Chapter 38 - Carbon

I sent a message to Amelie/EVE about the sex. Even though I was with EVE, it was Amelie I was thinking about. It was true that I had a real interest in both of them, but it was even more true that I preferred Amelie. I had fallen in love at first sight with EVE, but the research and everything I discovered afterward made me more interested in Amelie.

I wanted to be able to appear on OWE again and have a second round, but there were some unforeseen events at my company. Likewise, I loved the money I was getting, but I wasn't very interested in the bureaucratic side of things. In fact, if I could, I'd send someone to sort it out for me, but the last time I'd done that, it hadn't worked out, and the plans had gone to shit.

My message still hadn't been returned, but given the circumstances of the day, I knew that Amelie was in control, and I also knew that it would be a day of therapy. Anyway, I had things to sort out, so I went to one of the company's offices. "Good afternoon, Mr. Moz," my secretary said as soon as she saw me walk in. "The meeting has already started," she said, getting up and leading me out. I had a certain complex with blondes, and all the company's headquarters had blonde secretaries. It wasn't an opinion of interest; it was restricted to work, but it was strange.

I entered the room, and several investors, shareholders, and CEOs of partner companies were present. They had already started the agenda, and apparently, it was some financial problem, as usual. I greeted everyone and sat down. The secretary closed the door and left the room.

For a few minutes, I listened to them argue and accuse each other of theft. I had to admit that I didn't have a very good group of friends in the business, and with each meeting, it became even more obvious. My investors were terrible, and I always knew that some of them were involved in embezzlement. Some of them were politicians, and that only fueled my thesis. I was already getting sleepy when my cell phone rang. "Excuse me," I said, getting up from the table and moving away so I could answer the call in peace. "Go ahead." It was one of my employees.

"You don't know what I've just discovered," he said, trying to sound mysterious. It was a bad habit of his. Anyway, he did the job well and was loyal. We were friends, too. Out of patience, I asked him to come clean. "You know the clandestine races? The ones run by Stefan?" he said, and I said yes. "Dorian was taking part in one of them, and he's a drug user. I thought I should let you know," he said. When I heard that, I let out a slight smile.

"I'm on my way," I said, ending the call. At least there was something positive in my day. If I had to end up with Axel and Dorian because of my own interference, I would. When I researched EVE's entire life, I didn't bother to look up details about her friends, so I hadn't done that much research. However, after I met her and realized that those two were really a threat to my plan, I decided to do some research. I hadn't found anything about him recently. So I concluded that he was probably hiding those things from Amelie. It was an excellent opportunity for me. "Sorry guys, but I have to go," I said, leaving the room. I said goodbye to the secretary and left the huge building behind.

Once in the car, I headed for the coordinates that had been given to me. Stefan was an old acquaintance of mine. In fact, he was very close to my family. Of course, at the time, he was just starting out in the illicit business, so my family didn't get too involved. But I had to admit that I had already done a few things with him.

A few minutes later, I was arriving at the venue when, from a distance, Stefan spotted me. "Carbon? To what do I owe the honor?" he said sarcastically. "Come to buy one of my toys?" he joked. I slammed the car door, laughing at him. It was a good reunion.

"Get something of mine," I said. Stefan had bought several models of cars from my company. Of course, we had various sports models. Numerous of the cars used in the city's underground races were from Moz companies. However, there were so many hard modifications to those cars that it was almost impossible to recognize them as Moz cars. As I was the owner and founder, I couldn't be fooled. And having connections with the owner of the whole business also helped.

"Have you finally shown an interest in running?" he asked, greeting me. I wasn't a good runner, which is why I always turned down all his invitations to take part in races. Adrenaline wasn't a skill I possessed, nor was the courage to do it. I couldn't be good at everything, of course.

"No, Stefan. I'm here because I have business to attend to," I said smugly. I knew Dorian was still there, but I hadn't seen him yet. "A colleague of mine is here, and I need to talk to him. Can you call him? It's Dorian," I said, waiting.

"Dorian and friends? That's news," he said in amazement. My research said that Dorian was closed off between interactions with Amelie and Axel. He really was a friendless guy, and Stefan's surprise was valid. "Since you're here, why don't you hang out with us for a bit?" he said, beckoning me to go to the back. Stefan was the insistent type. He knew I didn't smoke anything, and I wasn't going to make any exceptions. After learning that Amelie and EVE didn't like that sort of thing, it was just another incentive for me not to have any. I declined his invitation. He sighed. "All right, I'll send Dorian over," he said, walking away.

As Stefan walked away, I approached the cars that were nearby. Some I even remembered from the sale, from when I had made them. However, they were so full of modifications that there was no longer any modern beauty to them. Judging by the appearance of the cars, I could tell that they belonged to different people because each one's personality was expressed in a completely different way. I wondered if I would ever be able to drive a turbocharged machine like that.

A few minutes later, I saw Dorian approaching me. I wasn't expecting such a calm person as the one coming towards me. However, judging by the situation Dorian was in, he was probably too stoned to express anything real. I'm sure that if he had been thinking straight, he certainly wouldn't have been so calm.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, finally startled. Perhaps his earlier calm was related to the fact that he couldn't see so well from afar. It was possible that he wasn't seeing me at all.

"It seems that Amelie's favorite has secrets, doesn't he, Dorian?" I said, emphasizing how much I knew about him. "You take part in clandestine races and smoke. Does Amelie know?" I asked, trying to provoke him. I knew that Dorian was much stronger and more skilled than me; the incident at Lowe's proved that, but in that place, I knew that someone would help me. If Dorian was there, it meant he was close to Stefan. However, so was I.

"Don't you dare tell her anything, or I'll kick your ass," he said to me, already showing visible signs of anger. He had raised his voice too, and I could see movement in the distance. Apparently, the men in the background were ready to intervene if anything more serious happened. I felt safe, and if I needed to, I could go and see how far he would go. Catching a bit would be nothing for me. In fact, I could tell her that Dorian had beaten me up, and he would have to give a convincing reason for it other than the real truth.

"Beat up? Like what I did to EVE yesterday?" I said it deliberately, ready to see him angry. At that moment, within seconds, I could see the punch hit my face. There was so much anger and strength in that punch that I wondered if the herbs he smoked hadn't taken some of them away. He was strong—really strong. That punch was totally different from the one I had taken at Lowe's.

As I had predicted, while I was reeling from the punch, several men came running up, ready to intervene. I thought about whether to attack, but it seemed better not to. I saw it as an argument, in which I had won the moment I felt the blow.

Before Dorian could get to me and hit me even harder, he was held down. It took four men to hold him down. Stefan was also coming towards me, trying to make sense of the situation. Dorian looked furious, and I thought I'd get out of there the next moment. In any case, I needed to emphasize to him that I now knew his secrets and he was screwed.