Chapter 47: About Hamilton Contract

JOHN's eyes widened and his mouth slightly ajar in surprise at what he heard. In an eager voice, he couldn’t help but ask,

“When?”

“Where?”

“How?”

He felt confused thinking if Sieve was someone from the office. He looked at Lucian intently, waiting for his response.

“You met him at the Imperial Mall,” he declares while drinking another shot, drowning his lonesome with vodka.

John recollects all the times he went to the Imperial Mall with him and all the people he met, unable to think which one was Sieve. “Tall blonde woman with green eyes,” he says to himself, assuming what she looks like. Like every other girl Lucian sleeps with. “Sometimes they have blue eyes or light brown hair,” he whispers to himself as he touches his chin, lost in his thoughts.

He sees how hard John tries to reminisce about figuring out when he met her.

Soon Lucian gives in and explains how and when he met Sieve.

“You met her by accident 4 months ago, when I invited you for dinner with Viv. She’s the bag owner.”

John tried to remember her face. When he remembers, he stared at his friend with wide eyes. He let out an audible gasp and drank one shot of Vodka.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Lucian asked.

“Nothing. You’re right, she is cute and rich too.” He responds while recollecting what Viv said.

“She’s cute, alright, but she’s not his type. I've seen all of his girls. Usually he likes girls with long blonde hair, who are tall and skinny, usually resembling Malena. However, Sieve’s different. She has mid-length black hair, she’s a bit plump, she’s short, around five feet two inches at best, and she’s young compared to what he dates.” He thought to himself.

“Rich? How did you know that?” He asks with a curious tone.

“Viv, says the bag she’s holding is worth hundreds of thousands, she says it's a custom-made Elizer bag or something like that.”

“Elizer? Maybe I could make a few calls to the designer to get her details. To locate her, I can still talk to her.” He thought to himself.

His plan was immediately spoiled when John added, “She told Viv that the bag was a gift from her father when she graduated.”

His brow furrowed, “What am I thinking? Even if I call Elizer, how would I know which one is her father? Should I ask, did the Devil order a bag for his spare part?” he sighed deeply, knowing he didn’t have any actual information about her. He smiled and drank more liquor.

“Now that you are officially single, are you planning to find a new girlfriend? A new one-night stand? Or a new Sieve?” John asks while gesturing at the women on the dance floor who are stealing glances at Lucian.

“No. Maybe. I'm trying to reinvent myself. I've been searching for other things to do lately.”

John nodded then stared at him with a curious gaze, then blurted out, “If Sieve is not getting married would you court her?”

Lucian almost spit the liquor he was drinking but was unsure how to answer his question.

He is contemplating if he just enjoys sleeping with her or if he actually likes her. John sees that he is having difficulty answering his question, “You don’t need to answer. It’s unimportant anyway. She is married now, and we can’t change that,” he says while texting Viv, telling her not to wait for him.

Lucian took it as his cue to change the topic and began asking about work.

“I heard some of your staff members moved to the 15th floor. How’s the ambiance with the Ripley International employees?” Lucian asked, while staring blankly at the Vodka on the table.

“They are fine and Lucius is a friendly guy, he even lets people use his personal printer when he is not using it.” He explains while still looking at his phone, waiting for Viv's response and hoping she's not mad.

“I heard that the Hamilton contract is ending soon and Mr. Kent’s asking price just went up. How are we in the negotiation?” Lucian asks.

“My team have already invited him, we just need to wait for him to accept it.”

Suddenly, a woman with long blonde hair walks towards them, clearly has her eyes on Lucian. "Hi," she says to Lucian, with a flirtatious voice, without even acknowledging John's existence.

"I'm Valerie." she added as she adjusted her micro mini skirt, trying to get his attention. A scene too familiar to John, he then made a lame excuse to go in the restroom to give them a little privacy.

Before he left, he whispered to Lucian, "Text me and pay for the bill before you leave."

John stayed in the restroom for more than ten minutes, patiently waiting for Lucian's text notifying him that he and the girl had left the bar, but he received none.

"Did he forget to text me again?" He asks himself. Something that Lucian normally does when they go out for a drink. He picks up random girls then forgets to notify him that they have already left and most of the time he also forgets to pay for the bill.

John sighs deeply then washes his face and hands.

"Reinvent my @ass," he mumbles under his breath while wiping his face and hands with the paper towel.

When he got back to their table he was surprised to see that Lucian was still there sitting. He appeared to enjoy the music that was playing as he moved his head to the beat. John then search for the girl, but she is nowhere to be found.

"What is happening?" He asks himself, clearly bewildered at what he is seeing. He sat and stared at his friend. Lucian felt his gaze and stared back at him. "What?"

John shook his head, then asked, "Where's the girl?"

Lucian shrug.

John's eyes widened as it dawned on him. "Lucian is in love..."