Chapter 54 I had a dream
Roger was in a deep sleep when his phone vibrated on the nightstand. Stretching slightly, he reached for it and saw his secretary’s caller ID, frowning imperceptibly.
“Do you even know what time it is?” He asked groggily but his voice refused to lose its firmness.
Dahlia grew nervous at the end of the line, going straight to the point. “Sir, I’ve just been informed that Silent Chase is pursuing our top client, Freddie’s Games. They are proposing to design a kids' game in under twenty-four hours. If they succeed, Freddie’s Games will cancel their contract with us.”
Roger felt a headache coming on. With only five days left to convince Karen to stay as his wife, he had no intention of going to the office. He planned to send an email to Dahlia as soon as he woke up to inform her, but now this.
He ruffled his curly hair in frustration. “How much time do we have to meet the deadline?”
"Twenty – four hours, ending at midnight. Rick wants to know if we should participate in the challenge because Brad is Silent Chase’s new Sales and Marketing manager, and I think he’s deliberately trying to get back at us after resigning from his position.”
Roger smiled subtly. He never intended to fire Brad, only to put him in his place. He believed in keeping his friends close, and his enemies closer.
However, Brad knew that with Roger as the CEO, he wouldn’t be able to operate as before, so the best thing was to give up his position and join Roger’s competitor. Smart move but Roger didn’t see Brad as a worthy opponent.
“I understand now. We’ve partnered with Freddie’s Games for five years, and they are our fourth-largest client. We are going for it, but I’ll be working from home.”
Nothing was going to keep him away from his little wife.
“But…” Dahlia started to say at the end of the line, then paused but Roger’s instinct was spot on, he asked her, “What’s the problem?”
She explained without hesitation. Roger’s style was different from that of his father and she was still trying to adjust.
“There are a lot of documents that need your signature due to newly approved partnerships. We need both soft and hard copy signatures.”
Roger sighed, not wanting to move. Karen was soundly asleep and he wanted to wake up each day with her in his arms like this.
Not only that. He also wanted to give her the world. “Call me when you get to the office. I will send my location for you to bring the hard copies.”
“Yes, sir,” Dahlia responded but still had more to say. “But the programming will need a strong backup, and I can’t get in touch with Ryan. There are rumors that Brad is trying to poach him.”
Roger was no stranger to this situation, but doing the programming himself was time consuming.
Ryan was his senior programmer and Roger assumed he couldn’t be reached because it wasn’t his working time.
Should it be because of the poaching, then Ryan, just like Brad, were complete idiots. The only thing keeping him from doing the job himself for now whilst waiting for a replacement from HR was his little wife.
No matter what, he would put her first, no caring about the billions lost because of it.
After all, once upon a time, he didn’t care about any of these, starving himself without the intention of stopping until he sees her.
Times like that paved the way for the realization that money can’t buy happiness. The joy he felt from being with Karen, was nothing he ever felt in his life.
It was surreal and yet, peaceful and he wouldn’t trade that for anything else. This was like a honeymoon to him, and he wanted to ensure it didn’t disrupt his time with Karen.
“I’ll work on the systems and robots from here,” he said. Dahlia sounded surprised. “You can?” A chuckle escaped Roger. “Do what you need to do. I will handle what I can from here.”
It was a good thing that he was privy to every department and knew how to do everyone’s work including that of the janitor.
Yeah, Roger had combed all the departments in disguise. The call ended and as he was trying to complete the major task before Karen woke up, luck didn’t seem to be on his side as she tried to wiggle out of his arms.
Even with the laptop, he made sure to cuddle her in her sleep, afraid she might disappear.
“Kitten, you are awake.” Her green innocent eyes were slightly groggy, as if in a dream land but she didn’t fail to notice that something was off about him and asked seriously, “Is there a problem?”
Their relationship wasn’t defined but that didn’t mean she would take a back seat and watch him shoulder every challenge on his own.
Roger put the laptop away and pulled her closer, his lips meeting hers in a short, passionate kiss. “There’s no problem, kitten. You should go back to sleep.”
Perhaps if his fingers hadn't hit the keyboard so hard, he wouldn't have woken her. “I had a dream I was in a summer hat in the garden,” she smiled after pulling away from the kiss, her fingers combing her hair.
“It wasn’t a dream,” Roger corrected. “I brought you back when you fell asleep.” The subtle reminder refreshed Karen’s mind. She had been so obsessed with the summer hut, taking it to her dreamland.
She was about to thank him when Roger reached for the laptop and turned it to face her. “You have to sign this.” He had received it from the lawyer a few hours ago but couldn’t give it to her because she was asleep, and this seemed to be the best time.
Karen saw the agreement they had made and frowned. She was no longer interested in those demands after seeing this side of him.
“Must I?”
“I insist,” Roger said seriously, unwilling to let it go.
Karen thought carefully, finding it unnecessary. What kind of man was he to be so eager to sign off all his wealth and assets?
Her reason for making those demands was to scare him away, but that did not seem to work. “I’ll think about it.”
Taking a deep breath, Roger closed the laptop and put it aside, pulling her into his embrace. A part of the deal was for her to never leave him when the document was signed. “I would love for you to sign it.”