Once You Were Mine

Chapter-2 Matio Rodriguez

Matio Rodriguez:

1... 2... 3, The door of my cabin got opened, and there entered Hinata Ikari, wearing the fakest smile I have ever witnessed. The smile could not help but cover his fear and his need to save his company.

The moment I have been waiting for my whole life is here. Destruction of the Ikari Group: Everything he worked for can vanish into thin air with my one signature.

Hence the influence that my signature has.

I did not bother to get up or greet him. Every action he is about to perform is all planned by me.

He is mistaken if he believes he chose to meet me on his own; I forced him to do that. The 32-year-old business man Matio Rodriguez, is about to bring everything he has worked so hard to achieve to crumble.

The Ikari group is destined to be doomed.

I traveled all the way from New York to Boston so that it would be simple for him to find; at least, that is how he may perceive it.

"Hi, Mr. Rodriguez, It is my pleasure to meet you. You are a prodigy in the business world. I am happy that you are here in Boston. I cannot express my...

I cut him off in the middle of the sentence, "What brings you here? The last time I checked my schedule, you were nowhere there. Who are you??"I questioned him in a deep voice.

His face lost all of its color; it was as though the temperature had dropped by two degrees. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

No one can ever think that meeting me is easy. People can only meet me on my terms and only when I feel like it.

"I am sorry, Mr.Rodriguez. I had to make an urgent appointment. I heard that you were in Boston, so I decided to meet you. By the way, I am Hinata Ikari, CEO of Ikari Pharmas," he said.

He is as sly as a fox.

"Hi Mr.Ikari, do not beat around the bush. Do let me know why you are here. I am sure that you are just not here to meet me; I am no celebrity," I replied.

"Oh man, you think so little of yourself. You are no less than a celebrity in the corporate world. Who does not know Matio Rodriguez, the Rodriguez family's heir?

The Rodriguez family is well-known throughout the entire world. You have such a powerful background," he responded.

What kind of beating around the bush did he not get?

I motioned toward my door and said, "I have a business meeting in a few minutes; if we have nothing else to talk about, you may just."

"You totally got me wrong, Mr.Rodriguez. I am here to discuss a business deal," Mr.Ikari said.

"There is a difference between talking and discussing, Mr.Ikari; I hope you know it. You may talk, but it is up to me whether I am discussing it or not," I said.

I could see the sweat forming on Ikari's face. I had a small, winning smile form on my lips for a second.

I cannot stand this person's presence.

I cannot wait to destroy him.

He cleared his throat.

"I came here to talk about a business deal that you are about to sign with a pharma company," he said.

Yeah, yeah, I know what he is going to say now; he will ask me to sign it with his company.

My father, Alfred Rodriguez, is the CEO of the Rodriguez Group, and we deal with many industries. Digital, marketing, hotels, casinos, and so on.

When my father saw me as capable, he handed me over to the beauty industry, which handles skin care, makeup, and modeling agencies. My sister Sophie handles the jewelry business.

The future of the Ikari group now depends on my signature. It can either make or break their future.

I am about to sign a deal with a pharma company. By collaborating with them, we are going to introduce a bunch of skincare ranges.

There are two groups in the frame now: the Ikari group and the Layman Pharmacies.

Ikari Pharmacies has had a very good reputation over the years, whereas the other company started over a year ago.

If I choose the Layman group over Ikari, then the whole business world will look at the Layman, and the sales of Ikari will drop, and

no one will be interested in signing deals with them.

I will wipe out their traces completely from the business world.

"What is there to talk about?" I said, acting dumb.

"I want to request that you sign it with the Ikari group," he said, looking into my eyes.

He is trying to act calm and collected, but he is clearly nervous; the sweat on his face and the gulp in his throat is giving it all away.

"I have already made my decision, Mr.Ikari; nothing will change that," I said.

"Everything can change if you give it thought, Matio," he said.

"Mr. Rodriguez," I corrected.

"Mr.Rodriguez, the decision lies in your hands; whatever that decision is, it can possibly be changed," Ikari said.

"The decision is not just mine, Mr.Ikari; there is a group of people called a board, I hope you know. I do not think I need to teach you the

alphabet of business," I said.

"No, Mr.Rodriguez, I am here to c***k a deal with you. Everyone knows how important and valuable it is to have a deal with you,

and everyone also knows that Ikari Pharma is trustworthy. I do not see why you do not want a deal with us," he questioned.

I let out a scoff. "If you are that confident in your company, you would not be here in my office talking about a deal that is yet to be signed," I said.

"Everything is about profit and loss in business," I say.

"I will ask you to once re-consider the signing of the deal," he said.

"What will I get from this, Mr.Ikari? What is my profit here?" I asked.

Whatever his answer may be, nothing can change my decision; nothing can stop Ikari's destruction.

"Here is the deal; if you sign the contract, I will give my daughter's hand to you for marriage," he said, looking at me with hope-

filled eyes.

I paused, moving in my chair, and my brain started to work at the speed of light.

I thought of signing the deal with the other company and destroying the Ikari Group, but I did not expect Hinata to give away his daughter to save his company.

Such a sly fox, who is not ready to lose his company but ready to give away his daughter.

I did not expect this.

"What would I get by marrying your daughter? I would get nothing from this marriage, but on the other hand, marrying Rodriguez would be an easy pass to the elite society," I say.

Marrying his daughter will give Hinata power, but she could be a source for me to hurt him. It is a well-known fact for everyone about how much Hinata loves his daughter.

If I get to marry her, I can torture her, and that will affect Hinata mentally and emotionally as well.

Destroying his company is like a one-time thing, but having his daughter in my holdings is a different power.

Hanna Ikari, his daughter, is his weakness; she is a model and the sole heir of the Ikari group.

This seems like a plot twist to my plans, but it is a great offer I cannot deny.

"Is this deal so important to you that you are ready to marry off your daughter to some complete stranger?" I asked like I am really curious.

Is this man really ready to give his daughter away to save his company and climb the social ladder?

"You got me wrong. Mr. Rodriguez, I just want to show you my dedication to my company. For the sake of my company, I can give

my very precious daughter to you.

And you are not any stranger; it is my pleasure to get my daughter married to you. I intend that I just want you to know the importance I give to my work and not otherwise," he said.

I gave him a nod. The reason is not really a good one, but all I want is to get married to his daughter. But I cannot let him show that.

"Everything is business, and in business, all we care about is profit," I say.

"What is the profit for me in here?" I ask again.

"My daughter is very beautiful, and she will look so good beside you, and you guys will look good together. She will be like a prize to you; you guys will be the talk of the town," he smiled.

"Do you know the difference between assets and liabilities?" I asked.

"She will surely be an asset to you," he replied.

And as a liability of yours, I spoke under my breath.

"But that alone will not benefit me. What else do I get?" I asked again.

"What do you need?" Hinata asked me back.

"We want all the pharmaceutical products at a lower price than the market price. You may think that it will be a loss to you, but at least you will have your company," I said, and he replied with a nod.

"As I said, everything is business; let us make a contract out of this," I spoke.

He was a bit taken aback by my sentence: Everything will go the way I want it to and not the other way around.

"Contract? What will that be about?" Mr.Ikari questioned.

"Marriage," I replied. "The marriage and the deal with the Ikari group last till one of us decides to part ways, and I can give my word

that it would not be from my side," I spoke.

It would not be from me, but I will make her ask for divorce. She would not be able to withstand the marriage.

Either way, to save his company, Hinata would sign the contract.

"Sure," he smiled with relief. "We can talk more about this at my place, and you can have a formal meeting with Hanna, my

daughter."

"At what time?" I asked.

"Up to you," he replied.

"Sure, for dinner then. Around 7:30, and Mr.Ikari, time is precious to me," I said.

He extended his hand with a smile. I did not shake it right away, but eventually, I gave in.

"I will be waiting to see you along with my family," he said, leaving the place.

This poor guy thinks he won, but little does he know that this is only the beginning. I will be his Satan.

I sanitized my hand as soon as he left; I even hated the touch of this person.