" cheating!"

"And you are clearly delusional!"

Darius turned to Marcus, "Don't tell me you didn't see her foot move the ball."

Marcus looked like he was about to say something but then stepped back.

"That wasn't me," Nyla argued. "It was the wind."

"Ha, that's the excuse all cheaters make."

Nyla was fired up. She didn't like being accused of something that she didn't do. "Unlike you, I don't need to cheat to win."

"Oh, that was a cold one." Vincent interjected.

Nyla and Darius both glared at him simultaneously.

Vincent sighed. "This was supposed to be a fun and entertaining game; you guys have taken that all out."

"Well maybe you shouldn't play golf because you are the worse player I've ever seen." Darius shot back.

Vincent looked offended and made a move to step towards Darius but before he could Marcus smoothly cut in and sighed. "I think I made a mistake here. You guys are all wonderful golfers but the suns setting, and dinner is being served inside. I don't know about you, but I'm hungry."

Nyla looked around the golf course realizing for the first time that it was empty. Most of the golfers went back inside the club for dinner and drinks and it was only the four of them out there. They had been playing golf for hours now and as much as Nyla hated to admit it, playing with them was fun. They were worthy opponents that were competitive and didn't care that she was a female. They all wanted to win—especially Darius.

Nyla moved towards the cart, "Since I won, I guess I get to drive us back."

Darius stepped in before she could get to the driver's seat. "You only won because you were cheating, I get to drive."

Nyla wasn't having it. She dogged his leg and sat in the front seat. "Get in, or you'll be left behind."

Sighing, the rest of the men made it back in the cart and that's when Nyla stepped on the gas.

"Where did you find this chick?" She heard Vincent asking Marcus.

She winced at the words, she hated the work chick. It made a woman seem so air-headed and inferior, but Marcus' answer had her smiling.

"In a coffee shop, I'll admit it, she impressed me. Knows a lot about business and I suppose golf too."

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Darius staring at her, so she smiled and drove on.

♠♠♠♠♠♠

Nyla stepped out in her forest green dress which she had worn with a pair of sheer tights and a gold statement necklace that brought out the entire outfit. After learning that the rest of the men would be staying for dinner and drinks, they had invited her—some more than others. Darius still looked less than pleased to see her.

When she made it to the dining hall, she was surprised to see Marcus—all dressed up, waiting for her. "I decided to take the task of escorting you tonight."

She took his arm, "Are you really this charming with all the ladies?"

He gave her a bright smile which she knew he probably used on a regular basis. "I can't give away all my secrets, now can I?"

She smiled and then realized this was the perfect opportunity to talk to him away from the Giordano brothers.

"If you don't mind, I'll like us to talk for a few moments."

Marcus raised and eyebrow. "I thought there was another reason you decided to join us today. Let's hear it."

So, Nyla began outlining her plan and pitching exactly what she told her board members a couple of days earlier. It was a much-detailed version as she had to explain her role and what her company did. Marcus was silent for most of the time occasionally asking a few questions but otherwise letting her do the talking.

"I'll admit it, you've gotten me to bite. I'm going to have to discuss it with my team, but I'll get back to you in a few days."

"Of course." Nyla replied courteously. "Take you time, when you have an answer, just give me a call."

He nodded. "I knew there was a reason you looked familiar, you were at the Sona's gala, weren't you?"

She nodded.

"And the meeting in the coffee shop, wasn't just a coincident was it?"

Nyla laughed. "If I gave all my secrets, I wouldn't be where I am, but let's just say, you're a difficult man to track and my assistant had to do quite a bit of research."

"Son of a bitch," Marcus smiled. "You set me up."

Nyla didn't say anything but began walking towards the table where she saw Darius and Vincent were seated.

She slipped into the seat across from Darius and saw that he raised his eyebrow after seeing Marcus slip in behind her.

"You guys sure took your time," he said softly, but it was enough to know that he was insinuating something.

Nyla shrugged her shoulder and picked up the wine that was at the table. "What can I say sometimes a girl's got to take her time."

♠♠♠♠♠♠

Nyla looked at her phone and frowned at the response. Her driver texted her saying that it would take him almost two hours to reach the club because there was an accident. She didn't know how she was going to get back to her condo, and to top it all off, she had an early morning meeting.

"Don't have a ride?"

Nyla spun around to see Darius standing casually by the door, key's in hand.

She almost laughed at the classic pose. "The only thing you're missing is a cigarette."

"Well it's a good thing I don't smoke, but seriously, where is your ride?"

Sensing that he wouldn't leave until she spoke she sighed. "He's stuck in traffic but coming in a bit."

Darius started to leave before he turned around, "I'll drop you home."

"No thanks."

Darius stood tapping his foot. "Don't be ridiculous, it's late and you need to get up early tomorrow. I have space in my car."

Looking for an excuse Nyla spoke. "You've drank tonight, I'm not getting in the car with you."

Darius looked agitated now, he brushed his hand through his dark black hair. "Yes, I drank water because I knew I would be driving back."

"What about your brother?"

"He has his own ride." Darius sighed. "Just get in the car so we can all go home now."

Knowing when to pick her battles was one of the first things Raymond taught her. She knew she wasn't going to win Nyla nodded. "I'll go with you."

She followed him to the parking lot and immediately glancing around, she knew which car belonged to Darius. Call it a gut instinct, or the fact that the car was shiner then the rest, but the sleek grey Bugatti was definitely his. Her instincts were proven to be correct as seconds later, the stopped in front of the vehicle.

He opened the door and Nyla slipped in, "Oh look at that. You can be a gentleman."

Ignoring her insult, he slammed the door a little harder than necessary before slipping into the driver's seat. Nyla was barley paying attention to him. Instead her gaze was travelling across the luscious car. The two-tone vibe really went well with the rest of the car. Her fingers traced over the dashboard, "I might have to get myself one of these." She mumbled in awe.

"I know someone who can get you one."

She hadn't been serious when she'd made her comment, but it was nice to see that Darius thought she would be open to spending money so foolishly.

"Thanks, but I hate driving in New York, it's absolutely terrible."

Darius shrugged his shoulders, "I'd tell you it feels different when you have a car like this, but I highly doubt you'll believe me."

Nyla pulled the blazer tightly over her body, "You're right about that."

"So, are we going to plan something for the kids of New York or what?"

Nyla looked at him suspiciously. "Sona's been bugging you, hasn't she?"

"What gave it away?"

"You mean that you decided to mention it in the first place?"

Darius stepped on the accelerator, but Nyla wasn't scared. She loved the thrill of driving fast, falling down a roller-coaster, swimming with unknown creatures—her body lived on adrenaline. He looked at her and pursed his lips. "Do you have any ideas about what we should do?"

Nyla shook her head. "To be honest, I've been swamped the last few days and hadn't given it a thought. Are you sure we can't just hand it over to an event planner and pretend we planned everything?"

Darius looked shocked at her comment. "Wow, that's a suggestion I thought would come from me. Not you."

Nyla glanced at her phone to see more emails and sighed, "Yeah but work's been tough lately. I don't think I can handle any more stress."

"You can," Darius said with such a firm affirmation that it even took Nyla by surprise.

"How do you know that?"

"Simple, you're CEO for a reason. You need to thrive under pressure, adding more pressure won't trample you, instead it'll put you in the spotlight."

"Aren't you generalizing the characteristics of CEO's a bit too much?"

Darius shook his head. "I might be for the general population, but I'd bet on you if I had to choose."

"I'm flattered," Nyla said with a smile.

It was nice, the two of them talking. Nyla hadn't expected it to happen but there was just a way that Darius held a conversation, she could make people feel extremely comfortable in a short amount of time.

Charismatic, was the word she was looking for. But he wasn't that charming in a way that was superficial. The words the came out of his mouth felt honest, compelling, they held more weight then the general population.

"So," Darius said breaking the silence. "Are you going to tell me you're address?"

Nyla rattled off her address and Darius put the location in his map. "You live about twenty minutes from my place."

Nyla cocked an eyebrow, "To be honest, it sometimes feels like everyone on wall street lives within walking distance of each other."

Darius cracked a smile. "It sure feels that way sometimes, doesn't it?"

"New York's a confiding place but at the same time there something so freeing about it." Nyla admitted.

Maybe it was the wine, but Nyla found herself opening to Darius a tiny bit.

"I agree with that. There's truly no place like New York."

He pulled into her Condo and slid out the open the door. "Come on, I'll drop you to your door."

"You don't have to do that," she protested.

"Are you kidding me, the paparazzi will be all over me tomorrow if I don't. I can already see the headlines."

Nyla laughed because even though there was truth to his words, she knew he was ultimately joking. She pulled out her key and turned towards Darius. "Thank you for dropping me today."

"No problem." Darius said with a smile. "You're a lot nicer after you've drank wine."

Nyla sighed. She couldn't wait to get inside and slide under her duvet covers. "You're not so bad yourself Mr. Giordano."

The two shared a smile before Nyla went inside and kicked off her heels. Her bed was waiting.

♠♠♠♠♠♠

Nyla placed the bouquet of flowers in front of Hyeon's desk.

"What is this for?"

"For being the best assistant in the world?"

Hyeon smiled and pushed her glasses further up her nose, "Are you telling me the that or asking me?"

"Telling you." Nyla said. "You've done good work and I couldn't really function without you. Plus, your information about Marcus was spot on."

"So, you've met him?"

Nyla nodded.

"Is he as handsome as they say?"

Nyla looked at her assistant in shock. "Hyeon," she scolded. "I was there for business, not to see how handsome he was, but to answer your questions, he better than that."

Hyeon giggled and Nyla smiled, it was cut short however when she saw George approaching.

"You got a few minutes, we need to talk." Her COO looked uptight as ever. He was the eldest person in the company and everyone thought that Raymond would name him as CEO after his death but surprisingly, George was supportive and helped Nyla out whenever she needed it.

"Yeah, what's wrong?"

"I'd prefer if we talked in your office." He saw with a grim face.

"Okay, give me a few minutes and I'll meet you there." She promised.

George nodded, and left.

Nyla turned back to Hyeon. "Any idea what that's about?"

Hyeon shook her head. "His secretary didn't say he was in a bad mood, something serious must have happened."

Nyla sighed, she didn't need anything else to be added to her plate this morning. She was already tired from yesterdays golfing and all the other meetings she'd have this morning.

Leaning away from Hyeon's desk she straightened out her blazer. "Take your vacation early, you've earned it." She said.

Nyla's relationship with her employees was extremely important to her. Without them, she wouldn't be running a business, and, on most days, they made her life easy. She never understood people who were rude to their employees. She'd seen the fatigue in Hyeon's eyes and she also knew that a couple of days off would do her good.

"Really?" Hyeon's eyes shone behind her glasses.

"Just leave everything prepared in advance and I'll have one of the interns step up for you." Then an afterthought hit her. "Although I'll probably need more than one to replace you."

Hyeon smiled, "Oh, there's something else I wanted to tell you, you have a lunch meeting today."

Last time Nyla checked her schedule, she'd had an open lunch in what seemed like forever.

"Who's it with?"

"Darius Giordano, CEO of G Health."

"You have got to be kidding me." Nyla wasn't sure why he requested this meeting until a thought hit her.

"Sona made you schedule the meeting, didn't she?"

Hyeon's guilty face said it all and Nyla shook her head. It seemed like she needed to go to the damn meeting, so Sona could stop bothering her employees.

"I'm really reconsidering you're vacation now." Nyla said with a serious tone.

But Hyeon knew her long enough, "You've already said it boss, and you don't go back on your word."

That she was right about. Swearing, Nyla headed to her office to deal with whatever George wanted.