“From the top again, Jerry. Tell me the issue.” Theodore pinched the bridge of his nose as he felt the hint of a familiar friend coming to visit. His headache.
Jerry, Theodore’s COO and oldest friend, held the document firmly in his hand that Theodore refused to take.
“I just finished processing the reports from the Italian winery. Apparently, the reason why the production has been so slow is that 2000 acres of the vineyard are infected with Grapevine Trunk Disease,” Jerry explained as he glanced over the report.
It had been appalling news to him too when he first read over the file only an hour ago. But it surely explained the production, or lack of, rather, with the Italian vineyard.
This upset Theodore even more. In the wine business, that was probably one of the worst things that could’ve happened. “For how long?”
Jerry gulped as he eyed the file again, even though he knew. “Uh-six months, sir.” The only time Jerry addressed him this formally was when he knew Theodore was upset.
Indeed, Theodore threw his hands down on the desk, causing Jerry to flinch. “Six fucking months? And I wasn’t informed?”
Undoubtedly, the manager for the branch in Italy was in for an earful from Theodore. One of the most significant rules that Theodore set in place was to report anything that may threaten his business immediately when it occurred.
Living in a day and age with cell phones, they had no reason to wait until their reports were due to send this type of information across. The success of Vintage Wines thus far was the reliance on incredible skills of communication.
With vineyards and wineries worldwide, with a single CEO monitoring it all, Theodore trusted his managers of each branch with this very success of his business. They had grown a lot over the 8 years since he took over the family business. Even at a young age, Theodore knew that once it was his time to take over his father’s business, he wouldn’t limit it to one single location in California any longer.
He had grand plans of expanding, making Vintage Wines a worldwide operation. Not to be mistaken, the Californian vineyard and winery were the largest and most successful, as that was where the business was born.
He would always appreciate and cherish it. However, his investment in the expansion wasn’t in vain. He worked endlessly to get them where they are now, purchasing and expanding vineyards and wineries in Italy, Spain, Australia, and Brazil.
He had flung his entire trust fund into it, with no one but his father’s momentarily pat on the back and existing employees who thought he was too young at twenty-two to take over a successful business like this. But he didn’t mind the criticism.
Since a child, Theodore had always been a successful man at heart. He was always looking to do better, and when he reached each goal, he made a new one.
That was the key to his success. Slowly, he either re-staffed or kept the ones who started to appreciate his leadership, and he took his business to high places.
After the third vineyard was finalized in Spain, he moved to New York, bought his head office and worked from there ever since. Thus, when his final location was completed in Brazil, his enterprise was already the most known in the city.
Theodore had gotten nominated as the youngest successful man three years in a row, which he always won. Still, he wasn’t the one to boast and get comfortable in his wealth. Instead, he was always looking to expand and improve.
So, such a report was troubling to him. The Italian vineyard was only 4000 acres. If 2000 was infected, that was far too much. On the other hand, he knew that if they had done their job and reported it immediately, he would’ve gotten it under control.
But Sam, his general manager of the Italian branch, had always been an egoistic bastard. He would’ve wanted to fix it on his own, Theodore knew for sure. Those Italians and their pride.
Now, that very pride and ego were threatening his work. The only reason why Theodore kept Sam was that he knew how to do his job.
However, he was having second thoughts about that assumption.
Theodore closed his laptop and rose from his chair with a deep sigh and a hell of a long day on his shoulders. It was far too late for this.
“Tell you what, tomorrow I’ll have my assistant arrange a flight to Italy. But now, I think it’s time to go home, Jerry.”
Jerry agreed. The usually busy streets of New York were almost empty, and the clock that filled the silence of Theodore’s office whenever he was alone ticked towards midnight.
Late nights like these were rare, but they weren’t strange to Theodore nor Jerry. It was nights like these where Theodore had signed his final contract for a new vineyard. He didn’t mind them at all.
“I’ll see you in the morning then.” Jerry bid him farewell as Theodore gathered his belongings.
With a simple nod, he ensured everything was where they were meant to be before he headed down the empty and dimly lit hallway. He checked his phone for messages from the day as he stood in the elevator, waiting to move from the fifteenth to the final floor.
He saw a text from his sister, Jessica, telling him that her wedding date was set. Theodore couldn’t help but smile at the thought. He loved his baby sister dearly, and he was happy she finally found love.
Theodore grew up in witness of love between his parents dearly, so he knew it was real. He, however, has never found it. He thought he had five years ago with his secretary. However, it turned out that she was actually in it for a raise, and she had been secretly dating his computer engineer all along.
Theodore swore to himself that he wasn’t hurt, just foolish. With successful men like himself, true love would’ve had to be in his life before he became the man he was today. But now, all women saw him as a money bag.
Of course, he dated from time to time, and he recently ‘settled down’ with someone he could marry one day when he should need a child, but it was more of a mutual agreement than love.
Still, Theodore never envied his sister. She deserved happiness, especially after growing up in his shadow. He also approved of this lover for his sister, compared to the multiple she’d bring home in the past.
It was a tricky thing for Jessica to do because she knew that the very gaze of her elder brother and father was enough to tell her if they approved or not. And most of the time, when they disapproved, she later found that the man she thought she ‘loved’ was really out for her money, or simply a player.
In her 27 years, she had endured a lot of heartbreak. So Theodore adored the experience for his dear sister Jessica.
He quickly sent her a text as the elevator doors beeped open. Just like the rest of the building, only the dim lights for overnight illuminated the lobby as he made for the exit.
He didn’t feel like driving, so he had phoned his driver twenty minutes ago to take him home. Just like expected, he found the car already waiting out front.
“Good night, Chris. Sorry to have you out so late,” Theodore greeted as Chris held the door open for him.
“No problem, sir. Straight home, I presume?”
Theodore suddenly felt the fatigue gnawing away at him. “Indeed.”
Chris chuckled lightly as he made for the twenty-minute drive to his boss’ penthouse.
Theodore couldn’t wait to get home, take a hot shower, fall in bed and get whatever five or so hours of sleep he could until another day tomorrow.
He rested his head against the headrest and closed his eyes, trying to soothe the throb in it. But he soon learnt that nothing could’ve been done to help the wretched thing. Still, he found himself drifting off as Chris drove him home.
“What the hell…” The sound of Chris’ confused voice snapped Theodore from his touch of slumber, as he also felt that the car was slowing down.
The city’s streets were practically bare of human life and form, but as he gazed out the window, he couldn’t comprehend what he saw.
A man, about forty years or so, was running at full speed, with nothing with venom in his eyes. But that hadn’t been what was confusing. It was the small form of a female body a couple of feet ahead, with the highest heels gripped between her fingers as she sped down the sidewalk away from the man.
The way she momentarily looked over her shoulders with fear in her eyes told Theodore that the man had been chasing her.
“Help!” she cried, and something in Theodore’s chest tugged as he gripped the edge of Chris’ chair.
“Chris, stop!” But he didn’t have to tell Chris because he was already pulling over at the woman’s side before Theodore gave the order. “Get in!” Theodore shouted swiftly, and the woman made no hesitation in getting in the stranger’s car. She was just sure that it had to be safer than the man she’d angered.
“I’ll get you bitch!” The obviously drunken man screeched as Chris sped off.
Theodore watched in confusion as the woman gazed through the back windshield at the man who got tinier the farther Chris drove.
He couldn’t help but notice how much she was trembling. She could’ve been cold, he thought. Her minimum clothing and the cool November night was enough to make her cold indeed. But he could tell that that wasn’t the cause of her trembling. He knew a scared woman when he saw one, and she definitely was.
She slouched against the leather seats when she was certain that the man was gone. She still looked tense but much more relaxed.
“Are you okay?” Theodore managed to ask, but he then noticed that her eyes had been drooping.
Was she that tired? Or was she drugged? He wanted to know. Because the last thing she did was mumble ‘hhmm’ before deep slumber took her whole.