Guan Ming took a deep breath as he dropped the call with Cedric. It was always nice to talk to his friend, but recounting those hard times when he had to fight against Wu Jun was just too taxing on his mind.
"Sir." An assistant called out from the otherside of the door. "Mr. Ting and his girlfriend are here."
"Very well, give me a moment." Guan Ming called out. "Take them to the dining room."
"Yes, sir." The man said.
Guan Ming heard as the assistant's footsteps walked away from the door.
All of Guan Ming's personal staff were men, he wasn't being sexist, it was just that he didn't want her to think that he could be involved with any woman other than her.
He had waited for years, he never dated anyone because no other woman caught his interest the way she did.
His heart broke into a thousand pieces when he saw the news. He normally didn't pay attention to that country's news but he was curious about the situation out there.
That's when he found out two things.
First, that his friend, Cedric Reyes, a man he thought was just an ordinary employee, was actually the new CEO of the Reyes Group. A company his father had wanted him to cooperate with.
What shocked him even more was the fact that Cedric was never poor, he had learned online that his friend had been living through what his family called, Poverty Training.
The second news he stumbled upon was a photo of her, holding hands with another man as they entered a bar.
He felt like his heart had been ripped from his chest and pissed on.
He knew the man who held her in his arms, Lucius Ting. The business man had applied to work in partnership with Ming Enterprises.
At first it looked like the most promising thing to work with them, that was until he discovered that Cedric owned the Reyes Group.
Having a friend in the largest company in that country changed everything. It would make things much easier for him.
The only reason he had considered Lucius Ting in the first place was because he had heard rumors about the Reyes Group being difficult to work with.
When Cedric finally called him, asking for his help, Guan Ming decided to jump on the opportunity. His research had led him to another discovery, the woman he loved with all his heart, was Cedric's vice president for Mor Co., Camilla Montero.
He remembered the first time they met, it was at a tech event. The same event where he had met Cedric Reyes.
Who knew that their lives would be so intertwined.
At that time, he had just been disowned by his father for wanting to develop a game that capitalized on the internet.
One that required immense development and long term planning. His father thought he was just playing around at work and that he didn't take the company seriously, so he sent his son to the streets.
Guan Ming's father didn't have ill intentions against his son. He simply wanted the boy to learn that there was more to life than his games.
In order to encourage more people to invest in him and his idea, Guan Ming posed as an employee trying to get investors for his boss.
It made Ming Enterprises seem more legitimate and much larger than it actually was.
As he did his business pitch and turned around, he was stunned to see the most beautiful woman he had ever laid his eyes on.
Everything about her was perfect.
Guan Ming walked over to the mirror and checked his appearance. He wanted everything to be perfect. He wanted to show Camila Montero what she had given up.
When he was finally satisfied with how he looked, he opened the double doors to his room and walked out confidently.
He acted as if he owned the world, that was how most people saw him anyway. All they saw was the arrogant and confident CEO who didn't even take a second glance at people.
In truth, this was just his facade. He had lived through so much that he knew he couldn't afford to care about anyone else.
The world was against him from the very beginning, and he knew that most of the people around him were only after his wealth.
Few people actually cared about him, and those that actually did were people he had met at his lowest point, like Cedric, and he thought like Camilla.
All this time he had been worried that Camilla would fall for her co-worker, the man that she was practically attached to the hip to, Ian Lim.
He never expected that after years of waiting she would fall for scum like Lucius Ting.
Guan Ming knew his kind, they were slippery and dangerous, no wonder he and Wu Jun had been friends. They were the same kind, friends that would stab you in the back.
"Sir, they are waiting in the dining room." His assistant informed him as three men scurried behind Guan Ming.
Guan Ming simply nodded and made his way to the dining room.
It was at the other end of the suite, Cedric had told him beforehand that it had an amazing view of the city.
Sadly he hadn't had the chance to see it, since he had gone to his room first to rest.
The doors to the dining room were tall and elegant.
Guan Ming touched the door handles gently as he admired the craftsmanship. He might have been a man of the modern age, but he truly admired things done by hand.
They had an elegance to them that computers could not possess, an elegance like hers.
Guan Ming shook his head as he tried to push his thoughts of Camilla to the back of his mind. She wasn't the woman he met back then, and even he was a completely different man.
He was foolish to think that after a decade they could meet up once more and simply fall in love again.
Guan Ming pushed the doors open, ready to see the woman he had waited for in another man's arms.