Chapter 3
Chapter 3
3
Six years later
“Have you made up your mind yet?” Mr. Noah Levi asked, looking up at his granddaughter Isadora.
“You need to return to the company; the company can’t run itself, the old man grumbled.
“I was never in that company, sir, and I have my own business which is very successful,” Isadora reminded. She never liked sitting with the man for dinner, but he made it necessary for her to attend tonight’s dinner.
“I only allowed you to venture into that path because you were pregnant with him,” Mr. Levi gestured towards Asher, who was focused on his own food and nothing else.
“You gave birth to him five years ago, and he is already big enough to be on his own. You need to come back to the company and run it, remember the promise you made to me.”
“I made you no promise. Can you stop talking about it?” Isadora wasn’t going to tolerate the old man’s nonsense tonight.
“And talk about what? Okay, will you tell me who his father is? Who is the father of the boy?” Mr. Levi dropped his cutlery, and so did Isadora.
“I think it’s time for us to leave. Have a good night,” Isadora stood up, and Asher followed suit.
“Do not walk away! I’m not done talking to you! Do not walk away from me, child,” Mr. Levi half–yelled, but Isadora walked out of the VIP lounge with Asher. They got to the car, entered it, and left for their hotel.
“Should I order some food for you? Did you get enough food there?” Isadora asked once they arrived at the hotel where they stayed.
“I’m fine. I ate enough,” Asher answered as they walked into the hotel and headed straight to their penthouse.
Once they got in, Asher left for his room to freshen up while Isadora went to hers. On her way to her room, a text popped up on Isadora’s phone.
The text was from Isadora’s closest uncle.
“Dad is very angry. He is threatening to harm your food company. You should be careful, the text read.
Isadora groaned and sent a quick reply to her uncle before throwing her phone on the bed.
Her grandfather, Mr. Noah Levi, is insisting she inherit their one trillion–dollar generational company. The business has passed from one ancestor to another, and Mr. Levi is insisting that it’s her turn to run the company, which she has no interest in.
Isadora has seven uncles and many cousins, but Mr. Levi doesn’t want to hand the company to any of them. Isadora doesn’t know the reason, and she isn’t interested in her grandfather’s reasons. She hated the man with every vein in her body, so she didn’t want anything to do with him.
After dropping her phone, she went into the bathroom for a bath before stepping out to dress up. Once dressed for bed, she went to Asher’s room to make sure he was comfortable.
“Are you asleep?” She knocked on the door and looked in.
“No, you can come in,” Asher answered, and Isadora entered.
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Chapter 3
“You’ve had your bath, right?”
“Yes.”
“And you are comfortable?”
“That too.”
“Okay, I guess this is goodnight,” Isadora turned to leave, but Asher’s request stopped her in her tracks.
“Can you please tell me about my father?” Anyone who saw Isadora at that moment could tell that her heart stopped pumping blood, with the way blood drained from her face.
She swallowed nothing and slowly turned to face Asher, who waited eagerly to hear the truth.
“A… Ash,” she called, whispered. She knew her son was definitely going to ask her the big question one day, but she never expected it to be today. Hell, she never expected it to be any day.
“Baby…” She slowly walked back to him and sat on his bed.
“Your father… Your father is sick…”
“Huh? How sick is he?”
“Coma. He is in a coma,” Isadora lied. She never really thought of an excuse, so she went with the fastest thing her brain could come up with.
“Oh really? Where?”
“Honey, he is not around here. He is on a different continent, and his parents won’t let me see him. His parents dislike me and think I’m the reason why their son is in a vegetative state,” Isadora continued.
“Oh,” Asher sighed, disappointed. He definitely didn’t like what he heard.
He is going to get really mad if he finds out the truth one day, Isadora thought to herself.
“Can I leave now?”
“Yes, sure,” Asher laid down and covered himself with the duvet.
Isadora turned off his room light, gently closed his door, and then went to her room. Once she locked her door, she collapsed on the floor and exhaled deeply. She hadn’t realized how much she had been holding her breath until now.
“Oh Ash, I’m so sorry I lied,” water stained Isadora’s eyes, but she wiped them away before they could grow and turn into heavy tears. This was her first time lying to Asher, and she didn’t like the feeling one bit. She lied to him about a very important thing too.
“It’s not completely my fault. It’s that bastard’s fault,” Isadora gritted her teeth at the thought of how his family treated her.
“Yes, it’s good. I won’t let you meet such a family. If lying to you will protect you from them, then I’ll keep on lying to you,” Isadora vowed as she stood back on her feet.
She went to bed afterward and fell asleep. Around 5:00 am the next morning, a call woke her up.
“It better be important, John,” she murmured into the phone.
“Ms., this is important. You have been invited to the gathering of the elite. There, you’ll get to meet the top chefs from
around the world.”
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“Can you explain more?” Isadora sat up, completely awake now.
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“You know the rumors that have been going around about Mr. Rollings holding a meeting with some selected chefs from around the world?”
“Yes?”
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“It just got confirmed that you are among the top ten selected chefs, and as a matter of fact, you are among the top three in his list. And you know what this means for you, right? It means Mr. Rollings knows you. It means he has been watching you. Being in this meeting could bring so many offers and investors, so many collaborations. It could even earn you the title of Executive Chef, (also known as the term Chef de Cuisine) it is the professional pinnacle many chefs aspire to.”
“When is this gathering, John?”
“It’s next week. It starts on Wednesday and ends the following Wednesday. It’s a week–long thing. You’ll be meeting with Mr. Rollings and many other reputable men during that period. Mighty men in the business industry, men who can offer you deals. Congratulations, Ms. Isadora Noah,” John, Isadora’s assistant, was very happy for her.
“Thank you, John. This is indeed good news. Regarding my schedule for next week…”
“I’ve cancelled everything. I’ve cancelled all your schedules. I even called your son’s principal to let him know that Asher won’t be in school next week, Tuesday and beyond,” John quickly informed her.
Isadora’s lips curved into a small smile. She knew John was capable as her assistant the moment she saw and heard him speak.
“Thank you so much, John. Can you brief me on today’s schedule then?”
John briefed Isadora, and she thanked him before ending the call.
“Mom?” Asher called from outside the room.
“Is something wrong, Mom? I heard your voice.”
“003Yes, Ash. A very good thing happened to your mom. This thing will definitely change both of our lives,” Isadora hugged Asher in happiness.
“Get ready. We are heading to Lovestruck City,” she announced with a bright smile on her face.
