What can't be bought

Amy entered the door and greeted everybody "Good morning". "Good morning boss how are you" answered every one in unison... "Fine, how was your weekend?" Mila sees her best friend and boss and enters her office without knocking; this is not something uncommon given that Amy likes the relaxed atmosphere at work. Amy is the founder and CEO of "Delicious" a catering company. This is a startup employing 40 persons at the moment. Although Amy studied law, she has always been a foodie and an excellent cook, so after her graduation, she decided, to everyone's surprise, to start a small business.

She had, as always, unconditional love and support of her parents Ellie and Daniel. It was not easy in the beginning; however, she faced every obstacle and trouble with dignity. It would be an understatement to describe her as a workaholic. "Good morning honey, " said Mila. "Oh, look what the cat brought, or should I say, whom the cat brought" replied Amy amused. "Oh, sorry boss, you know I had a date... and a crappy one" replied Mila. She does not usually refer to Amy as "boss" this was just her way of teasing her... They have grown up together and have been best friends ever since they could remember. They went together through so many things and shared everything; Mila was like a sister to Amy, someone she can rely on. "What happened"? "Oh, you know, the guy was late, like a half an hour late, and when he finally appeared he only spoke of himself, no apology, no how are you, nothing... replied Mila... "Sorry to hear that sweetie". "I am sorry I spent an hour of my life listening to that douche bag" ... "So, honey, what do we have for today, " asked Mila. "Oh, we definitely need to meet the Rossi family, they are throwing a huge party, and want us to cater, so... I thought we could go, offer our best, and see what happens"? "You mean like the Rossi, the billionaire family, how did they hear about us?" "Apparently, they were attending some parties where we catered, and they loved it. If this goes well, we could find a bigger place, and hire more people, because I would like to spend more time in the kitchen, and god knows I do not have time for that" said Amy. "You should hire more people so that you could have time to live a life girl, and although I like your food the most, they can manage in the kitchen, " said Mila... "The new commercial is airing today" Mila was anxious to see it and she had to remind her friend about that. "Yes, I almost forgot. Have you made sure they will mention that we offer several types of food, for various events, and that it is ecological? Oh, you mentioned to them that it is important to add that we provide a huge assortment of vegetarian dishes?" Amy replied worriedly. She trusted Mila with this, but it was true that she barely kept it together lately. The business was growing, and it became difficult to keep an eye on everything. "Of course, do not worry about it. Relax girl, it will be just fine." "So, what do we have for today, " asked Amy? "Well, two different parties, both in small family hotels. One is a birthday party, and the other one is a charity, everything is ready, and you are invited to both, but I think it is better to attend the charity unless you don't want to attend a 15 year's birthday celebration" Mila teased? "Then we need to prepare every option for the Rossi's, and that is on you. We have a meeting with that prospective cook" Mila continued with the daily plan. This was a routine; they would discuss everything in the morning, and then proceed to deal with everything. Amy would try to spare some time and visit the kitchen, Mila would start nagging about that, but they are a power team.

On the other side of the Long Beach Alexander's hands were full of paperwork. It was eleven o'clock and he already had seven meetings and felt rather exhausted. Connor, one of his best friends, and coworkers entered the elevator and exhaled nervously. "Is he in"? "Yes, " the secretary replied. Connor opened the door and sat on the CEO's sofa. "Alexander, we have a problem, he stared. There is a problem with one of the working sites of our construction company. It seems that the architect in charge changed the project without informing us, he did not submit the necessary paperwork either. We may have to pay the fee, and they may have to remove the entire fourth floor because the idiot added several rooms and walls, which are now too heavy for the building." "Is he mentally disturbed, how on earth did he do that, and who is he? I would like to meet the fool who will cost me my money"! Alexander was the hair to the NAS group, which is short for Nathan's and Anna's group, the construction company founded by his parents. His father, Nathan started the business with his wife from the scratch, when Alexander took the reins he tried his best to further improve the company and he invested in several other fields, so the company that dealt with construction was only one of several other businesses. Another profitable investment was the hotel chain and computer software company. NAS was the mother company of Lux, a chain of luxury hotels, the truth is that they were not available to everybody, mostly because they were very expensive, and it was not easy to obtain a reservation, nonetheless it seemed that the company progressed every day. Alexander was a fierce but righteous man. He grew up in luxury and tried his best to prove to his parents that he was beyond capable of taking over the NAS. He did not consider it was important to get along with the employees, and as long as they did their job accordingly, he never bothered to check up on anyone, besides he paid them more than enough, so he did not consider he should spend his time on anything regarding those under his charge. He was a ruthless businessman. The truth is that his employees were afraid of him. He preferred accuracy and dedication; he seldom visited the departments of his company, so many of the staff have never seen him in person. He was very handsome, and a dream come true to many women. At the age of 33, he had several relationships, all published in almost every newspaper a person can name. He did not consider any of them serious, because he was aware that every one of the women he met was after money and fame, although they believed they loved him. The truth was that they did not know him. It was very difficult to get to know him, his dates were not aware of the time and energy the job required, and he would compensate for not being present in their lives by sending them expensive gifts and taking them to exclusive places, but in the end, it would always end with a polite goodbye. So, he decided he should better enjoy one-night stands, and not allow any relationship to get any further until he meets someone worthy. He noticed the looks of his women employees, and how they were eyeing him, but he never gave them any reason to think he is interested. He dated several models, actresses, and singers, the women enjoyed the fame and they both enjoyed the sex. His blue eyes and his charming smile could get to any women. He was built like a god, the truth is he visited the gym regularly, but he also inherited the good looks from his parents. He cared deeply about his family. Luna Smith, his sister, was the apple of his eye, and the only woman, other than his mother Anna, of course, who had his unconditional love and support. Connor went to his office and tried to contact the architect, however, the man was nowhere to be found. He was exhausted and needed fresh air. He decided to speak to Alexander about the architect and their options in this situation. He went straight to his office and entered without knocking. "I cannot find him anywhere, but I have my men on it, I hope I'll hear from them soon. What should we do?" " Oh, don't worry about it, we will come up with a solution. He, however, is jobless, exclaimed Alexander." Alexander's secretary knocked on the door and entered. "Sir", she said in a low voice, " your mother called, she would like to know what time she and your sister should be ready"? "Ready for what?" "Oh, I forgot to remind you, I am so sorry, you have that charity event this evening, and your mother said that you must attend the event". "Great, just what I needed. Can't father go?" Alexander tried to avoid appearing to each and every event. However, since he inherited the company, he also inherited the responsibility to represent it in public. He would often resort to sending a big check and missing the event, however, since the ladies of the house wanted to attend this one, he had no choice but to accept the invitation. "Tell them to be ready by seven. Connor, we have to check the new hotel, I want to know how it's going. Send several friends over and then ask them about their impressions. Hey, do you want to tag along to that charity, you know, women, nicely dressed looking for their prey, he smiled slyly". "Oh, you need a wingman. I really need some fresh air, I feel tired, and this was a long and stressful day, but women I can never refuse, I am in, he answered. How about our famous lawyer, will he come" Connor asked? "Oh, I am sure Julian is invited, they used his services more than once, but let's ask the man himself." Alexander took the phone out of his pocket and dialed Julian, one of his best friends. Julian, Alexander, and Connor were a trio, best friends who grew up together, they all came from wealthy families, and they were all respectable, good looking men. "If it isn't the businessman of the year? What have you done now, I am in the courtroom, so I cannot speak to long, what is up mate" Julian whispered. "There is a charity tonight, are you going?" "Yes, women and drinks are on me. Julian joked" "I always knew that you are a pimp." "Fuck you, I'll see you there I guess. What about Connor, Julian wondered?" "He is coming too, see you there." He attended several meetings, met several investors and struck two good deals. It was five o'clock and he remembered he forgot to eat, he ordered some food, but it was not as tasty as he thought. He then asked his secretary to order him something good to eat. "What the hell, how should I know what he likes. That man, what does he think, my shift ended two hours ago" the secretary thought. The truth is that Alexander never thought about such things, he did not notice that the working hours are over, nor did he consider that his secretary should go home. He thought that she should be there as long as he is, she was generously compensated for her work. Thes, the secretary remembered that her friends mentioned a catering company; they tasted their food at some party and were delighted. "What was the name, of for fuck's sake, remember the bloody name, good, sweet, tasty, no, it was delicious, yes, you rock Thes, " she thought. She called and ordered a salad, and some cookies, she intended to keep the cookies to herself, of course. "Here is your meal sir." She added two brownies and a coffee. "Who knows, he might like them, she thought." "Oh, please, no brownies, you know I hate these". "Yea, because I should know everything about you, you moron, I should be home right now, not serving you food" Thes screamed mentally. "I heard they are delicious, I will leave them with you if you do not eat them, I will, she smiled bluntly. Exhausted after a long day, he decided to taste the chicken salad. Mmmm, he could not help himself, the food was delicious. "Well this is tasty, or I am really hungry. He took a look at the brownies in front of him, he really disliked them, but given that he liked the salad and he wanted to have something with his coffee, he decided to taste them as well. He never really liked sweets, sometimes he would try some of his mother's pies or cakes, but that was once in a blue moon because she never had the time and they had staff for such things at home. He carefully took a bite. Soft, and delicious, he ate both of them. He looked at the packet, the name of the company was delicious "what a name for a catering company, well at least the owner did not put a lot of thought into it, he smiled. It was already six o'clock. His working day was over and he decided to go home and dress for the charity. "Thank you for today Thes, you may also go now." He went to his parking lot and started his Maserati. He really did not want to attend the charity but he could not refuse his mother and sister, so he should better try to have a good time then. Connor and Julian will also be there, so they are bound to have fun. He drove straight home followed by his bodyguards. He was a powerful man, and sometimes that meant having enemies, hence he needed security protection. "Mum, Luna, are you ready? I am home, I am going to change. I'll be down as soon as I am done. Where is father?" "Hey, big brother. Look at me. Am I not beautiful? Luna asked her big brother. "Yes, you are sis. You look stunning, I might have to protect you from all those admirers tonight" he winked at her. "Alex, said Nathan, here you are, I heard you had some issues today, tell me if you need any help." "Oh, yes, but I am working on it, nothing to worry about." He took a shower and after getting dressed in a black suit went downstairs. "Mum, sis, are you ready, let's go."