My Only Regret

His Importance

Sebastian’s P.O.V.

“You have to be very careful this time, Sebastian. You can’t lose this opportunity. We both know that Hank will try to do anything to ruin this collaboration, but we can’t afford this.” My father said in a serious tone.

I took a deep breath and lifted my head up. “I know, dad…. And don’t worry… I will make sure to not let Dave go near to anyone from Hawkins. I heard that the woman who is leading this team is Mr. Hawkin’s own daughter. I don’t think that Hank can lure her out by money. He must have to think something different. But, I am already ready for him.” I assured my father with a small smile.

He pursed his lips into thin line while looking at me with a serious gaze. I saw doubts in his eyes that made me gulped hard but I kept my composure. I was not over-confident but confident enough about this deal.

“What about the other projects on which we are going to collaborate?” he asked me after some time in a calmer tone this time. “I have already sent Marcus and Hugh there to set up a temporary office and then we will establish a branch there before this collaboration ends,” I told him about my plan. He seemed satisfied with my plan now.

“I hope everything goes according to your plan this time,” he murmured in a very low voice but I heard what he said. I moved my eyes in the other direction to hide the disappointment that I had in myself right now. If I hadn’t messed up everything at that time, everything would be best for everyone around me.

“You still have this ring, huh?” suddenly he asked me in a low voice. I lowered my eyes towards my left hand and saw my wedding ring on my ring finger. It was a simple platinum band with two beautiful diamonds in the middle. She chose a set of couple rings for us as wedding rings. I smiled bitterly when I remembered that broad smile on her lips and those sparks in her eyes when she showed me the rings through a video call, as I was not in the state at the time.

My phone started ringing on the table, pulling me out of my trance. I took a deep breath and leaned towards the table to pick my phone up. I picked up the call when I saw it was my best friend and COO of my company, Victor.

“We have a meeting with a few investors at three in our company. Where are you?” he asked me while telling me the purpose of his phone call. “I am at home but will be there by 2:30,” I answered him in a calm tone.

“Okay, then…. I will wait for you and will brief you about the meeting,” he replied to me and we both hung up. “I need to go, Dad,” I said to my father while standing up. We had finished our lunch, and now it was time to return to the company. “Okay….. be safe on the road,” he replied to me while leaning back on the back rest of the couch.

My father retired himself after I took over the position of CEO of the company, but he was still the chairman of the company. He also had a lot of work to do but he could find his leisure time at any time if he wanted to. I was also looking forward to such a carefree life in my old days. I put my phone in my pant pocket and picked up my suit coat from the couch beside me. I walked out of the mansion and went straight to my car standing in the lobby. My driver, Hunt, immediately opened the door of the back seat for me and I hopped in.

At the same time, my phone rang again. I took my phone out of my pants pocket while making myself comfortable on the car seat. I raised my brow when I saw Max’s name on the screen. He had been working as my PA since the day I started working. I picked up the call and put the phone on my ear.

“He started his move, Mr. Walton. His informant from our company has just passed him the flight information of Ms. Hawkins and her team,” he told me in a calm tone. The corner of my mouth curled up instantly. “Let him wait for them there then,” I answered him briefly in a calm and careless tone while looking at a distant point in front of my eyes.

Avery’s P.O.V.

“Mr. Hawkins want us to go to New York to collaborate with Walton Inc. The team will have nine members including me, Victoria, Sandra as the team leader, and Britany, Tessa, Robert, Connor, Josh and Jack as the assistants. We will leave for New York after ten days. Till then, we all have to finish whatever work we have in our hands as well as we have to prepare almost 15 drafts before leaving for New York,” I paused and took a deep breath.

We were in the meeting room where I was telling my team about the collaboration with Walton Inc. “For how long we will stay there, Avery?” Sandra asked me in a calm tone. “For three months at least, but it can extend according to situation there,” I answered her immediately and she nodded immediately in affirmation.

“Are we sending someone to arrange our accommodation and everything there?” Bella asked me this time. I sighed and shook my head negatively. “No…. Walton Inc. will take care of everything about that including our meals during our stay there. I hope that they won’t be disappointed up in this matter." I answered her truthfully but joked in the end to ease the tension. All of them were natives of Carolina and had families here. Still, they wanted to explore the world and never left any opportunity of going out of the state for work.

We then discussed a few things about that collaboration and I shared a brief detail with them. I had already sent all the information that they required during this trip to their mails. After finishing our meeting, we all arranged our stuff and went out of the room. I stopped when I realized that I left the USB on the laptop.

“What’s wrong, Avery?” Victoria asked me in a worried tone when I was removing the USB. I pursed my lips into a thin line and lowered my head. Victoria and I joined the company at almost the same time, after one month of distance. We were not best friends, but we were friends. One thing that was good about her was that she never tried to invade my privacy. She knew when to shut her mouth and did not pique her curiosity.

“Come one, Avery. You can’t stay at the same place for long if you want to grow up. We all know that you have to take over the company sooner or later and then you will have no excuse for why you don’t want to go out of Carolina. For your career and your future, I … I really advise you to break the barriers and rule the world. You can’t keep yourself bound to one place all your life,” she tried to persuade me in a very decent manner.

I smiled widely at the attempt and looked at her this time. She didn’t cross any line and persuaded me like a true friend should be. I was really lucky to have some people like Victoria in my life. “Thanks, Victoria. I am really glad that we are friends and that you are with me in this trip. I assure you that I will be alright,” I replied to her with a genuine smile on my lips. I knew she was worried for me as she knew that I didn’t like going outside the state.

“Let’s go… it’s almost lunchtime and I am really starving,” she said while changing the subject. “Yeah… I am too,” I said while jerking my head lightly. We took our stuff from the table and then walked out of the room together. It doesn’t matter if someone abandoned me and left me alone to deal with all the trauma and pain. I still have some people in my life who care about me.

Suddenly, a name popped into my mind once again, making me feel heartache one more time. How could I forget him when he was the one and only person in my life back then who cared about me more than his own life? For him, his whole world revolved around me and yet I abandoned him in the end. The guilt filled my heart once again and I sighed sadly. It was good that Victoria was on call and didn’t see my expression.

I went straight to my cubicle and put my stuff on the table. I opened the laptop and typed a name on the search bar. Soon, all the information on the internet about him surfaced on the screen, and his photo appeared in front of my eyes. I smiled lightly while looking at him lovingly. He still had the poker and the cold face, but I loved him so much because I could feel the warmth hidden behind this coldness. He still looks as handsome as he was five years ago.

“I am going to break all the barriers between you and me. I …. I promise you that I will come to you soon. Just like everyone else, I also deserve love and care and I know th…. That no one can match you in this matter. I… I am sorry…. I am really sorry for my negligence and selfishness, Dave… I … I am coming back,” I said to him in my heart, still having my eyes on his photo on the screen.