Chapter 31: Caldwell Incorporated

LUCIUS is standing outside the tall corporate establishment while finishing his cigar and observing the people coming in and out of the office buildings. Shortly, he enters the establishment and walks towards the concierge where the name of the company can be seen behind the reception area, "CALDWELL INCORPORATED." He reads internally.

"I’m Lucius Vaughn from Ripley International, and I’m looking for John Rowe," he says to the concierge.

The concierge’s name was Melisa and when she saw Lucuis approaching her, she was so bewitched by his appearance that she did not hear what he said and was just looking at him.

He waved his hand in front of her to get her attention and repeated his words. Soon she was out of her trance, "Sorry about that Sir! Mr. Rowe is waiting for you on the 16th floor." She says while handing him his Visitor’s pass.

He then proceeded to enter the elevator, pressing the button for the 16th floor, but before the door closed, another person entered the elevator. He has the same aura as Lucius, calm, cold and calculated.

Melisa, who saw the two men riding the elevator, was elated and immediately snapped a photo and sent it to chat on the company gossip channel.

"Caution: Two hot men entered the elevator. Mr. Lucian Caldwell and Mr. Lucius Vaughn."

Shortly, continues pinging sound and heart emoticons flooded the post from both female and male employees.

"Our boss is sure good-looking," says one of the employee in the chat group.

"Mr. Vaughn is as handsome hands down." Says the other.

**

Soon the elevator door opened on the 16th floor, both of them got out and Lucius stared at the man that had gone out with him.

"Are we heading in the same direction?" he asks himself. He let the man walk in front of him and as they entered the finance department, the man was greeted by the staff.

"Good morning Sir!"

"Good morning Mr. Caldwell!"

He just nods to them and walks towards John’s office.

As they march into the corridor, the staff are discreetly glancing at them. They look like they are straight out of a magazine and are about to walk on the runway. Both men wore custom-made suit and ties and their aura matched each other. Cold. Calm. Mysterious with a tinge of danger.

"So this guy is Lucian Caldwell, the person Uncle kept on blabbering about. Wishing that one of his children will be as good as him," Lucius says to himself.

Lucian then noticed Lucius was following him. He stared at Lucius before entering John’s office. He is about to speak, but before he can say anything, Tim sees them outside, then opens the door for them and greets them; "Good morning Mr. Caldwell and Mr. Vaughn. I didn’t expect you to arrive together." He gestured for them to enter and then announce their arrival to John.

John stood up from his chair, gestured to them to sit on the sofa and formally introduced them to one another. "Lucian, this is Lucius Vaughn from Ripley International, he’ll be working closely with us on the Sierra Project. Mr. Vaughn, this is Lucian Caldwell, our COO."

They shake hands and proceed with the meeting. Soon, Tim enters with the coffee and the documents John asks him to photocopy.

John then asks Tim to take down notes of their meeting. Lucius did not ask anything and just listened to John explaining the budget and returns while Lucian explains how they are planning to execute it.

"Now, I understand why my Uncle likes this guy. He’s good at his work," he says to himself.

"Do you have any questions, Mr. Vaughn." John asks.

"None. So far, everything exceeds my expectations. I’m really looking forward to our partnership with your company. I can see that it will be very beneficial for both of us," he said, with a friendly smile on his face.

They shook hands, then Lucius left afterward.

"That went well," John remarked as he sat on the sofa beside Lucian.

Lucian, at that time, was lost in his thoughts and staring outside the window admiring the weather.

"I thought so too." Tim replies, trying to savage his boss' ego. "Thank you, Tim!" He says while smiling at his reliable assistant.

Lucian then caught on to the slightly mocking tone of his friend and asked, "Did you say something?"

John threw a pillow to him and laughed, "You still owe me a meal!" He yelled at him.

Soon Tim left them. John is eager to ask him what happened yesterday, but doesn’t have the courage to do it.

As if he could hear his friends' thoughts, he explains his plans to come clean and decides that Sieve will be the last girl he’s going to sleep with. After that, he will confront Malena about the photo.

John felt a lot better knowing that his friend had a plan, but he could sense the sorrow in his tone.

"When are you planning to let go of her?" He asks.

"Who?" Lucian asked with confusion on his face.

"Sieve. You said she'd be the last," he explains.

"Did he just lose a grasp of his own reality and forget who his girlfriend was? Is he falling for her?" He asks himself.

"She’ll be gone by October." He says, with a slight tinge of sadness in his face.

"October? A month from now. What’s with October?" He asks while staring at his friend, observing his reaction.

"She is getting married!" He responds while staring blankly at the wall.

John almost choked on his own spit upon hearing that.

"Married?"

"Yes."

John could sense Lucian's bitterness in his tone, something that never happened in the three years of sleeping with different women, but he did not ask further about the matter, as it was not his problem.

Despite that, there is a part of him that wants to meet Sieve.

"I wonder what she looks like?" He asks himself. "Probably another blonde woman with emerald green eyes, just like Malena. Just like everyone else before her."