THREE: MEETING HER

LIAM

I came back from New York and the first place I decided to drop was my favorite coffee shop, Coffee Delight. I have loved this coffee place so much that I have gotten my family to invest in it, so we became their sole sponsors, as long as they would keep making delicious coffees for me. It was always the first place I drop by whenever I am in the country, I literally had it in mind my mind in the plane, I was always eager to have that savory taste, and the creamy taste was a bliss for me. I usually buy out time whenever I go there, like pay for the whole hours I would spend there and I have not had any problem with it and today wasn't an exception.

I am Liam McGllivary, the one, and only child of Robert and Pamela McGillivary. A lot of people don't know my family past our name and companies. I never really grew up with my parents because they were business people and didn't have time for family. I grew up at the mercies of nannies and servants. Mr. Hugh has been our oldest staff and the one closest to me. A lot of people don't know me or understand me, but Mr. Hugh knows me, knows my strength and my vulnerability. He was the one there when I won most of my medals in school, he was the one that had always come to PTA meetings for me, he was the one that was there when I did everything and almost everything I know he taught me. His wife had died in an automobile accident and had left him with a son, Aiden and I and Aiden became best friends and remained like that. Mr. Hugh was like a father to me and even when I told him I wanted him to rest and that I would get a new assistant he had smiled and had said it was my dad that had employed him and should be the one to tell him when to stop working.

My parents were always only around when they want us to take a family portrait or when the press wants to interview us as a family. Mr. Hugh knows secrets about my family that no other person knows, Aiden too. Aiden works in my company as my manager and he is the only one I don't see below me. We were like brothers and I love him so much, even though I might not know how to express it.

Aiden didn't come to pick me up from the airport because he had an important meeting to attend, so Mr. Hugh had picked me up instead. He had been so happy to see me after two years of going to New York. My parents were not even home because they travel a lot for businesses and my father had left most of the companies for me to run. So I have become a very busy man at a young age. I travel from one country to another to seal deals. I have heard a lot of people call me harsh, but I just say and do the things in my mind. I am not scared of anyone, I mean what was there to be scared about? I paid almost everyone in the city. But no matter how popular I was or my family was, I loved my space. I mean I am the ladies' man and have a lot of girls I run things with, but they all know their limits and I really don't like those press people stalking me in the name of getting news, So, I go to most places and like to buy a certain amount of time to be alone.

When I entered the coffee shop, I saw this girl sitting alone by the window, eating all by herself. I didn't think of her twice, I just took the table that suited me the most. I had instructed Mr.Hugh to tell the coffee owner that I was here and would like to have my time alone. I do this most of the time because I always wanted to avoid the press. I was chatting with Alicia the girl I met in New York before I came back home. I didn't really take note of what was going on until this girl in a pink hoodie yelled at Mr. Hugh. I looked up from my phone.

"Alicia, let's chat later," I texted the girl I was chatting with and logged off before she got a chance to type anything. I pushed my chair back and stood up. They all turned to look at me. I walked up to them and looked from one person to the other. "What's going on here?" I inquired.

"Are you the boss?" the girl asked.

I looked at her with a scowl. She wasn't my kind of girl. She was beautiful though, but she was hiding inside a big hoodie, skinny pants, and sneakers, her hair looked uncared for, not my kind of woman at all, not fashionable. "Who are you?"

"I am a customer who came here to eat, just the way you did."

"I am not just any customer," I said.

"Same here," she replied quickly and started walking up to me until she was right in front of me, staring at me eyeball to eyeball.

I jerked my head back a little, she was becoming a bit scary now. "What are you doing?"

"Can't you see I am trying to warn you, never to ask me to leave a place for you? I was here before you and I should enjoy my customer rights too. Just because you have little money to throw around shouldn't make you become a jerk..."

"Little money?" I asked as that was the only thing that had registered in my head. "Do you know who I am? How can you say my money is small? I really want you to leave now, while I am asking nicely."

"I would like to see you do your worse. If your money was big enough, why don't you get your own coffee shop and use it all day, anytime you need, and stop disturbing us around here," She said talking into my face.

"Disturbing us? Who are you? Do you know who I am?" I asked, surprised that she really did not recognize me. Every girl knows me in this city.

"I don't care who you are, I'm just asking that you keep that arrogance of yours to yourself." She paused. "You know what? I am not doing this with you. I'm leaving this place, and looking at you pisses me off..."

I was appalled. Did she just say she didn't care who I was? Who was she? I looked her up and down again as she turned to grab her backpack. She wasn't even looking sophisticated. She started to leave but tripped as her foot hit the table and she fell forward, I didn't know how it happened or what happened, but the next thing I knew, she was on my body. She fell on me and my arms circled her back when I was trying to steady her. My heart suddenly started to beat faster and faster.

Mr. Hugh came to my rescue. He pulled the girl away from me and I cleared my throat awkwardly, trying not to look at her. She looked down. I tilted my head from one side to the other. "You are not only deaf, are you blind too?" I asked.

"You are not only arrogant! Are you stupid too?!" she yelled in my face.

I could see Mr. Hugh's eyes widening and the coffee shop girl gasping. I suddenly felt like I was hit by a meteorite. No woman had ever spoken to me like that. No woman had ever called me stupid, in fact, no human being has ever called me stupid. So who was she to speak to me like that? I was confused and a little bit scared because I didn't know where she came from. She doesn't look rich but she was so bold and confident. She stormed out of the coffee shop, leaving me there shocked and electrocuted. The salesgirl slowly went back to the counter.

When I regained myself, I looked outside, but she was nowhere to be found, my hands clenched into fists and I looked at Mr. Hugh who lowered his gaze. "I want you to run a background check on that girl for me. Find out who she is and what she does and if she is anything less than I am, I will make life unbearable for her."

"Are you sure you want to go through that? It may be one of those kids having a bad day," Mr. Hugh said.

"I don't care what is wrong," I said walking towards the door. "How could she not care about who I am?" I was becoming rather frustrated.

"Mr. McGillivary, your coffee!" the salesgirl called from the counter when I was at the door.

I didn't bother to turn. "I just lost my appetite. Pay her for the time wasted," I said, opened the door of the coffee shop, and went outside while Mr. Hugh went back inside to settle whatever it was that needed settling. I still glanced up and down the road, I didn't still see that girl.

A few minutes later, we were in the car heading to my house. I had wanted to drop by the office first but Mr. Hugh won't let me. He said I needed to rest and that Aiden was in my house and not in the office. On our way back, I found myself thinking of the girl, I tried to drag my mind away but my thoughts kept going to the incident, especially that fall,A and at that moment my heart had beat so fast.

"Mr. Hugh, what do you think of her?" I asked turning to look at him. I don't usually seat behind when I was riding with him.

"Who?" he asked his eyes still on the road.

"The crazy girl back there, of course. Do you think she is new to this city? How could she not know Liam McGillivary? Even a day-old baby knows who I am."

Mr.Hugh looked at me and smiled then he turned back to face the road. "Your ego is just hurt," he said.