Page 5 of Goodbye To Tomorrow

"I am sorry Miss Gracen, pardon my manners," I said with a warm smile, “I am Jiraiya Sampson.”

Seconds later, Brenda appeared holding a bulky folder in her hands and a sheepish smile.

"Here are the files you asked for Sir." She said, handing it over to me while smiling politely at Gracen. "Will that be all, Sir? I can wait behind just in case you need something..." Her words trailed off when I gave her a look.

"That will be all. Thanks, Brenda." I cut her short, the sheepish smile still registered on her face.

"Sir?" Smiling, she stood perfectly still, pretending that she had not heard me earlier.

"Brenda," I said pointing towards the door.

"Yes Sir, I'm going."

"Now, let’s get down to business,” I said, giving Gracen all my attention.

Gracen remained quiet but graced me with another of her beatific smiles.

"So where do you want to start?" I finally asked after seconds of getting lost in her gaze.

"I would think that's where you come in with your expertise."

"Oh! Yeah… So..." I stammered, trying to get a grip.

"Are you usually this nice to all of your prospective customers? It’s flattering getting help from Mr. CEO himself.” She flashed a flirtatious grin.

I returned her grin with a flirtatious one of my own. I adjusted my seat backwards to observe her with a full-blown grin on my face.

"Well, what can I say, we are Oceanview," I said with arms spread wide in a gesture of self-assurance.

"Yeah right! I presume you also wink at all the clients that walk through Oceanview's doors." she had retorted while trying to hold back a smirk.

"Well, that's different.” I allowed my voice to trail off before continuing. “It's not every day we get a gorgeous client such as you walk into Oceanview," I stated, staring at her expectantly.

"Are you flirting with me Mr. Sampson?"

"Well, I wouldn't put it that way," I replied before handing over the small laptop with pictures of available properties.

The relationship between Gracen and I had been like magic from then on. Soon after that first meeting; I had asked her out on our first date, and then a second, third, etc. It wasn’t long until we were known as the IT couple.

Each time we spent together was amazing. We had both grown so attached to each other in such a short time, that it was not difficult to believe we might have met before in our previous life and joined together in this one.

Jerked from my thoughts by the chorus of voices offering congratulations, my eyes re-focused on my beautiful fiancée, and the excited voices of the people surrounding us.

I thanked the crowd for the love shown before asking to be excused, politely. I took Gracen’s hand in mine, as we darted quickly out of the room. In one quick turn, she turned back before exiting the hall and waving, in her usual dramatic fashion, to the crowd before stepping out into my waiting arms.

Gracen looked flush from our abrupt departure; she couldn't hide the blush on her face. It was obvious she was totally in love with me and me with her; I had never felt this way before in my entire life.

I had been with many women in the past; from sultry actresses to boring bankers to serious lawyers. None of them had ever made me feel this way. They had never been more than a fling to be discarded when the next beauty came along. Gracen on the other hand was different; I had known this from the first day I had laid eyes on her. I shook my head with a smile on my face, playing back the last couple of minutes of my proposal.

"Where are you taking me?" Gracen asked as we walked briskly towards the vehicle.

"Sincerely, I have no idea; I just want to get you out of here before I burst with excitement," I responded almost immediately.

The drive from the venue to the surprise rendezvous was pretty fast. I drove enthusiastically and with blistering speed, overtaking every automobile along the way. I was visibly joyous at the outcome of my proposal and Gracen could tell. She was equally excited; she had fallen in love with me from the very first time our paths crossed, she had confessed.

Soon, we were at a fancy restaurant; the ambience was composed, with a tone of flamboyance.

"Do you like it?" I asked as we stepped in; Gracen holding her flowing dress in her hands.

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