Chapter One

Ryan

One month later

"Thanks for coming aboard, Mr. Patel," I say, shaking hands with the gruff-faced Indian man, with a practiced smile.

It took two grueling hours to convince the man to invest in our advanced robotic surgical systems. Mr. Singh Patel is a seasoned investor known for his shrewd business acumen, and his decision to invest is yet another significant win for MedPlus Innovations.

"Thank you, Mr. Anders," Patel says in his heavily accented English. "I look forward to a mutually beneficial partnership."

"Absolutely, Mr. Patel," I reply with a curt nod, "We look forward to working with you."

As he leaves the boardroom, I roll my shoulders to relieve the tight knots in my back. It's been a long day packed with seemingly endless meetings. The usual CEO business is not my favorite thing to do, but it's not like I have a choice.

"What's next on my schedule, Maria?" I ask my secretary as I head out of the meeting room.

"Next on your schedule is lunch with Dr. Stevens at 12:30 p.m.," Maria replies, checking her tablet. "After lunch, you have a 2 p.m. conference call with the finance team to discuss the allocation of Mr. Patel's investment. Following that, you have a meeting with the R emotions that I find hard to process and as a result I ignore them. It was shocking to discover Henry's betrayal because, even more than my business partner, he was my friend.

I met Henry Henson at a party I was dragged to by my roommate in my final year in college. We bonded quickly which was a surprise even to me because I didn't usually like keeping people close. At the time, the plans for MedPlus were already underway and somehow, Henry got involved. He was extroverted, persistent, and a sweet talker, and I was quite the opposite, so it made sense that he met up with investors to source funds for our project. I'd always known Henry to be an ambitious person with tendencies to be reckless, but I never thought he'd go as far as pilfering investors' funds and planning to frame me for it so he could have to company himself– my company. So, I played his game right back and took him by surprise.

"Do you think people are right?" I ask, glancing up at Hilda's puzzled face.

"What about?" She asks, still searching my face.

I shrug. "Many say I'm a cold-hearted jerk for ejecting my business partner of eleven years. I've read blogs that described me as heartless and jaded; I was just wondering if they're right.

Hilda drops her wine glass with a sigh. She folds her arms over her chest and cocks her head in the way she always does when she's trying to look imposing. "Maybe the narrative would have been different if you listened to me and provided evidence of his corruption to the media."

"I'm only protecting the company's image," I reply simply.

"No, you're protecting Henson," Hilda counters, rolling her eyes at me. "Because somewhere under all that indifference is a caring heart. You didn't want the public criticizing him so you're taking the hit all by yourself."

"That's not true," I say weakly but as expected, Hilda doesn't agree.

"You know… you're a lot like your dad in that regard," she says, picking up her wine glass again. She looks towards the subset for a moment, a soft smile gracing her features. "He was stubborn and set in his ways, yet he had the softest heart,"

"The last woman in my bed said I didn't have a heart," I say, smirking when she makes a face at me.

"All that's a ruse," she says with a dismissive wave of her hand.

I pause, narrowing my eyes suspiciously at her.

"Why do I feel like you're trying to make a point here? This is no longer about Henry, is it?"

She chuckles lightly, taking a slow sip from her wine glass while watching me over the rim. I can tell she's stalling, waiting for me to confirm whatever thoughts are running through her mind.

"Can you get your head out of the clouds? I'm not going to miraculously fall in love with Jenna Henson. Apart from the fact that she's my employee, she's also sixteen years younger and that's just…"

"I didn't even mention Jenna," Hilda says, laughing. "But look at you, rambling on about her, she must be something!"

"Ha ha! That's funny," I say dryly but that only makes her laugh harder.

"How's Jack by the way?" I ask after her laughter subsides.

My question is a weak effort to divert the attention from me. Hilda knows that but she plays along, cocking her head to the side with a blank expression. "Jack who?"

I blink at her in surprise. "Did you break up with him too?"

"You say that like I break up with men every day," she says, leaning back in her seat with an obstinate smirk. "Anyway, he's in the past."

"What?" I snort. "He was your future just three weeks ago."

Hilda rolls her eyes and waves a hand dismissively. "Oh, come on, Ryan. Three weeks is like an eternity in my dating world." She chuckles, clearly not taking the situation too seriously.

"Well, what happened?" I press, trying to get to the bottom of the situation.

Hilda shrugs, her smirk still firmly in place. "Turns out he's Amish."

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"He's kind of… conservative," she says with a mischievous smirk. "He won't even kiss me! He says he has to keep things pure before marriage." She shakes her head, her eyes twinkling with amusement. "At first, it was adorable but then I realized it wasn't just for me. Besides, I'm not looking to jump into marriage anytime soon."

I sigh softly, shaking my head at her. "How can you be such a hopeless romantic yet so scared of love?"

"Look who's talking," she says, her smirk growing wider. "At least, I try to put my foot forward. You, my dear, are hiding away completely. You know, this Jenna girl could…"

"Knock it off, Aunt Hilda," I say with a soft sigh.

She tuts playfully, shaking a finger at me. "Don't call me that. I'm only two months shy of forty-seven."

I arch my brow at her, raising my wine glass. "To being young forever."

She raises her glass to mine, the sound of her laughter drowning the tinkling sound of the glasses. "Cheers."