sprinted toward it.
The window slid down, revealing her brother behind the wheel.
"Thank you so much again today, big bro! What would I do without you?" Lily beamed.
"Well, enough drama, young Miss Lily. Get in now."
"Wait!" Lily said quickly. "Can you also drop my friend? Her car broke down."
Liam was just about to say something when he saw someone walking toward them.
And for the first time in his life, Liam Lennox forgot what he was about to say.
She walked with quiet confidence—long black hair swaying with each step, wide, expressive eyes framed by long lashes, and a dress that hugged her curves just enough to be both elegant and distracting.
Lily waved a hand in front of her brother's face. "Brother?"
No reaction.
She waved faster, more aggressively. "Brother!"
Instead of snapping out of it, Liam tilted his head slightly to the right, trying to get a better view—her beauty was partially blocked by Lily's flailing hand.
Finally, Lily stepped right in front of him, blocking his entire view.
"BROTHER!!" she yelled.
"Ow! Lily, why are you screaming like that?"
"Why wouldn't I? You were staring at my friend like a complete idiot! Look—she's getting uncomfortable!"
Uncomfortable? Liam thought. She's getting me uncomfortable...
He cleared his throat. "Ahem, apologies. That was... rude of me."
He stepped out of the car and opened the door, gesturing like a proper gentleman. "Please, have a seat."
Lily narrowed her eyes. "When did you become a gentleman, bro?"
"Just now. For her."
"I mean—what do you mean?"
"Just sit in the car, please," Liam said, trying to sound cool, but he was already mentally spiraling.