82

CHAPTER 82

NOAH'S POV

During the first week of Anna's attack, hospitalization and coma. I took a short break from the company, to be by her side and to visit Detective Rodriguez and see how far the case was going. Those were dark times for me, I was grateful for my uncle and brother who stood in for me taking care of meetings and business deals for me. The break was over now and I didn't want to neglect my duties as the CEO of the company, so I had to return to work. so I was shuttling between work and visiting her, no matter how late the time was, I made a promise of always visiting her and making sure that she was okay.

I felt like I was on a pattern, visiting and waiting for Anna to wake up, and working and doing my duties at the company.

At the hospital, I will spend a lot of time beside Anna's bedside. I would sit beside her on her bed, hold her hand, talking to her softly, hoping that my voice would reach through the fog of the coma.

“Hey Anna,” I began while removing a strand of hair from her face. “It's Noah, I'm here now, we'll be going on a date when you wake up, so wake up and tell us who did this to you.” I would always tell her.

I had a conference call with Mr Lou, who told me that he was going to come to LA from China to talk about our business deal. The conference room was set, it was quiet except for the soft hum of the air conditioner, the room was impeccably neat, exactly to the excellence that we hold.

“Welcome back, Mr Wilder,” Mr Lou said breaking the silence that was looming in the air inside this conference room. he was shrewd Chinese businessman, known for his keen eye for detail and relentless pursuit for good business deals. he managed several luxury hotels across Asia, especially China and he was here to discuss a potential collaboration with my prestigious company.

“Thank you, Mr Lou,” I replied to him, my voice laced with fatigue. “I appreciate your trust and patience during these difficult times.”

Mr Lou nodded, his expression one of understanding, “I'm happy that you're alright, and back to business, Mr Wilder.”

Jimmy, who was watching this exchange, cleared his throat, drawing attention to the agenda on the screen. “If we could begin, now gentlemen,” he said, looking at me for approval.

I nodded my approval, “let's get started then.”

Jimmy launched into a detailed presentation, highlighting the key points for our proposed partnership. Our company was known for its luxury hotels and upscale restaurants, and this collaboration with Mr Lou’s chain had the potential to elevate our brands to new heights across Asia.

“As you can see,” Jimmy continued, pointing to the slide that showed the revenue growth of our business deal, “This partnership will increase our market share in Asia by 20% over the next two years.

Mr Lou leaned forward, with a smile on his face his interest piqued, “these numbers are impressive, Mr Wilder, what measures will be taken to ensure quality control over our joint venture?”

I took a deep breath, I felt more like myself in charge and working, “We plan to implement strict training programs for all staff, ensuring that all our excellence are met consistently. and also, we are gonna have regular audit and feedback programs to address any issues promptly.'' I said to Mr Lou as Jimmy looked at me with pride on his face.

Mr Lou nodded thoughtfully, with a smile on his face, “and what about the incorporation of our respective culinary teams? each of our brands has a distinct identity, and it's important that we always maintain our individual uniqueness.”

Jimmy interjected smoothly, “we've already begun the necessary arrangement and discussions with your head chefs to develop a fusion menu that honor's both our tradition while creating something new. we believe this will attract new customers while taking care of existing customers too.”

The conversation flowed seamlessly, me, Jimmy and Mr Lou exchanging ideas and refining our plans. We brought a lot of good ideas that will help our new business partnership to be better and seamless.

As the meeting came to a close, Mr Lou stood and extended his hand with a smile of approval. “I look forward to this partnership, Mr Wilder. I believe that we will achieve great success together, you and me.”

I shook his hand too, “so do I, Mr Lou. Thank you for your support and vision too. as an appreciation, I'll be giving you 5 star treatment at my hotel anytime, you're in LA is on the house.'' I said to him,

“Nice, Noah, I'll be coming to LA frequently then.” he said with a smile on his face.

“I'll be more than ready, to keep to my word.” I said , returning the smile.

After Mr Lou left the conference room, I took a deep breath and I smiled at Jimmy.

“You did it again, boss, keep doing that and you'll be yourself in no time.” he said to me.

“Jimmy, I'm trying but I'll do it anyways, I have a company to run man. Do I have any other meetings today?" I asked him.

Jimmy looked at his tablet carefully. “No, that's all for today, just responding to emails and signing documents is nothing too serious.” he replied to me.

We both left the conference room and we both walked side by side to my office, and I sat down while loosening my tie. someone knocked on my door, I told them to enter.

“Noah, How're you holding up today?” Kim asked me.

“Am fine, i just finished with a business deal now, I'll be going to the hospital later today.” I replied to her.

“That's nice,” she said and walked to the door. “Don't worry you'll be fine.” she says to me.

“Thanks.” I said to her,

I closed my eyes, and I was on my thoughts. It's been three months since the attack on Anna, and until now we're still hopeful that she will wake up. my phone rang stopping my line of thought, I looked at the screen and it was Mrs Lima.

“Hello, Mrs Lima, any updates?” I asked her expectantly.

“Yes, Noah Anna's awake now.” she said in a happy tone.

“What! Mrs Lima are you for real? Tigre not messing with me? I asked her to stand up, as Jimmy came in looking at me.

“No, she's awake, you can come see her.” she said.

“Okay, I'm on my way.” I said and ended the call.

I looked at Jimmy, smiling and I said, “Jimmy, Anna's awake.” I told him.

“For real! God this is good news. you know what, fuck the office let's go over there.” Jimmy said.

“You're right, let's go over there now.”