Chapter 78 You Owe Me
Briar's POV
The afternoon bled into evening, and evening bled into night, and I stayed at my desk sorting through the wreckage of what used to be a functioning team. The HR manager had delivered the damage report around three o'clock, her voice tight and apologetic as she read through the numbers.
Marketing had lost the most people, nearly forty percent of the department gone in a single day. Sales wasn't far behind. But the livestream team had stayed intact, every single one of them, including the three young hosts who had been bringing in numbers that were starting to match our brick-and-mortar revenue.
I worked through dinner without noticing I had skipped it, restructuring teams and reassigning responsibilities until my eyes burned from staring at spreadsheets. By the time I looked up again, it was past midnight, and the office was silent except for the hum of the air conditioning and the occasional creak of the building settling around me.
I finally shut down my computer and grabbed my bag, moving through the dark hallways toward the elevator. My body felt heavy, like I was dragging myself through water, and I was already thinking about the drive home and whether I had the energy to make it without falling asleep at the wheel.
When I reached the temporary reception area near the main entrance, I saw him.
Lucian was stretched out on one of the low sofas, his head tipped back against the cushions and his eyes closed. His jacket was draped over the armrest beside him, and his shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, exposing the lean lines of his forearms. He looked like he had been there for hours, waiting in the dark without complaint.
I stopped walking and just stood there for a moment, watching him. His breathing was slow and even, his chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm that made me wonder if he was actually asleep or just resting his eyes. There was something about the way he looked in that moment, unguarded and still, that made my chest tighten with an emotion I couldn't quite name.
I moved closer without thinking, my footsteps soft on the polished floor, and reached out to touch his face. My fingers were just inches from his cheek when his hand shot up and caught my wrist, his grip firm but not rough.
His eyes opened slowly, and he looked up at me with that same calm, unreadable expression he always wore, like nothing in the world could surprise him.
"Hungry?" he asked, his voice low and rough from disuse. "Let's grab something downstairs."
The convenience store on the ground floor was one of those twenty-four-hour places that stayed open for the night-shift workers and insomniacs who wandered in looking for instant noodles and energy drinks. The fluorescent lights were harsh and unforgiving, casting everything in a flat, clinical glow that made the pre-packaged sandwiches and plastic-wrapped pastries look even less appetizing than they probably were.
Lucian grabbed two cups of instant ramen and a couple of rice balls, moving through the aisles with the ease of someone who had done this a hundred times before. I followed him to the self-serve hot water dispenser and watched as he filled both cups, the steam rising in lazy curls that dissipated almost immediately in the cold air conditioning.
We sat down at one of the small tables near the window, and I tore open the lid of my ramen cup, letting the smell of cheap broth and MSG fill the space between us. Lucian ate in silence for a few minutes, his movements methodical and unhurried, and I found myself relaxing slightly in the quiet.
"Ash mentioned things have been rough," Lucian said finally, his tone casual but his eyes sharp as they flicked up to meet mine.
I let out a short, humorless laugh and stabbed at the noodles with my chopsticks. "That's one way to put it."
Lucian set down his cup and leaned back in his chair, his gaze steady on my face. "That car that nearly hit you? Something's off. Figured I'd make sure you got home safe."
I looked up at him, surprised by the sudden shift in topic, and felt something warm and unfamiliar settle in my chest. "You've been digging into that?"
"Enough to know it wasn't random," he said, his voice flat and matter-of-fact.
I didn't know what to say to that, so I just nodded and went back to eating. The silence stretched out again, comfortable this time, and I felt some of the tension in my shoulders start to ease.
"Devon pulled every damn distributor," I said after a while, my voice coming out more bitter than I intended. "That was our last lifeline, and now it's gone."
Lucian picked up his phone and scrolled through something on the screen, his expression thoughtful. I caught a glimpse of the document he was reading and realized with a jolt that it was the loan agreement I had signed with Julian, the one that outlined the terms of the repayment and the clause about handing over exclusive sales rights to Emerald Forest Real Estate if I won the Apex bid.
"Heard Emerald Forest just acquired VitaChain Pharmacies," Lucian said, his tone light and conversational.
I froze and stared at him. VitaChain was an old, established pharmacy chain with over eight hundred locations across the country. They had been Vance Botanicals' most reliable partner back when my grandfather was alive, and the distribution revenue from VitaChain alone had accounted for seventy percent of our total profits. Julian had forced us to cut ties with them years ago, replacing them with his own preferred distributors, and the loss had been devastating.
"So... what do you think Emerald Forest wants with VitaChain?" Lucian asked, his eyes on mine, and I could see the faint trace of amusement in his expression.
My brain started working overtime, connecting the dots faster than I could keep up with. If I won the Apex bid, the sales rights for the Lunar Stabilizer line would go to Emerald Forest. And if Emerald Forest now owned VitaChain, that meant they had direct access to a nationwide distribution network that we had lost years ago. I could use that connection to rebuild what Devon had torn down, to replace every distributor he had pulled and then some.
I stood up so fast that my chair scraped loudly against the floor, and I reached across the table to grab Lucian's hand without thinking. "I know how to fix this," I said, my voice coming out breathless and urgent. "I know how to replace those distributors."
Lucian looked down at my hand on his, and then back up at my face, and the corner of his mouth lifted in a small, satisfied smile.
---
Lucian's POV
The next morning, I found myself sitting in the lobby of Emerald Forest Real Estate's headquarters, waiting for Reginald to finish a meeting that had already run an hour longer than scheduled. The receptionist had apologized twice and offered me coffee three times, and I had declined each time with the same polite, neutral expression I always wore.
By the time Reginald finally emerged from the conference room, looking harried and vaguely annoyed.
"Lucian," he said as he gestured for me to follow him into his office. "Didn't expect to see you here."
I didn't bother with pleasantries. I pulled the small gift box out of my bag and set it on his desk, the wrapping still pristine and untouched. "Briar left this in my car. Thought you might want it."
Reginald eyed the box, his expression suspicious. "Alright, Lucian. What's the catch this time?"
I leaned back in my chair and met his gaze without blinking. "No catch. You dug this hole yourself."
His jaw tightened, but he didn't argue. He knew exactly what I was talking about.
"Most of the major retailers in the South and East Coast?" I said, keeping my voice calm and conversational. "They're dropping Vance Botanicals at the end of the month."
Reginald's face went pale, and I saw his fingers tighten around the edge of his desk. He didn't say anything, but the silence was confirmation enough.
"VitaChain and Vance worked together for years," I continued, my tone still light and easy. "They know each other's systems, no learning curve. Plus, Vance's livestream revenue is already matching their brick-and-mortar sales. You'd be a fool not to take advantage of that."
Reginald stared at me for a long moment, his expression unreadable, and then he nodded slowly. "If Briar comes to me, I'll work with her."
I smiled, and it was the kind of smile that didn't reach my eyes. "Good."
I left Emerald Forest and made my way back to my car, pulling out my phone as I slid into the driver's seat. I dialed Kai's number and waited for him to pick up, drumming my fingers against the steering wheel.
"How's the auction going?" I asked when he finally answered.
"Just got Mom's painting," Kai said, his voice cheerful and relaxed. "About to sign the paperwork. Why?"
I pulled up the photo I had saved earlier and sent it to him, watching the screen as the message delivered. "Do me a favor, bid on this. No limit. Just keep going till you get it."
There was a pause on the other end of the line, and then Kai let out a low whistle. "Who's worth dropping that kind of cash for? You've got it bad, don't you?"
I felt a smile tug at the corner of my mouth, and I didn't bother trying to hide it. "Careful, or I'll make your life miserable for a month."
Kai laughed, and I could hear the sound of voices in the background as he moved through the auction hall. "Yeah, yeah. I'll get it. But you owe me."