Three Years Later
"When will you be back?" the brunette questions her raven haired boyfriend.
He looks over at her while taking a break from packing his bag. "Two weeks max! I promise, May!"
She frowns though. Ever since Brenden became a lawyer, he's been going off on business trips often with his mentoring lawyer. May understands that Brenden is trying to make a name for himself as a family lawyer, but there aren't many cases in Petalburg. Therefore, Brenden often travels outside of the city to nearby towns and cities.
May and Brenden started dating over a year ago when she felt ready to give him a chance again. He has been here for her ever since she moved to Petalburg City. Eventually, she had enough courage to try out a relationship with him. While she doesn't feel like she completely loves him yet, she likes him a lot. He's caring and always puts her first.
"I'll miss you." She pouts. Brenden only leaves every couple of months for a week or two, but she misses him dearly. She hates being alone. Being at the orphanage, May was never alone. This is all new to her, and she's still adjusting to her new life outside of the orphanage.
She still avoids the news. May is now a manager at a retail store in the mall she's been working at since arriving in Petalburg. Even though Brenden encourages her to attend college, she doesn't. He's still an up and coming lawyer with lots of student loan debt, so May will work for now until Brenden's career gains more traction.
Hugging her tightly, Brenden plants a kiss on her head. "I'll miss you too."
She melts in his strong arms. Gosh, a young May had always dreamed of this, but she doesn't feel completely satisfied with him. She knows it's because she's still getting over him, though Brenden's patience has helped with that. "You better bring me back a souvenir."
He chuckles. "I always do." Pulling away from her, Brenden lifts May's chin up to capture her lips in his. He hates these business trips away from her. He just wants to be a successful lawyer already so that he can give her everything she deserves. So that she doesn't have to work at that shitty retail job anymore.
When May pulls him onto the bed, Brenden shoves his partially packed suitcase off of it, spilling the contents on the ground. He doesn't care that he has to repack the items later. All he cares about is the beautiful brunette in front of him who he loves. "I love you, May." His ruby eyes lovingly gaze into her warm sapphire ones.
May decides to kiss him, like she always does when he tells her he likes her. Brenden knows May isn't comfortable saying those words yet. She hasn't even told him she likes him, though she did tell him she wants to date him. She wants to move on and focus on him, and Brenden will be patient because he loves her.
LaRousse City
"Drewy bear!" pleads the salmon haired woman as she wraps her arms around his waist.
Sighing, Drew continues tying his tie. Even though Brianna was by his side when he was in a coma, and he apparently fell in love with her during the three years he doesn't remember, he finds her utterly annoying and clingy. Just because she's a girl, it doesn't mean that she just needs to sit pretty and do nothing. Drew's mother is a strong business partner for his father, and she knows how to run the business. Brianna, though, just bothers Drew. She sits around waiting for him to pamper her.
Being a businessman, Drew doesn't have time to play couple. Their marriage is also political, despite him being told they love each other. The year after Drew woke up from his coma, he spent it in physical therapy. Brianna came to every one of his appointments, but she was on her phone in the back, almost like she didn't want to be there. To busy himself, Drew would learn more about the business and get more involved.
Now that he's basically fully recovered, besides for the occasional headache and the loss of memory, his parents have tasked him with being a Hayden Corporation director last year. He has been given more responsibility over the year, so he's been recently taking it upon himself to do more for the company he's supposed to inherit some day. His parents are glad that his reckless ways have ended.
While Drew was in the hospital, his parents had hired people to get rid of everything in his room that could relate to the orphanage. All the shirts, pictures, and gifts he got from there. Anything that seemed inexpensive was tossed out so that Drew wouldn't be reminded of that time. He doesn't deen to know about it anymore.
Drew has done his own research for the three years he's lost his memory, but not much has come up about him. He wasn't in any arrests, so he must have been good at evading authority, or his parents helped pay someone, like usual. Then there was the article about him and Brianna dating shortly before they tied the knot. He really must have been in love if he married her so soon. Other than that, Drew wasn't really in the news. Fortunately, his parents and Brianna have answered his questions.
However, Drew is still skeptical of their answers. He's never fully trusted his parents because they're better business people than they are parents. He doesn't blame them though since he will be the same way some day. Moreover, Brianna keeps asking for a child already, and his parents want an heir, but Drew isn't ready for that. He wants to take over the company first before fathering a child, even if he will be a terrible parent like his are.
The green haired man spends most of his time at the office, and he even spends some nights there. It's also a nice break from Brianna's clinglyness. Gosh. Was he really into this cringy stuff with her? He hopes he gains his memories back soon so that he can give her the love she deserves. Her words aren't enough to bring back his memories, though that's partly because he doesn't remember her prior to the memory loss.
Drew really wished Solidad was around to tell him about those three years since he trusts her the most. However, after the day he woke up, he never saw her again. Apparently, she requested to be transferred to the Slateport City branch, which surprised Drew. Why would his best friend leave him in his time of need? Did they have a falling out? Whenever Drew calls her, she'll ignore him or keep the conversation strictly business and short. He misses his best friend.
With his tie done, Drew unwraps Brianna's arms from around him, leaving the naked woman to pout. He smiles at her before planting a kiss on her lips. "I'll be back."
"When?" She crosses her arms over her chest, making him chuckle.
"I'll call you tonight." He does call her whenever he has to go away on business or spend the night in the office. A few times, Brianna had dropped by to spend the night with him, which he finds cute yet annoying. However, she is his wife who was by his side throughout his whole comatose state, so he owes it to her to be a loving husband.
Sharing one last passionate kiss, Drew pulls away to walk out of the room. He feels very relieved once he's in his car. Gosh. The married life is unbearable. He always gets Brianna something incredibly expensive whenever he comes home to make up for not spending time with her. Of course, she loves it, so she never gets upset with his absence. Plus, he's busy trying to grow this company for both of their futures. She shouldn't be mad when he's doing that, but Drew's guilt for not loving her enough makes him buy her a bunch of gifts.
Anyway, today's agenda involves budget cuts. Drew noticed that Hayden Corporation's growth has significantly slowed down the year prior to his accident. He's been trying to figure out why that is and what he can do to fix it, especially since the merger with Wakana Enterprises should've caused their business to grow more.
Hayden Corporation
As Drew walks into his father's office, despite the secretary telling him Nicholas is in a meeting, Drew hears Mr. Wakana's voice. "We cannot work with them!" Drew's father-in-law exclaims.
Clearing his throat to make his presence known, Drew gets both men's attention. "I need to speak with you, father." Drew has figured out the cause of what's taking a lot of funds from the company, and he's curious about why the corporation is putting so much money into it. No one will answer his question, so he's taking it up with his father because his mother is out on business right now.
Mr. Hayden gives Mr. Wakana a stern look, making the Wakana man stand up. "Well, I've got to get going now." Mr. Wakana pats Drew's back when walking past him. "My daughter is still so in love with you, Drew. I'm glad you make her happy." The older man then leaves, so Drew sits where he once did.
Even though Drew is married to Brianna, he rarely sees the Wakana parents. Sometimes, they come over for business meals, but they leave him alone for the most part. Looking over at his annoyed father, Drew prepares to put the papers on the desk and ask his questions; however, Nicholas lets out an exasperated sigh. "Is everything okay, father?"
Nicholas pours himself a glass of whiskey and offers one to Drew who declines. Drew's had an aversion to alcohol ever since his accident. Plus, he doesn't want the alcohol to risk his memory loss because he wants to gain those years back.
Looking at his son, Nicholas replies, "I want to form a contract with another company, but Frank doesn't want to." Frank is Mr. Wakana, and the in-laws have gotten more familiar with each other over the years.
Drew curiously asks, "Why? Which company?" When he notices his father's tight lips, Drew becomes more curious. Everyone is always so careful about what they say around him. It's annoying. Yes, sometimes Drew gets the occasional headache, but he's fine. No one needs to tiptoe around him. "Father?"
Shaking his head, Nicholas smiles at Drew. "Don't worry about it, Drew. What did you want to speak with me about?"
However, seeing his stressed out father, Drew decides his questions can wait. Besides, Drew can cut this budget, which will increase the profits in Hayden Corporation again, and it'll make him look more ready to take on the company. "Nothing. I just wanted to see how my father was doing. I haven't seen you in almost two weeks." This is uncommon in his family though.
Nicholas nods while finishing the rest of his glass of whiskey. Standing up, the older man puts on his coat. "I need to go join your mother in Sootopolis City. We'll be back next month."
"Okay, father. Have a good trip."
Once Nicholas is gone, Drew looks at the paper on his desk. Berlitz Beauties? Drew has heard about that company. Apparently Mr. Berlitz passed away years ago, leaving his company to be run by his wife and the board. However, the board has been known to have taken over most of the control over the company while Johanna Berlitz was grieving. Even though Johanna and her daughter have been trying to regain more control of the company, the board still holds a lot of power.
Why is Drew's father so worried about this company? Drew flips through the pages of the packet. Wow. Berlitz Beauties really is increasing its sales these past three years and it's been growing exponentially recently. Was it because Drew's accident had haleted Hayden Corporation's and Wakana Enterprises' growth? Even though Hayden Corporation is a consulting company, and Wakana Enterprises is a technology company, the world of the wealthy coincides somehow.
So his father wants to do business with Berlitz Beauties? Drew sees why based on these numbers. Apparently, Berlitz Beauties hasn't partnered with anyone yet, and it seems like the board isn't in control of its successful project. Drew flips through more pages. The heir, Dawn Hikari Berlitz, is in charge of the project.
When Drew looks at the photo of her, he closes his eyes in pain. Gosh. A headache. Well, it's bound to happen whenever he learns something new. However, it hasn't been this strong in a while. After taking some deep breaths, his ears aren't ringing as bad, so he flips through the packet some more.
He recalls what Mr. Wakana had said. It seemed like Frank doesn't want to work with Berlitz Beauties? Why is that? Is he scared that Hayden Corporation will drop Wakana Enterprises? But that would never happen because Drew and Brianna are married. Even if business and personal are supposed to be kept separate, Drew wouldn't let that happen to the family of the woman who loves him. The woman who was by his side throughout his whole hospital stay.
Sighing, Drew looks back at the past pages of the packet. Maybe he'll help his father with this project too? Dawn looks to be around the same age as Drew, which could help in sealing the deal with Berlitz Beauties. Drew Hayden needs to show he's a competent businessman in order to take over this company. With his parents being gone for at least a month, he has plenty of time to increase the production and wealth of the company.