Chapter 63: Lucas: Strategies and necklaces

MY LIPS feel numb from the biting and sucking I’ve received from Iris just now. She has already left the office to attend to a freelance author who writes the beauty section she’s editing.

As for me, Dad has called me to his office. I can already guess what it is he wants to talk about given the current talk of the day at Adder—the blurry picture that freak took of Iris and me kissing outside her house last night.

Thank god our faces aren’t really showing and a few of the keyboard warriors supporting me online have been defending me left and right. Although there are those with a sharp eye who have done comparisons and realized that it is indeed me kissing a woman.

Some have even gone as far as zooming Iris’s house number and trying to determine our location, but fortunately, it doesn’t show no matter what they do because of the light beam piercing from the flood light.

The heights the internet can go just to expose something so private is really scary.

Knocking on my dad’s office, a female voice calls for me to enter. His personal assistant immediately asks me to sit so she can tell him he has a guest. She comes back a few seconds later, telling me he is ready to meet me and rushing to the kitchen area, probably to bring some snacks and tea.

The office, like mine, is filled with a lavender scent in every corner. It’s refreshing, but I’m beginning to think I need to change mine into the oceanic scent Iris keeps complimenting me for. Maybe that way, she’ll remember me every time she breathes in.

"Come in," Dad says when he hears the echoes of my footsteps before I even knock. I enter, taking in my surroundings. There is a small-sized leaf crest desk—about a quarter in size compared to the ones in the boardrooms—taking up a large chunk of his office.

To my right, is his main office desk, pure high quality and shiny oak wood painted black, with everything anyone could ask for when working arranged well on his desk. Behind him at the far corner is a door that leads to a small library, with a vintage wallpaper plastered all around the room—exactly the same wallpaper I used for my library.

"You’re here," Dad gestures for me to sit before him, removing his glasses and setting them next to a gold plate that’s written DR. M. ANDREWS in gold letters on it. If I do my shit well, the M will be replaced with an L in the near future.

"Hi, Dad. I saw your text," I reply sitting opposite him.

"Good for you that you came right away," he replies in a chilling tone, placing a hand on his chin and looking at me. His assistant comes with a tray and places a mug in front of him, setting the table with his favorite coffee and brown sugar along with a small portion of biscuits.

"Want some?" He asks, even though his PA is already rounding the table to attend to me.

I raise my hand and shaky my head at her. "No, I’m fine."

Nodding, she immediately turns and leaves us alone. "You have yourself a very professional young lady, there Dad."

"Yeah, she is. But I didn’t call you here so we could discuss how my assistant is very pleasing to your eyes when you were fondling yet another young lady not long ago and the evidence is all over the internet right now."

I knew it. This meeting was about my picture from last night.

"That’s just a trend, Dad. It’ll die soon."

"You say that, but now it’s being linked to our company in some of the posts on Twitter. What if it affects the company and we end up losing our valuable clients."

"We won’t."

"Leave that small-minded personality right now if you’re going to take after me in running this company. Look at the positives and the negatives and prepare for any situation so that when you’re attacked, you won’t be hopeless."

I nod at him as he sips his tea. "Now, how do you think you should maneuver out of this without affecting not only you and your beloved, but the company?"

"Do I have time to think about this?"

"Yes, by brainstorming your ideas out right now," he replies, not even sounding a bit flexible or making his faceless stiff. Right now, I’m not talking to my Dad. Im talking to the fucking CEO.

Adjusting my sitting position, I face him head-on like the person to follow in his steps in the coming month. "Given that most of the posts aren’t criticizing Iris or me, I’d say we ride on the fame. Last night alone, I got more than ten thousand followers, and since I’m in this month’s issue of the magazine, I’ll promote it so that we get more sales."

Dad assesses my face for a moment before blinking. Finally. "What if that fame turns out to be negative in the end? What will you do then?"

"We’ll need to take immediate action. First, we’ll apologize to the public, then we will promptly respond to the scandal by calling in the crisis management team to handle most of the claims on the Internet. If that still doesn’t work, we’ll develop a response strategy to make sure no one is affected by the drama. If worse comes to worse, I’ll drop from my position and hand it to someone cleaner and qualified for the position."

Dad keeps his gaze locked on me for a moment, slowly sipping his tea as if deciding whether what I said is worth it, or trash. I remain still in my seat, holding my breath for His Majesty’s judgment, which takes a long while before he finally sets his mug on the table and starts clapping his hands.

"And that’s how you CEO the shit out of this bitch son," he says with this rumble of a laugh only old successful men like him can pull off.

All the tension leaves my body and I smile at him. "Thanks, Dad."

"No, thank yourself. You’ve grown into a fine young man. I’m so proud to call you my son, although—" he sips his tea, leaving me on a cliffhanger to wonder what he’s about to say. "You need to have a greater sense of privacy. Last time it was me, and now it’s the whole world. What are you taking that’s made you this shameless?"

Closing my eyes, I bite my lips from inside, hard. This old man always has a trick up his sleeve to use on me, and every one of them is just so he can embarrass me.

"Noted. I’ll make sure I jot that down."

"Good," he commends shamelessly. "Have you confessed to her yet? You said you were going to do it the last time we met once the time was ready."

"I’m doing it on a Friday two weeks from now. During the event."

He chuckles. "Don’t tell me you have a detailed layout of how you’re going to confess to her."

"Actually, I don’t," I beam at him.

"Finally, you’re letting some things flow on their own. It’s good to have a plan laid out though, but don’t make it detailed or perfect like you always tend to do, that’ll make you frustrated when everything doesn’t go according to plan."

"Yes, Dad."

★★★★★

By the time I’m back in my office, everyone is back from their respective editors or meetings, including Iris. The buzz that has been going on about Iris and me has stopped, at least in my department, and everyone is focusing on laying out next month’s issue before them.

Usually, I’d be asking them what they plan on working on and how it’s going to elevate the magazine’s worth, but right now, I have other important things to take care of.

Taking out my phone, I send Priyanka a text telling her I’m arriving at her company in thirty minutes. I walk into my office and begin clearing the table and packing my bag. Everything is clustered around because I’ve been too busy for the past few days to even care about my surroundings.

However, the major reason why I was that busy was because of Iris. I had to focus on the magazine whilst trying to understand why she seemed so distant for those few days. It was the most troubling moment in my life, second to when my mom died.

If she was alive right now and she knew I was showing interest in a woman, how would she have reacted? It’s painful being to only guess how she’d have reacted, but in my heart, I know she’d have been delighted.

Lucas, stopwiththesedepressingthoughts.

A message notification from Priyanka brings me back to reality.

PRIYANKA: You’re more than welcome to come at any time during the work hours, Mr. Andrews. And yes, I have already started working on the necklace. The main piece is already done if you’d like to check it out.

Balling my hands into fists, I throw them in the air. Everything is going according to plan. Now if the days would just rush by fast and make the event happen sooner, I might end this depressing month with a beautiful woman to call mine.

A woman to finally show my undying love to. A woman who captivated my heart ever since we met, even though I was too blind to notice it then.

★★★★★

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read