Chapter 96 An Excuse To Meet His Mother’s Friend

The next day, Zach woke up bright and early. He had kept his wife company as she worked and throughout dinner until he talked her into getting some sleep when it got late into the night. Although she had relaxed when he didn't question her warning, it didn't mean he had relaxed.

Yes, he trusted her, but she had just given him the biggest clue as to who was after her. His mind was spinning from thinking about the name she had given him. He needed to know who was after his wife, to understand the danger. 'Greco', he mused as he made his way to the training room.

His men were already waiting for him while they warmed up. The training room was a huge studio comprising of a boxing ring, an open space with a mat for , there was a section of the wall that had weapons for training, and a room for lockers and showers.

Zach was in his training gear in the color black. His expression was serious as he wore his fingerless gloves. 'Greco Pharmaceuticals', that name kept ringing in his head. The men looked at each other and a knowing smirk stretched on Raphy's lips. This was the first time they saw their boss distracted.

"Seems like boss is distracted", Raphy whispered to Gomez.

"Training should be easy today", Gomez smirked.

Throughout the times they had trained with Zach, they had never managed to beat him one on one. They would easily take him as a group but he fought them in pairs and he always whooped their asses. It seems today, the heavens were on their side.

Raphy nodded in agreement. It seemed that would be the case. All the men were energetic as they warmed up on the spots they stood. They had formed a circle around their distracted boss who was still fixing his gloves. Then, he did a come at me gesture at the first pair who were Gomez and Raphy. Yes, he was distracted. But they soon learned that his distraction came with frustration which he took out on them.

At the end of the training, Zach left his men panting, sweating and groaning in pain while he seemed to be in a better mood. He had a resolved look on his face as he discarded the towel he used to wipe off sweat. He took his phone and dialed for George's number.

"I have a job for you."

That one sentence was enough to get rid of the sleep that George had. He sat up straight in bed and listened intently.

"I need all the information on Greco Pharmaceuticals before the Corporate gala. I especially need to know what they're working on right now", Zach ordered.

"Yes sir."

"But, be discreet", he warned.

"Noted, sir."

Zach ended the call and dialed for his brother. It rung for a few times before he answered. His voice was groggy as he spoke.

"Zach, it's five in the morning! Come on!" Xavier groaned.

"Did we get invited to this year's Corporate gala?" Zach ignored Xavier's complaints.

"You could have asked me that at the office! I've only slept for two hours", he whined.

"Yes or no."

"Yes. Why? Why do you ask?"

"I'm going", he said simply.

"What? You? Why would you do that? You hate the corporate gala because you said it's full of pretentious people. What's changed?"

"Just know that I'm going", he said before hanging up.

Xavier got out of bed with last night's shirt and trousers still on him. He had been working late and only slept around three this morning. But all his sleep had disappeared because of Zach's call. It was good thing he asked because it reminded him of his plans with his mother today. He dialed for his mother's number.

"Xavie, it's five in the morning", came Victoria's grumpy and groggy morning voice.

"Are we still on for today?" He asked.

He heard her gasp. "Sorry Xavie, I forgot. I made plans to meet Nicole for brunch."

Xavier felt like the world had stopped and that his heart had plummeted into his stomach. It was thudding wildly nonetheless. There was no sign of her on social media and he had regretted not following into whom his mother had met last time. Now, an opportunity had presented itself. He could not help his curiosity over his mother's new friend whose name was similar to the beauty who gave him a wild but unforgettable Sunday.

"You guys can meet first then you both can meet me later."

"Hey! Are you not just doing this so you can seduce my friend?" Victoria voiced her obvious suspicion. She expected his goofy laugh that usually have him away but Xavier was oddily serious when he responded.

"No. I just want you to enjoy your friend's company. And I'll leave you two alone once my outfit is sorted out."

"Oh. Okay then. I'll call you."

With that, the phone call ended. The unsuspecting Victoria would have passed out from shock had she seen the sigh of relief her son let out soon as the call ended. Xavier felt like he had been holding his breath the whole time he was speaking to his mom.

Without wasting a second, he got out of bed and went to shower and get ready for work. After dressing up, he left the house in a flash without having his breakfast or letting his Butler escort him out.

"Sir!" The butler called out.

"Later Jeffrey!" Xavier answered as he jumped into his car in a haste.

He had a lot of work to do this morning in order to accommodate his mother's schedule. All this to see the woman who sent his heart racing whenever he heard her name. It had to be her.

"Argh!" A scream was heard from upstairs.

Jeffrey turned his back on the departing car and rushed up stairs where the scream came from. When he got to where the source of the scream was, he found two maids staring into Xavier's room with their mouths hanging open and faces horrified. He looked around and he too mirrored their expressions.

"This.... What was Master Xavier doing?" Jeffery uttered in disbelief.

Everywhere was littered by Xavier's clothes. It looked like a battlefield. And sure it was, because he had struggled to get the perfect outfit. He was possibly meeting the woman who had been haunting his dreams. So he had to at least put in an effort into his outfit.

Time had never gone slower for Xavier. He wished he could speed up the meetings and the paperwork. His heart thudded in anxiousness and anticipation each time he glanced at his watch. And the moment it hit 12, he left his office.

Victoria and Xavier had made it a habit to get their outfits done together for any occasion since they used the same person to design and customize their outfits. She loved any reason to dress up and the Corporate gala was no exception. With this thought, he called his brother.

"Since you said you'll join us, should we ask Givenchy to fix up an outfit for you?"

"No",Zach replied before hanging up.

Xavier felt like punching his phone. 'Hanging up like you're the one who called! Tch!' he mused in irritation. As he glared at his phone he saw the time and his nerves kicked in again.

"Step on it, I'm in a hurry", he told his driver.

"Yes, sir."

He took a deep breath. He wanted to distract himself by reading some files on his tablet but his mind could not cooperate. To his dismay, they had arrived at Givenchy New York headquarters and waited for his mother.

His heart was racing a mile a minute as he waited. Soon, his wait was over and he saw his mother's black Bentley pull up beside his. His heart almost leapt out of his chest when he saw the doors open.

'She's here...'