GETTING THE HEART OF THE CEO

Four years later.

At LaGuardia Airport on the east side of Manhattan, a private plane was landing. A beautiful woman descended from it, accompanied by an older lady and three four-year-old children-a princess and two mini knights.

Lindsey moved with elegance towards the exit, where a luxurious car was waiting for them. Sussan disembarked from the inside before she could react; three little whirlwinds came running and jumped on her.

“Granny… Elita, we missed you,” the children stammered as they hugged their grandmother around the waist.

“How you’ve grown, my treasures! I barely recognize you from the last time I saw you. How big you’ve become!” Sussan was delighted; she would finally spend more time with her grandchildren.

“Yeah! And you won’t give me a sloppy kiss,” protested Janna with crossed arms.

Seeing her, the children came to greet her. Leno was the first to arrive, while Luna and Lucas shouted, “Aunt Janna!”

The women warmly greeted each other, and everyone got into the car, which set off.

“How is Grandpa Hugo?” Lindsey asked with concern.

“He’s stable. He has heart problems, and due to his age, the doctor says there’s not much to do. The arteries and veins are compromised, so a heart transplant isn’t an option. We try to keep him away from troubles, but you know that old stubborn man,” replied Sussan, caressing Luna’s little head. She looked distressed; her father has been the family’s pillar, and she knows he’s getting older and won’t be with them for long.

Lindsey noticed Sussan’s subdued voice and responded, “If you promise that your son won’t show up at your house, I can take the kids tomorrow to spend the day with Grandpa.”

“Really? My dad will be thrilled with his great-grandchildren, and Luna, with her chatter, will cheer him up.”

“Yes, Grandma, I can’t wait to see Grandpa. I have a lot of things to tell him,” Luna spoke excitedly. “I’m going to tell Grandpa that I want a real puppy. My mom doesn’t want to give me one.”

“Luna, stop insisting. You’re still a baby to take care of a pet,” replied the most serious of the three, Leno.

“I’m a big girl; I’m not a baby,” protested Luna, furrowing her brow and crossing her arms.

“My loves, stop fighting, and Luna, when you’re older, we can have that puppy you desire,” Antonella, their grandmother, confessed.

The car parked in front of a mansion. Everyone exited the vehicle; the children ran towards a water fountain in front of the house, followed by their grandmothers. Lindsey and Janna approached the lawyer standing at the main door. He handed Lindsey the keys to her mother’s mansion, which had been recovered along with the company.

“Thank you, Dexter. I never thought it would be you who would help me recover the assets my mother had inherited.”

“You’re beautiful, Lin,” he took a step and gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Then he stepped back and continued, “I wanted to be the one to help you remodel it and hand you the keys as compensation for being a foolish immature guy.”

The three of them laughed, and Dexter continued.

“When Isa contacted me to request my services as a lawyer and explained your case, I didn’t hesitate to help. It wasn’t easy; your dad put up a fight. The lawyer your mother hired had his entire legal office stolen from him years ago. Luckily, the guy used to make copies of all his documents and had a locker where he kept all his cases. We were able to prove that this mansion belongs to you and successfully evicted them. As for the company, your dad showed a document where you supposedly transferred the rights to manage the company as he pleased.”

“He’s despicable. I don’t know when he made me sign that paper. I don’t remember signing anything,” anger projected on her face.

“According to the date on the document, it was more than nine years ago.”

“When I was 15?”

“Yes, he was cunning about it. You already had knowledge of your actions, so you supposedly transferred all the rights of your company to him.”

Lindsey tried to recall and only remembered signing some documents for the rental and decoration of the party hall where she was going to have her birthday celebration, which never happened. She remembered that it was one of the employees who asked her to sign, as her father wasn’t around, and she was leaving for school. At that moment, she didn’t read; she just signed.

“Crafty old man,” she growled furiously, shaking her head from side to side.

“Exactly. Thanks to the skills I’ve learned from the Devil’s lawyer, I was able to prove that at that age, you weren’t fit to carry out legal transactions.”

“How could my father sell off my heritage? The good thing is that Isa was able to recover 20%, so I now have 55% of the shares. She hasn’t been able to contact the majority buyer who holds the remaining 45%.”

“Lin, regarding the job offer you made me, I decline. If you want, I can help you with the complicated cases of the company. Right now, I want to create my own law firm.”

“I’m glad for you, Dexter, that you’ve come so far in such a short time. Thanks for your support.”

“I owed you that, my Lin. I should never have put good sex before our friendship. Thanks to Jonas, I’m a shark in the courts, and I rarely lose a case.”

“How’s your relationship with Helen?”

“My formal relationship with that crazy woman ended years ago. She won’t leave me alone; I’ve tried to move on with my love life, but she appears and ruins everything. I’ve given her chances, but she hasn’t stopped being toxic. You could say she’s my cross to bear. By the way, where’s that stubborn assistant of yours? She’s a gem at demanding things.”

“Don’t tell me you like Isa?” Janna teased mockingly.

“Not at all! I don’t know her, only through calls and the time she came to Manhattan for the mansion renovation, but if she’s that rude in demanding things, I can imagine what she’s like. Probably doesn’t even have a boyfriend.”

“Isa will be here on the weekend; she stayed to finish my work in Florence. She’s excellent at what she does; don’t complain.”

“You have to give her a class on how to treat men; poor thing must not have a boyfriend.”

“Do you remember how Lindsey used to dress? She’s just like that. The poor thing is ugly from birth, chases after men, and they don’t even look at her. So, I appreciate it when you see her, don’t make any disparaging remarks about her appearance.”

Lindsey, surprised by her friend’s comment, said, “Janna! What are you saying? Isa is a…”

“Mild! Don’t say it, Lin. We love her just the way she is,” Janna winked at her friend, suppressing a laugh.

“No wonder she’s bitter,” confirmed Dexter with irony.

“As a friendly advice, don’t even look at her, because she might think you’re flirting, and then, to get rid of her, she’ll create a problem. Despite her rudeness, I don’t want you to treat her with contempt,” Janna studied every gesture of her friend, who continued to be a flirt.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“Thanks for the advice; I won’t even look at her. I’ll try to keep my distance. Well, I’ll leave now. Lin, see you on Monday at the company as we agreed.”

The three friends said their goodbyes.

“Why did you say those nasty things about Isa?”

“Oh, my Lin! That fool hasn’t changed at all. If you could see how he complained when Isa confronted him for answers. Don’t think I won’t be at your company on Monday; I want to see the face of that fool when he sees the woman he’s been insulting.”

The two burst into laughter, approached the children, and entered the mansion.

Lindsey entered the house with melancholy; it seemed like a replica of how she remembered it before her mom passed away. Her grandmother grabbed her around the waist.

“At last, my girl, you’ve recovered what your grandparents left you.”

“Yes, Abu, Isa took care of changing all the passwords and froze all the bank accounts linked to the company. She didn’t give them a chance to withdraw money,” she chuckled. “How I would love to see the faces of those vermin right now. Now, I just need to uncover the truth about who killed my mom.”

“Yes, my girl, soon the real culprits will pay.”

On the other hand, Kyle was in his mansion, standing on the stairs, desperate. He glanced at the time and grunted.

“Lucia! We’re going to be late for the ballet presentation.”

“Dad! Don’t shout; I’m ready,” descended a brunette with brown eyes.

“Move it, Lucia! Dad, I don’t know why we always have to wait for her,” grumbled the green-eyed blond.

“Don’t complain, Liam; no one is forcing you to accompany us, right, Dad?”

“Lucia, remember you need reinforcement; Liam and I are your support.”

The three hurriedly left and got into the car. Maximo watched in the rearview mirror as the two chatterboxes told their dad about their school antics.