Bought For A Baby, Kept For A Lifetime-Chapter 244: Melted

By the time Andrew returned home, it was all dark and silent. When he went upstairs, he hovered around the door of the bedroom facing his own, hesitating as if thinking of knocking but changing his mind.

She must be asleep by now. He thought then changed his mind and went into his study instead.

He picked a remote off his desk table and with the press of a button, a glass console rose from below, lifting up a retractable tv that suddenly appeared in the room, the giant screen came on and immediately logged into a business conference call happening globally among moguls, the screen showing a panel of different people in different places conversing in fluid french.

Currently present in the conference was the CEO of Corvus Inc, a largely global automotive company. The German man had a sharp pair of green eyes with dark brown hair, his eyes lightened up immediately Andrew was spotted to join the conference call.

"Sterling, how wonderful of you to join us today! I just received news of your appointment as CEO of Sterling Enterprises, congratulations. Wait till you receive my congratulatory gift, I’m sure you’ll be impressed, it’s the latest technology from Corvus, no one has it yet." The German man rambled on in a fluent German tongue and Andrew replied with a light smile.

"Thank you Kaiser." Andrew replied succinctly.

"But Sterling, you joining the conference right now, it must be around two AM In Verizon by now right? Sleep is imperative for your health." Julian Kaiser was a man who truly admired Andrew Sterling. Years ago he had encountered a road block in his business, almost teared down by an aggressive rival, it was at one such conference calls he had taken Andrew’s advice and implemented it into his work, now two years later that rival who had almost ruined his company was filing for bankruptcy. Hence his excitement the moment Andrew joined their usually spontaneous conference call.

"Sleep is indeed good for health, but think about all the deals you could be closing in those seven to eight hours, like Sterling, I’m not a man who sleeps a lot." Cèdric Martin, said in English that had a thick french accent.

Many laughed to what Cèdric said, it was an inside joke among them to talk about how Mr Martin loved working and would most likely be buried with his laptop and his entire business empire.

"Cèdric, if you skip sleeping so much what will your wife think about it? A husband who doesn’t sleep in his wife’s bed at night will only attract the legendary wife nagging." Julian remarked playfully.

"Not if you have a wife like mine. She’s independent and strong on her own, business minded as well, she doesn’t mind if I’m in bed with her or not." Cèdric replied.

"Exactly, my wife is like that too. She loves her jewels a bit more than she loves having me in her bed, a new diamond necklace or ring is enough for her to give me needed space to work. Success only comes if you stay addicted to your work and nothing else, all these mundane things in life are only a bonus when you see those stocks rise higher and higher, that’s the real reward." Edward Winchester spoke this time.

"Am I the odd one out then? My wife can’t stay two minutes without me whenever I’m home after work, all of you really need to know what it feels like to have a loving wife. My Emilia is the jewel of a woman, she made me realize that work alone isn’t everything, making place for love is very vital." Julian Kaiser argued, he was clearly on a different standing to the other men.

"I’m afraid I have to agree with Kaiser on this one. Rising stocks and building wealth is one thing, but laying in the arms of your woman at night after a very exhausting day is another. The high of rising stocks can never beat that feeling." Rodrigo Velarde chimed in this time.

Each men had the conference from different places all around the world, and suddenly a conference call that had started with the topic of Digital Leadership In Business suddenly shifted to a love or work debate. It suddenly felt like a council of kings debating the laws of their shared universe.

"And what does laying in a woman’s arms lead to, wild sex? That can happen without indulging in cheap little satisfactory feelings that won’t last at all. Your bank balance however, seeing those figures rising everyday, come on Kaiser, you gotta learn to resist a woman’s allure. Women are like sirens, their allure distracts a man from his destiny, if you give in, you lose focus, if you resist you remain strong." Cèdric argued back not backing down from sharing his own views because he believed they’re ideal for every businessman.

"Agreed. Sentiment is a variable that cannot be quantified." Stated Mr Yamamoto from Tokyo, his voice calm as still waters, "Therefore it is a risk, an unstable partnership. Put all your faith in a spouse today, they cheat tomorrow. I’m on my fifth marriage right now and only the third ended without me catching her in bed with another man. Such relationships should only be based on mutual benefits, not emotions. If you have a lot of emotions to spare, pour it all into your empire and watch it grow like fire spreading in dry forests."

"Exactly!" Chimed in Lucas Perez from Spain, sounding surprisingly pragmatic for a Spanish man, "Love might sound like a tasty dessert, but work is the main course. A man can’t survive on sugar alone. That so called sugar might turn bitter eventually."

A chorus of murmured agreements came from the other men on the screen.

Julian Kaiser and Rodrigo Velarde were soon both pushed into a corner in the argument, the number of men who agreed with the former argument far exceeded the latter.

"This is foolish!" Kaiser said sounding riled up about the entire conversation, "You all speak of the heart as if it is a faulty component when It is the main engine. To run a company, or your whole life without it for that matter is ridiculous. What are all of you married for then, just for show?"

Yamamoto shrugged, "To keep the money grubbing vixens away." He muttered making other men agreeing with him by laughing along with him.

"Think of it like this..." Julian Kaiser began again, "You’re building a beautiful car with no fuel. It will not move, or worse, it will crash. Saying love is not necessary is just like saying oxygen is not necessary. Oxygen is a fundamental requirement of life, without it you cannot breathe. Finding someone who means so much to you like every breath you take is like finding a new life. You only realize you’ve been merely existing before when love comes into your life."

The men all listened to Kaiser’s sentimental words but it evidently didn’t fully sink into their minds. It felt like the words Kaiser was saying was in a foreign language they didn’t understand.

Julian Kaiser was frustrated!

"Sterling, back me up here..." Julian Kaiser began before suddenly stopping himself in realization, "Oh, I almost forgot. Sterling here is single, he neither has a girlfriend nor a wife, he can’t have a say in this kind of argument." Kaiser said in a tone of disappointment.

He was desperately trying to communicate his views but the other men just weren’t getting it. How was he supposed to tell them that love...it wasn’t useless or unnecessary distraction, it was a need a man wouldn’t know he had unless he tasted it.

Every man had en empty space within him that he didn’t know how to fill. Some men filled that space with greed, these types of men would work fervently for money and nothing else but still not fully finding satisfaction thereby searching for more and more and even more, other men filled it with lust, having countless number of women but never fully being satisfied, love was something that once found, it completed a man in a way he would never expect.

"Haha, you called for the wrong backup Kaiser. Sterling here might be single, but his views are the exact same as mine. In fact, he can’t be ruled out of this conversation. Single or not, he should share his views." Cèdric remarked confidently looking into the camera addressing Andrew,

"Sterling, why don’t you tell Kaiser here what you think about all of this."

The entire conference went silent waiting for him to speak.

Andrew looked a bit lost in thought, his expression impassive and as he parted his light pink rigid lips to speak, Cèdric waited expectantly.

Everyone’s attention turned to Andrew Sterling, the man known for his ice logic, and ruthless strategy driven decisions, they expected him to be the final word, they knew that the minute he spoke, he would completely dismantle Kaiser’s emotional argument with flawless chilling reason.

"Emotions." He suddenly uttered, his voice cold yet quiet stealing the very air in the room.

Cèdric chuckled delightfully waiting for what Andrew would say next.

"Work is the foundation, it’s what makes a man. Power makes a man untouchable, why engage in frivolous little emotions when one can choose to become the strongest man in the room?"

As Andrew’s words straight to the point, sharp fell, Cèdric laughed heartily.

"Did you hear that Kaiser?" He taunted, then sensing Andrew had more to say, he went quiet, anticipating more of what Andrew would say.

"But what is the foundation without it’s architecture. Let me ask you Martin, what is it that makes you work so much?"

Hearing himself being addressed, Cèdric readily replied. "Of course to amass more wealth, why else would it be?"

"Wrong. You have your foundation, but what’s built on it is nothing but a prison. The only thing you have to go back to is that empty prison, but there is no home."

"What do you mean?" Andrew’s expected answer had turned out completely different. Cèdric found himself asking out of confusion.

A prison? He just called the loveless, emotionless kind of lifestyle a prison?

What happened to the man who spoke with rigidity and shattered every illusion of love?

"Exactly what you think I’m saying Martin. There’s a blueprint to living, and if you’re still in the part of your life where you believe your heart and the feelings that come with it are empty liabilities, then you’re not living at all."

Andrew didn’t have much more to say to them, they could keep arguing all they liked and he wouldn’t waste his words trying to convince them.

They all began exchanging stunned looks at this moment.

Andrew Sterling was actually leaning towards the other side? Since when?

Kaiser was pleasantly surprised, his face lightened up gleefully.

"What was that again Martin, can you say it again?" Kaiser teased the man smilingly.

Cèdric looked like he had seen a scary ghost, "You... Sterling, is it really you talking? You’ve always been my role model when it comes to topics like these, you inspired me to become this way. I don’t even share a meal with my wife because I’m so damn focused, how can you just change? Don’t tell me there’s a woman in your life right now."

At Cèdric’s exclamation everyone waited for Andrew to say something. His change of stance had stunned all the men at the conference. The man whose heart would never be melted had suddenly been thawed. It had to be, otherwise he wouldn’t be speaking this way. They couldn’t believe it.

All the men seemed to have forgotten the original topic they had been discussing, fixing their gaze on Andrew in this moment.

If a man like him could have his heart unlocked, then no one could escape it.

"Let’s just say I’ve found my peace and if you look hard enough, you will find yours." Andrew said in a calm and level tone, and for the rest of the conference everyone shifted the topic into contemplation of what type of woman had melted the heart of the unmovable man.

Andrew on the other hand could picture her in his mind, it was a very easy thing to do. Her image was carved deep inside him and it could never be erased.

Never let anyone become the center of your universe, he used to say, but if he closed his eyes he would see her, if he took a breath he would see her, every moment, she lived in it with him.

A new name to the relationship, Shawn had said. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"But Sterling, who is this woman that suddenly changed your views?" Lucas Perez asked the question on everyone’s minds.

"Annelise Sterling, my wife." Andrew suddenly announced causing a huge stir in the conference.

Andrew Sterling had a wife! In the span of a single night, this news traveled internationally then back into Verizon becoming the greatest rumor of the decade, by sunrise every gossip blogger and online platform were sharing this insane news.