Forever, Mr. Mercer

4 years ago... With his arms folded, Conrad let out his third sigh as he surveyed the sprawling campus. Dropping his gaze to the watch on his wrist, Conrad cursed under his breath. Southern California had finally coughed up a nice day, probably the nicest one since a week of nonstop rain. Even so, Conrad couldn't make himself enjoy the weather. He'd always been punctual, the kind of guy who showed up on time for everything, and if he ever did run late, nobody had the nerve to complain because he was Conrad Mercer for fuck's sake. People waited on him, never the reverse. Still, there he was in the middle of the sidewalk beside his expensive car, stuck waiting for his sister to finally show. Sure, he loved his sister beyond reason and could be overly protective of her, but he was a busy man. He'd assumed control over Mercer Industries a year and a half ago after his father retired, and things had only gotten busier, especially now that the company was expanding worldwide. His older brother, Adrian Mercer, had originally been the one set to inherit Mercer Industries. Instead, Adrian chose for his younger brother to take it over, since he thought he was more deserving of the CEO title. He took over as the head of one of the departments alongside their older sister, Vivienne, and Adrian had been pretty satisfied with that call after watching the success Conrad brought the company. Honestly, Conrad knew the real reason was that Adrian had zero interest in spending hours at the office doing paperwork. Conrad sighed again and thought back to the conversation he'd had with his mother earlier that morning. "Mama, I'm way too busy right now. I can't. I've got a stack of contracts to go through for the new hotel they're building in Shanghai," Conrad muttered into the phone. "I know, honey, but could you do your sweet old mama one favor?" asked Elena, still trying to get through to her son. "Chloe is coming home for spring break at last, and your father and I still need to get Leo to his soccer game and then take Ruby to art class. Please, Conrad. UCLA isn't much of a drive from the office." At the thought of his younger siblings, some of Conrad's hard facade slipped away. Being the third oldest out of six, he adored all his siblings, especially the younger ones. Conrad gave a small sigh, already knowing his mother had won. "Alright." Elena broke into a big grin. She knew the second his younger siblings were mentioned, Conrad would cave. Conrad didn't show his feelings often, but his mother knew family was his soft spot. "Thank you, honey. Make sure you get Chloe at 2:30 right by the art building on North Campus!" And that was how Conrad ended up standing there exactly four hours later, waiting for his little sister to show up. Normally, he would've had his driver, Owen, pick Chloe up, but knowing his mother, Conrad would've gotten an earful over the phone. Still grumbling under his breath, Conrad slipped a hand into his suit pocket for his phone. The second he pulled it out, a petite body slammed into him, making him drop the phone along with everything the other person had been carrying. Before Conrad could glare at whoever hit him, his gaze caught on the most beautiful pair of brown eyes he'd ever seen. Time seemed to stall for Conrad as he kept looking directly into her eyes. She was far too embarrassed by her own clumsiness to notice him staring. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry," the girl in front of him blurted, her soft but panicked voice jolting him out of his trance. She dropped down in embarrassment, trying to collect everything that had spilled from her tote bag. Still unable to form any words, Conrad bent down to scoop up his dropped phone and help the flustered girl gather her things. He picked up a sketchbook and what looked like plastic drawing triangles while the girl hurried to collect the pencils and pens that had slid loose from her pencil case. "God, I'm such a clumsy idiot. I really need to watch where I'm going," the girl muttered, brushing a loose piece of hair from her face as she rose at the same time as Conrad. He quickly handed her things back. "Thank you, and sorry again for running into you." For the first time, Conrad was almost speechless. He could only stare at the beauty standing right in front of him. She wasn't like the usual girls he'd ever been drawn to, not that that happened often. She looked Asian, though not fully, maybe mixed. He wasn't completely sure. Dark brown hair streaked with light grey highlights fell around her face in an effortless kind of way. But it was her brown eyes, carrying a hint of innocence, that really caught his attention. Before he could get a word out, she hurried off in the direction she'd been heading before crashing into Conrad. He watched her disappear without looking back, and in that moment, he wanted to chase after her. "Conrad!" a familiar but breathless voice shouted behind him before he could move. "Sorry, I left one thing in the studio and had to race back for it." He turned to face his younger sister, catching her against him while she tried to steady her breathing. "No worries," Conrad muttered as he took the bag from her hand. He looked back once more toward the direction the girl had run, hoping for one last glimpse of her silhouette. But to his disappointment, she was already gone.