Waking up after a protracted night is something that starts a new morning of our life, but what I don't know is that my new morning will be like this.

Where the hell am I? Why am I feeling out of blue? Suddenly, an ambrosial smell of bergamot and chamomile enter my nostrils. This is not the smell of my perfume or something. I guess I should open my eyes.

Now, I slowly open my first eye. As soon as I open my eyes, such a huge pain reaches my mind as if I'm being hit by a truck, but I need to know my surroundings.

Trying carefully, I open my second eye and that's when a gasp escapes through my mouth. This is not the room in which I'm staying.

This room uses soft and soothing greys and silvers to create a sparkling, luxurious feel. From a modern chandelier that dangles over the bed to a plush silvery grey carpet that practically begs for your bare feet, waking up in this bedroom would be like waking up inside a warm storm cloud. That's when my eye falls on a huge portrait that was draped over the wall.

What? No! This is Elijah's room. How the fuck do I always end up in some drama after drinking alcohol? Also, What happened yesterday? I think I kissed someone in frustration, but who was it? All of a sudden, I notice some rashes on my arms. Those rashes are like prints of someone's fingers. Who held my arm this tightly?

Looking at those rashes and this room, memories of last night start floating in front of me like a photo album. After some time, I realize my stupidity.

How stupid I was to kiss that stranger? How stupid I was not to scream at Elijah when he was taking me to his room? Lastly, How stupid I was to let my hidden feelings flow in front of Elijah? These feelings were meant to be buried till my grave. Ugh! I feel so embarrassed at myself.

But what Elijah said last night has touched me. His words are still ringing inside my head. “Desire and Attraction will never make you vulnerable, rather you would be stronger than ever.”

I don't have time for this shit. I need to get ready for tomorrow's meeting. So, I get out of the room instantly and go towards my room silently without being noticed.

“Excuse me, Avery…” A heavy and old voice makes me jostle. I turn my head in the direction of that voice. It is Elijah', s Uncle Shane Veneto.

“Good morning, Mr Veneto. Do you need something?” I ask awkwardly. Noticing my awkwardness, a smile comes over his face.

“Good Morning, Avery. I don't need anything. I just wanted to ask you if you have seen Elijah.”

“No, I just woke up, and I haven't seen him.”

“Ok. That kid is seriously getting up on my nerves. I need to find him. Anyways, you should get ready for today's meeting.” Saying this, he goes towards the terrace.

Now, I need to reach my room without any more encounters. Thinking this, I go in the direction of my room. As soon as I reach my room, I close the door and start breathing heavily. I'm feeling after being in Elijah's room. Unfortunately, I forgot that important point while talking to Elijah last night. I decided that I need to stay away from Elijah. So, there will be no more intense and awkward moments between us.

Fuck! I stink, and this hangover is annoying me. I need a cold shower. So, I get out of my dress and go inside the glass shower. I open the tap and cold water starts running all over my naked body making me feel better. After some time, I close the tap and wrap a towel around my body. Then, I go inside my closet.

Today is our meeting. I need to wear something formal which would make a good impression on investors and organizers. I put on high-waist plaid pants and a half-sleeve collarless burgundy top with flat heel black sandals. Then, I approach my dressing table and apply foundation with eyeliner and red lipstick. Now, I look perfect.

“Judging by your admirable look, I think you are ready.” A familiar voice startles me all of a sudden making me jump. I turn around and see that it was Elijah. Ugh! This cocky nerd knows how to make people awkward.

“Yeah, I'm ready. I think you must be ready too.” I say, staring at him from head to toe. Gosh! He looks handsome like always. No, I'm forgetting my decision. He is nothing more than my business partner.

Then, I notice that Elijah is coming closer to me.

“Let's go…” I reply awkwardly, taking some steps away from him. He notices my awkwardness and a sense of confusion circles around his face.

✭✭✭

Elijah's POV

Life without friends is worthless. We are unable to enjoy the true colours of life. If a friend has to go away, his memories make us sad all the time. After spending so much time without a special friend life becomes dull. Eventually, if we come to know that the special friend is coming back into our lives, the excitement level becomes very high.

I had many friends but only two of them were very special to me. They were like brothers to me. The first one is Cole Santiago, my assistant and the other is Noah Russell who is one of the most powerful gangsters in this world. All three of us were together from Kindergarten to College, but after completing college, Noah had to go back to London for his training. Now, I've got to meet my friend after four years. I'm feeling happy that he came to Italy especially to meet me.

During meeting him and having our good old days talk, I found that he got himself a perfect woman who is pregnant with his child. We also talked about many things which we missed so much. I also told him about Avery. He was shocked to know that I've got to meet her, but what can we say? Fate brought us back together.

Then, I went for a good sleep after an exhausting day because there was a very important meeting regarding mine and Avery's new brand which will be launched soon. Avery was sleeping in my room. So, I went into another room to sleep because it would make her comfortable if she found that we were sleeping together in my room, and I don't want to ruin a single chance to stay away from her.

*Next Morning*

Today is going to be the most important day for me and Avery me. I hope that those investors and organizers would like our presentation for a new brand. Thinking this, I became perfectly ready to make a good impression on them.

Now, It's time to see my principessa. She must have gone back to her room. So, I go towards her room. As soon as I reach her room, I find that the door is unlocked. I should go in, but what if she would be naked? Come on, I'm overthinking. Even if she would be naked, it wouldn't hurt me to enjoy that view. Damn, I'm whipped.

I push the doorknob slightly and peek inside slowly to take a look. I see Avery who is in a formal outfit. Shit! She looks even sexier in her simple yet stylish outfit. This is what her true beauty is. Even if she wears huge and shaggy clothes, she would still look as beautiful and sexy as she is.

I take a deep breath and say,”  Judging by your admirable look, I think you are ready.” She becomes startled due to my sudden interruption. She turned around to face me.

“Yeah, I'm ready. I think you must be ready too.” She says, staring at me. SSA? You are staring again. I think I should go closer to her to give her a better view. As I go closer towards her, she takes a few steps back from me. Why did she take a few steps back? She must be feeling awkward after being woken up in my room.

“Let's go.” She says, going outside the room. I follow her, to the outside. On our way to the villa, many people greeted us. Lastly, Noah looks at us and a mischievous smirk comes over his face. I hope that he doesn't say anything uncomfortable to Avery.

“Good morning, Elijah and Miss Universe Avery.” He says, coming towards us. “I'm Noah Russell, a childhood friend of Elijah.

“Nice to meet you, Noah. I'm Avery, Elijah's-”

“—Elijah's partner. I mean his business partner. Elijah told me. Nice to meet you too. I think you are on your way to the meeting. I won't waste any more time for you.” He says, smiling and moving from
our way.

*Mala Del Brenta's Main Hotel*

This event is going to be held in Mala Del Brenta because nothing is safer than this hotel. A full and advanced security system with strict guarding is here. So, there will be no way.

As soon as we reach Mala Del Brenta, the car stops. I come out of the car and open the gate for Avery. Gentleman's act. This surprised Avery a little, but she came out of the car with a smile on her face and thanked me.

The meeting rooms of Mala Del Brenta are convenient and filled with advanced technology, but still, I've booked our meeting in Mala Del Brenta's most luxurious and restricted meeting room which is usually used by my people.

The room is equipped with four rectangular tables, allowing multiple room configurations. The room is AV equipped with PC-compatible projection equipment. Dry-erase boards and easels are available. This room is fully surrounded by beautiful chandeliers and chocolate brown bedding and walls are neutral but still rich while a stunning vanity.

When we step inside the meeting room, everyone stands up from their places to greet us. These investors, organizers and others are here from different countries like America, Korea, Japan and Spain.

First, there is Oliver Roberts, president of Nvidia Corporation. Then, Dong Baek, CEO of RB Holdings. Senpai Kazuki, Senior Director of Adansons, and last but not least Linda Gracia, president of Inbenta. All of them have come with their important employees.

“Hello everyone. I'm Elijah Veneto, CEO of Veneto Industries and this is Avery Bennett, CEO of Bennett Enterprises.” I say, formally greeting them.

“Today we are gathered here for a new project which will not only be a unique project, but also it will gain too much attention in the international market,” I say, taking out my laptop and iPad from the bag. “Now, Miss Bennett will explain the details regarding that project.”

I sit down on my chair and then Avery comes forward. She opens the projector and connects it through the laptop. As soon as the projector's screen showed our new project's presentation title on the screen, all eyes were stunned.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I know that you must be ed and shocked to see our new brand's presentation title,” Aver, says, crossing her arms on her chest. “But this is reality. In today's advanced world, Artificial intelligence is making a huge impact on a new generation. This is the future of our new and advanced planet.”

“When most people hear the term artificial intelligence, the first thing they usually think of is robots. That's because big-budget films and novels weave stories about human-like machines that wreak havoc on Earth. But nothing could be further from the truth. Artificial intelligence is based on the principle that human intelligence can be defined in a way that a machine can easily mimic it and execute tasks, from the most simple to those that are even more complex. The goals of artificial intelligence include mimicking human cognitive activity-”

“—Miss Bennett, I know what you are trying to say, but how can you be so sure that this new project will not have a loss in the International market? I understand that Artificial intelligence is a new generation's need, but what about those people who don't consider this so important? They may be against you.” Senpai says, standing up from his place while thinking.

“Mr Kazuki, First, Never cut my words when I'm telling something important. If you have any problem, then you can just raise your hand. Your problem will be solved in every way it will be possible. Now, how do you think you are handling your company? Failures and mistakes are great things to push towards ultimate success. I think that you haven't heard about me and Mr. Veneto fully. MrVeneto is the most powerful businessman, while I'm that type of businesswoman who has never seen failures in her life. Everything I do is perfect.”

Damn, she is turning me on. This bossy nature of hers is increasing my affection and respect for her. She is looking so hot while backfiring Senpai.

“My apologies for the sudden interruption, Miss Bennett. But after you tell me, I'm satisfied enough that you and Mr Veneto will achieve great success in this new project. You may continue now…” Senpai says, bowing his head a little and then sitting down on his chair.

“Thank you, Mr Kazuki. As I was saying my words about artificial intelligence but now, I think it is time to tell everyone about the main item of our new project.” She says, smiling as she switches the slide of the screen through the laptop. “The time that all of your waiting for has come now. Our new project is 'B-Data'. This will be a new generation of AI that will not only be helpful to humankind but also will bring a revolution in the field of AI. Our AI engineers are still working on this new project, and hopefully, it will be officially out till the end of this year.” As Avery completed her presentation, everyone stood up in their seats and a huge round of applause echoed throughout the whole meeting room.

Everyone is d by our new project. All of them are so interested in this project, that they agreed to work and cooperate with us. Now, I hope that this project will bring huge success for us.

✭✭✭

Avery's POV

Elijah and I worked so hard on this project. Due to our hard work, we sign a contract of $700 million with multiple investors and organizers of different countries. They were impressed and stunned by our new project.

Now, we are out of the meeting room. We are talking with everyone regarding this project and other things. When all of them go from this place, I notice a huge proud smile on Elijah's face. Of course, it will make him smile proudly.

“Now, this calls for celebration. Let's celebrate by signing the contract in a good restaurant for lunch.” He says, looking at me with that smile that is not fading away from his face.

“You are right. We should celebrate. Let's go for lunch in an Italian restaurant. I'm hungry after this long and stressful meeting.” I say as a low growling sound comes from my stomach making me embarrassed and Elijah starts laughing.

We took the car to Osteria Francescana which is considered the best restaurant in this city. As soon as we reach there, Elijah parks the car in the parking lot.

This restaurant is lavishly decorated.  Combined with the low lighting they are very often romantic. Expect fresh flowers, tasteful artwork, candlelight, classical music, and linen tablecloths and napkins. This restaurant feels as if I have entered a dreamland, the happy chatter, the fragrances, the easy and natural colours.

We take a seat at a nearby table. “What do you want to eat?” Elijah asks, checking the menu.

“I want Saltimbocca and Caramel Macchiato.”

“Hmm… ok. Let's order it.” He says, putting back the menu.

“Mi scusi? (Excuse me?)” He says loudly, waving his right hand slowly towards a nearby waiter.

“Sì signore. Cosa vuoi? (Yes, Sir. What do you want?)” The waiter says, coming towards us and then taking out his notepad.

“Vogliamo Saltimbocca, Ciambotta con 2 Macchiato al Caramello. (We want Saltimbocca, Ciambotta with 2 Caramel Macchiato)” Elijah replies, looking at the waiter who writes down our order.

After waiting some minutes, when our order arrives, we start eating. The food is indeed tasty, and the coffee is also amazing.

Suddenly, my phone rings. I check the Caller ID. It is Maxim. I accept the call.

“Kitten, How are you? Why didn't you call me?” His voice starts stinging me like Cactus's thorns.

“I was just busy in an important meeting.”

“Oh, That's good. My Fiancé is a workaholic, and I appreciate it. So, when are you coming back?”

“Cut the crap and tell me why did you call me?”

“I called you to remind you that our engagement is in five days. I hope that you will be back in three days, or you know what I can do.”

“Sure. I'll be back by then.”

✭✭✭

Hey my devils,

I'm sorry for the late update. I was just busy due to some personal reasons, but now I'm back with regular updates.

That Maxim called again, and Avery's engagement is in two days. Oh shit! How will Elijah react? What will happen next?

Keep reading to find out...!