Chapter 4 Hallucination

• The continuous sound of the alarm woke me up and with that, the headache took over, I wasn't ready to get up, the hangover had me finished, so, still half drowsy, I shifted in bed just enough to stretch my hand out so I could snooze the alarm, «Just ten more minutes».
• I closed my eyes and a second later, it was the sound of tapping that woke me up. «Fuck, won't they let me sleep?» I growled in my thoughts. I threw the pillow over my head, willing myself to forget that sound and continue sleeping, however, the pounding persisted louder.
• “Who?!” I shouted in frustration as I sat up on the mattress.
• “Miss?” Aurora, the housekeeper, opened the door with a slight peek of her head. “Mr. Golf just called, the meeting is about to start and he wants to know why you haven't arrived”.
• I looked at the clock on the night table next to the bed, it was nine in the morning, I took it in my hands to detail it «But I set the alarm for seven!», I checked it well, I thought I had postponed it for ten minutes, but it wasn't like that, I touched the wrong button and I had ended up deactivating it.
• I leapt out of bed, enduring the headache, the nausea, the discomfort, to run to the bathroom and take a quick shower.
• “Aurora, I need a huge cup of strong coffee and a couple of aspirin!” I shouted as I ran.
• I dressed as usual, an executive tailored suit of grey jacket and trousers, a white shirt and comfortable, dark, low heels. At work I had to forget that I was a new Ava, at least as long as I didn't tell my grandfather my plans, besides, I felt more comfortable in those clothes, they covered my love handles pretty well.
• I hurried out of the house. Yes, it was already very late, but I was hoping to make it at least halfway through the meeting. Anyway, I had one thing for sure, the sermon my grandfather would give me.
• In fact, this was a very important event, my grandfather had gathered the whole board of directors of the company because he was going to introduce the new partners. He had also told me that he would make other important announcements, about which he did not want to give me details.
• The only information my grandfather had given me was that it was essential for me to be present at the meeting, especially because I was his granddaughter, his heir, and also because I was helping my grandfather to run the company at the moment. He was the owner and CEO of the company, however, I was in charge of much of the work to take the burden off my grandfather.
• Therefore, I studied and prepared myself for this position, I wanted to help my grandfather, who was already quite old. He would soon be 83 years old, so he would probably end up retiring soon and I would have to take over the reins of the company completely.
• In short, because of all this, my grandfather Chester wanted me to get married soon, he kept pressuring me about it, he didn't want to leave the whole weight of the company on my shoulders, according to him, I needed the support of a husband to run our company more efficiently.
• However, when I got up enough courage, which I hoped would happen that very day, and confessed to my grandfather that my relationship was over and that I had decided to stay in the company for the rest of my life, he would have to resign himself to the fact that I might never get married.
• I arrived at the company earlier than I thought, dying inside from the hangover and with a dead face that I couldn't hide even with make-up. But I had made it, I had arrived and the meeting wasn't over.
• Just outside the meeting office, there was an assistant arriving with several cups of coffee.
• “Miss Golf?!” Rina, the assistant, was surprised to see me late.
• “Rina, good morning” I mumbled as I slipped through the front door behind her.
• I tried to enter quietly, trying to pass unnoticed behind Rina to take a seat at a distant place at the boardroom table, without attracting the attention of those present. However, as soon as I stepped out from behind Rina's back (which didn't cover me much either, thanks to my ample waistline), all eyes were on me.
• I froze for a second, glancing quickly around the bunch of frowning faces, not really looking at them. I turned to my grandfather, embarrassed, he was the one who looked the sternest.
• “Ava, until you finally arrived!” announced my grandfather with an intimidating tone and a serious expression.
• “I... I'm sorry...” I stammered, walking quickly to my usual seat next to him.
• “Well, at least we haven't got to the most important part, the meeting is almost over and I was hoping you'd arrive to start the announcements” I nodded, lowering my gaze, taking the folder that was prepared in front of me to pretend. “First, let me introduce you to our new partners...” I stood up, looking around the table, searching for the new faces among those present. “Mr. Tomas Grand and his son Alex Grand”.
• My heart skipped a beat when I heard that name, nervous, I looked down at the folder I had in my hands before I could even verify it with my own eyes, «It can't be, it must be a coincidence, an incredible coincidence».
• I took a deep breath to look up again, my grandfather was pointing to a specific spot on the table, I turned and found what I feared, those intense and beautiful blue eyes.
• I felt a shudder, my eyes widened in surprise and I think I turned as red as a tomato because my face felt hot.
• “How do you do, Miss Golf?” Mr. Tomás stood up immediately, smiling. His son followed him.
• “It's a pleasure” Alex murmured.
• Hearing Alex's husky voice, I gave a little start and came out of my reverie, reactivating certain memories that made me shudder, he seemed to notice it, he smiled slightly, showing some mischief. I nodded towards both men, however, I couldn't respond, the words didn't come out. I robotically took my seat again, the newly introduced men did the same.
• «Oh my God, what did I drink last night? A hallucinogen? This must be a hangover! Yes, my mind must be playing tricks on me! I'm visualizing Alex in the new partner's body! That has to be it! But my grandfather said his name! That has to be another hallucination! That party and those drinks were powerful! I'm never drinking like a brainless person again!» My conscience was arguing with me, while I pretended to read the folder I had been leafing through for a while.
• My grandfather remained standing, leading the meeting.
• “Well, in summary, I can tell you that they are the owners of a new advertising company called Imagim, which has grown incredibly in the last year, demonstrating its capacity, so I am sure that this partnership will bring great benefits to both of us. From the reports we have been studying over the last hour, it shows the enormous skill and ability of these men”.
• I continued to concentrate on the folder, looking at it without paying attention, I didn't want to look up, I didn't want to see Alex's eyes, I wanted to keep imagining that this was all a hallucination, especially after everything we had done the night before, and I thought I would never see him again!