Chapter 25: The Photograph

John was sweating bullets while pacing outside the COO's office. This made the office personnel feel uneasy, as if something bad was happening in the company.

Jenny, Lucian’s 40-year-old secretary, sees John outside and calls his boss over the phone.

"Sir, I don't mean to bother you but Mr. Rowe is outside. He's been walking like a headless chicken for quite sometime now and it's making everyone uncomfortable."

“Tell him to get inside,” Lucian responded in a commanding tone. Jenny then opened the door and gestured to John to go inside. She then opens another door that leads to Lucian’s office.

John entered the room with every step heavier than the other, heart pounding, blood pumping stronger as he got nearer. “What’s wrong? Why are you walking back and forth in front of my front desk? Is there a problem in the finance department?” Lucian asks while he sits at his desk and stares at his friend intently.

“It’s not about work. It’s about…” John paused, unsure how to say it to his friend. He fidgeted his thumbs for a while, then sighed deeply. Soon he showed him the photo.

“It’s about this.” He says while handing his phone to him. Lucian stared at the photo and he could clearly see it was Malena wearing a red sleeveless dress, the same dress that she requested from him when he went abroad last year. She was holding the man’s hand while they were looking at each other. A gaze filled with passion and care, something that he himself hadn't seen in her. 

Lucian’s breathing became heavy and his hands started to shake. His gaze darkened by the minute.

“When… Who… how?” He tried to speak but he was too overwhelmed by the image in front of him.

Then John explains when the photo was taken and how they got it. John started to put his hand on his nape, then lowered his gaze. “Maybe I shouldn’t have shown him the photo,” he thought to himself.

Lucian calmed himself, airdropped the photo on his phone and simply said, “Thank you!” using his most neutral tone. He then stood up, took the suit jacket on his chair and walked out of his office. This stunned John and he failed to follow him. When he got out of Lucian's office, the elevator doors were already closed.

John was so worried that he called him immediately but his calls were unanswered. He then called Vivian who was at her shop restoring luxury bags.

The call was answered immediately and Viv could hear John’s worried voice. She asks what happened and he tells her that Lucian walked away. Viv says, “Let him handle it, you already did your part as his friend.”

John grunted in approval. He then disconnected the call. Even after speaking to Viv, he still thought of looking for Lucian but that idea was soon erased as Mr. Caldwell called him to his office to check the budget for the Sierra Project. Half-heartedly, he marched his way to the CEO's office.

***

Lucian drove to Malena’s place to hear her explanation regarding the photo. As he gets near her apartment, his heart begins to pound harder until he has difficulty breathing.

He stopped the car a few blocks away from her apartment. He calmed himself and said, “Do I really have the right to talk to her about it? I have Sieve and, prior to her, I’ve been sleeping with different women for the last 3 years. We are on and off. I'm not even sure if we are considered a couple at the moment.” He touched his forehead then covered his face in disappointment.

Soon it dawned on him, they had been growing apart for the last 3 years. His face turns gloomy, but he doesn’t want to accept it just like that. He doesn’t want to throw the memory they have back in college.

There are a million things on his mind and he is beginning to have a headache. The feeling is drowning him, it makes him feel things are out of his control and there’s nothing he can do about it. He wants to swim away from the matter for now and return when he is calm, but the issue is here now.

Suddenly, a notification popped up on his phone. He glanced at it and saw miscalls from John, then a text from Sieve.

2:30:04 PM - Are you busy?

He stared at her message and, for the first time, he didn't know how to respond. He ignored her message and drove back to his office.

***

“He did not respond?”

“He’s probably busy.”

“Or maybe he’s with her.”

“It's 3 pm and I think he’s still at work.”

“Grow up, YOU’re just a plaything. If he doesn’t need YOU, he won’t contact you.”

“Stop using “YOU”. It should be US. All of you are me!” She yells at herself internally.

“Miss, where are you planning to go?” The taxi driver asks while staring at the girl seated in the passenger seat, who looks like she’s in a trance.

Startled by the taxi driver, she almost yelled, but calmed herself to the best of her ability and gave an address to the driver.

***

Lucian was 10 minutes away from his office when he received another text message:

3:04:03 PM - I’ll be staying in Eastside Hotel room #2309.

3:06:27 PM - I just want to see you. I’ll wait for you.

“I just want to see you!?”

“We came down to this level of desperation!?” Latton’s voice yelling at herself in the mirror.

“This is a mistake, I should have done this,” she says to herself while her hand is caressing her nape.

Ding!

'A new message from Blade' is flashing on the screen of her phone. She breathes deeply before opening the text message, as if anticipating bad news. Then she opened it and her face instantly lit up.

3:30:10 PM - On my way!

She removed her clothes and took a quick shower.