Chapter 5 # Flame Of Love

Aron's POV

A streak of sunlight peered in between the curtains and knocked me out from my slumber. And I woke up, rubbing my bleary eyes and walked straight to the window to witness the most beautiful view of Lake Michigan, with the rising sun casting a rosy hue across the sky. I quickly finished my morning duties and started to go for a quick run along the lakefront trail.

The lake waters calm me relieving of all stress, boosts my energies, and brings in new aspirations. I travel a lot due to our business set up but I have no idea why I feel like making Chicago as my permanent base; it feels home to me.

It's been years yet my heart still aches for her, I had lost not only my parents but also my BFF. We were so naïve then, never realized what was happening around us that fateful day. Why blame her alone, my mind chided me.

I too was angry, sad and lost my sanity when we had that ugly fallout. Little did I know that I was seeing her for the last time and I am going to lose her forever. No one could take her place in my life; she was my best friend and the only person with whom I shared everything . My eyes were glossy and I stopped near a bench, shutting my eyes for a few minutes. After regaining my composure, I returned back to the penthouse.

I was about to press the doorbell, but Martha opened the door; she always knows the moment I am about to enter. She smiled and greeted me – 'Good Morning Aron, please freshen up, and come fast, your breakfast is ready. You do remember what day is it, right?'

'Good morning Martha! Yes, I know, the award night.' – I smiled cheekily at her and went to my room. 

I took a warm shower and came out in my bathrobe, humming some random tune. 

I got dressed in a crisp cotton white shirt, black pants, with a casual waistcoat and black coat. I wore my Tissot watch, placed my wallet in the pocket, and picked up my laptop bag, heading towards the dining area.

Martha saw me coming, she took the bag from me and asked my chauffer to keep it in the car.

I took a plate, added some fresh fruits, cereals and a brown bread toast with a glass of mixed fruit juice. Martha insisted me to take some more but this was sufficient.

Martha complained – 'Nowadays, my dear son is not at all eating properly and overloaded my plate with 2 boiled eggs.'

'Martha, no, I had enough, I can't eat more than that.' – I whined.

Martha has been taking care of me and my baby sister Ziva, just like a mother ever since we lost our parents. If not for her, we wouldn't have survived the loss.

'Where is Ziva?' – I asked her. She replied – 'she already left half an hour back as she wants to return early in the evening before the award function.' I nodded and drank my juice.

I left saying goodbye to Martha and my car was already parked at the entrance. Once I was seated inside, my chauffer started driving towards my office.

My thoughts drifted to Ziva, my life. She finished her MBA in Finance last month and is working with our group as an intern. I want her to learn from scratch and she agreed to start with an internship as one gets to learn so much during that period. No one amongst the staff knows that she is my sister and hence she is treated just like any other intern.

Soon, we reached the office and I entered the lobby. I took the elevator to the 16th floor, which is occupied by me and my close associates i.e Alice, Cherry, Phil and Simon who are also my best friends.

Today, I came early as I had a couple of meetings scheduled with international clients. I entered my cabin to find all four engrossed in work. Although they are my close buddies, we are professional inside the office and our relation takes a back seat. However, today everybody wanted to finish their work asap and leave early. They greeted me cheerfully and pulled me into a group hug.

Alice said – 'There you are, boss. Very good morning'.

Phil remarked – 'Here comes the best businessman of the year, tada.'

'Morning, guys. All of you are early today, I see!' I grinned at them and took my seat.

'Yep, buddy! Don't wanna miss the awards night in the evening.' – Phil told excitedly on behalf of the three.

Simon and Cherry exchanged happy glances and got back to their work.

Alice updated me with the reports and meetings, the whole day just passed by in a blur.

It was about 5 pm when everyone decided to call it a day. Cherry stood near in front of my desk and said – 'Let's leave now and meet directly at the venue. After all, we were awaiting this for so long.'

Just then, my phone buzzed and it was my baby sis.

'Yes, my baby sis. Where are you?' – I asked Ziva.

She chuckled – 'Bro, I am on my way to home, ask everyone to leave now so that they can be on time and you will reach home asap.'

Four pairs of eyes stared at me amused, knowing what she is talking about.

Huh..'Ziva, we too are leaving now, alright? See you in a bit.' – I hanged up and placed all the important files in the drawer.

'Let's go guys and see you all tonight.'- I told my gang. All of them were ready to celebrate tonight.

At the Venue:

Ziva and I reached the venue 15 mins before the scheduled time. She wore a navy blue silky gown with matching diamond jewellery and I was dressed in my black armani suit. We were waiting in the lobby for others to join.

Alice and Cherry entered and gave a tight hug to Ziva. The three share a great bond despite Ziva being 3 years younger than us. I prefer keeping Ziva close and safe as she is the only family I have. That is why she too keeps travelling along with me each time. Her friends stay in New York and she visits them once in a while. Alice and Cherry have always made sure that she never feels lonely here and involve her in all their plans.

'You look gorgeous, Ziva.'- Cherry said and Alice too agreed. 

Ziva thanked them and said mockingly -'you too also look something.'

'Where the hell are Phil and Simon?' I asked to no one in particular.

Cherry shrugged – 'I am sure they might have just started.'

Phil entered from the back and heard Cherry taunt them. He glared at her and said – 'Look back, Cherry; here we are!' Cherry stuck out her tongue at him and mocked.

Simon and Phil ignored her and hugged me. After such a long time, we all were in high spirits.

We all entered the auditorium together and took our seats. Soon, the ceremony started and the introductory speeches were on. Later, there was a slide show of the list of companies that made it to the top 10 with excellent growth and annual turnover.

These guys couldn't sit still nor kept their mouths shut; all of them wanted this boring stuff to get over soon and come to the main part, that is me receiving the award. Finally, the host started with the most awaited moment - award distribution ceremony.

The jury said - this award goes to a well-deserved person, for carving out a niche on his own in the industry with sheer hard work and excellence; my name was announced. I was thrilled and walked up to the dais. I felt honoured to receive the 'Best Businessman of the Year' award. My buddies couldn't keep calm and much to my embarrassment, they started hooting and cheering me from their seats. Ziva clicked a few photos too.

As soon as I came back, they all group hugged me with tears of joy shimmering in their eyes. Ziva chose to skip the party as it was a official dinner party and exclusively for business associates and, she was still an intern. I called my driver and asked him to drop her home safely.

Ziva said – 'Congratulations Big B. I love you.' She pouted, took me aside and said- 'You will take me to a fancy restaurant this weekend, ok?'

'How can I ever say no to my little sis? Your choice this time, happy?' – I told her lovingly and chuckled. I felt bad that she couldn't accompany us. It was more of a formal thing, network and build a business with others. For us, it meant knowing our rivals more closely.

Ziva means the world to me and her happiness and safety are and will always be my top priority.

Everybody started for the dinner party which was arranged at the rooftop lounge. We took the elevator and reached the top floor. I was simply floored with the eye-pleasing setup, which was classy. Tiny, vibrant serial lights were arranged all over the place along with cozy furnishings and the moon tonight was radiant, adding its own spell in the dark sky.

I felt someone familiar, stealing glances at us but when I looked around, I didn't find anyone, so ignored the feeling. We took our drinks and settled at the spot that gave us a complete view of the city. Some people came to congratulate me and we were catching up with our other business associates.

Then, I saw a familiar figure walking towards me with Dean, who was interested in working with us on a new project. Dean introduced the lady to us who appeared to be not only a sharp businesswoman but something more than that – 'Aron, this is Clara, my colleague and Clara, this is Aron, Alice, Simon, Cherry and Phil.'

Clara nodded, greeted with a 'hi' and gave a sly smile to all of us. I observed she looked stunned and avoided making any new conversation. However, she was courteous enough to reply whenever needed. Most of the talking was done by Dean. She excused herself and I saw her leaving the party immediately.

'Wasn't she acting a little weird or is it just me who felt it?' – I enquired and looked at my gang for their reaction. Cherry, Phil and Simon didn't seem to bother about it and left to get some appetizers. But, I saw Alice, who was lost in her thoughts.

'Alice, what are you thinking? Guess we are on the same page?' – I asked her. She is the wise one amongst all of us and she has grown to be my confidante over these years. 

'Umm... Aron... I don't know whether to bring this up now or no; but I think, no I am almost sure that she is the same "Clara". I mean her friend Clara, Aron.'