Chapter 23

“Should we call security, sir?” The secretary asked her boss, holding her phone and one button away from summoning the guards up in the office where they are now. Stewart smirked and shooed his assistant away.

“That would be useless. Get out of here for a while,” he replied and walked towards Lee and took a seat. “Security is not enough to get this man away from bothering.”

She was confused, and eventually left, leaving the two of them in a heavy atmosphere. Stewart tried to play it cool, but he was visibly shaking his hand trembling while Lee was observing him.

“Not going to serve me some drink, Stewart?”

He gave off an arrogant chuckle, trying to match the presence that he finds annoying and proud. “Don’t you boss me around, I am not in your binds anymore. This is my office now, free from the chains that your family has no influence.”

“Really now?” Lee looked around and nodded, seemingly impressed by the design of his office and the comforting feeling on his back when he pressed his back further on the couch. “Should I buy this company and then you will serve me some tea?”

“What do you want?” Stewart became impatient, stood up, and looked angry at the expression of hinted anger on Lee’s face just holding back. “Did you come here because your pet Kevin has been damaged by the media?”

Lee fell silent, and the old CEO cackled in a desperate manner as if he won the battle with him with his forced laughter. “Have you seen that I can be as powerful as you too? The past of that young head of your company, the growing rumors of his secretary, and the stealing of his bitch. This would not happen if you did not just remove me from the position on a whim so that Kevin would take over.”

Moments passed, and Lee only listened without saying a word, and Stewart calmed down, and he raised an eyebrow, then let out a sigh, shaking his head.

“I have finally done it,” he proclaimed and raised his hands in the air in victory, then fixed his suit and tie. “I suppose that there is nothing that you can do about it. You and your aristocratic power have no use now. You can’t defeat me.”

He then walked over to the door, and opened it, presenting him with the way to the exit with a bright smile.

“There is your way outside, O’ Greedy Prince,” he bid goodbye to the speechless and emotionless Lee with a stress on his nickname.

Lee calmly left the room, and on his way outside, he said some words to Stewart – the first of his response since he started his confession to him.

“Check the news around eight in the evening.”

He then left without saying another word, not even looking back at him. Stewart, on the other hand, felt a little distressed from what he said, but calmly looked at his secretary standing by at her desk, watching him.

“Should we double our security for next time?”

“It doesn’t matter. He will not be back here, anyway,” he responded and closed the door behind him, letting the rest of the day gone by.

Later that evening, Stewart was still in his office, doing overtime and can still remember the words that were uttered by that aristocrat and checked on his digital clock on the left side of his desk. Three minutes before eight. He must have been overthinking it, what he just said was what he perceived as a warning. It was just probably an empty threat, the one that he receives from other people every day and treats as part of his breakfast.

Or so he would like to believe. He knew when he was in alliance and in Lee’s circle, his threats were not empty at all. He can make it true and whatever he says, will come true as if it was the gospel. He swallowed a huge lump and tried to dismiss it, covering his eyes.

His eyes opened when his phone chimed numerous times. Tension and fear rose from within him, and he opened a notification and an email from one of his managers.

“CHECK THE NEWS. NOW.”

Stewart quickly opened his desktop and searched numerous news outlets and was stunned at the articles written for him, and his photo was there. Among the tens of articles published, one headline stood out the most for him.

STEWART MARQUEZ – FRAUD, PEDOPHILE, AND AN OVERALL CRIMINAL

His breath then became short, and he was in fear of what it was he must do in order to make things right, to reverse the news around him. At the last straw of his sanity in his mind, Stewart then searched for articles revolving around Kevin and his secretary Bethany, but no articles were presented in the results.

He then laughed and broke down in a defeated manner. It seems that the prince has made his move again and he shall pay the price of even challenging him. And he shall not do anything about it anymore.

Stewart, accepting his defeat, slowly closed his desktop and let the phone chime endlessly as he could already guess what kinds of messages were being contained by the people there. For the board, they are searching for damage control. His acquaintances and even a few of his friends were reaching out to him and questioning the authenticity of the news that was published. And for his family, the same with his acquaintances and the utter disgust expressed by his ex-wife to him and he could already imagine her face as red as a potato in anger.

This would not have happened if only Kevin had not existed. If only he…

Dies.

The old man picked up his other phone at the back of his pocket and was about to dial a number, but he gave it up. He chuckled and thought of the image of Lee coming after him once again.

He knew right there and then that he would just give everything twice the effort that he exerted.

Feeling more defeated by the minute, he went out onto a ghost hallway and headed to the rooftop, where he felt the cold wind piercing through his suit and tie. The world has gone slow at the moment and each step has a heavy feeling to it. He continued to march on until he reached the edge of the building where he saw faint, small lights below from different vehicles and people.

He wondered how many people would have read the information by now, and how high he reached the trending boards tonight alone.

It did not matter, for in his mind, he could not believe that he was defeated by a young man containing a weird monicker and is living a life far better and more comfortable than his.

Stewart took one step forward and let gravity do its work as he tried to walk to the other side.